World Film Locations: Istanbul

Ozlem Koksal

• Publisher: Intellect Books
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781841505671
• eBook ISBN: 9781841505947
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Law Theory & Practice
• Index: Technology & Engineering

From Head-On to Murder on the Orient Express, World Film Locations: Istanbul offers a compelling look at the many films shot on location in this multicultural metropolis on the Black Sea. Central to this volume are the film industry's changing representations of Istanbul, which have ranged from progressive cultural center to the authoritarian police state of Alan Parker's Midnight Express. Evident in both in films made in the West and throughout Turkey over time, these divergent accounts are analyzed with regard to their role in continually reshaping our perception of the city. Essays explore this topic and many others, including the significance of Istanbul to the works of critically-acclaimed directors, among them Nuri Bilge Ceylan.

 

Illustrated throughout with film stills as well as photographs of featured locations as they appear today, World Film Locations: Istanbul visits all of the important cinematic landmarks, including the Topkapi Palace and the Haydarpasa train station and offers a vivid picture of this historic and culturally stimulating city.

CITY OF INTRIGUES Istanbul as an Exotic Attraction

ISTANBUL HAS BEEN a popular setting for international film-makers since the inception of cinema. In 1896, Alexander Promio, a cameraman working for the Lumière Brothers, visited the city and filmed two of the most spectacular places in Istanbul: the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. Panorama de la Corne d’Or and Panorama des rives du Bosphore both consist of a single tracking shot filmed from a rowboat, documenting Istanbul’s deep intimacy with the sea. These bodies of water are the quintessential starting point for almost every depiction of Istanbul. Particularly well-known is the Galata Bridge with its panoramic view over the Golden Horn, and most international cinematic tours of Istanbul start with a tracking or aerial shot over the bridge.

During the silent era, Istanbul was often represented as an exotic, foreign locale, holding to Orientalist tropes. In these films, western heroes rescue beautiful girls from the hands of mischievous sheikhs, as in Tod Browning’s The Virgin of Stamboul (1920). During and after World War II, Istanbul, as a city of espionage and political intrigues, became an ideal destination for film noir. Journey into Fear (Norman Foster, 1943), Background to Danger (Raoul Walsh, 1943), The Mask of Dimitrios (Jean Negulesco, 1944) and 5 Fingers (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1952) all depict a city rife with mystery and intrigue. These films offer an atmospheric studio version of Istanbul with occasional stock footage, while hints of realism were added with signs written in Turkish, street sounds and rear projection.

Stories of geopolitical intrigue continued during the Cold War era with From Russia with Love (Terence Young, 1963). Sean Connery as James Bond discovers some of the most prominent sites of Istanbul in the film: the Blue Mosque, Dolmabahce Palace and the Bosphorus. The mysterious underground passage in the film is in fact the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Saray). Urban legends abound about the Basilica Cistern, which was originally used for water storage for the Byzantine Palace. As a space that connects the world above with a world below, it constituted an ideal setting for mystery and horror in a number of films. Jules Dassin’s Topkapi (1964), apart from such historical sites, also depicted scenes of an Istanbul which was newly modernizing, including the Istanbul Hilton, a symbol of capitalism and modernity that was built in 1954.

A rather different depiction of Istanbul appears in Alain Robbe-Grillet’s L’immortelle (1963). Shot entirely on location L’immortelle tries to capture the well-known postcard images of Istanbul. However, the film suggests that these tourist images are constructed through the fantasies of the main character N and us, the spectators. The mosques, secret gardens, and harems of this ‘legendary world’ form a backdrop for N’s erotic fantasies. Similarly, Vampiros lesbos (Jesus Franco, 1971) employs some of the conventions of European art cinema to create an atmosphere of erotic intrigue. In this film, directed by Jesus ‘Jess’ Franco, the Princes’ Islands, off the coast of Istanbul, form the setting for an otherworldly venture into lust and ruses.

Opposite Topkapi / Below The Girl on the Bridge

Sidney Lumet’s Murder on the Orient Express (1974) recreates the atmosphere of 1930s Istanbul. Apart from picturesque images of Istanbul, hotel Pera Palas, where Agatha Christie used to stay, is also featured in the film. Midnight Express (Alan Parker, 1978), on the other hand, is mostly set in a prison, but Istanbul is briefly seen when the main character attempts to escape in a crowded market. The film was critiqued for its portrayal of Turkey and the Turkish people.

Istanbul has also been depicted as a refuge for the destitute and heart-broken charac-ters of European cinema. In Zombie ja Kummitusjuna/ Zombie and the Ghost Train (Mika Kaurismaki, 1991), Zombie (Silu Sep-pala), who is adrift in depression, slips away to Istanbul. In this film, Istanbul is a ghost city full of melancholic drinkers who gather at the bars under Galata Bridge. Galata Bridge also appears in La fille sur le pont/The Girl on the Bridge (Patrice Leconte, 1999), this time as the final destination. The knife-thrower Gabor (Daniel Auteuil) decides to end his life there, by throwing himself into the waters of the Golden Horn after he is separated from his lover.

As a cosmopolitan city, Istanbul provides a setting for a number of binary oppositions such as East-West, communist-capitalist, Asian-American, and exotic-modern.

Istanbul has also attracted many other figures of world cinema. In Jackie Chan’s Te wu mi cheng/The Accidental Spy (Teddy Chan, 2001), the Grand Bazaar was yet again selected for the setting of a chase. Globally expanding Bollywood also visited Istanbul recently. Mission Istaanbul: Daar Ke Aagey Jeet Hai! (Apoorva Lakhia, 2008) features chase and action scenes in various districts of Istanbul, including the Grand Bazaar and its roof. With its maze-like str...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Copyright
• Title
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Istanbul: City of the Imagination
• City of intrigues: Istanbul as an Exotic Attraction
• Threshold of the city: Haydarpaşa Train Station
• Memories of Istanbul
• Istanbul Dissected: The City Through Reha Erdem’s Lenses
• Beyoğlu/Pera on a Cinematic Map of Istanbul
• Nuri Bilge Ceylan: A distant image of Istanbul
• Resources
• Contributor Bios
• Filmography