Filmy o cestování
Like many early forms of cinema, the travelogue film grew out of pre-existing trends in magic lantern picture shows. Performers such as John L. Stoddard and E. Burton Holmes had shown that the travel lecture could prove both entertaining and educational for 19th century audiences. Both made successful and profitable careers from their talks, travelling the globe and inspiring countless imitators. Lantern slides and then moving pictures were a natural addition to the lecture format, but short films about travel also proved a popular addition to commercial cinema programmes.
A notable legacy of this background in largely static lantern slides is apparent in the way that the earliest films often go out of their way to capture some form of movement in every scene. The obvious novelty and attraction of moving pictures for audiences at this time was the lifelike animation of people and scenes. So early travelogues constantly strive to enhance the sensation of motion, whether via the camera, in panoramas and phantom rides, or through its subject in busy street scenes and rushing water.
The travelogue film developed from its roots in simple actuality — perhaps a single take of a scene — to an attempt to provide a more structured analysis and presentation of that scene. While it is not easy to discern a distinct crossover point in this evolution, common characteristics of the form became quickly established. Distribution catalogues, which advertised films to exhibitors, repeatedly emphasise four key elements: movement; the picturesque; the exotic; or conversely, the familiar. Panorama of Calcutta, India, From the River Ganges (1899) already embodies many of these themes, being a single take from a moving vessel that captures the ‘foreign’ activities of locals and pilgrims on the riverbank.
Another legacy from the illustrated travel lecture is the perception of an educational value associated with the travelogue, and they were often used to bring an air of respectability to the entertainment programme. However, it was rare for such films to step outside of the well-trodden tourist path and offer real insight into other cultures. Even with films closer to home, such as Picturesque North Wales (c.1910), the clearly posed scenes of a young women’s tea party in ‘traditional’ Welsh costume demonstrate the picture-postcard logic of many of these films.
This attitude is best explained through the relationship between the travelogue and commercial sponsorship. The London & North Western Railway Company sponsored films promoting the holiday highlights of Scotland and Wales in 1909, while Thomas Cook backed a film about travelling the Nile ( Moonlight Trip on the Nile )in the same year. This trend continued with bodies such as the Travel and Industrial Development Association (TIDA) in the 1930s, and with Tourist Boards from all countries and regions up to the present. The postcard analogy is therefore very apt, with films such as Claude Friese-Greene ‘s The Open Road series (1924-1926) being largely a compilation of beautifully composed, and strangely familiar views, probably informed by a swift visit to the local gift shop. The more serious forms of the travelogue developed into nature, ethnographic or exploration/expedition films, which were open to scientific as well as commercial application.
Early examples of travelogues were often tinted, toned or coloured by stencil to increase the perceived realism of these scenes, as well as their aesthetic appeal. Distributors were prepared to invest in more expensive colour prints as travelogues could remain in catalogues longer than comedies and dramas, which quickly dated as the forms evolved. This also helps explain why the form was popular with film companies who wanted showcase the potential of new colour film systems. The Open Road series was a platform for the experimental ‘New All British Friese-Greene Natural Colour Process’, and the cinematographer Jack Cardiff filmed a series of travelogues for the World Window company, which were some of the earliest British Technicolor films.
The travelogue continued to find a place on the cinema screen into the 1970s, until programming trends changed and the practice of pairing a feature film with supplementary shorts items ended. Television absorbed some of the legacy of the travelogue form in series such as Whicker’s World (BBC/ITV 1959-), and other series led by as the likes of Clive James and Michael Palin . These programmes were often able to find a balance between travel, social commentary and entertainment in a way that their forebears in the cinema could rarely achieve. The more commercial side of the travelogue continued in series such as Passport (BBC, 1958-1960), Holiday (BBC, 1969-), and Wish You Were Here. (ITV, 1974-2003) which advised on holiday destinations.
Some modern filmmakers have been able to use aspects of the travelogue to create more personal, artistic works. Patrick Keiller ‘s London (1994) and Robinson in Space (1996) mix urban British landscapes with the more internal journey of the narrator. Andrew Kötting ‘s Gallivant (1996) shows the filmmaker travelling the coastline of Britain with his 85-year-old grandmother, Gladys, and his disabled daughter, Eden. This warm and engaging film mixes experimental cinema with an investigative spirit to create a charming portrait of Britain. It is in all too rare examples such as this that the adage ‘travel broadens the mind’ continues to come to life in cinematic form through the travelogue.
Související filmy a televizní programy
A journey through the picturesque Austrian Alps
Some of Our Favorite Travel Movies—and How to Watch Them at Home
Travel the world without getting off your couch with these films that showcase their locations especially well.
