What Happened to the Far Flung Locations of Film?

District 9

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I've been thinking the same thing since Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. The first three films benefited from on-location filming, sweeping vistas, exotic locales that lived, breathed, and sweat—while the latest looked awful with its cheesy, CGI-enhanced soundstages.

Some filmmakers are still filming on-location for realistic settings but too many, and many who should know better, seem dependent on the technology.

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Something you can take account is that people from all around the globe sees american movies. They spend money on seeing this movies too, and sometimes is nice to see something remotely familiar to the place you live. Altough it has some risk, like the complete inaccuracy in: settings, story, etc you can see in films like Evita. Also there is, like you say, the fantasy for the exotic and adventure.

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Watch "Made in China" which won the Grand Jury Best Narrative Feature at SXSW 09. Shot entirely on location in Shanghai. An indie feature that shows a side of Shanghai that you will never see in any Hollywood production.

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But the thing to remember is that Noir and Hitchcock films were unusual in their day for their exotic locations. Most average movies took place in the same locations that most of our average movies do - in an average city or town that could be anywhere. Noir films, because they often were detective stories, lend themselves well to globe-trotting in search of truth. So it is with modern thrillers and spy movies and who-dun-its, Bond and Bourne are world-travelers and so are their movies.

Filming outside of the US can go 2 ways. First way is that it is often pricey because so far out of the way of civilization or so dangerous that studios can't get insurance to cover it (why do you think Morocco stands in for the Middle East so much?). And since it is pricey often only big blockbusters can afford to globe-trot with their locations; so this summer we have seen "Transformers 2" in Egypt & Petra and "Angels & Demons" in Rome.

In the case of a few cities it is can be economical to film abroad because everything is cheap as they are hoping to encourage more movie making (Prague is very popular right now for this reason; that and it looks gorgeous). And so this summer we have seen "The Brothers Bloom" which is a globe-trotting who-dun-it that is filmed almost entirely in Prague, with Prague filling in for all those far-off places. Even "GI Joe", the real American hero movie, was filmed mostly in Prague.

Besides there is a large portion of the population that gets excited seeing their city on the big screen. Part of my interest in watching "The Lookout" a couple years back was that it took place in Kansas City, where I once lived. Unfortunately it was actually filmed in Toronto, and so looked nothing like KC. But I know of others from NY or LA who enjoy seeing their city/neighborhood/burrough up on the big screen.

I'm like you and enjoy seeing the exotic locals, but I'd rather have them as unusual and not in every film, otherwise they would get boring. And we don't want exotic to be boring, do we?

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I dunno, the whole exoticism angle is kind of just xenophobia dressed up a bit, isn't/wasn't it?

While it'd be nice to see some American pictures shot in other locales around the world, I also have to say that part of the joy of watching foreign films is that you get go to a different place, experience a different culture, etc.

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What Agathe up there said - taking a subset of films that were made to take place in "foreign" countries is hardly a solid basis for an argument.

Besides, as you said, most of those films were filmed in a studio. Casablanca never went farther than Arizona.

The majority of AMERICAN movies are still set in the US, like they always have been. But within the last couple years, there are a bunch of big-name films that have taken place in "exotic" locales. Be they actioners, sci-fi, spy thrillers, war movies, or, like The Brothers Bloom, quirky heist films. I think you may be lamenting the shortage of film noir and mysteries more than the locales they were set in.

If you want to see movies set in locations other than North America or Western Europe, try watching more foreign films. Most of them are set in their own countries. Pick your desired locale, and grab a film made there.

Oh, and I think this is the first time I've ever seen Shanghai spelled that way. "The Lady From Shanghai" doesn't have the hyphen, nor does the government website for the city...

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I agree with you 100%, and I have had the exact same thoughts after watching a Bond or Transporter movie.

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Transformers 2!!!

:)

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It strikes me that most of the films that bother to travel and really use their locations are the Bond films. If you look at a lot of old movies there was always a healthy number of European set thrillers where dashing heroes and heroines chase and are chased among exotic locales.

