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Films Shot or Set in Colorado

When deciding which area to focus next on my cinematic travelogue, I just happened to be watching a program about the lovely state of Colorado. At once I started to look into what films were shot or set in, what is in my opinion, one of the most beautiful states of these United States. I have visited on two separate occasions and on each occasion I come to love the state all the more.

For this set, I have separated the list between films shot and set in Colorado.

Shot in Colorado:

  • The Searchers (1956)
  • Pat and Mike (1952)
  • The Razor’s Edge (1946)
  • Away We Go (2009)
  • Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Set (in part or in whole) in Colorado:

  • The Prestige (2006)
  • The Shining (1980)

One note about my final selection, The Shining: I usually do not go for films in the thriller/horror genre, but I decided to give this one a chance on the basis of Kubrick’s involvement. Let’s just say it has left an indelible mark in my cinema-going conscious. The irony of course being that Stephen King was less than thrilled with Kubrick’s imagining of his source material.

So did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments below.

(Unfortunately I have not taken any photographs from my trips, so all of the images you see are stock photography/Creative Commons).

 

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On Location in Venice

AHH Venice … a city of mystery and romance; with its labyrinthine streets, footbridges and canals, you never know where you will end up. It is a dreamy city, it would seem, that was made for the motion pictures.

One of the most famous films shot on location in Venice is a film that I have to date not seen, Don’t Look Now, starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. As much as I am admirer of the works of Daphne du Maurier (whose story upon which this based). Several years ago, I caught a glimpse of the scene at the end with Donald Sutherland the ‘girl in the red raincoat’ and immediately removed it from my memory bank – just thinking about it makes me shudder. Don’t look now – indeed.

But along with the dark, there is the light; here are some of my favorite films set and shot in Venice:

Casino Royale (2006) the film that brought Bond back.

The Italian Job (2003) a rather fun, action-packed heist film directed by F. Gary Gray (Friday); remake of 1969 British film of the same name (starring Michael Caine). The 2003 version stars Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Jason Statham, Seth Green, Mos Def and Donald Sutherland.

Summertime (1955) directed by David Lean and starring Katherine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi. An equally moving and beautiful story about a not-so-young woman who finds love while on vacation in Venice. Based on the stage play The Time of the Cuckoo by Arthur Laurents.

The Wings of the Dove (1997); see previous entry.

Italian for Beginners (2000) directed by Lone Scherfig (One Day, An Education). An enjoyable Danish film about a disparate group of villagers who band together and continue with their Italian lessons after their teacher dies. Not so fun fact: in 2010, Scherfig revealed that the plot was ‘borrowed’ from Irish author Maeve Binchy’s novel Evening Class (source: Wikipedia).

Of course there are several films that I have left off the list; but that is simply because I have not seen them – but maybe YOU have.

Let me know some of your favorite films set in Venice?

I close with a few more snaps from a trip to Venice.

 

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Films Set or Shot in Montreal

Centaur Theatre (the Old Montreal Stock Exchange)

For this, the next installment in my cinematic journey around the globe, I am hopping back over across the Atlantic and returning to my home continent (North America) – due north to the picturesque eastern Canadian city of Montreal, Quebec.

I had always known that Canada was a place that Hollywood studios liked to go to use as a local, cost-effective alternative filming location. As such, click here to see the full list. As I went through the list one of films stood out to me. Over 90% of the Roland Emmerich environmental disaster flick, The Day After Tomorrow, was shot in Montreal.

As for films actually SET in Montreal, the list is a little less daunting and includes titles such as Norman Jewison’s Agnes of God (1985), the Angelina Jolie/Ethan Hawke thriller Taking Lives (2004), and the Bruce Willis/Matthew Perry crime caper The Whole Nine Yards (2000).

Two of my favorites in this set have been previously mentioned in this space: Wait Until Dark (1967) and Away We Go! (2009). Add to the list of favorite films set in Montreal the slick heist movie The Score (2001) which starring Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton and featuring Angela Bassett and, in his final movie appearance, Marlon Brando.

 

I close this entry with a couple of my travel snaps that I took along the way.

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