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Top 10 Indiana Jones movie locations

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Indiana Jones, as a good archaeologist, travels the world in search of relics and ancient treasures. But sometimes the world is not what it says it is...
Réalité/Fiction Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones around the world

Indiana Jones is the teacher everyone dreams of having. Handsome, strong, cultured and adventurous, the hero with the hat has inspired young and old alike. Many people have become passionate about history and archaeology after seeing its adventures. Here’s the top 10 places to go on an Indy adventure.

1. Submarine base

Indiana Jones breaking into the underwater base, all the fans of the famous archaeologist remember it. However, this scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark was not shot in Egypt but in La Rochelle (France). On 23 June 1980, Steven Spielberg and his film crews set up their cameras in the submarine base at La Rochelle. It was then in the spotlight because a few months before, Wolfgang Petersen shot the beginning and end sequences of his film Das Boot taking place in 1941. The German director used the interior and surrounding exteriors for his scenes, including the very narrow passage in front of the lock. A friend of Spielberg’s, Petersen told him about this place, which had remained identical to its construction. This submarine base was built between 1941 and 1943 by the Todt Organization, a German company. It was part of the famous Atlantic Wall that the Germans built during the Second World War to protect the coasts. This bunker, then called the submarine base of La Pallice, named after the district of the city where it is located, sheltered the submarines (U-boots) of the Kriegsmarine. It could accommodate up to six.

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2. Washington DC Building

Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is furious, federal agents won’t let him examine the ark. He hurtles down the stairs accompanied by Marion (Karen Allen). Supposed to take place in Washington, D.C., the scene was shot at the City Hall in San Francisco. Raiders of the Lost Ark won 5 Oscars for Best Art Direction, Best Sound, Best Editing, Best Special Effects and an Oscar for a Special Performance.

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3. The streets of Shanghai – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Supposed to be in Shanghai, Indiana Jones, Half Moon (Jonathan Ke Quan) and Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) are actually in Macau. Its streets are recognizable during the chase. There are many film shoots, such as The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story (1993), Johnny English: The Return (2011) and Skyfall (2012).

Address: Macau, China

4. Himalaya

Mammoth Mountain Ski Area - Photo WIkimedia Commons by Murray Foubister
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area – Photo WIkimedia Commons by Murray Foubister

The Himalayan mountains are actually those of the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. The mythical scene in which Indiana Jones manages to save Willie and Half Moon by jumping out of the plane and using a lifeboat as a sled was filmed on its slopes. A popular winter sports resort, the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area was founded in 1953 by Dave McCoy, after this skier noticed the superior snow coverage of these mountains compared to others in the surrounding area.

Address: 10001 Minaret Rd, Mammoth Lakes, California, USA

5. House of Henry Jones – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

The childhood home of the famous archaeologist is located in Antonito, Colorado. Surprise for the fans, the owners rent the house as a Bed & Breakfast. Three rooms are available with queen and king size beds to sleep peacefully in the footsteps of your favorite hero.

Address: 502 Front Street, Antonito, Colorado, USA

6. Temple of the Holy Grail

Probably the most cult place of the saga: the sumptuous ancient temple dug into the rock in which the Holy Grail is stored. Called Al-Khazneh (The Treasury), the building is a tomb whose façade is carved in sandstone. Dating from the 1st century BC, it is nicknamed The Treasure. Several bullet holes can be seen in the massive urn at the top of the building because the Bedouins, who lived in the area, thought it contained a precious treasure and therefore tried to pierce it. Although the monument became famous in 1989 thanks to the film, it had made its appearance in pop culture long before that. Indeed, the facade was illustrated as the refuge of the Emir Ben Kalish Ezab in the album Coke en Stock of the adventures of Tintin, published in 1958. Steven Spielberg is a big fan of Tintin. He also signed with Peter Jackson Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn in 2011.

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7. Chiesa Di San Barnaba

Chiesa di San Barnaba - Photo Wikimedia Commons by Didier Descouens
Chiesa di San Barnaba – Photo Wikimedia Commons by Didier Descouens

Built in 1749, the church serves as a library in the feature film. In reality, no scenes were filmed inside, but the square was filmed a second time when the characters emerge from a manhole cover in the middle of the square.

Address: Dorsoduro, Venice, Italy

8. House of Indiana Jones – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Indy lives in this Pasadena home, supposedly in Connecticut. In this film, Steven Spielberg is once again inspired by Tintin, notably from the album Vol 714 for Sydney and mainly from the end of the album imagined by Hergé.

Address: 476 Bradford Street, Pasadena, California, USA

9. Iguazu Falls

Iguazu Falls - Indiana Jones
Iguazu Falls – Indiana Jones

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984, the sublime Iguazu Waterfalls in Brazil, on the border of Paraguay and Argentina, are located in the middle of the tropical forest and contribute to the lush setting of the film. Already seen in Furia in Bahia for OSS 117 (1965), Moonraker (1979) and Miami Vice (2006), the set of 274 waterfalls spills up to six million liters of water per second. A marvel.

Address: Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil

10. 59th Street Subway Station – Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

A huge chase takes place in New York, including a horse in the subway. If the realism is striking, these scenes were not shot in the Big Apple but in Scotland in Glasgow. The filming was also particularly noticed. A New York subway entrance has been completely recreated in Renfield Street & St Vincent Street. The work did not go unnoticed as the Glasgow metro is one of the only ones in the world that has never been extended for 127 years. Some Internet users had fun taking pictures of the fake subway station and posting them on social networks, thanking the city’s urban transport company for this new stop.

Address: Renfield Street & St Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland

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By Damien Duarte

Monday, September 16, 2019

Passionné par la culture pop depuis son enfance, ses références vont de Donald Duck à Batman en passant par Marty McFly. Fantripper dans l'âme, voyager sur les traces de Ghostbusters, James Bond ou des héros de romans comme Cotton Malone fait partie d'un séjour idéal et réussi !

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