Lately, a lot of films go to foreign locals to blow up, or tear down a landmark for a big FX set-piece, and not much else that appreciates the location.

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I agree - Lately when a movie begins, I take note of the establishing shots and realize that it is either taking place in New York or in LA (for the most part). I absolutely love being able to recognize my city on the big screen, as AgatheAthena mentions, but I don't always watch movies to be reminded of what is familiar.

Astin's argument to just "watch more foreign films" seems to be missing the point. Typical American moviegoers are only exposed to the big Hollywood hits in their local theaters - which showcase the violence/war/terrorism rather than the beauty of the culture. I think there would be a strong audience of people interested in seeing that joy and laughter exists in, say, Africa, rather than just war and famine and AIDS.

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Many foreign locales no longer look foreign. I've been an avid traveler for 20+ years, and more and more McDonald's, Starbucks etc. have been sucking the unique character out of cities all over the world. I'm still all for movies shooting on location, but paying extra to shoot in Shanghai then having to digitally erase dozens of unsightly Americanizations must seem like more trouble than staying in LA and simply green-screening it.

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nice post Elisabeth - I agree with JamesRyanHamm above when he laments the lack of atmosphere in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I always thought Speilberg and Lucas should have brought him back to Europe, the Venice sequence in Last Crusade really gave the film oomph.
However, setting a film somewhere far away does not automatically make it better - Transformers 2 and Quantum of Solace are cases in point, the latter flitted so quickly across the world from location to location that I quickly stopped caring about the story. The last two Bourne films do this well because they spend some time in each location and allow you to soak up the surroundings.
What you seem to be yearning for is more American movies to take you to locations outside America. There is a simple solution to this: just watch some films not set in America.
It is nice though when you see a familiar place on screen - I got very excited recently when I finally got round to watching Withnail And I and realised the road where Richard E Grant shouts out 'Scrubbers!' at some schoolgirls is on my bus route...

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I agree that most american films rarely stray, but I think that it doesn't take much effort to find recent films that used non-US locations well. In Bruges and Slumdog Millionaire both delved into interesting locations not on the radar of most americans.
And I enjoyed the first 10-15 minutes of the latest Hulk film, which I believe was Brazil. I don't know if they really shot there, but the banks of tightly packed houses made for interesting setting.
But the Bourne films have been the best recently, the Morrocco scenes in Ultimatum where thrilling because of the direction and the location, a perfect fusion!

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A couple good movies for this would be Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic and the Darjeeling Limited. Both were shot on location and both locations are a big part of the movies.

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This year: just American films, just those that broke the top ten at least once, working backwards...

Inglourious Basterds
District 9
Gi Joe
Julie and Julia
Harry Potter
Transformers 2
(Year One)
Angels and Demons
My Life in Ruins
Wolverine
Duplicity
Taken
Slumdog Millionaire
Street Fighter:Chun Li
The International
The Pink Panther 2
Benjamin Button
Defiance
Valkyrie

That's essentially one film with some globe trotting in it every two weeks so far this year. How many more would you like before you hail the return of the far flung location? :)

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You want an exotic locale in a film?
Watch "Jar City", the first film I've seen from Iceland- a completely absorbing police procedural involving a murder linked to events 30 years past.
As good as the story is, it is the scenery that takes center stage in my mind. Indeliable images of stark, alien-like landscapes.
My comment to a fellow viewer was, "This makes me feel like living on Venus might be a little more fun."
Don't think about it, just see it. Highly recommended. You won't, you can't, forget it......

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Try living in LA. That can really spoil it for you. There is nothing I hate more than watching a film/television show that is supposed to be set in NY or Chicago and seeing a street I recognize or a palm tree lurking hazily in the background. Drives me nuts and yanks me right out of the film.

Funny thing is, film makers seem to think no one lives in any of these places or will recognize them on the screen. I remember Thomas Crowne walking to his office on Wall Street with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge. Unfortunately he walked from the Metropolitan Museum which is up on 96th St and 5th Avenue. Even at a good clip it would have taken most of the morning to get there.

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