Shelter in Place Movies

[paul]

Many old Westerns have great scenery in them, especially the larger budget ones. And I always enjoy noticing that the actual locations where the film was shot are quite different from where the story is set. As in, supposed California gold rush mining town in a location that is clearly in the Rockies. Not always that way, but pretty often. Reminds me of Bonanza - they shot a few scenes actually in the area where the show was supposed to take place, near Tahoe, but most exterior shots were in rolling oak and grassland landscape. Sometimes the transition from one landscape to the other was quite abrupt. And then they'd switch to an obvious studio shot but still be supposedly outdoors.

[c9h13no3]

I thought the Ballad of Buster Scruggs was cool. Lots of scenery of the American West, on Netflix. Not really a classic, but certainly enjoyable. And Netflix's selection of movies isn't that great.

[Lumbergh21]

One of the finest outdoor movies I have seen is "Touching the Void". It's a documentary that is half talking heads and half re-enactments about two good climbers in Peru who have an incredible adventure that nearly kills them. At various points you can't believe they will survive, but they obviously did because both are interviewed. Really gripping. Much better than "127 Hours", which bothers me a lot because it tries to turn foolishness (heading solo into the slot canyon without telling ANYONE where you are going) into heroism. "Free Solo" is also on top of my list because it helps illuminate what drives Honold to attempt such insane feats. But even though you know the triumphant conclusion, it is still nerve-wracking to watch.
-Phil

Completely agree with everything you said about those three movies. Just don't let family members watch Touching the Void if you do any mountaineering because it only reinforces what they think you are doing versus what, at least most, people actually are doing.

I'll include a "fishing" movie, A River Runs Through It. The collection of 3 short stories is quite good as well.

[freestone]

The Ben Stiller version of The Strange Life of Walter Mitty that includes some great Greenland scenery and a decent script.

[dave54]

Here is book to read if you get tired of movies'

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/93269.Earth_Abides

It is a post-apocalyptic story of survivors of a global pandemic.

[Fly Guy Dave]

Here is book to read if you get tired of movies'

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/93269.Earth_Abides

It is a post-apocalyptic story of survivors of a global pandemic.

A classic! I first read it in high school and a few times since then. We used to go bouldering on the rocks in the park that the author was talking about in the story, where they used to go and carve the date every passing year.

[LMBSGV]

One that my wife and I love is Tell It On the Mountain: Tales from the Pacific Crest Trail. The people the directors chose are all of very different ages and backgrounds, and all are fascinating and articulate (two are Scott Williamson and Donna Saufley). Of course, the scenery is spectacular.

Also if you enter “Alabama Hills” for location in IMDB, one gets over 6,000 entries. The east side of the Sierra was used in movies from 1920 until the present to represent everything from itself to Mongolia to the landscape of other planets. Scrolling through the movie and TV episodes list is one way to amuse oneself and discover things to possibly watch. One of my favorites is High Sierra with Bogart and Ida Lupino where the final chase scene seems to be the Horseshoe Meadow road before it was paved.

[rlown]

High Sierra was one of my favorites!

[rlown]

[bobby49]

And Only I Survived was one of my favorite movies. The plot begins near the crest of Kearsarge Pass when an aircraft goes down.