Movie locations around the world

I tend to visit a lot of movie locations on my travels. This is the first part of my quest for finding movie locations around the world. Left images are from the actual films and to the right are my visits to the spots.

You may also be interested in Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8 and Part 9.

Lord of the Rings location in Wellington.

Mission Impossible (1996)

Mission Impossible: Lichtenstein Palace, Prague

The first Mission Impossible movie features several locations in central Prague. This is the riverside alley next to Lichtenstein Palace, featured prominently in the beginning of the film where Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) had all sorts of problems with his mission.

Mission Impossible: Lichtenstein Palace, Prague

Hunt and Sarah (Kristin Scott Thomas) escape from the cellar next to Lichtenstein Palace.

Mission Impossible: Kampa Island, Prague

The wooden fence in the same riverside alley, where the bad guy was hiding and Hunt later escapes from the police arriving by boat.

Mission Impossible: Platnérská, Prague

Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) is approaching the safehouse, door on the left. The location can be found quite close to the eastern part of Charles Bridge.

Mission Impossible: Platnérská, Prague

Hunt later uses a different route on his way back to the safe house, but normally the gate leading down to the river docks is locked.

Mission Impossible: Liverpool Street Station, London

A brooding Hunt exits the safe house in London, being watched by Claire (Emmanuelle Béart).

Mission Impossible: Liverpool Street Station, London

Hunt arrives at the phone booth in Liverpool Street Station, nowadays replaced by cash machines.

Mission Impossible: Liverpool Street Station, London

Luther (Ving Rhames) pulls the curtains on their secret hideout.

Talented Mr Ripley (1999)

Talented Mr Ripley: Forum Romanum, Rome

Talented Mr Ripley is full of amazing Italian scenery. In Rome Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) went for a walk in the sunset to explore the Roman ruins.

Talented Mr Ripley: Piazza Navone, Rome

Freddie Miles (Philip Seymour Hoffman) made an eye-catching entrance in the film, as he drives his car straight into Piazza Navone to interrupt the dinner that Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) is having with Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law).

Talented Mr Ripley: Spanish Steps, Rome

Ripley continues his nefarious scheming, as he’s spying on Meredith Logue (Cate Blanchett) from the Spanish Steps.

Talented Mr Ripley: St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice

Arriving later in Venice, Tom Ripley and Jack Davenport (Peter Smith-Kingsley) walk across Piazza San Marco with the St. Mark’s Basilica in the background.

Talented Mr Ripley: Calle Traghetto Vecchio, Venice

Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) says farewell to Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Herbert Greenleaf (James Rebhorn) on the pier opposite Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute.

Lost in Translation (2003)

Lost in Translation: Park Hyatt, Tokyo

Lost in Translation was a surprise hit from Sofia Coppola. The bar at 52nd floor of Park Hyatt is the most well-known location in the film. Left picture is Bill Murray as Bob Harris in 2003 and the right is the same spot in 2008.

Lost in Translation: Kyoto station

Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) goes on a lonely trip from Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen. Urban alienation has never been sweeter.

Lost in Translation: Shinjuku, Tokyo

During the first scene we see Bob (Bill Murray) stare with sleepy eyes as his taxi rolls by the neon billboards of eastern Shinjuku.

Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Fellowship of the Ring: Mount Victoria, New Zealand

Mount Victoria in capital Wellington was the place where Elijah Wood (Frodo) and the Hobbits first encountered the Nazgul in the Shire. It was the site for the very first shooting of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, catching the press off guard. The forest area was also used for the scenes at Weathertop, Dunharrow, Hobbiton Woods and Outer Shire. Read more about Lord of the Rings locations in New Zealand.

Lord of the Rings: Mount Ngauruhoe, New Zealand

The volcano Mount Ngauruhoe on the north island of New Zealand was used as Mount Doom in Mordor. However, filming was disallowed due to religious reasons so the crew had to make a digital replica of it.

Highlander (1986)

Highlander: Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland

The striking Eilean Donan castle was used as the home of Clan MacLeod and its head Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert).

Highlander: Eilean Donan castle, Scotland

If you want to visit it, note that even though the village is described as Glenfinnan, the Eilean Donan castle is actually located about 45 kilometers north of Glenfinnan.

