The view from below

December 15, 2005 11:07 AM

This Spanish commercial for Madrid's Metro system uses a cool visual device, making the ground transparent and showing the view from the subway, like a glass bottom boat in reverse. note: link contains embedded wmv
posted by jonson (26 comments total)

The logical extension of this.
posted by StickyCarpet at 11:09 AM on December 15, 2005

That's cool
posted by martinX's bellbottoms at 11:11 AM on December 15, 2005

Very nice, but not enough upskirt action.
posted by Protocols of the Elders of Awesome at 11:16 AM on December 15, 2005

wow, their metro has see-through ceilings? Must be ransparent aluminumt
posted by ParisParamus at 11:20 AM on December 15, 2005

transparent...
posted by ParisParamus at 11:20 AM on December 15, 2005

Madrid does have a lovely metro.
posted by bardic at 11:26 AM on December 15, 2005

Madrid has an efficient, well thought out metro system. No complaints here except now I really miss Madrid... I loved hanging out at this place for beer and tapas.
posted by fleetmouse at 11:26 AM on December 15, 2005

I'm with you fleetmouse. I'll take it over Barcelona any day.
posted by bardic at 11:32 AM on December 15, 2005

The commercial bothers me because it ignores all of the stuff between the subway and the surface. I think the commercial would be more interesting if they had included the stuff that we don't see everyday in the commercial.
posted by hellx at 11:45 AM on December 15, 2005

I think I saw up that lady's dress. Good thing this isn't in the Tokyo subway!
posted by Pollomacho at 11:45 AM on December 15, 2005

Interesting paralell between Madrid's metro logo and London's, down to the colors...
posted by Ogre Lawless at 11:57 AM on December 15, 2005

Why are they advertising the Metro?
posted by cillit bang at 12:00 PM on December 15, 2005

I would kill never to see anything in Windows Media again. I'm on a WINDOWS MACHINE! AND IT WON'T PLAY! WHAT'S THE FUCKING POINT!?!?
posted by fungible at 12:09 PM on December 15, 2005

Wow. That's the bomb... no wait, let me rephrase that officer, I didn't mean that literal- *!bang!*
posted by hal9k at 12:21 PM on December 15, 2005

It made me feel like a dead person watching the living.
posted by maryh at 12:27 PM on December 15, 2005

Thanks for the post. Madrid is indeed a great place. Ooh those nights at Plaza Santa Ana...
posted by keijo at 12:30 PM on December 15, 2005

ah man, no toilet stalls!
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:31 PM on December 15, 2005

wow, maryh, way to bring the party down! Although neither the "dead watching the living" nor the potential for upskirt shots occurred to me while watching, I think I prefer the latter.
posted by jonson at 1:49 PM on December 15, 2005

Wow, riding that metro is like going to heaven, or so I hear.
posted by parallax7d at 2:11 PM on December 15, 2005

Sorry jonson. I didn't mean it in a bad way. It's just that filmmakers usually rely on a bird's eye view when they want to show the POV of the dead. An underground view actually makes more sense, to me anyway. I thought it looked kind of peaceful, actually.
posted by maryh at 2:37 PM on December 15, 2005

Right on, maryh! Something creeped me out watching it, and that was exactly it.

Maybe it was the slow piano music.
posted by enakaja at 2:51 PM on December 15, 2005

That's the ever-popular intermezzo from Cavelleria Rusticana.
posted by Mapes at 7:49 PM on December 15, 2005

Madrid's metro rocks. One might even say, cojonudo. I liked my home station, Goya, with its b/w sketches by its namesake artist.
posted by donpedro at 9:03 PM on December 15, 2005

Oh, and hal9k, nice try, but it was the regional trains, which do share some stations with the metro.

Not funny either way.
posted by donpedro at 10:55 PM on December 15, 2005

The metro is decent but it could be much better. Too many stairs for one. It kills me when I see all these tourists with their suitcases trying to get around not to mention couples with baby strollers. If you have some heavy luggage then you are better off taking the bus. The bus system is decent too and usually much less packed.
posted by JJ86 at 3:31 AM on December 16, 2005

JJ86 is right. You see too few elderly people on the metro for exactly this reason. Cillit Bang: Why advertise it? Because above the surface, there's nothing but roadworks and they're encouraging people to try the alternative (it is very often faster to use the metro than to take a cab). The same people are responsible for both the roadworks (awful) and the metro (wonderful, apart from the steps).
posted by Holly at 7:24 AM on December 16, 2005