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Filmed in Sri Lanka

The Reel History

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What do Elizabeth Taylor, Alec Guinness, UrsulaAndress, Bo Derek and Harrison Ford have incommon? The answer, apart from the obvious– that they were all glamorous movie icons at onetime or another – is that they all starred in lms thatwere shot in Sri Lanka.that have made Sri Lanka a particularly appealingdestination for movie makers – its tremendousdiversity and relatively small size. From palm-fringedbeaches to mist-shrouded mountains and colossalancient monuments, the island’s varied landscapesrepresent a cinematographer’s dream. Add to thisa rich architectural legacy – Portuguese, Dutchand British period constructions co-exist withsome of Asia’s nest postcolonial designs – andthe possibilities for set designers are endless. It isno surprise that Academy Award-winning directorSir Carol Reed, who directed one of the rst lms tohave been made in Sri Lanka,

The Outcast of theIslands

(1952), remarked: “The whole of Sri Lankais a lm set”.Among the earliest movies to have been shot in SriLanka was

Elephant Walk

(1954) starring ElizabethTaylor, then just 22 and playing the beautiful newbride of a wealthy tea plantation owner in Ceylon.Depicting the opulent lifestyle of the Europeancolonial planters, this lm also draws attention tothe human-elephant conict, one of contemporarySri Lanka’s most pressing issues. Also released in1954 was the psychological wartime drama

ThePurple Plain

starring Gregory Peck as a SecondWorld War pilot who crashes in the Burmesejungle. Based on an H E Bates novel, the lm, shotexclusively in Sri Lanka, was acclaimed as “exotic,engrossing and visually alluring” and nominated forfour BAFTA awards.

The Bridge on the River Kwai

(1957) remainsthe most famous movie to have been lmed inSri Lanka. Based loosely on the experience of allied POWs in Burma during the Second WorldWar and starring Alec Guinness, the lm becamethe number one box-oce success of the year. Italso won seven Academy Awards including BestCinematography. The lm’s memorable nale – theblowing up of the bridge – was shot along thebanks of the Kelani Ganga as it ows past the villageof Kitulgala. It is possible to visit this very spot todaywhere you may still encounter villagers claiming tohave been extras in the movie. The scenery here isparticularly dramatic with vertiginous forest-cladclis plummeting down to the wild waters of theriver. This is also the site of some of the best whitewater rafting in Sri Lanka with grade three rapidssome 5km upstream (Adventure Sports Lanka– www.actionlanka.com).

East of Elephant Rock

(1977) featured JohnHurt as First Secretary to the British Embassy in anunnamed East Asian British colony of 1948. Shotentirely in Sri Lanka, this movie was co-producedby Richard Boyle, now editor of

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.Former Bond girl Ursula Andress starred in the 1978Italian ick

The Mountain of the Cannibal God,

a politically-incorrect jungle adventure in whichAdam’s Peak is somewhat sacrilegiously depictedas a cursed mountain. In 1981,

Tarzan the ApeMan

starring blonde bombshell Bo Derek was shotat the Udawattekele Sanctuary in Kandy. Billed as“the most exotic woman of our time in the mosterotic adventure of all time” the movie critics wererather less complimentary, awarding Derek theRazzie award for Worst Actress.Following diculties with the authorities in India,the Hollywood dream-team of Steven Spielberg,George Lucas and Harrison Ford relocated to SriLanka to shoot for

Indiana Jones and the Templeof Doom

(1984). Much of this fast-paced adventureick was lmed near Kandy and featured many of

by Sanji Gunasekara

Sri Lanka is a splendidly diverselm location. As Arthur C Clarkewrote in

The View from Serendip

(1977): “The island of Ceylon is asmall universe; it contains as manyvariations of culture, scenery, andclimate as some countries a dozentimes its size.”

Arthur C Clarke alluded to two of the attributes