Film can transport viewers to other places with an immediacy no other art form can match. That’s why, when you’re stuck at home, movies with actual sights and sounds from actual destinations provide the closest approximation to travel you’re likely to find without getting off your couch.
Frommer’s editors delved into their viewing histories to come up with this list of films that showcase locations especially well—the kinds of cinematic experiences that supply vicarious voyages as well as inspiration for future adventures IRL. We’ll also tell you how to stream or rent each pick from home.
Benátky: Letní Čas (1955)
Arthur Laurents’s play Čas kukačky has been retold in several formats (including the disappointing 1965 Richard Rodgers/Stephen Sondheim musical Slyším valčík?), but none came close to the visual dazzle of this film, shot on location in Venice. The story takes an old trope—falling for an exotic stranger while on vacation—and gives it grown-up heft by asking whether the lonely main character (Katharine Hepburn) will have the emotional courage to turn a serendipitous love affair with Rossano Brazzi into a lasting relationship. Director David Lean uses rich, idealized Technicolor shots of Venice as romantic counterpoint to Hepburn’s tortured introversion; the city stands for all things beautiful and possible. Lean called Letní Čas the favorite of his pictures—and he made Lawrence z Arábie. —Jason Cochran
Streamování na: Kanopy, Criterion Channel
Nájemné za: Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play
Jižní Amerika: Motocyklové deníky (2004)
This biopic about the life-changing journey across South America taken by a pre-revolutionary 23-year-old Ernesto “Che” Guevara (Gael García Bernal) and his friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna) is a visual love letter to the continent’s beauty and grit. Under the direction of Walter Salles, the film’s sweep encompasses the stately boulevards of Buenos Aires, the arid hills of the Atacama Desert, the muddy waters of the Amazon, mist-draped forests, small towns, a leper colony, and Machu Picchu. Along the way, Che meets with indigenous peoples, workers, doctors, and patients, coming to an understanding of the commonalities that knit South America together. “Wandering around our America has changed me,” he says at the end of the film. “I’m not me anymore. At least I’m not the same me I was.” It’s hard to think of a better statement about the transformative power of travel. —Pauline Frommer
Nájemné za: Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes
The American West: Pee-weeovo velké dobrodružství (1985)
One man-child (Paul Reubens) journeys across the United States in search of his missing bicycle, and what he finds instead is a weird, sometimes hallucinatory landscape populated with ghostly truckers, gigantic dinosaurs made out of concrete (in Cabazon, California), and biker bars where the only way to get out alive is by performing a rousing dance number to the Champs’ “Tequila.” Okay, well, Pee-wee also finds his bicycle—though not, to his utter humiliation, in the basement of the Alamo. Tim Burton’s comedy makes a fine introduction to traveling the USA. Unlike all the movies that focus on the country’s bustling cities or much-ballyhooed small-town goodness, this one captures America’s unsung penchant for oddball roadside kitsch. —Zac Thompson
Nájemné za: Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes
The American Midwest: Straight Story (1999)
Speaking of odd, movies don’t get much stranger than the ones made by David Lynch, the director behind such compelling head-scratchers as Modrý samet a Mulholland pohon. But he played against type with Straight Story, a simple tale, based on actual events, about septuagenarian Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth), who drives a John Deere lawnmower 240 miles, from rural Iowa to rural Wisconsin, to visit his ailing, estranged brother (Harry Dean Stanton). Using spare dialogue, painterly shots of the wide-open American heartland, and well-timed, well-acted encounters with farmers, cyclists, harried motorists, a runaway, a priest, and others, Lynch manages, despite his humble subject matter, to evoke the kind of travel that becomes a spiritual journey as much as a physical one. —ZT
Nájemné za: Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes
Istanbul: Topkapi (1964)
Sumptuous Istanbul hasn’t been used as a location nearly as often as it deserves, maybe because there’s no easy way to top Topkapi. This lighthearted frolic concerns a dashing team of cat burglars trying to steal a jeweled dagger from the titular Ottoman palace. One of the best scenes comes when Maximilian Schell, Gilles Ségal, and Peter Ustinov (who won an Oscar for his performance) tiptoe across the roof of the historic complex. As the terrified characters inch along, the Bosporus churns below and whistles scream from the Orient Express trains coming from Sirkeci railway station. Bonus points to director Jules Dassin for setting a pivotal scene with Greek icon Melina Mercouri at a shirtless oil-wrestling match: Not only is that Turkey’s national sport, but it also allows for some lingering shots of greased-up men under the guise of cultural exchange, transfixing Mercouri with platter-eyed delight. The moment was a landmark in both homoerotic man-grappling and international relations.—JC
