{"id":2545,"date":"2017-05-02T00:00:37","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T00:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/?p=2545"},"modified":"2022-07-20T22:07:37","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T22:07:37","slug":"7805","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/asia\/7805\/","title":{"rendered":"Famous Movies that had Film Locations in Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Southeast Asia is a filmmaker\u2019s dream: pulsating cities, rich cultures, and jaw-dropping landscapes of thick forests and untouched beaches. It\u2019s little wonder why so many great films have been shot here. From backpackers to history buffs, the movies on this list will appeal to anyone interested in travelling around this diverse region. Here are 5 famous movies filmed in Asia, and some film locations you may still be able to visit.<\/p>\n

Ligths, camera, action famous ajer!<\/em><\/p>\n

Famous Movies with Film Locations\u00a0in Asia<\/h2>\n

\"1\"The Beach (2000)<\/h2>\n

This firm is directed by Danny Boyle (of Trainspotting <\/em>fame) and is an adaptation of Alex Garland\u2019s 1996 novel of the same name. It stars a fresh-faced Leonardo DiCaprio as backpacker Richard, who travels to Thailand in search of an \u2018authentic\u2019 experience. (Something all too familiar for us travellers, right?) After hearing word of an unspoilt, utopian island, he quickly becomes obsessed with finding it.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>Maya Bay, Phi Phi Leh<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

With hoards of backpackers travelling to Thailand each year, the real-life parallels are clear. However, because it\u2019s a film, utopia gives way to anarchy and things start getting ultra-weird.\u00a0The irony of it is, The Beach catapulted the Thai islands to fame with the promise of\u00a0untouched, authentic, utopia. In effect, it attracts so many visitors now that the beach is anything but.<\/p>\n

Still, it is pretty cool to visit the location of such a great film and book that captures the fire in every true traveller’s heart.\u00a0Wander a little further to surrounding islands and you can still get a slice of paradise Garland depicts so well.<\/p>\n

From Bangkok\u2019s Khao San Road<\/a> to Maya Bay<\/strong> on Koh Phi Phi Leh<\/a>\u00a0(just a two-hour ferry from Phuket<\/a>), The Beach<\/em> manages to capture the beauty of Thailand, while also questioning the reasons why we choose to travel in the first place.<\/p>\n

[button fullwidth=true url=’https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/Ko-Phi-Phi-Krabi-Trang-Hotels.0-n6050571-0.Travel-Guide-Filter-Hotels’ icon=’entypo-camera’] Seeking my own Leo\u00a0on Phi Phi Leh[\/button]<\/p>\n

\"2\"<\/p>\n

The Killing Fields (1984)<\/h2>\n

The Killing Fields<\/em> is a distinctive and evocative film. Directed by Roland Joff\u00e9, it covers the atrocities of Pol Pot\u2019s horrific reign in Cambodia during the 1970s. The film centres on the true friendship of Sydney Schanberg \u2013 the New York Times<\/em> Cambodian correspondent during the seventies \u2013 and his interpreter Dith Pran, who is a Cambodian journalist.<\/p>\n

\"cambodia-temple\"<\/a>A temple in Cambodia<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This film will \u00a0absolutely test your tear ducts \u2013 It\u2019s a sad one but it\u2019s also an important one. It manages to expose the brutalities of war in a very real way. Though the outdoor scenes were shot in Thailand, The Killing Fields <\/em>remains essential viewing for all history buffs travelling to Cambodia.<\/p>\n

Read more about planning a trip here in our Cambodia travel\u00a0diary<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[button url=’https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/Cambodia.d29.Travel’ icon=’entypo-camera’] Take me to Cambodia [\/button]<\/p>\n

\"3\"<\/p>\n

The Quiet American (2002)<\/h2>\n

Set in Saigon in 1952, Michael Caine plays Thomas Fowler, a British journalist living in Southeast Asia, where he is reporting on the First Indochina War. A love triangle develops between himself, a young American idealist named Alden Pyle (played by Brendan Fraser) and Phuong (played by Do Thi Hai Yen), who is a beautiful Vietnamese woman.<\/p>\n

