Agents, outcasts, magicians. While walking through Prague’s Old Town, remember some of the famous Hollywood movies, that were filmed here. There is a lot of places connected to the silver screen, all you have to do is observe. You don’t have to go that far from Hotel Rott either.
Prague Castle on screen
Maybe the most attractive district for movie makers is the Prague Castle and its neighbourhood called Hradcany. You can spot it in a movie by Brian Helgeland called A Knight’s Tale (2001). Prague Castle courtyard was also used in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol made by Brad Bird (2011). In the Illusionist, the Vienna’s famous castle Schonbrunn was replaced just with Hradčany. Even more sophisticated fraud was made by Bille August – In Les Miserables he had the St. Vitus Cathedral removed and replaced it with the one and only Notre Dame. But also Hradčany and Martinique Palace can be seen in this movie. Not afar from that is Strahov Monastery, where scenes for paranormal ride Hellboy, but also mysterious movie From Hell (2001) were filmed.
Prague’s Squares and Bridges on screen
Another favourite place for the film makers is the Old Town Square. Probably the most famous movie shot there is the very first one – Mission Impossible by Brian de Palma (1996). A scene with the huge broken aquarium is familiar to almost everyone. In the same movie, also spaces of National Museum were used, with adjoining Wenceslas square. This majestic building of our most famous museum represented also a hotel in Venice, when shot in the well-known bond movie Casino Royal directed by Martin Campbell (2006). Least, but not last you can also spot it in the already mentioned movie From Hell. Though in this case, it was supposed to substitute London of the 19th century – however, the movie makers were supposedly the most dazed with unique atmosphere of Prague’s hospital U Apolinare. Apparently the most famous Prague´s symbol is Charles bridge. Tom Cruise running scene in Mission Impossible and the XXX movie (2002, directed by Rom Cohen) are the best examples. The latest introduces also the Temple of Tyn, Mala Strana stairs or Municipal House, which you can recognize also in Edith Piaf movie directed by Olivier Dahan (2007).
Movie curiosities from the capital
But not only the most notorious places were used for shooting. Troja palace appeared in the already mentioned Les Miserables, the director of Hellboy (2004) Guillermo del Toro choose industrial part of Prague called Holesovice and The Bourn Identity (2002) took place in Kampa. Also very bizarre quarters were used a few times. Among them there is wastewater treatment plant in Bubenec (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol), Prague-Žižkov freight railway station (Wanted, 2007, Timur Bekmambetov) or a house under construction in Lomnickeho street (Unlocked, 2017, Michael Apted). And the very last curiosity – director Daniel Espinosa had the whole subway line B stopped between the stations Andel and Smichovske nadrazi, for a movie called Child 44.