Nájemné za: YouTube, Google Play
Salzburg: The Sound of Music (1965)
From the moment the majestic, helicopter-enabled opening shots swoop down on Julie Andrews singing in an Alpine meadow, this beloved movie musical brings prewar Austria to thrilling life. Other exquisite Salzburg landmarks used by director Robert Wise—including Nonnberg Abbey, the Mirabell Gardens, and the Mozart Bridge—manage to deepen the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein, transforming what had been onstage a meet-cute between a nun and a military man into a vision of a world destroyed by dark political forces. The ending, with the von Trapps barely escaping the Nazis by crossing the Alps to the strains of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” is one of the most moving refugee scenes ever captured on film, even if it has no basis in reality (the actual family left Austria by train, with no Germans in hot pursuit). —PF
Streamování na:Disney+
Australian Outback: Dobrodružství Priscilly, královny pouště (1994)
This tart-tongued, warmhearted comedy’s idea of a bucket-list vacation is, as one character puts it, “to travel to the center of Australia, climb Kings Canyon—as a queen—in a full-length Gaultier sequin [gown], heels, and a tiara.” The Priscilla of the title is a lavender bus used to schlep two drag queens (Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce) and a trans woman (Terence Stamp) from Sydney across the Australian Outback to a cabaret gig in remote Alice Springs. Aside from the highly quotable dialogue, much of the humor depends on our heroines sticking out like sore, albeit well-manicured thumbs in a rustic setting. But as the trio encounters homophobia along with unexpected kindness, the movie makes a touching case for the sustaining comforts of community, self-acceptance, and Abba sing-alongs. —ZT
Streamování na: Amazon Prime
New York City: Šest stupňů oddělení (1993)
Onstage, the characters in John Guare’s Šest stupňů oddělení stay in one room. But the film adaptation finds brilliant ways to open up the multilayered story by setting scenes in prime New York City locations. Maybe because it was directed by an out-of-towner, Australian Fred Schepisi, the movie is infatuated with Manhattan institutions. Scenes are set everywhere from the Strand Book Store to the Mets (opera and museum) to the Balto sled-dog statue in Central Park. In this vision of New York, it feels easy to lose yourself—which, it turns out, is a major theme of the film. Stockard Channing earns her Oscar nomination for Best Actress with a knockout final speech at a Park Avenue dinner party attended by Kitty Carlisle Hart, doyenne of the society pages at the time. —JC
Streamování na: Hoopla
Nájemné za: Amazon Prime, iTunes
Tokio: Ztraceno v překladu (2003)
Director Sofia Coppola doesn’t shy away from the downsides of travel—mind-bending jet lag, loneliness, and the language barrier among them. Still, her breakthrough film’s awkward-but-meaningful interactions between stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson (in her breakthrough film as well) have a grace and mystery that illuminate an aspect of travel that’s rarely explored: the wonderfully undefined relationships people often fall into on the road. Just as compelling are the film’s glimpses of Tokyo and its pulsing walls of neon, swarms of commuters, serene temples, and geometric gardens. Though seen from an outsider’s perspective, the city functions as a quirky, charismatic, and life-affirming costar. —PF
Nájemné za: Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes
Mexiko: Y Tu Mamá También (2001)
Travel as a catalyst for coming of age is one of the major themes of this unforgettable road movie directed by Alfonso Cuarón (who would again demonstrate his strong sense of place, in another key, in 2018’s Roma). The film follows two 17-year-olds (Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna) from Mexico City as they set off with a 28-year-old Spanish woman (Maribel Verdú) on a cross-country summer trip to a faraway beach town, played in the film by Huatulco on the Pacific coast of Oaxaca. By turns joyous, melancholy, raunchy, and tender, the movie continually surprises with insights on class, masculinity, sex, and friendship. It works equally well as a travelogue on Mexico and on adolescence. —ZT
Streamování na: Netflix
Londýn: Posuvné dveře (1998)
There’s no shortage of movies saturated with shots of London—Notting Hill, Láska nebeská, Fish Called Wanda, Šílenství, the Paddingtons, James Bonds, and Harry Potters all fit that bill. So let’s go instead with an easy-to-watch rom-com you might have missed. Its London bona fides are signaled right from the title—the sliding doors belong to an Underground train at Embankment station. That’s where Gwyneth Paltrow (in late-‘90s overexposed mode) misses a Tube train but also catches it, leading us on two butterfly-effect narratives of how her life might have unfolded after one seemingly insignificant moment. At the time, the BBC called Paltrow’s British accent «disturbingly accurate,» and the same can be said of the geography and fabric of her character’s life, er, lives. The everyday pubs, restaurants, flats, and offices here actually look like places that young people could afford. It’s a London fantasy that feels just like London in reality. —JC
