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In March, Netflix announced its intention to invest more than 1.6 billion euros in Spanish production until 2025. No further details have been revealed about this yet. What is certain is that Spain has also been the location of major international film productions many times in the past, even outside of Netflix. Here are the seven most famous.
Lawrence of Arabia
The British adventure film Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962) was filmed in Seville, Almeria and Huelva, among others. Outside of Spain, recordings are still made in Jordan and Morocco. According to the American Film Institute (AFI), this is one of the best film productions in history. In 2007, the AFI ranked Lawrence of Arabia at number 7.
In Seville, scenes were filmed in the Plaza de España, the Real Alcazar, the Plaza de Miguel de Manara, and at the Casa de Pilatos Court Palace. In Almeria, the dunes of Cabo de Gata and the beach of Algarrobico were chosen. In Huelva, Doñana Natural Park was the setting for this classic movie.
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago (David Lean, 1965) is one of the most romantic films in the history of cinema and is adapted from the book by Boris Pasternak. This film was shot entirely in Spain, and more than 80 percent of the outdoor scenes were shot in the city and province of Soria (Castile and Leon). The remaining scenes were filmed in Salamanca and Madrid. Since the filming took place in one of the warmest Spanish winters in history, many scenes had to use artificial snow.
The good, the bad and the ugly
When it comes to international film productions filmed in Spain, the Western genre cannot be missed. The most famous is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1968), the third part of the Lion Dollar trilogy (the first part was A Fistful of Dollars, the second part was for a few more dollars), with Clint Eastwood in the lead role. The three parts of this spaghetti western were shot in Spain, including the deserts of Tabernas and Cabo de Gata in Almería, Santo Domingo de Silos in Burgos and La Pedriza in Madrid.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
This 1989 film by Steven Spielberg was filmed in England, Jordan, Italy, America and Spain. Here too, Almería was chosen as an ideal filming location due to its desert-like landscape. Furthermore, recordings have been made at Mónsul Beach, Mojácar and at the Guadix Train Station in Granada. The main roles in this film were Harrison Ford and Sean Connery.
the others
The 2001 psychological horror film The Others is a Spanish-Italian-French-American co-production, directed by Spaniard Alejandro Amenbar. He demanded that the film be shot in Spain. The executive producer of the film is American actor Tom Cruise, who complied with the wishes of the Spanish director.
The exterior scenes were filmed at the Palacio de los Hornillos in Las Fraguas (Cantabria). The starring role was played by American actress Nicole Kidman. The others won several major film awards, including eight Goya and Saturn Awards for Best Horror Film.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
This last film (Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, 2018) from the list was shot in the Canary Islands, in the most beautiful landscapes of Fuerteventura. For this spin-off from the Starwars series, the producers have their eyes set on the volcanic Valle de Pecenescal and Jandía Natural Park, where it’s sunny almost all year round.
limits of control
In the winter of 2009, the thriller “The Limits of Control” by American director Jim Jarmusch was filmed in Madrid, Seville and Almeria. Jarmusch has previously made independent films such as Down by law (1986), Ghost dog (1999), and Broken Flowers (2005). The Limits of Control starring Isaach de Bankolé, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Gael García Bernal, and Luis Tosar. The film’s scenes were filmed in the Plaza de Ildefonso in Madrid and in the famous Torres Blancas building in the Spanish capital.
