Thanks for your input! Not having been before, and being independent, we decided to do the driving tour ourselves. But because I'd really love to see some of the old studio sets where several movies were shot, I'd take a guided tour next time.
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John Ford's Stagecoach, The Searchers and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.
The Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) features footage of Monument Valley. This footage is used as the surface of an alien planet to which protagonist Dave Bowman travels through a stargate.
Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), although shot for the most part in Spain and Italy, features two scenes shot on location in Monument Valley.
1969's counter-culture classic Easy Rider includes some footage of Monument Valley towards its beginning.
Electra Glide in Blue (1973), starring Robert Blake as a motorcycle cop in Arizona, was filmed in Monument Valley.
Clint Eastwood's movie The Eiger Sanction (1975) was partly filmed in Monument Valley and both Clint Eastwood and George Kennedy were filmed on top of the "Totem Pole", which has been off-limits to climbers since the movie was filmed here.
Godfrey Reggio's documentary Koyaanisqatsi (1982) features footage of Monument Valley.
Harold Ramis' film National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) features footage of Monument Valley.
Ron Fricke's IMAX film Chronos (1985) features several scenes of the Monument Valley landscape.
In Back to the Future III (1990), Marty McFly drives from 1955 to 1885 from a drive-in theatre set at the Valley's base.
Ridley Scott's 1991 film Thelma & Louise features some shots of Monument Valley, as well as Canyonlands National Park, in its latter half.˜
In Forrest Gump (1994), Forrest ends his cross-country run here. He is running north on U.S. Route 163 before he stops running.
Paramount Pictures 1994 film Pontiac Moon featured this location as part of the roadtrip.
The opening shots of Mission: Impossible II (2000) feature Tom Cruise climbing in Monument Valley.
The Return of Navajo Boy (2000), a documentary about uranium contamination of Navajo lands, was shot largely in Monument Valley where its central characters live. Additionally, the film deconstructs historical media depictions of Navajos and the land where they live (including Monument Valley).
The opening scene of Vertical Limit (2000) features several rock climbers in Monument Valley.
Takkari Donga Opening song, Telugu Film, 2002
In Windtalkers (2002), the opening and closing scenes are filmed in Monument Valley.
During the 'Sorter shoot-out' scene in Guy Ritchie's 2005 film, Revolver, there is a picture of Monument Valley on the wall behind where Dorothy Macha's henchmen have parked their cars outside the house of Jake Green's elder brother.
In Cars (2006), a spoof of Monument Valley called "Ornament Valley" (as labeled on the map in the film) is in the surroundings of Radiator Springs (name coming from the fact that the peaks are shaped like the hood ornaments of cars).
Alex Cox's film Searchers 2.0 (2007) is about a road trip to Monument Valley. The final scenes feature a rare depiction of the area covered in snow.
Location sequences for the documentary Reel Injun (2009), on the history of Native Americans in the movies.
The rugged desert scenery for the Coyote and Road Runner cartoons clearly takes much of its inspiration from Monument Valley. |
