Marrakech in the movies

26 Oct Marrakech in the movies

In the mid 1950s, Alfred Hitchcock was on the cusp of reaching the pinnacle of his career as he worked on the script for The Birds. As he worked he was surrounded by very different scenes and sounds to those in that famous film, namely he was listening to the mysterious calls to prayer that echoed through the narrow, red streets of Marrakech. Mr Hitchcock found himself staying in Marrakech after falling for the city while filming The Man Who Knew Too Much, one of the first mainstream films to be set in Marrakech. This popular thriller used Marrakech’s heat, vibrant colour and exotic architecture to full effect as the story of the McKenna family, who come to Morocco on an innocent family holiday, unfolds to embroil them in a dangerous assassination attempt.

But Hitchcock wasn’t the first to see Marrakech’s vast potential as the scene for thrilling stories. In 1949 Orson Welles’ filmed Othello there and in nearby Essaouira and the very first film believed to have been shot in the red city was in 1897 when French cinema pioneer Louis Lumière arrived to film Le Chevalier Marocain (“The Moroccan Knight”).

Thanks to its proximity to the Atlas Mountains and the miles and miles of nearby Sahara Desert, it’s no surprise that the city has served as a playground for action movie directors like Martin Scorsese whose Marrakech-based film The Last Temptation of Christ began his long-lasting love affair with the region, one that he is acknowledging by presiding over the judging panel at the upcoming Marrakech International Film Festival. It should also come as no surprise that great love stories have been filmed in Marrakech. The Jewel of the Nile was also filmed in many locations in Morocco, including Marrakech, and this adventure romance starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner was one of 1985’s most popular films. Over the years the love story has also been as much about Marrakech with films like 1998’s Hideous Kinky (also called Marrakech Express), which starred Kate Winslet, really giving a voice to the hippy scene the city became famous for.

Of course, no city has earned its silver screen credits until a James Bond has descended upon its streets to punch a few baddies. For Marrakech that was Timothy Dalton who featured in the successful The Living Daylights filmed in Marrakech and Tangier in 1987. So, who knows which famous character, actor or film director will arrive in Marrakech next to continue this legacy?