Geography in theatre & film
- Thread starter lpasch1
- Start date
Most WWII movies, classic or contemporary, will involve a good deal of traveling.
UP IN THE AIR
PLANE, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES
EAT PRAY LOVE
BOND movies are notorious for globe trotting.
Same for INDIANA JONES movies. And BOURNE movies. And MISSION IMPOSSIBLEs.
Anything on a train.
NORTH BY NORTHWEST (if memory serves).
JASON AND THE ARGONAUGHTS (Ha!) (Either CLASH OF THE PIE PANS, I mean TITANS)
MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL
PINOCHIO
THE PRINCESS BRIDE
GLADIATOR
A KNIGHT'S TALE
* * * SCI FI SECTION * * *
STARGATE (ha!) in which case STAR WARS & STAR TREK (Pfft! ha!) TOTAL RECALL
LOGAN'S RUN is probably pushing it. BABYLON A.D. (although I don't suggest watching it). CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK. THE FIFTH ELEMENT. The MAD MAX movies & DOOMSDAY (although I suggest not watching that one either).
* * * SCI FI SECTION * * *
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_a_Mad,_Mad,_Mad,_Mad_World
Would WILD WILD WEST count as something on a train?
CHILDREN OF MEN
CANNON BALL RUN
Does all the walking around in SUPERBAD and SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD count as "Travelling between places"
SYRIANA
SPY GAMES
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
BLOOD DIAMOND
I guess you could call any of the RAMBO movies as "Travelling between places".
28 DAYS LATER
TOMB RAIDER, NATIONAL TREASURE & THE MUMMY films.
Does the geography aspect need to be as in "passing by it" or the geography is a focal point?
If the latter then you could have anything considered picturesque like SOUND OF MUSIC or THE LAST SAMURAI.
Laws in different countries?
Pfft.
You're going to have to do your own homework for each country and especially for each historical time period.
Just guestimate based on what some similar film did.
Don't reinvent the wheel.
Your script's gonna get changed a hundred times before you agree on something. Then the actual setting you're filming on will change that. Or the weather. Or the budget. And the actors will wanna have five different interpretations/presentations of every bloody line. And then the editor is just gonna pick whichever take looks best and the audio can be cobbled. And then your test audience is gonna tell you it drags at X and they are confused at Y forcing you to go back and re-edit.
Bones.
Write nice bones to your story.
GL
UP IN THE AIR
PLANE, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES
EAT PRAY LOVE
BOND movies are notorious for globe trotting.
Same for INDIANA JONES movies. And BOURNE movies. And MISSION IMPOSSIBLEs.
Anything on a train.
NORTH BY NORTHWEST (if memory serves).
JASON AND THE ARGONAUGHTS (Ha!) (Either CLASH OF THE PIE PANS, I mean TITANS)
MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL
PINOCHIO
THE PRINCESS BRIDE
GLADIATOR
A KNIGHT'S TALE
* * * SCI FI SECTION * * *
STARGATE (ha!) in which case STAR WARS & STAR TREK (Pfft! ha!) TOTAL RECALL
LOGAN'S RUN is probably pushing it. BABYLON A.D. (although I don't suggest watching it). CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK. THE FIFTH ELEMENT. The MAD MAX movies & DOOMSDAY (although I suggest not watching that one either).* * * SCI FI SECTION * * *
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_a_Mad,_Mad,_Mad,_Mad_World
Would WILD WILD WEST count as something on a train?
CHILDREN OF MEN
CANNON BALL RUN
Does all the walking around in SUPERBAD and SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD count as "Travelling between places"
SYRIANA
SPY GAMES
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
BLOOD DIAMOND
I guess you could call any of the RAMBO movies as "Travelling between places".
28 DAYS LATER
TOMB RAIDER, NATIONAL TREASURE & THE MUMMY films.
Does the geography aspect need to be as in "passing by it" or the geography is a focal point?
If the latter then you could have anything considered picturesque like SOUND OF MUSIC or THE LAST SAMURAI.
Laws in different countries?
Pfft.
You're going to have to do your own homework for each country and especially for each historical time period.
Just guestimate based on what some similar film did.
Don't reinvent the wheel.
Your script's gonna get changed a hundred times before you agree on something. Then the actual setting you're filming on will change that. Or the weather. Or the budget. And the actors will wanna have five different interpretations/presentations of every bloody line. And then the editor is just gonna pick whichever take looks best and the audio can be cobbled. And then your test audience is gonna tell you it drags at X and they are confused at Y forcing you to go back and re-edit.
Bones.
Write nice bones to your story.
GL
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In addition to all of the films on Rayw's list, I'll have to add "Into the Wild." A great film, and one where the travel and geography itself plays a major role in the film. Also, "Slumdog Millionaire" has a good amount of travel, and the train montage sequence is probably about the coolest travel sequence I can think of off the top of my head.
EDIT: Anton Corbijin's "The American" is a pretty good example, as well, although it stays mostly within Italy. It has some beautiful driving scenes and great landscape shots. And a beautifully-done film, anyway.
EDIT: Anton Corbijin's "The American" is a pretty good example, as well, although it stays mostly within Italy. It has some beautiful driving scenes and great landscape shots. And a beautifully-done film, anyway.
Scenes that take place at checkpoints:
Midnight Express (opening scenes)
Maria, Full of Grace (US Customs - about halfway through)
Up In Smoke (crossing US/Mexico border in van made of weed lol)
Beyond Thunderdome (entering Bartertown)
Movies with lots of travel in general:
Catch Me If You Can
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (there's a quite good recent made-for-TV one, btw)
Indiana Jones movies
Borat (that dude gets around!)
Those Daring Young Men In Their Flying Machines
Those Daring Young Men In Their Jaunty Jalopies
Differences In Laws Between Countries:
Midnight Express, as mentioned.
Australia's made dozens of films & tv shows about Aussie & Kiwi citizens getting arrested in Indonesia-areas for drug trafficking - notoriously strict, there. "Dada Means Death" is one tv-movie title, I recall.
Midnight Express (opening scenes)
Maria, Full of Grace (US Customs - about halfway through)
Up In Smoke (crossing US/Mexico border in van made of weed lol)
Beyond Thunderdome (entering Bartertown)
Movies with lots of travel in general:
Catch Me If You Can
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (there's a quite good recent made-for-TV one, btw)
Indiana Jones movies
Borat (that dude gets around!)
Those Daring Young Men In Their Flying Machines
Those Daring Young Men In Their Jaunty Jalopies
Differences In Laws Between Countries:
Midnight Express, as mentioned.
Australia's made dozens of films & tv shows about Aussie & Kiwi citizens getting arrested in Indonesia-areas for drug trafficking - notoriously strict, there. "Dada Means Death" is one tv-movie title, I recall.
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Thanks for these in particular, will look into all of them
Anyone else feel free to add more