Morocco is worth your valuable vacation time because it is a beautiful country that not only attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors annually but also documentary and movie makers.
Many different movie directors have visited Morocco over the past few years including Ridley Scott, one of the most valuable and experienced directors in the world who is renowned for his stylish details and has most of his movies shot in the Sahara Desert including Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven and Body of Lies.
Other directors that also consider Morocco as a perfect movie location include Breck Eisner, Gillies Mackinnon, Robert Aldrich, Henry Hathaway, Alfred Hitchcock.
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Movie Locations in Morocco
Most provinces of Morocco are considered a perfect stage for movie production. Casablanca is the shoot location for the popular movie Babel and another hot spot where films are produced is Ait Benhaddou.
Some other movies filmed here include Jesus of Nazareth, The Sheltering Sky, Lawrence of Arabian and Kundun.
Other great filming locations include Essaouira, Meknes, Marrakech, Erfoud, Rabat and of course, The Atlas Mountains, which is one of the most visited attractions in the country. Morocco has played host to some of the world’s biggest stars in the movie industry.
Why Film in Morocco?
The beautiful country of Morocco is considered by many as an exotic and peaceful vacation destination. The country has something to offer to everyone and for this reason, world renowned movie producers considered it as a great location for movie making.
Here are some of the reasons why Morocco is a great destination for movie making.
Safety and Security
Morocco has attracted hundreds of top actors and actress such as Leonardo Dicaprio, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Brenda Fraser, Eva Green etc., to its shores.
Most people not only visit because of its world class attractions and stunning locations but also for its safety and security. Morocco is renowned for being one of the most peaceful destinations in Africa with a low crime rate.
Gorgeous Location
Over the past few years, Morocco has turned out to be a land of film making for the biggest players in the movie world.
Some of the world’s renowned movie directors have used Morocco for their movies because of its gorgeous locations including Martin Scorses, Ridley Scott, Paul Green Grass and much more.
Top movies filmed in Morocco
Morocco has hosted hundreds of great movies and after visiting you will see the reason why most directors consider it a second home for filming.
Some of the movies that were filmed in Morocco are listed below
Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia was produced and directed by David Lean in 1962. The movie is regarded as one of the most iconic and also one of the first to bring the beautiful country of Morocco to limelight as a gorgeous movie location.
The lovely city of Aiit Benhaddou Kasbah – which is now listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and great vacation spot not to miss out on when visiting – is the focal point of filming.
Gladiator
Aiit Benhaddou Kasbah has been featured in a lot of great movies including the Gladiator.
Directed by Ridley Scott, Gladiator is a must watch for every home. In the movie, Russell Crowe’s Maximus is enslaved and trained to become a professional and highly experienced gladiator.
Babel
Featuring award winning actor Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, Babel is a great movie that grabbed the attention of movie freaks.
The remote village of Tagunzalt, located on the southern part of Ouarzazate, was the focal point of filming. Another interesting location used in the drama is the traditional mud-house Berber village located in the High Atlas Mountains
Sex and the City 2
Movie lovers who watched Sex and the City must have loved the vibrant, colorful markets and the desert dunes on set. Most people think that the movie was filmed in Abu Dhabi, but the colorful locations of the movie are in Morocco.
The Saharan Desert’s Erg Chebbi Dunes, the popular souks in Marrakech, Djemma El Fna square and the exotic Amanjena Hotel are some of the locations in the film.
Othello
Movies were being filled in Morocco as far back as the 1950s. Othello is a film based on Shakespeare’s play and was directed by the infamous Orson Welles.
The story is a tragic drama about an important general of the Venetian army.
As one of his soldiers begins to envy the general, he becomes conniving and untrustworthy as he ruins both the general’s marriage and life. You can see the Moroccan setting during one of the movie’s fight scenes.
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Also filmed in the 1950’s, this movie was directed by yet another famed star, Alfred Hitchcock.
It is a suspense filled thriller that features a family who is vacationing in Morocco. On their travels from Casablanca to Marrakech they begin to meet a suspicious cast of characters who chat with them, show up in places that they frequent and eventually tell them that their son has been kidnapped.
The rest of the film depicts them trying to get their son back threw a highly suspenseful set of events.
Marrakech Express
This popular Italian movie was filmed in 1989 and was the first of the director’s trilogy. The plot of this Academy Award winning film revolves around a group of high school friends who re-unite in their 30s and decide to take a long trip together.
The trip is actually begun when the girlfriend of one of the crew members informs his friends that he is in jail in Morocco and needs money to make bail.
The group heads to the country to set their friend free only to find out that their money has been stolen. As they go to find it, they also find themselves on quite an adventure.
The Mummy
This 1999 American film was so popular that they eventually made a sequel. Categorized as an action/horror film, the movie was so exciting that Universal Studios even made a rollercoaster ride out of it.
Much of it was filmed in the Sahara, and the cast can be seen trying to prevent an ancient and evil Egyptian God from being resurrected and dooming the entire world.
Black Hawk Down
This American/British movie was filmed in 2002 and is based upon the Black Hawk Down book. It is based on the true story of the U.S military’s raid on Mongadishu and the capturing of the leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid. This film features some famous actors including Josh Hartnett and Ewan McGregor.
American Sniper
One of the more recent films with shots in Morocco came out in 2014. It is an American movie that made waves with the public as it starred the popular Bradley Cooper and stirred up quite the controversy over how the main character was portrayed as it was based on a true story.
The movie is an autobiography of a man who became one of the U.S military’s best marksman who killed about 255