It’s a brand new year and a brand new decade so I thought it was time we take a fond look back at the last decade. Here is our list of the Best Production Design of the Decade from 2010 to 2019.
These lists are always hard to do because film is such a subjective medium and most can not be compared to each other with each being a unique work of art but I tried my best nonetheless. I also found we currently lack the benefit of time passed with recent films to properly judge their impact, but after mulling through 311 films on my initial list I was able to cut it down to these top 25 movies with extraordinary production design released between 2010 and 2019.
Many of these films moved the production design needle, inspired the public, and created cultural conversation.
I felt it was important while creating this list to reevaluate films I didn’t initially love and films that didn’t suit my personal taste when they were first released. By going back, I found that some films moved the production design needle forward, changed the types of films getting greenlit, inspired the public, and in some cases, created a cultural conversation in a way that I could not ignore. Ultimately this list was created with storytelling and artistry meeting historical impact in mind whereas my annual year end lists are much more about my initial feelings on storytelling and artistry meeting technical achievement within a budget.
It should also be noted that I decided all 25 films would have to be completed by a different production designer. This means some films which I did love with all my heart didn’t quite make the cut. For instance, I chose not to include High-Rise, Stoker, or Doctor Strange because I was already highlighting films by the same production designers. There are many more films and production designers I would have loved to include, but 25 was about as much as I felt I could comfortably fit in this post.
Please take the order of these films with a certain grain of salt. All of these films are worthy of every adulation despite the order I chose to put them in. Please be aware that some photos below may contain spoilers. I hope you find new films on this list to see for the first time or rediscover in the years ahead.
Art Departmental's Best Production Design of the Decade from 2010-2019 Share on XBest Film Production Design of the Decade from 2010-2019
1. Inception (2010)
A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O.
Director: Christopher Nolan
Production Designer: Guy Hendrix Dyas
Supervising Art Director: Brad Ricker
Set Decorator: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
Costume Designer: Jeffrey Kurland
Director of Photography: Wally Pfister
2. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
The adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second World Wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.
Director: Wes Anderson
Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen
Supervising Art Director: Gerald Sullivan
Set Decorator: Anna Pinnock
Costume Designer: Milena Canonero
Director of Photography: Robert D. Yeoman
3. Her (2013)
In a near future, a lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need.
Director: Spike Jonze
Production Designer: K.K. Barrett
Art Director: Austin Gorg
Set Decorator: Gene Serdena
Costume Designer: Casey Storm
Director of Photography: Hoyte Van Hoytema
4. The Shape of Water (2017)
At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Production Designer: Paul D. Austerberry
Art Director: Nigel Churcher
Set Decorator: Jeffrey A. Melvin and Shane Vieau
Costume Designer: Luis Sequeira
Director of Photography: Dan Laustsen
5. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
A young blade runner’s discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former blade runner Rick Deckard, who’s been missing for thirty years.
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Production Designer: Dennis Gassner
Supervising Art Director: Paul Inglis
Set Decorator: Alessandra Querzola
Costume Designer: Renée April
Director of Photography: Roger Deakins
6. Black Panther (2018)
T’Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country’s past.
Director: Ryan Coogler
Production Designer: Hannah Beachler
Supervising Art Director: Alan Hook
Set Decorator: Jay Hart
Costume Designer: Ruth E. Carter
Director of Photography: Rachel Morrison
7. Arrival (2016)
A linguist works with the military to communicate with alien lifeforms after twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world.
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Production Designer: Patrice Vermette
Supervising Art Director: Isabelle Guay
Set Decorator: Paul Hotte
Costume Designer: Renée April
Director of Photography: Bradford Young
8. Hugo (2011)
In 1931 Paris, an orphan living in the walls of a train station gets wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Production Designer: Dante Ferretti
Art Director: David Warren
Set Decorator: Francesca Lo Schiavo
Costume Designer: Sandy Powell
Director of Photography: Robert Richardson
9. Parasite (2019)
All unemployed, Ki-taek and his family take peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks, as they ingratiate themselves into their lives and get entangled in an unexpected incident.
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Production Designer: Ha-jun Lee
Art Director: N/A
Set Decorator: N/A
Costume Designer: Se-yeon Choi
Director of Photography: Kyung-pyo Hong
10. The Tree of Life (2011)
The story of a family in Waco, Texas in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents’ conflicting teachings.
Director: Terrence Malick
Production Designer: Jack Fisk
Art Director: David Crank
Set Decorator: Jeanette Scott
Costume Designer: Jacqueline West
Director of Photography: Emmanuel Lubezki
11. Ex Machina (2015)
A young programmer is selected to participate in a ground-breaking experiment in synthetic intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a highly advanced humanoid A.I.
