Sevilla in the movies!

It’s not surprising that many filmmakers have chosen beautiful Seville as a location for shooting films.  After all, with the largest historic center in Europe, gorgeous buildings with a variety of gothic, mudejar, and classical architecture, streets lined with orange blossoms, and sunshine most of the year, it’s a director’s dream.

So, in what films can you see the sights of Sevilla? Or, when you visit Sevilla, where can you go to walk in the footsteps of the Stars?  Below I have collected a few samples of my favorite scenes and I hope you enjoy them!

Let’s start with a classic: Oscar-winner for Best picture and epic historical film starring Peter O’Toole is Lawrence of Arabia.  Here you can see one of the scenes shot in the Plaza España located in the Maria Luisa park in the center of Seville.

This amazing locale was used as the setting for the royal palace of The Dictator, a film starring Sacha Baron Cohen.  Here you can seen a news summary and below you can see a behind-the-scenes look at the filming.

There’s a third movie that used the Plaza España and all the locals know it. If you don’t, I’m not going to spoil the surprise. Click here and watch!

Lest you get the impression that the Plaza España is the only place that Hollywood has visited in Sevilla, here’s some clips from the Ridley Scott film the Kingdom of Heaven starring Orlando Bloom and Jeremy Irons. Uncharacteristically, it rained persistently in Seville during the shooting and many of the scenes had to be shot elsewhere or were simply deleted.

Finally, it was far from a box office smash, and not a favorite of the critics, but nonetheless a worthwhile film to watch: the Tom Cruise–Cameron Diaz spy-action spoof film called Knight and Day, where about half the action sequences are shot in the center of Seville.  Here’s a clip of some of the most ridiculously unbelievable action. Please remember that the film was never intended to be realistic, but instead a spoof with the action scenes getting more and more impossible as the movie progresses.

Hope you’ve enjoyed your visit to Seville through the lens of Hollywood’s cameras. Please feel free to comment and attach clips of your favorite films shot in Seville.