Sydney has proven a popular site for film locations. Sydney Harbor, winding streets and old parts of the town along with the newer areas all provides a natural movie backdrop. There are even local walking tours of the various former movie sets.

The Matrix

The Matrix series featured shots of Sydney city life in its scenes. Bridges, streets, skyscrapers, and a fountain all featured prominently in the movies. The fountain scene is particularly memorable as the scene where the “woman in the red dress” enters the picture. During the end credits of ‘The Matrix’ there is another shot of a phone booth by the fountain from above (phone booth? That’s so 20^th century!).

Babe: Pig in the City

The city in the movie Babe: Pig in the City is no other than Sydney. Though other world cities serve as a montage of locations for the movie, the original Babe was filmed in Australia so Sydney became a naturally featured city in the sequel. Directed by Australian filmmaker George Miller, staying home was a natural choice. The Sydney Opera House features prominently in the movie.

Mission Impossible: II

Another big-budget Hollywood movie filmed on location in Sydney was Mission Impossible: II. In the days before Tom Cruise alienated himself from his fans and was married to Nicole Kidman, he walked the streets of Sydney during the filming of the flick. The first half of the movie takes place in the US, but the story domes down under with scenes at a local Randwick Race Track.

Moulin Rouge!

Moulin Rouge! was filmed entirely at Fox Studios in Sydney. This movie helped bring the Hollywood musical back from the ashes with films like Chicago, Rent, Dreamgirls, and the Phantom of the Opera being released since the success of Moulin Rouge. The movie was set in 19^th century Paris, but the audience couldn’t tell the studios were in Sydney.

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

Finally we’ll touch on the closer of the modern era of Star Wars movies. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith was also filmed at Fox Studios in Sydney. Sydney can be proud to claim the best flick of the modern Star Wars trilogy. Many Australians worked as cast members and extras.

Posted in Australia

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 16th, 2007 at 6:24 am and is filed under Australia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.