5 Famous Movies filmed in Prague

Photo by Krists Luhaers on Unsplash

5 Famous Movies filmed in Prague

Prague is awash with historical sights, Romanesque architecture, beautiful cityscape and culture too.

Such features and attributes of this city make it a top location for movies and other genres of films. Some blockbuster films that have been shot here include mission impossible, Hellboy, Amadeus and other classics.

This city has been a favourite of many film producers and directors because of its low cost of production for foreign films. The city and the country at large have high-level talents for the local film industry.

The cost went up for short while but was revised and this quickly attracted film and movie producers back to the city.

The city has been used both as an on-location for some movies and off-location for movies that depicted different locations. This mostly worked because of the affordability of this city.

The historic city has been a backdrop for several films, here are 5 famous movies filmed in Prague.

Here are 5 famous movies filmed in Prague.

1. Mission: Impossible (1996, 2011)

Directors: Brian De Palma, Brad Bird

The Spy movie Mission: Impossible that featured Tom Cruise is one of the first major action thrillers to be set and shot in Prague.

This first sequel of the mission Impossible was partly shot in Prague. Scenes from the city included as Charles Bridge, Old Town Square and the National Museum. These scenes as shown when Ethan (Tom Hank) embarks on tracking a suspect in the city before escaping to London.

The fourth sequel of the movie was again shot in Prague in 2014. In this second visit to the site, the city served as two locations; Prague and Moscow. The Prague castle was used to depict the Kremlin and prison in Moscow in one of the opening scenes.

Both movies used the magnificent skyline of the city in their opening scenes with moments at the Charles Bridge and the Old Town Square.

The first movie of the sequel did the city justice, it was very stunning unlike in the next one which mostly depicted the city as Moscow and partly Budapest. The sites from the movie are close and one can access them on foot while in Prague.

2. Casino Royale (2006)

Director: Martin Campbell

Casino Royale from 2006 that debuted Daniel Craig as the new James Bond was shot in Prague.

Several scenes from the movie were from this great Czech capital. The opening scene of the movie is at Karlin’s Danube house and stairs from the National Museum of Prague also appears partly as that of a hotel in Venice.

Other scenes include the Strahov Monastery, Prague Airport and the nearby spa town of Karlovy Vary. The scenes in this movie did not only depict the city itself but doubled as other cities such as Miami, and Venice.

The beautiful Strahov monastery represented the UK house of Commons and the airport which is represented Miami airport. The Czech spa town Karlovy Vary is also represented Montenegro.

3. Les Misérables (1998)

Director: Bille August

The remake of Les Misérables in 2012 was shot in England, while the original of the movie was shot in the Czech Republic fourteen years earlier.

The original movie starred Liam Neeson and Uma Thurman. The setting of this movie was in the outskirts of Prague and Paris.

The Troja palace in Prague represents the court in the key scene with the protagonist. The house of the protagonist is a manor in Prague, the house set in the movie is part of Mozart’s home in Amadeus.

Prague as the setting of this movie was used to depict Paris in the 19^th century.

The storyline is of a man jailed for20 years stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family.

This once honest man steals again but is surprised by the kindness of his victim who lets him go. This story is set within the July 1832 Revolution.

4. Amadeus (1984)

Director: Miloš Forman

Part of this movie was shot on set in a studio that was in Barrandov. Most of the location filming was done in Prague. The setting was to representing Vienna in the 19^th century and Kromeriz.

The setting together with the storyline of the movie told of accounts of Mozart through his rival Antonio Salieri who won 8 Oscars in 1985.

The movie won the Best Picture Director and Actor, it also won the Best Adapted Screenplay.

St. Giles’ Church in Prague was the set for Mozart’s wedding and his funeral, the Arcibiskupský palace was turned into the Emperors’ Palace. The interiors of the Palace of the Grand Prior of the Knights of Malta served as scenes to the movie including Prague’s Estates Theatre.

The outdoor locations included the Old Town, Old Town Square, Hradcanske namesti, and Maltezske namesti.

5. Hellboy (2004)

Director: Guillermo del Toro

When watching this movie, one can tell that the scenes in the movie are from America and some parts are Russia. The truth is that the film location was mostly shot in Prague.

Some of the landmarks in this Czech capital depicted in the movie were the National Monument on Vitkov Hill in place of the HQ of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Défense, Ministry of Transport and Olsany Cemetery.

Guillermo del Toro returned to Prague after having a first successful film in the city, the Pacific Rim and Pan’s Labyrinth. The affordability and effects of the city drew him and his crew back.

The movie is about the demon that is summoned from Hell to be used as the ultimate Axis weapon by the protagonist. The creature gets captured and is trained to do good and be empathetic.

The demon, now fighting evil and known as Hellboy, joins a secret defence team with supernatural powers. He gets challenged by Rasputin returns to do evil, with the hope of having evil rule the world once again.