\"Vietnam<\/a>Vietnam rice fields<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This complicated relationship is set against the backdrop of America\u2019s growing military involvement in Vietnam. It\u2019s a tense and worthy adaptation of Graham Greene\u2019s 1955 novel.<\/p>\n

Michael Caine is excellent and Brendan Fraser triumphantly sheds his George of the Jungle<\/em> skin. See if you can recognise some of the filming locations in and around the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An<\/a> and Hanoi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[button url=’https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/Hoi-An-Hotels.d6034264.Travel-Guide-Hotels’ target=’_blank’ icon=’entypo-camera\u00a0fullwidth=’true’] \u00a0Plan a trip\u00a0to Hoi An [\/button]<\/p>\n

[button url=’https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/Hanoi-Hotels.d1428.Travel-Guide-Hotels’ target=’_blank’ icon=’entypo-camera\u00a0fullwidth=’true’]\u00a0Plan a trip to Hanoi [\/button]<\/p>\n

\"4\"<\/p>\n

Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)<\/h2>\n

This is quintessential Robin Williams: motor-mouthed, manic, and brilliant at improvisation. He stars as Adrian Cronauer, a disc jockey during the Vietnam War, who has been tasked with breathing a little life into the Armed Forces Radio in Saigon during 1965. Becoming an instant hit with troops and locals alike, Cronauer starts using his popularity to reveal brutal truths about the war.<\/p>\n

\"movies-asia-vietnam\"<\/a>Streets of Vietnam<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

As poignant as it is funny, Good Morning, Vietnam<\/em> is a significant film, and one of Williams\u2019s best on-screen performances. Although it\u2019s not actually shot in Vietnam, the film still retains a Southeast Asian feel, with most scenes shot in and around Bangkok and Phuket Province.<\/p>\n

Good Morning Vietnam is definitely a famous Hollywood movie that remains watchable today and can be considered an iconic film. It explores more of the theme of differences between Asian traditions and the Western practices. Funnyman Robin Williams lightens the tone but there are much more serious themes being explored underneath.<\/p>\n

On a trip to Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi today, you can still much of the traditional essence of Vietnam that the film captured. It’s no longer a loaded military presence today anymore, but there is even more mingling of Western practices in modern Vietnam, which makes a visit pretty interesting.<\/p>\n

\"5\"<\/p>\n

Rescue Dawn (2006)<\/h2>\n

Like a lot of the films on this list, Rescue Dawn<\/em> also deals with conflict. Directed by acclaimed German auteur Werner Herzog, the film details the true story of Dieter Dengler, an American-German pilot who was detained in, but escaped from a Laotian prisoner of war camp during the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n

\"Mok<\/a>Thick jungles in Northern Thailand<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Much of the film was shot in remote pockets of Thailand\u2019s northern jungles, where actors Christian Bale and Steve Zahn literally battled against rapids and machete-swiped their way through thick vegetation, and experienced the full weight of Thailand\u2019s wet season. It\u2019s a powerful and thrilling film.<\/p>\n

This is a fun fact: Bale was so immersed in his role that he supposedly ate maggots, snacked on snake, and dropped 25 kilograms of weigh.<\/p>\n

Images: Tourism Media, Shutterstock<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Southeast Asia is a filmmaker\u2019s dream: pulsating cities, rich cultures, and jaw-dropping landscapes of thick forests and untouched beaches. It\u2019s little wonder why so many great films have been shot here. From backpackers to history buffs, the movies on this list will appeal to anyone interested in travelling around this diverse region. Here are 5… Continue reading Famous Movies that had Film Locations in Asia<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2546,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,407,69],"tags":[],"authors":[],"class_list":["post-2545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia","category-fun-facts-and-snippets","category-tips-inspiration","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFamous movies that had film locations in Asia | Travel Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gooooood morninnnnnggg Vietnammm! Remember that classic? It was actually shot in Thailand! 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