Director: Alex Garland
Production Designer: Mark Digby
Supervising Art Director: Denis Schnegg
Set Decorator: Michelle Day
Costume Designer: Sammy Sheldon
Director of Photography: Rob Hardy
12. Roma (2018)
A year in the life of a middle-class family’s maid in Mexico City in the early 1970s.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Production Designer: Eugenio Caballero
Art Director: Carlos Benassini and Oscar Tello
Set Decorator: Barbara Enriquez
Costume Designer: Anna Terrazas
Director of Photography: Alfonso Cuarón
13. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet Agent within MI6.
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Production Designer: Maria Djurkovic
Art Director: Tom Brown and Mark Raggett
Set Decorator: Tatiana Macdonald
Costume Designer: Jacqueline Durran
Director of Photography: Hoyte Van Hoytema
14. Black Swan (2010)
A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake”.
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Production Designer: Thérèse DePrez
Art Director: David Stein
Set Decorator: Tora Peterson
Costume Designer: Amy Westcott
Director of Photography: Matthew Libatique
15. Crimson Peak (2015)
In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds – and remembers.
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Production Designer: Thomas E. Sanders
Supervising Art Director: Brandt Gordon
Set Decorator: Jeffrey A. Melvin and Shane Vieau
Costume Designer: Kate Hawley
Director of Photography: Dan Laustsen
16. Interstellar (2014)
A team of explorers travel through a wormhole in space in an attempt to ensure humanity’s survival.
Director: Christopher Nolan
Production Designer: Nathan Crowley
Supervising Art Director: Dean Wolcott
Set Decorator: Gary Fettis
Costume Designer: Mary Zophres
Director of Photography: Hoyte Van Hoytema
17. Anna Karenina (2012)
In late-19th-century Russian high society, St. Petersburg aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the dashing Count Alexei Vronsky.
Director: Joe Wright
Production Designer: Sarah Greenwood
Art Director: Niall Moroney
Set Decorator: Katie Spencer
Costume Designer: Jacqueline Durran
Director of Photography: Seamus McGarvey
18. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in search for her homeland with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshiper, and a drifter named Max.
Director: George Miller
Production Designer: Colin Gibson
Supervising Art Director: Richard Hobbs
Set Decorator: Lisa Thompson
Costume Designer: Jenny Beavan
Director of Photography: John Seale
19. Les Misérables (2012)
In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker’s daughter. The decision changes their lives forever.
Director: Tom Hooper
Production Designer: Eve Stewart
Art Director: Grant Armstrong
Set Decorator: Anna Lynch-Robinson
Costume Designer: Paco Delgado
Director of Photography: Danny Cohen
20. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
A group of intergalactic criminals must pull together to stop a fanatical warrior with plans to purge the universe.
Director: James Gunn
Production Designer: Charles Wood
Supervising Art Director: Ray Chan
Set Decorator: Richard Roberts
Costume Designer: Alexandra Byrne
Director of Photography: Ben Davis
21. Phantom Thread (2017)
Set in 1950s London, Reynolds Woodcock is a renowned dressmaker whose fastidious life is disrupted by a young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who becomes his muse and lover.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Production Designer: Mark Tildesley
Supervising Art Director: Denis Schnegg
Set Decorator: Véronique Melery
Costume Designer: Mark Bridges
Director of Photography: Paul Thomas Anderson
22. The Great Gatsby (2013)
A writer and wall street trader, Nick, finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby.
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Production Designer: Catherine Martin
Associate Production Designer: Karen Murphy
Art Director: Ian Gracie
Set Decorator: Beverley Dunn
Costume Designer: Catherine Martin
Director of Photography: Simon Duggan
23. Lady Macbeth (2017)
In 19th-century rural England, a young bride who has been sold into marriage discovers an unstoppable desire within herself as she enters into an affair with a worker on her estate.
Director: William Oldroyd
Production Designer: Jacqueline Abrahams
Art Director: Thalia Ecclestone
Set Decorator: N/A
Costume Designer: Holly Waddington
Director of Photography: Ari Wegner
24. The Great Beauty (2013)
Jep Gambardella has seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades, but after his 65th birthday and a shock from the past, Jep looks past the nightclubs and parties to find a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty.
Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Production Designer: Stefania Cella
Art Director: N/A
Set Decorator: N/A
Costume Designer: Daniela Ciancio
Director of Photography: Luca Bigazzi
25. Midsommar (2019)
A couple travels to Sweden to visit a rural hometown’s fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.
Director: Ari Aster
Production Designer: Henrik Svensson
Art Director: Csaba Lodi
Set Decorator: Klara Alfredsson and Zsuzsa Sverteczki
Costume Designer: Andrea Flesch
Director of Photography: Pawel Pogorzelski
Which films would you add to our list of the best production design of the decade from 2010 to 2019? We would love to read your thoughts in the comments below.
For more Production Design Inspiration on Art Departmental, click here.