Streamování na: Hoopla, Vudu, Tubi
Nájemné za: Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes
Nové Dillí: Monzunová svatba (2001)
The screen is stuffed to bursting in this India-set family dramedy. Brilliant saris, trash-strewn alleyways, torrential rainstorms, and chaotic traffic jams all jostle for space within the frame. The plot has to do with a multigenerational family all brought together for an arranged marriage. This setup provides a fascinating look at everyday Delhi life against a backdrop of marigold-draped shrines and the bustling Chandni Chowk market next to the Red Fort in Old Delhi. We see overwhelming crowds and crumbling buildings, but the film is buoyed by scenes of large families singing and dancing together—or piling five deep onto the same motorcycle. Director Mira Nair navigates the visual and narrative hubbub with a sure sense of command, foregrounding the characters’ deep familial love for one another and revealing, to our surprise, how romantic an arranged match can be. —PF
Nájemné za: YouTube, Google Play, iTunes
Singapore: Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Another film that uses a big, splashy wedding as a lens for viewing a culture, this blockbuster follows the whirlwind romance of American Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) and the impossibly perfect Nick Young (Henry Golding), who turns out to be the scion of an uber-wealthy Singapore family. When the couple travels to the posh city-state for a wedding, Rachel tangles with Nick’s mother (Michelle Yeoh), and hilarity and heartbreak ensue. So do a lot of eye-popping scenes—there’s an evening of gorging at one of the city’s famed food markets, an over-the-top wedding ceremony at a converted convent, a reception amid the gigantic vertical gardens of Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay, and a final party on the roof of the conjoined towers known as Marina Bay Sands. Like the escapist fare that satirized the ultrarich during the Great Depression, much of this is pure fantasy—but it’s travel-centric fantasy and a whole lot of fun. —PF
Streamování na: Max Go, HBO Now
Northern Italy: Zavolej mi svým jménem (2017)
Italy’s unparalleled capacity to induce rapture suffuses Luca Guadagnino’s romance, based on André Aciman’s 2007 novel, about the love affair between 17-year-old Elio (twink icon Timothée Chalamet) and grad student Oliver (platonic ideal of handsomeness Armie Hammer). While the book was set in the seaside region of Liguria, Guadagnino moved things inland to the pastureland, rivers, and cobblestone villages of Lombardy. The 17th-century Villa Albergoni, in particular, becomes an intensely sensual setting overflowing with books, Bach, apricots, and peaches (neither of those fruits is native to Lombardy, but never mind). The atmosphere of the film complements the story so well it’s impossible to imagine Elio and Oliver falling for each other anywhere else—or to imagine not sympathizing with Elio’s father (Michael Stuhlbarg) when he confesses, “I envy you.” —ZT
Nájemné za: Amazon Prime
France and Monaco: Herbie jede do Monte Carla (1977)
The impish Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own got its passport stamped—literally, in the opening sequence—for the third installment in Disney’s automotive-hijinks series. Instead of shooting the entire thing on cheap-looking California sets (as in many of the studio’s live-action efforts of the ‘70s), only about half of the movie was done that way. For the best moments, Disney sprang for an unusual number of location shoots. Somehow, French authorities were persuaded to close cobblestone streets and iconic boulevards for all manner of vehicular slapstick: Herbie bathing in French fountains! Herbie racing down the Champs-Élysées in Paris at 80 miles an hour! Herbie negotiating the vertiginous hairpin turns of Monaco’s cliffside streets! Big set pieces like those lend just enough atmosphere to hook kids on the idea of a European vacation, and the silly stolen-diamond-in-the-gas-tank subplot will keep them glued to the couch. —JC
Streamování na:Disney+
For more travel movie recommendations: Listeners of Frommer’s weekly radio call-in show weighed in on this topic during our episode of March 21, 2020. Click the embedded player below—or subscribe to our podcast—to hear about more great travel-related movie picks to add to your list.
The 40 best travel movies
There’s loads to be said for the transportive power of cinema – that magical ability to whisk us off to places we’d never otherwise go – but we’re often glad of its power to bring us back again. It’s fun to pay a visit to Mos Eisley or Twin Peaks but you probably wouldn’t want to linger too long. Occasionally, though, a movie will leave you with itchy feet and an urge to hit the trail (or at least, low-cost airline website) for real. Here are 40 films that’ll have you reaching for your passport.
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Boční (2004)
Destination: Santa Ynez Valley, California, USA
They may be insufferable wine bores cursed in perpetuity by merlot producers the world over, but it’s hard not to kinda love pent-up Miles (Paul Giamatti) and laconic Jack (Thomas Haden Church) in Alexander Payne’s Oscar-winning comedy-drama. For one thing, the hapless roadtrippers are never dull; for another, they introduced the moviegoing world to California’s lush Santa Ynez Valley and its array of sun-kissed valleys, bountiful vineyards and roadside staging posts. If you’re ever following in their footsteps, be sure to stop in at Miles’s favourite restaurant, The Hitching Post II . PDS
Do divočiny (2007)
- film
- Akce a dobrodružství
Destinace: Denali National Park, Alaska, USA
Things go south when Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) heads north in Sean Penn’s moving biopic of the young hiker’s journey from comfortable middle-class life to the vast Alaskan wilderness. This true-life adventure may have a heartbreaking ending but the journey there is pretty special, backdropped by unforgettable American landscapes and life-changing encounters in the spirit of all great road-trip movies. The vast solitude of Alaska’s Denali National Park, five hours’ drive from Anchorage and overshadowed by North America’s highest peak, Mount Denali (aka Mount McKinley), leaves a haunting impression. PDS
divoký (2014)
Destination: The Pacific Crest Trail, USA
There was a reason thousands of solo hikers set off on the Pacific Crest Trail IRL after seeing this movie. Based on Cheryl Strayed’s bestselling memoir of the same name and starring Reese Witherspoon, ‘Wild’ paints a vivid picture of life off-grid and on-foot on the PCT, an equal parts gruelling and stunning hiking route which weaves through the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges on America’s west coast. The urge to pack up your water purifier and your emotional baggage and hit the trail as the credits roll is hard to ignore. EWA
The Sheltering Sky (1990)
Destination: Aït Benhaddou, Morocco
Paul Bowles’s bohemian account of post-war life in north Africa is hardly the greatest advertisement for tourism – the jaded American couple at its heart aren’t the most open-minded pair – but Bernardo Bertolucci’s visually rich adaptation makes it all seem well worth the trip anyway. It has Debra Winger and John Malkovich as the pair of slightly insufferable roamers (‘We’re travellers,’ they’re at pains to point out, ‘not tourists’) but the real stars of the show are the Saharan landscapes, Tangier souks and dusty villages. One of those villages, the ancient fort of Aït Benhaddou, is a film star in its own right, having appeared in ‘Gladiator’, ‘Babel’, ‘Kundun’ and ‘The Mummy’, among others. PDS
Ztraceno v překladu (2003)
Destination: Tokyo, Japan
Sofia Coppola’s classic is one of the quintessential travel movies, not just for its Japanese locations, both postcard-famous and off-the-beaten-track, but in perfectly capturing that unmistakable sense of dislocation that can come with hitting the trail. Here, it’s magnified by deeper life crises for Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray’s two lonely travellers, but their existential woes spark a powerful connection – and we’ve all been there. As far as the travelling goes, they’re doing it the luxe way, staying in the now-very-famous and expensive Park Hyatt Tokyo and taking day trips to Kyoto soundtracked by Air. Other hotels (and Spotify) are available. PDS
Spojené království (2016)
Destination: Serowe, Botswana
This true-life love story between Bechuanaland royal heir Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo) and Londoner Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) plays like a cross between a Disney fairy tale and a bracing slug of social realism. The couple are subjected to prejudice and disapproval in all its guises – straight-up racism in post-war Britain and prescriptive protocols in Africa – but coolly face it down to make history. The story is inspiring and the backdrops scarcely less so. Director Amma Asante filmed on location in Seretse’s home village of Serowe, so head there for a two-in-one cinematic and historical pilgrimage (and check out the rhinos while you’re there). PDS
Dobrodružství Priscilly, královny pouště (1994)
Destination: Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia
This comedy-drama is at once an Aussie classic, a road trip gem and a glorious celebration of difference – all crammed on to a bus called Priscilla and driven across Australia’s Outback to a gig in Alice Springs. The movie’s spiritual home – as its website proudly points out – is The Palace Hotel in hardscrabble Broken Hill, where a night in the tacky-flamboyant Priscilla Suite will set you back around A$200. It’s here that Bernadette Bassenger (Terence Stamp), Mitzi Del Bra (Hugo Weaving) and Felicia Jollygoodfellow (Guy Pearce) stay over en route to the Northern Territory. Or if you want to keep things strictly underground, head for the subterranean White Cliffs motel in the bizarre town of Coober Pedy– another port of call for the trio. PDS
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