As long as movies have been around, they’ve used real-life places to create a sense of scope and inspire wonder. These days, the real places are often added in post-production or filmed by the second unit, while interiors are filmed on studio lots.
Sometimes these places play themselves, while other times they take on a wild and imaginative new identity — like a magical school for wizards or a hidden rebel base. Here’s a look at some of the fantastic wonders of the ancient world that have also been used as film sets:
Temple Church, London – The Da Vinci Code
Both Dan Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code, and its movie adaptation were dinged for huge oversights in historical accuracy. One thing they got right was the setting of The Temple Church in London. Consecrated in 1185, it was actually the Knights Templar’s English headquarters, making it one of the only ties the story has to historical fact. The church itself, true to the Templar’s tradition, was built in the same circular shape as all of their houses of worship, which is itself an ode to King Solomon’s Temple in ancient Jerusalem.
The Colosseum, Rome – Jumper
Remember Jumper, the 2008 movie where Hayden Christensen played a guy with the ability to teleport? One thing that keeps that middling movie alive in the annals of trivia is the unprecedented, yet still extremely limited, access the production was given to the inside of the Colosseum.
While Oscar-winning movies like Ridley Scott’s Gladiator were forced to recreate their setting in nearby Malta, the movie where Samuel L. Jackson dresses like Simon Phoenix from Demolition Man was given four hours each day for three days, split into two intervals, one in the early morning, then one just before dusk. They were also limited to natural lighting and weren’t allowed to have any equipment touch the ground.
Sounds easy enough.
Christ Church, Oxford – The Harry Potter series
A handful of landmarks in Oxford served as locations in the Harry Potter franchise, including the Christ Church campus. Its most notable contribution was the large stone staircase, originally built in the 1600s, that led the students up to the dining hall. The dining hall itself was modeled directly on the Christ Church’s Great Hall, but wasn’t filmed on site. Instead it was replicated on a studio soundstage.
Mehrengahr Fort, Jodphur – The Dark Knight Rises
Built in the mid-1400s, “The Citadel of the Sun” is one of the largest structures in India, overlooking the city of Jodphur below. It’s very active today, housing several museums, exhibitions, and craft bazaars — though filmgoers will recognize it as the prison that Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) rises from in The Dark Knight Rises — right before the giant plot hole is revealed concerning how he managed to get all the way back to Gotham City once that happened.
Tikal National Park, Guatemala – Star Wars: A New Hope
Located deep in the rainforests of Guatemala, these heritage-listed ruins are all that’s left of one of the most powerful cities in ancient Maya. George Lucas used this location for the exterior shots of the rebel base on Yavin IV near the end of the first Star Wars movie — where the alliance mounted their attack on the first Death Star.
Though they appear only briefly, the use of the Mayan temples gives a real sense of grandeur to the first movie in the still-expanding Star Wars universe.
Mecca, Saudi Arabia – Malcolm X
Spike Lee’s biopic on civil-rights leader Malcolm X was the first non-documentary film that was granted access to the Islamic holy site, though not without exception. No non-Muslims were permitted inside, so a special secondary crew had to be hired that would be allowed inside while Lee and the non-Muslim crew were left waiting outside.
PLAN YOUR VISIT! (If you are a Muslim)
Ta Prohm, Cambodia – Tomb Raider
This temple stands as the largest religious structure in the world — first built sometime in the late 12th century. It was initially founded as a Buddhist monastery and university. It’s one of the most popular tourist destinations in the area, thanks in part to 2001’s Laura Croft: Tomb Raider, which is one of the only nice things people have ever credited the movie for.
Based on the runaway video-game franchise, the movie did take full advantage of the temple’s eerie, overgrown appearance. Guides at Ta Prohm still talk about the day they met the ever-gracious Angelina Jolie.
Petra, Jordan – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Also known as The Rose City — thanks to the red hue of the rock that the structures are carved into — Petra was named one of the new seven wonders of the world in 2007. The site is thought to be established as early as 300 BC, though it wasn’t introduced to the western world until 1812, by Swiss explorer Johan Ludwig. Nearly 170 years later, the third Indiana Jones movie would use the city’s old treasury building to stand in for the temple that housed the Holy Grail.
Aside from The Last Crusade, Petra has also been featured in movies such as Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, The Mummy Returns, and, most recently, was the background to giant robots punching each other in 2009’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
