Switzerland sets the stage for great cinema

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Intro

Switzerland’s mystical mountains, spectacular landscape and romantic old towns have often been a source of inspiration and the location for major film productions. Curtains up and action for the following 13 blockbusters.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

Directed by David Yates, based on the novel by J. K. Rowling. With a cast including Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Jude Law and Johnny Depp.

The name Gellert Grindelwald is familiar to all J. K. Rowling fans: a much-feared master of black magic who appears in the universe of Harry Potter novels. This doesn’t at all apply to the idyllic village in the shadow of the Eiger in the Bernese Oberland, which shares the same name as the villain. It is surrounded by an awe-inspiring mountain backdrop that includes the Eiger north face and Wetterhorn – and there's not a trace of black magic around. Johnny Depp plays the role of the evil magician in the second part of the "Fantastic Beasts" series.

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Phantom Thread (2017)

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. With a cast including Vicky Krieps, Daniel Day-Lewis and Lesley Manville.

Daniel Day-Lewis plays renowned tailor Reynolds Woodcock in this drama set in London in the 1950s. His eccentric life is turned on its head by a young woman called Alma, who becomes his muse and lover. “Phantom Thread” was nominated for six Oscars, with some of its scenes shot in Grandhotel Giessbach by Lake Brienz.

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Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, based on the novel by Agatha Christie. With a cast including Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz and Willem Dafoe.

This remake of the Hollywood classic “Murder on the Orient Express” glitters with a star-studded cast. The film’s secret star hails from Switzerland: the historic steam locomotive 241-A-65. It was used for filming on the Sursee-Triengen railway line in Surental, Lucerne, and is one of the last locomotives to have pulled the Orient Express between Basel and Paris.

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Youth (2015) Directed by Paolo Sorrentino. With a cast including Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel and Rachel Weisz.

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Paul Sorrentino’s film tells the story of a retired orchestra conductor and composer, played by Michael Caine. He and his best friend, director Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel) spend a few days in a Swiss spa hotel where they reflect on life. The film was nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign Film. The masterpiece was filmed in the Hotel Waldhaus in Flims and Hotel Schatzalp in Davos.

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Davos Platz, Berghotel Schatzalp

Night Train to Lisbon (2013)

Directed by Bille August, based on the novel by Pascal Mercier. With a cast including Jeremy Irons, Melanie Laurent and Jack Huston.

We remain in the Swiss capital. The novel “Night Train to Lisbon” by Bernese author Pascal Mercier was a worldwide bestseller. In the screen adaptation by director Bille August, Jeremy Irons plays a Latin professor who sets out from his home city of Bern to seek the meaning of his own life in Lisbon. The film was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Visual Effects category.

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Contagion (2011)

Directed by Steven Soderbergh. With a cast including Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Jude Law.

Geneva is Switzerland’s most cosmopolitan city and the headquarters of numerous international organisations. One of these is the World Health Organization, which plays a key role in Steven Soderbergh’s film “Contagion”. The film tells the story of a worldwide pandemic, with Kate Winslet playing the role of a WHO doctor. Several scenes are filmed in Geneva.

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) Directed by David Fincher, based on the novel by Stieg Larsson. With a cast including Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara and Christopher Plummer.

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In the screen adaptation of the bestseller by Stieg Larrson, Daniel Craig plays the role of journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who, with the help of hacker Lisbeth Salander, sets out in search of a woman who had been reported missing forty years previously. The wintry city of Zurich plays a supporting role. Scenes were shot in the airport, the old town and Hotel Dolder Grand.

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Angels & Demons (2009)

Directed by Ron Howard, based on the novel by Dan Brown. With a cast including Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor and Ayelet Zurer.

In this bestseller screen adaptation of the book, Tom Hanks plays Harvard academic Robert Langdon, who uncovers evidence of the resurfacing of an ancient secret brotherhood called the Illuminati. By stealing antimatter from a secret laboratory at CERN in Geneva, the Illuminati aim to destroy the Vatican, which Langdon manages to avert at the very last minute. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN was reproduced in elaborate sets for the shooting.

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GoldenEye (1995)

Directed by Martin Campbell, based on the James Bond books by Ian Fleming. With a cast including Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean and Izabella Scorupco.

James Bond was at large in Switzerland on various missions, the last one being in 1995. Bond’s leap from the wall of Verzasca Dam is considered by many to be one of the best movie stunts of all time. On her majesty’s secret service, 007, played by Pierce Brosnan, leaped from a height of 220 metres on a rubber band.

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Chaplin (1992)

Directed by Richard Attenborough. With a cast including Robert Downey Jr., Geraldine Chaplin and Paul Rhys.

A boy born at the start of the 20th century in England to humble beginnings was set to later become a world star – Charlie Chaplin. The film, directed by Richard Attenborough, traces Chaplin’s life from his childhood through to his last years in Vevey. Chaplin’s estate “Manoir de Ban” in Corsier-sur-Vevey has been open to the public since 2016.

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