Why mock up a set of the desert when you can travel to one? Hollywood is well known for its mega budgets when it comes to movies, and directors travel far and wide in search of the best locations. If you’re a movie buff, what better holiday is there than going in search of where your favourite flicks were set. Here are a selection of great movies and their real-life locations…
Crocodile Dundee
TheAustralianoutback shots in the classic 80s film about the Australian bushman who landed in cosmopolitan New York were filmed in Kakadu National Park in Australia’s Northern Territory, while the town shots were filmed in McKinlay, Queensland.
Indiana Jones
The final resting place of the holy grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was Petra, the spectacular ‘Rose Red’ city in Jordan, and for movie and travel buffs, this UNESCO World Heritage site which may date back to as early as 350BC is well worth a visit for its fascinating history and archeological treasures.
Bridget Jones
When Bridget snow-ploughs her way down the slopes and gets stuck on a chair lift on a ski holiday in The Edge of Reason, the ski resort is Lech in Austria, one of the most exclusive resorts in the Alps, with a clientele of the rich and famous.
Slumdog Millionaire
2008 British movie Slumdog Millionaire was set in Mumbai, India and opened the world’s eyes to India’s slums. One of the city’s largest slums is Dharavi, home to over a million inhabitants, and a seemingly never-ending stretch of narrow dirty lanes, open sewers and cramped huts. Since the movie, there has been a rise in ‘slum tourism’ in India, though this has come under criticism.
Notting Hill
1990’s movie starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant shot the West London suburb to fame. In fact the leafy burb of Notting Hill is one of West London’s most exclusive postcodes, with Portobello Road, where much of the film was shot, a favourite of young fashionistas.
The Beach
Leonardo DiCaprio put a little island on Thailand’s West Coast firmly on the tourist map in 2000, when Alex Garland’s 1996 novel The Beach was brought to the big screen by director Danny Boyle. The legendary beach is Hat Maya on the island of Phi Phi Leh, near Phuket. The area was damaged by a tsunami in 2004, but has regained its former glory in recent years.
Vanilla Sky
New York is no stranger to actors and camera equipment – in 2011 alone, over 180 films were shot in five boroughs. Vanilla Sky, the 2001 film featuring Tom Cruise, has a particularly memorable dream sequence set in Times Square. Director Cameron Crowe had the streets closed to traffic, leaving one of the world’s busiest spots eerily quiet.
Thelma and Louise
North American adventures are well reflected in Hollywood, and 90s movie Thelma and Louise explores the well-worn American road trip theme.Travelling West from Olklahoma to Mexico, the film’siconic shots were filmed in the Moab Desert in Utah, while the final scene where the pair famously drive their car over the edge of a cliff is the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump, the 1990s blockbuster starring Tom Hanks, was set in Savannah on Georgia's Atlantic coastline. The famous park bench, which played a starring role in the movie, is now housed in the Savannah History Museum. Hanks sits on the park bench for most of the film, telling his life story to anyone who will listen.
Katie is a freelancer travel writer and closet film buff whose favourite movie of all time is ET.
