Showing posts with label Omar Sharif. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Omar Sharif. Show all posts

Monday, May 30, 2016

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

dir. David Lean

The desert scenes were shot in Jordan and Morocco, as well as Almería and Doñana in Spain. This only covers the Seville filming locations.

Lawrence (Peter O’Toole) and Farraj (Michel Ray) arrive at the British army headquarters in Cairo – Plaza de España, Seville, Spain. Designed by Aníbal González, it was a complex built on the Maria Luisa Park's edge for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. In front of the main semi-circular building is a 500-meter canal crossed by four bridges, representing the original four kingdoms of Spain. At either end of the building, there are two towers tall enough to be visible around the city. Today the building is mostly occupied by governmental offices.

The officers' club and the patio where Lawrence, General Allenby (Jack Hawkins), Colonel Harry Brighton (Anthony Quayle) and Mr. Dryden (Claude Rains) having a drink – Patio Principal (Main Courtyard), Capitania General, Plaza del Ejército, Seville, Spain. Contrary to popular belief, this scene was not filmed at the Hotel Alfonso XIII (the cast and crew stayed at the hotel during the shooting, that much is true.) The white wood-and-glass partitions were just sets constructed inside the court. The fountain in the middle of the court was a prop that replaced the cannon seen in the earlier episode when Lawrence enters the building.
The windows on the second floor were installed for the filming but they have remained there to this day.

Lawrence comes to the British army headquarters in Jerusalem – Casa de Pilatos Gate, Plaza de Pilatos 1, Seville, Spain. The Palace of the Adelantados Mayores (governors) of Andalusia, popularly known as the Casa de Pilatos, was built in the early 16th century in a mixture of Renaissance, Gothic and Mudejar styles. In 1520, Don Fadrique Enríquez de Rivera, the first Marquis of Tarifa, returned from a two-year long trip to the Holy Land and Europe. His encounters with the magnificent architecture made such a lasting impression on him that he decided to turn his estate (then still under construction) into a Renaissance style palace. The marquis then discovered that the distance from his palace to a small temple at Cruz del Campo was exactly the same that supposed to have separated the former house of Pontius Pilate and the Golgotha. In 1521, he inaugurated the observance in Seville of the Holy Via Crucis (Holy Way of the Cross). So the place later became known as the Casa de Pilatos due to its association with the Way of the Cross ceremony, and not from a being an alleged replica of Pilate’s house in Jerusalem.

Patio de Apeadero (Mounting Block Courtyard), Casa de Pilatos, Plaza de Pilatos 1, Seville, Spain.

Patio Principal (Main Courtyard), Casa de Pilatos, Plaza de Pilatos 1, Seville, Spain.

The staircase, Casa de Pilatos, Plaza de Pilatos 1, Seville, Spain.

Lawrence meeting with General Allenby, Dryden and Prince Faisal (Alec Guinness)– Salón de los Frescos (Salon of the Frescoes), Casa de Pilatos, Plaza de Pilatos 1, Seville, Spain.

The parade in Damascus – Plaza de America, Seville, Spain. They are entering the Archaeological Museum, and the building in the background is the Museum of Arts and Traditions. All these buildings were designed by Aníbal González between 1913 and 1916 for the future Ibero-American exhibition of 1929.

The Arab council – Casino de la Exposición, Glorieta San Diego, Seville, Spain.

The confrontation between Auda abu Tayi (Anthony Quinn) and Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif) after the council – Patio de las Doncellas (Court of the Maidens), Real Alcazar, Seville, Spain. The courtyard had various floor designs over the years, which explains why the reflecting pool looks different from the movie.

Lawrence's last meeting with General Allenby, Colonel Brighton, Dryden and Prince Faisal – Salón de los Tapices (Tapestries Hall), Gothic Palace, Alcazar, Seville, Spain.

An officer wants to shake hands with Lawrence – Sala de las Bóvedas o de Fiestas (Celebration Hall or Vaults Hall), Gothic Palace, Alcazar, Seville, Spain.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Mayerling (1968)

dir. Terence Young

*Updated 2023*

The student riot – Hofburg, In der Burg, Vienna, Austria. The building on the right is the Reichskanzleitrakt (Imperial Chancellory Wing). The monument in the center is the Kaiser Franz I Denkmal (Emperor Franz I monument).

The emperor Franz Joseph I (James Mason) looking at the riot from the Imperial Chancellory Wing – Hofburg, In der Burg, Vienna, Austria. The Emperor actually lived in this wing, and Young and his crew were allowed to film inside the imperial apartments.

Crown Prince Rudolf (Omar Sharif) arriving at the palace – Swiss Gate, Hofburg, In der Burg, Vienna, Austria. The gate is the entrance to the oldest part of the palace, Schweizerhof (Swiss Court).

Secret police agents watching Rudolf and Count Hoyos (Ivan Desny) arrive at a party – Theatre Montansier, 13 rue des Reservoirs, Versailles, France

Rudolf and Hoyos riding a carriage after the party – Still searching for this location

Rudolf arrives in the palace to meet with his mother, Empress Elisabeth (Ava Gardner) – Schönbrunn Palace, Schönbrunner Schloßstraße 47, Vienna, Austria. He is then greeted by a courtier at the south side of the palace. This was the imperial summer residence and is now a popular tourist attraction.

The arrival of Edward, the Prince of Wales (James Robertson Justice) – Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof, Julius-Tandler-Platz, Vienna, Austria. The current terminal was built in 1978.

Empress Elisabeth riding – Spanish Riding School, Michaelerplatz 1, Vienna, Austria.

Baroness Maria Vetsera's (Catherine Deneuve) family estate – Musée Jacquemart-André, 158 Boulevard Haussmann, Paris, France

Maria visits Rudolf – Hofburg Passage, Vienna, Austria

The Emperor’s escort leaving the church – Karlskirche, Kreuzherrengasse 1, Vienna, Austria.

Someone shoots at the Emperor from the foot of an equestrian statue – Still searching for this location but this looks like a studio set since I was unable to find any similar statue in Vienna.

The Emperor's escort stops in front of the palace – Naturhistorisches Museum (Museum of Natural History), Maria-Theresien-Platz, Vienna, Austria.

Rudolf visits his cousin, Countess Larisch (Geneviève Page) – Palais Schwarzenberg, Schwarzenbergplatz, Vienna, Austria. It is owned by the aristocratic Schwarzenberg family. Parts of it are a posh hotel, and the building is also used for various events and occasionally for filming. The James Bond movie The Living Daylights was shot there, and a scene in Before Sunrise was filmed in the palace garden.

Rudolf meets with Maria near a skating rink – Still searching for this location

Rudolf accompanies the Emperor to military inspection – Blauer Hof, Schloßplatz 1, Laxenburg, Austria. Laxenburg was a summer residence, along with Schönbrunn palace (see above), for the Austrian imperial dynasty. Blauer Hof was the birthplace of some members of the royal family, including Rudolf. The building currently houses the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.

Maria is sent to Venice by her family – Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy.

Rudolf meets with Maria at a railway station – Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof, Julius-Tandler-Platz, Vienna, Austria.

Rudolf hunting with Prince Edward – Mayerling, Austria.

Count Hoyos tries to convince Rudolf to join the Hungarian conspirators – Schönbrunn Palace, Schönbrunner Schloßstraße 47, Vienna, Austria. They meet at the north side of the palace.

View of the hunting lodge where Rudolf and Maria meet their demise – This is apparently a studio mock-up since the actual lodge was turned into a convent after Rudolf's death and no longer looks the same. A neoclassical church was built there with the altar positioned directly over the spot where Rudolph and Maria were found dead.

See also...


A Room with a View

The Wings of the Dove