Hello, fellow world travelers & World Heritage Site enthusiasts !
This week I�m doing a spotlight (pun intended) on five movies that feature World Heritage Sites. They are: (1) The Darjeeling Limited, (2) Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, (3) Hero, (4) Marie Antoinette, (5) The Spy Who Loved Me.
1. The Darjeeling Limited (2007), directed by Wes Anderson
- World Heritage Site featured: The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, India
- Synopsis: After their father dies, three American brothers embark on India�s Darjeeling Limited Railway to locate and reconnect with their estranged missionary mother.
- WHS Significance to the movie: Several scenes from The Darjeeling Limited take place on trains traveling The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, and Wes Anderson�s unique and quirky filming style personify the railroad�allowing it to become one of the movie�s characters.
- IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0838221/
- Movie stills featuring The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway:
�2. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), directed by Simon West
- World Heritage Site featured: Angkor, Cambodia
- Synopsis: Based on the video game of the same name, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider stars Angelina Jolie as she battles evil mystical forces to rescue precious archeological artifacts.
- WHS Significance to the movie: Several scenes from Lara Croft: Tomb Raider were filmed in the Angkor�s temples.� The film is responsible for introducing to many Westerners the fascinating beautify of Angkor Wat.
- IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0146316/
- Movie stills featuring Angkor:
3. Hero (originally �Ying Xiong�) (2002), directed by Zhang Yimou
- World Heritage Site featured: Arrow Bamboo Lake, Jiuzhaigou, China
- Synopsis: Set during China�s Qin dynasty (221 � 206 BCE), Hero stars Jet Li as an anonymous defense warrior hired to defend the King of Qin against three assassins.
- WHS Significance to the movie: Though only one scene of Hero features Arrow Bamboo Lake, it exquisitely and vibrantly portrays the lake and surrounding mountain landscape.
- IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299977/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
- Movie clip featuring Arrow Bamboo Lake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGq6FXcpxtY
�4. Marie Antoinette (2006), directed by Sofia Coppola
- World Heritage Site featured: Palace and Park of Versailles, France
- Synopsis: Coppola�s imaginative retelling of the life and death of Marie Antoinette, France�s notorious child-queen beheaded at the start of the French Revolution.
- WHS Significance to the movie: Both the Park and Palace of Versailles are prominently featured throughout Marie Antoinette. Sofia Coppola was granted �unprecedented access� to both World Heritage Sites, and she used this access to accurately portray what life would have been like inside Versailles during Marie Antoinette�s reign (The New York Times).
- IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0422720/
- Movie stills featuring Versailles Palace and Park:
5. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), directed by Lewis Gilbert
- World Heritage Site featured: Abu Simbel Temples, Egypt
- Synopsis: James Bond attempts to take down reclusive villain Karl Stromberg and his plot to destroy the world and start a new undersea civilization.
- WHS Significance to the movie: Though the Abu Simbel Temples were not prominently featured in The Spy Who Loved Me, the temples� inclusion in the film help immortalize them as important World Heritage Sites.
- IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076752/?ref_=nv_sr_1
- Movie still featuring Abu Simbel Temples:
