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IREland
Carved from the cold winds and icy seas of the North
Atlantic, Ireland is a place of deep beauty and lasting
resilience. With so many great authors and poets
inspired by the Emerald Isle, it’s no wonder that the
verdant fields, rocky cliffs and ancient sites continue
to draw filmmakers from both near and far.
Mr. Oscar has made his appreciation known by
awarding many stunning performances and
narratives set throughout the country, from The Quiet
Man in 1952 (set in the Counties Mayo and Galway,
with a museum in the town of Cong) to My Left Foot in
1989 (set in County Wicklow and in Dublin) to 1995’s
Braveheart (set in multiple locations including Trim
Castle and the fields outside of Ballymore Eustace).
But if you’re looking for something a bit more lighthearted,
one of my all-time favorite movies,
The Princess Bride, filmed a portion of the Cliffs of
Insanity sequence at the menacingly beautiful
Cliffs of Moher.
SCOTland
While much of Braveheart was shot in Ireland, it was also filmed in
the highlands and countryside of Scotland. And whether it’s the
haunting moors or misty mountains, the charming villages or city
streets, there is much to be explored on the northern part of this
British isle.
Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting barrels through its dark comedy as
just one of many films shot in Edinburgh, a sharp contrast to the
pace set in the iconic opening scene from Chariots of Fire,
CLIFFS OF MOHER,
IRELAND
filmed along West Sands Beach aside St. Andrews Links. Glasgow
— the largest city in Scotland — has been used as a stand-in for
a number of other big cities, from acting as Philadelphia in World
War Z’s dramatic car crash scene with Brad Pitt and Mireille Enos to
playing the roles of San Francisco and London in Cloud Atlas with
Tom Hanks and Halle Berry.
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EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND
Northern Europe