Ask anyone of a certain age what their favorite adventure film is, and there’s a good chance you’ll say Raiders of the Lost Ark. Forget for a minute that, apparently, Indiana Jones is completely irrelevant to the events of the film. Forget also, that the film itself is an homage to films from 40 years earlier, hardly original, and a little hard to follow the first 6 or 7 times you see it. None of that really matters. What matters is that somehow, that recycled plot, those hack actors, and that irrelevant main character somehow add up to great fun, something that was as short in supply in 1981 as it is today in 2024. It’s no wonder that the film still has its ardent fans.
How else could you explain…
YouTuber “Gluecement” has put together an extremely detailed first-person comparison of the locations from that film then and now. At the very least, this required combing through footage shot by others, but it’s also pretty likely that some of this stuff was shot specifically for this video. Matching angles and framing, you get to see some of the key locations of the film. Most are in Hawaii or England, with a little bit of Southern California thrown in as it always was at that time. Color me impressed. Take a little time to watch and you will be too.
The ever-changing world of location shooting
When film was a new medium, shooting on location was practically impossible. There was so much equipment to move. Southern California’s dry weather and varied microclimates made it possible for a lot of stuff to be filmed right near the studios, and so it was. As unions came to town, strict travel rules were put in place that meant most films shot within a 30 mile radius of the studio itself. That’s the reason the Hollywood Hills and Vasquez Rocks feature so prominently in so many productions.
It didn’t take long, though, for studios to try to compete and bring real location shooting to films. I seem to remember reading that the first major musical production to shoot completely on location was 1949’s On the Town, and Technicolor epics like Lawrence of Arabia took great pride in bringing audiences somewhere they’d never seen.
With the whole planet to choose from, filmmakers did tend to find favorite spots. It should come as no surprise that both Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park were shot mere minutes from each other on Kawai. Both were produced by Steven Spielberg, who clearly appreciated the jungle location. Even though they were outside the 30-mile limit for union rules, there are locations in the Southern California mountains that have substituted for literally every winter retreat in the world. A nearly-forgotten saying in the location scouting game belies this: “It’s all Big Bear Lake,” they used to say.
Even specific buildings tend to get used over and over again. Los Angeles’ Bradbury building has been in dozens of diverse productions from Blade Runner to a K-pop music video. Don’t believe me? Here’s another location video to consider:
Today, it’s all Vancouver
These days, the shooting location for a film or TV show is often dictated by cost. Cities compete to offer tax breaks to filmmakers who will drop millions in a short period of time. One of the frequent winners is Vancouver, BC, which competes with generous tax benefits and a location that looks like most cities in the USA. Even fancy sci-fi shows like Star Trek Discovery film there, although mostly on soundstages. It’s a far cry from the days when nearly every low-budget TV show and movie shot in Los Angeles.
What’s your favorite movie or TV location? Leave a comment below!
