The Top 15 Hollywood Movies Shot in Prague (*and the ČR)

After the fall of communism and the formation of the Czech Republic in 1992, Hollywood studios rushed into the country to take advantage of not only low production costs, but also the high level of talent available throughout the local industry. As prices began to increase, studios went further east (Romania became a popular location), but new tax breaks have seen studios coming back to the country: recent productions have included Snowpiercer (starring Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton), The Last Knights (Clive Owen, Morgan Freeman), and Child 44 (Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman).

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Barbara Streisand spent over a decade trying to get this adaptation of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s story about a Jewish girl who become a boy to study Talmud made; director and Czech émigré Ivan Passer left the project over concerns that the star was too old (and famous) for the central role. Streisand eventually produced, wrote, directed, and starred in the film, which was a sizable hit stateside and earned three Oscar nominations. Yentl was primarily shot in the small town of Žatec (Northwest of Prague), which filled in for rural Poland in the early 20th Century.

Before Tom Hooper’s laborious 2012 film version based on the Broadway musical, Danish director Billie August (Pelle the Conqueror) made this non-musical (and vastly superior) version of Victor Hugo’s classic story. I don’t know why it’s so under-seen: it’s one of the best film versions of this story, with a dynamite cast that includes Liam Neeson, Uma Thurman, Geoffrey Rush, and Claire Danes in the central roles. Filming took place at Barrandov Studios and throughout Prague, which filled in for 19th-century Paris.

Edward Norton stars as the titular magician in director Neil Burger’s adaptation of Steven Millhauser’s Eisenheim the Illusionist, which was shot primarily in Prague (filling in for late 19th Century Vienna) and the Czech Republic. Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige got all the buzz when the two films were released within months of each other back in 2006, but this elegant production – with some wonderful magic work courtesy of consultants Ricky Jay, James Freedman, and Scott Penrose – is just as good. Bonus: Phillip Glass’ moody score.

This is the kind of experimental film director Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven, Erin Brockovich) used to make (in fact, it was just his second feature following Sex, Lies and Videotape): not altogether successful, but wildly inventive and surprising just the same. This loose adaptation of Kafka’s The Castle stars Jeremy Irons as the writer, and was shot throughout Prague, making memorable use of landmarks including Prague Castle and Charles Bridge. In moody black & white, the city looks incredible – story be damned, this is a must for any Pragophile. For the climactic scenes, a fantastic Dr. Frankenstein-like laboratory was created at Barrandov Studios.

A guilty pleasure. Brian De Palma’s 1995 blockbuster was the first big all-star Hollywood production to come to Prague, and for me, it’s still the best, with a crackerjack story and sublime suspense and action sequences. It also makes great use of Prague in its opening scenes, with a standout moment atop Charles Bridge. Other local shooting locations included Lichtenstein Palace, the National Museum, Hotel Evropa (where Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt meets a weapons dealer played by Vanessa Redgrave) and Old Town Square (where Hunt leaps into after the restaurant aquarium explodes).

This finely-produced war movie, directed by John Guillermin and featuring an excellent cast that includes George Segal, Robert Vaughn, Ben Gazzara, and E.G. Marshall, isn’t as well-known as most of the other films on this list, but features one of the most interesting behind-the-scenes stories. Largely shot (fittingly) in and around the Czech town of Most, with the Davelský starý most in Davle filling in for the titular bridge, cast and crew had to flee production when the invasion of Soviet troops interrupted filming during 1968.

The assassination of Reinhard Heydrich (Operation Anthropoid) is immaculately re-created in this WWII procedural-like drama from director Lewis Gilbert, based on the novel Seven Men at Daybreak by Alan Burgess. Little time is wasted on character as the film re-creates the operation in painstaking detail; filming took place at the actual (or near-enough) locations in Prague 8 (Libeň) where the assassination was carried out, and at the Church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in New Town where Jan Kubiš (played by Timothy Bottoms) and Jozef Gabčík (Anthony Andrews) took refuge and held off Nazi forces (the church interiors were exquisitely re-created in studio for the climactic shootout).

Only a handful of sets for Amadeus were built in studio (at Barrandov): all the other locations were found locally in Prague. They included Kostel svatého Jiljí (St. Giles’ Church), which was used for Mozart’s wedding; Prague’s Arcibiskupský palace, which was turned into The Emperor’s Palace; the former Palace of the Grand Prior of the Knights of Malta (now the premises of the Anglo-American College), which served as interiors for many of Salieri’s scenes; and Prague’s Estates Theater – the very same location where Mozart actually conducted the world premiere of Don Giovanni in 1787. Outdoor locations can be found throughout Old Town and Malá Strana, and include Old Town Square, Hradčanské náměstí, and Maltézské náměstí.