James Bond drives guide to Highland movie locations
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WITH the latest offering of action, kills, conquests and martinis following the release this week of the new James Bond film Spectre, a Scottish films location guide has just been launched.
The Highlands has featured heavily in recent blockbuster films including Skyfall, the last Bond film which amassed over $1 billion at the global box office, making it the most successful Bond film yet.
In the UK alone, Skyfall, which filmed iconic scenes in Glencoe, was the most successful film of all time and the first to gross over £100 million.
Set in Scotland, A Film Fan’s Odyssey contains details of more than 100 films and TV programmes either shot or set in Scotland. It is the first Scotland-wide film locations guide VisitScotland has produced.
Featuring everything from Braveheart, Chariots of Fire and Gregory’s Girl to Harry Potter and Prometheus, right up to 2015 movies Macbeth and Sunset Song, which were partially shot in Skye and Aberdeenshire respectively, Set in Scotland capitalises on the growing trend of set-jetting.
There are special sections on the man with a licence to thrill, James Bond – and Bollywood, as well as honorary mentions for popular television series such as Outlander, Downton Abbey and Balamory.
It also details some of the more surprising places that Scotland has stood in for on the silver screen, including Turkey (From Russia With Love), San Francisco (Cloud Atlas), Vermont (Flash Gordon) and even the surface of Jupiter (2001: A Space Odyssey).
Specialist research and consultation was provided by David Martin-Jones, Professor of Film Studies at the University of Glasgow, including dedicated input with regard to Gaelic filmmaking, Bollywood location shoots and filming in Orkney and Shetland.
With 40 per cent of visitors to the UK inspired to come here after seeing it on film or on television, VisitScotland hopes the new guide will tempt visitors to set-jet to the Highlands and follow in the footstep of their favourite film stars.
In Wester Ross, is the beach visited by Billy Connolly and his on-screen grandchildren in What We Did On Our Holiday (2014) and as the camera sweeps over the landscape, it’s easy to see why the serene sands of Redpoint were chosen for the movie’s pivotal moments.
One of the most instantly-recognisable castles in the world is Eilean Donan, at Dornie, Kyle of Lochalsh. The castle was transformed into the castle and the village of Glenfinnan for Highlander (1986). Starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery, the cult favourite has spawned numerous sequels and a TV series.
Several places in the Highlands were used as filming locations during the Harry Potter series of films, including Glenfinnan Viaduct in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Loch Shiel in The Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Glencoe, where Hagrid’s hut was built on location and Glen Nevis, in The Philosopher’s Stone (2001).
Skye was the star in the opening scenes of Prometheus (2012) but years before that, in the big screen version of Flash Gordon (1980), the airport at Breakish stood in for an airstrip in Dark Harbor, in Vermont’s Green Mountains.
Scott Armstrong, VisitScotland regional partnerships director, said: “The Highlands’ bewitching beauty has long cast its spell on visitors and film-makers, with our breathtaking landscapes inspiring a wealth of Hollywood talent. Although the guide is not an exhaustive list, it is fantastic to have so many of the Highlands’ golden movie moments highlighted as part of this new film locations guide.
“Whether it’s exploring the region’s rural treasures or visiting its historic attractions, Set in Scotland is a must for any set-jetting film fan who wants to retrace the steps of their Hollywood heroes or explore the real life locations that they once admired on the screen. We look forward to welcoming movie enthusiasts from across the world to the Highlands as a result.”
The guide is available free in VisitScotland information centres throughout the country, in branches of Waterstones and for download at visitscotland.com.
Set in Scotland, A Film Fan’s Odyssey includes details about the Highlands starring roles in:
Braveheart (1995)
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Flash Gordon (1980)
Harry Potter series (2001–2011)
Highlander (1986)
Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000)
Loch Ness (1995)
Macbeth (2015)
The Master of Ballantrae (1953)
Prometheus (2012)
Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle (2007)
Skyfall (2012)
Stardust (2007)
Trainspotting (1996)
What We Did On Our Holiday (2014)
The World is Not Enough (1999)
