Lights … camera … action! Are the orders that for more than fifty years (1954-2004) have been constantly repeated in Durango, a.k.a. ‘the Land of Cinema’, for in the City and its surroundings had been filmed dozens of movies, some of which were enacted by renowned actors from Hollywood, as Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Audrey Hepburn, Bob Dylan, Diane Lane, Jack Nicholson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Leguizamo, Marlon Brando, Brad Pitt, Salma Hayek, Dany Devito, John Belushi, Michel Douglas, Kevin Costner, Anthony Quinn, Paul Newman, John Wayne, Harrison Ford, Christopher Reeve, Ringo Starr, Russell Crowe, Robert Power, Antonio Banderas, Mel Gibson, Omar Shariff, Julia Roberts, Clint Eastwood, Chuck Norris, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Ernest Borgnine, Leonardo di Caprio, Alec Guiness, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and directors like George lucas, Steven Spielberg, Francis Coppola, Sergio Leone, James Cameron, John Ford, Sam Peckinpah, Dino de Laurentis, John Huston, Alfonso Arau, Robert Rodriguez, Alfonso Cuaron just to mention a few of them. Unfortunately, John Candy died there filming his last Hollywood movie, “Wagon Wheels”.
At the same time extremely important and Oscar winning movies like Ben Hur, The Magnificent Seven, Dr. Doctor Zhivago, Star Wars, Superman, Titanic, Pirates of the Caribbean, Conan, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Resident Evil, Jesus of Nazareth, The Wild Bunch, Once Upun a Time in the West, The Caveman, Indiana Jones, Thor, Pearl Harbor, Nacho Libre, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Close Encounters of the third Kind, Predator, The Mask of Zorro, Master and Commander, True Grit, Troy, Braveheart, and Mexican movies like Una Aventura en Durango, Patrulla 81, Like Water for Chocolate, Y tu Mama Tambien, Bestia Nocturna, El Juez de la Soga y Uno para la Horca.
The success of Durango in the celluloid is sustained by the beauty of its natural landscapes, its nearly always clear skies, its brightened environments and of course, the colonial features of its Historical Centre. These issues became evident for the first time in the scenes of the movie “La Vida de Villa” (1912), which recounted the revolutionary struggles of Francisco “Pancho” Villa. For Ben Hur, the area of Santiago Papasquiaro in Durango was where the recreation of most of the old Roman empire took place, and for Dr Zhivago, the Sierra Madre and its snowed vistas were Russia. The desserts around the state were the other worldly locations for Star Wars.
The exquisite colonial architecture of Durango, Capital of the State of the same name, is complemented by a splendid natural background, which stores some fantastic places to visit, as the mysterious zone El Silencio, a salt desert loaded with energy, which causes the compasses to go wild, the clocks to stop functioning and the radio waves get lost. NASA conduct research in this area consistently.
Another goose bumping natural spot is ‘El Espinazo del Diablo’ or ‘The Backbone of the Devil’, a road surrounded by precipices that is a privileged viewing point of the Sierra Madre Occidental (2.200 m.a.s.l.)
Durango, at 903 kilometre distance from Mexico City, was the birth place of Doroteo Arango … of who? You should very justifiably ask, but the Doroteo in question was no other than the mythical Francisco “Pancho” Villa, a.k.a. the “Centaur of the North”, one of the most emblematical leaders of the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century.
Today, Durango is a city that is experiencing economical and industrial growth. The clothing company Carhartt U.S.A, has just built a new manufacturing facility near the Durango International Airport. Big name retailers like Domino’s, Blockbuster, Ace Hardware, Home Depot, Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart and McDonald’s have made Durango their home. The information contained here has been gathered from different sources and on the next list you can find more information and original posters from some of the most important movies filmed in Durango.
Because of its connection to the movies, you can find in Durango a few museums dedicated to the history of movie making in the state as well as film schools providing training for the local population and important film festivals. Sergio Leone was crazy for Durango and decided to shoot The Good, the Bad and the Ugly there as well as in Spain and Italy.
Hollywood noticed the beauty of Durango many years ago, one of the most beautiful states in Mexico favoring it as the number two place to go in the world when there is a need for diverse and beautiful locations that include desserts, mountains, colonial towns, blue skies, forests, water falls which number more than one hundred, snow, jungles, great light, and all close to each other. Another important aspect of the importance of Durango is that the big studios, Warner Brothers, Fox, Columbia, Disney, Miramax, World Film Magic, etc. always feel welcome and find a place where it is easy to work, find friendly people and never feel in a rush to leave. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg can attest to that.
Durango’s beauty and magic continues to allure productions and we are sure this will continue since you can always uncover more and more about Durango as you delve into it more and more.
When a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.