Highlander: Bow Bridge, New York

The immortals Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) and Sunda Kastagir (Hugh Quarshie) met at Bow Bridge way back in the eighties, in the New York scenes from Highlander.

French Connection (1971)

French Connection: Le Panier, Marseille

French Connection from 1971 is a gritty police drama featuring Gene Hackman. The left scene was shot 40 years ago, where an unnamed character is making his way home through the stairs of Le Panier, the oldest part of Marseille.

French Connection: Chateau d’If, Marseille

Charnier (Fernando Rey) and Devereaux (Frédéric de Pasquale) make their sinister plans at Chateau d’If, a castle situated on an island outside Marseille. It was also the setting for Dumas’ novel The Count of Monte Cristo.

French Connection: Chateau d’If, Marseille

Devereaux is overlooking the lighthouse with a backdrop of Marseille.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Doune Castle, Scotland

The castle Doune Castle was used for a lot of scenes. This is the place where John Cleese insulted King Arthur in a French accent and later goes on a killing spree at a wedding. Also the site of the wooden rabbit trick and “fetchez la vache”, as well as home to the very friendly girls of Castle Anthrax.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Castle Stalker in Loch Laich, Scotland

The picturesque Castle Stalker was used as Castle Aaargh and the place for the final confrontation with the insulting French.

Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (2001)

Amélie: Bar des Deux Moulins, Paris

Bar des Deux Moulins is the infamous café in Montmartre where Audrey Tautou (Amélie) and the main characters worked. Posters from the movie are reminding us of its past.

Amélie: Lamarck-Caulaincourt, Paris

After escorting the blind man across the street, Amélie leaves him at the metro station Lamarck-Caulaincourt and runs up the stairs.

Amélie: Pont des Arts, Paris

Of course Amélie can be seen all over Paris, such as walking across the romantic bridge Pont des Arts.

Die Another Day (2002)

Die Another Day: Westminster Bridge, London

Pierce Brosnan returns as James Bond for the last time. He casually finds a not so secret entrance next to the most visited area in London.

Interview with the Vampire (1994)

Interview with the Vampire: Oak Alley, Louisiana

This was the home of Louis in the movie Interview With The Vampire, based on the book by Anne Rice. It took days for production crew to put moss on every branch of the trees and paint the house in an eerie green color. Brad Pitt had to kick the beautiful cypress front door 25 times until he got it right, which made the owners very irritated. The house was also seen in the opening scene of Gone With The Wind in 1939.

The Beach (2000)

The Beach: Maya Bay, Phi Phi Islands

While the book The Beach by Alex Garland may be a fan favorite for backpackers, the film is not nearly there. But the first half is quite good at depicting backpacking in Thailand during the early 2000s. Maya Bay at Phi Phi Islands was the place where the movie adaptation featuring Leonardo DiCaprio was shot. However, Alex Garland’s book was actually inspired by the lagoon El Nido at island Palawan in the Philippines.

Rendition (2007)

Rendition: Djemaa el Fna, Marrakesh

Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal) seeks comfort in the bottle while overlooking the big square Djemaa el Fna from a balcony. One year later, I managed to find a spot at that balcony.

Rendition: V&A Waterfront, Cape Town

There is also a small interception taking place at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, with the distinctive Table Mountain in the background.

La Dolce Vita (1960)

La Dolce Vita: Fontana di Trevi, Rome

Sylvia (Anita Ekberg) and Marcello Rubini (Marcello Mastroianni) goes for the infamous late night stroll through the waters of Fontana di Trevi. Even though it was shot at night, Anita endured the cold for hours in her wet dress, but Marcello allegedly wore a wetsuit and had an entire bottle of vodka before the take.

Moulin Rouge (2001)

Moulin Rouge: Moulin Rouge exterior, Paris

Baz Luhrmann’s vibrant Moulin Rouge is full of fairy-tale scenes of “fin de siècle”-style Paris. I like the view from the room of Christian (Ewan McGregor), even though it’s of course done with a green screen. All of the scenes were done on soundstages in Sydney. And no, there is no elephant in there – I’ve checked.