Filming Location - Substitute Locations

Substitute Locations

It is common for films to be set in one place, but filmed in another, usually for reasons of economy or convenience, but sometimes because the substitute location looks more historically appropriate.

Some substitute filming locations, and the corresponding film setting, include:

• Almería, Spain - Southwest USA (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, as well as numerous other Spaghetti Westerns)
• Augusta, Georgia - Boston, Massachusetts (That Darn Cat (1997))
• Bath, UK - Boston, Massachusetts (Sleepy Hollow (1999)
• Bristol, UK - Peckham, London (Only Fools and Horses)
• Berlin, Germany - Paris, London (Around the World in 80 Days (2004)), Moscow, Russia (The Bourne Ultimatum (2007))
• Birmingham, UK - New York City (Velvet Goldmine)
• Brent Cross, London, UK - Hamburg (Tomorrow Never Dies)
• Budapest, Hungary - Berlin (Spy Game), Paris (Maigret - UK TV series (1993))
• Cadiz, Spain - Havana, Cuba (Die Another Day)
• Chicago, Illinois elevated railway - New York elevated railway (Spider-Man 2)
• City Chambers, Glasgow, Scotland - The Vatican (Heavenly Pursuits)
• Dubuque, Iowa - Cleveland (F.I.S.T.), portions of Boston (Field of Dreams)
• Fort Hunter Liggett, California - Vietnam (We Were Soldiers)
• Garrison, New York - Yonkers, New York (Hello, Dolly!)
• Gibsons, British Columbia - Marblehead, Massachusetts (Charlie St. Cloud)
• Glasgow, Scotland - Moscow, Russia (Gorky Park), New York City (The House of Mirth)
• Glod, Romania - Kazakhstan (Borat)
• Hamilton, Ontario - American blue-collar towns & inner cities. Detroit (Exit Wounds (2002)), the Bronx (Finding Forrester (2000))
• Hawaii - West Africa (Tears of the Sun), Brazilian Amazon (The Rundown)
• Helsinki, Finland - Moscow, Russia (Reds, Gorky Park)
• Hedsor House, England - A beautiful English film location (Most Mysterious Murders)
• Isle of Man, UK - Ireland (Waking Ned)
• Iceland - Himalayas (Batman Begins), and Iwo Jima (Flags of Our Fathers)
• Lincoln Cathedral, UK - Westminster Abbey (The Da Vinci Code)
• Liverpool, UK - Moscow, Russia (Yentl, The Hunt for Red October)
• Madrid, Spain - Moscow, Russia (Doctor Zhivago)
• Malta - Ancient Sparta (Troy); Ancient Rome (Gladiator); Rome, Beirut, Cyprus, Tel Aviv, Athens (Munich); Sweethaven (Popeye)
• Manchester, UK - New York (Alfie (2004))
• Maputo, Mozambique - Sierra Leone (Blood Diamond)
• Melbourne, Australia - London, New York City (Queen of the Damned)
• Mount Taranaki/Egmont, New Zealand - Himeji, Kyoto, Japan (The Last Samurai)
• Oxford, UK - The Republic of China (Spy Game)
• Prague, Czech Republic - Vienna, Austria (Amadeus (1984)), Zürich, Switzerland (The Bourne Identity (2002))
• Puerto Rico - Brazil (Fast Five)
• Romania - Los Angeles (Seed of Chucky)
• Roslyn, USA - Cicely, Alaska (Northern Exposure)
• Royal Horticultural Hall, London, UK - interior Berlin Tempelhof Airport (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)
• Slovakia - California (Ravenous)
• Wales - North Korea (Die Another Day)
• St Pancras Hotel, London - Arkham Asylum, Gotham City (Batman Begins)
• Saint Petersburg, Russia - Berlin, Germany (Der Untergang (Downfall))
• Sydney, Australia - Metropolis (Superman Returns (2006))
• Thailand - Various locations around Thailand have been used for many films depicting the Vietnam War era, including The Deer Hunter, The Killing Fields, Casualties of War, Air America and Operation Dumbo Drop.
• Tilbury Docks, Essex, UK - Gotham Harbour (Batman Begins)
• Toronto, Canada - Many locations are depicted, but Chicago and New York City are most often represented.
• Vancouver, Canada - depicting various places but often Washington state, especially Seattle
• Vienna, Austria - Bratislava, Czechoslovakia (The Living Daylights)
• Winnetka, Illinois - Chicago, Illinois (Home Alone)