It may not have been featured as much in international movies as much as its rival Sydney but Melbourne has had its moments on the big screen albeit in lesser known productions. It was way back in 1959 that ’On The Beach‘ was filmed in parts of Frankston including the beach seen below. Needless to say that the place looks very different but I guess I have just said that! Its first screen appearance is on 16 mins.
A much more famous landmark used was Melbourne’s iconic central railway station, Flinders Street Station (above) which serves over 100,000 commuters every day. It also appears to be very busy when its seen after 57 mins.
Russell Crowe is a famous actor now but when he filmed ‘Romper Stomper‘ in 1992 around Footscray Station (below) he was just starting out in the acting world. This film is quite a hard watch due to its strong violent and racial content. You have been warned! Following the movies opening title credits we see the station appear with skateboarders going along its platform. However, I have since read that it was actually Richmond station filling in for Footscray but given that its 20 years on now and the screenshots are very dark I really can’t tell if theres any validity in that statement.
Singer Alliyah was tragically killed in a plane crash in 2002 shortly after filming ‘Queen of the Damned’. It was released six months later and just as tragic is how awful the film is! Small things like that don’t deter me from hunting down some of its locations but I sure wasn’t gonna bust a gut to do so. Below left is RMIT University on Swanston Street which doubled up as a Warner Brothers Records HQ in London. Below right is the bar on 95 Flinders Lane which became the vampire nightclub.
Just round the corner from that is Duckboard Place (above) where Jesse can be seen walking around the streets of “London”.
‘Mad Max‘ is one of Australia’s most famous exports and this 1979 film which brought Mel Gibson to fame was filmed around Melbourne and Victoria. My primary goal was to locate the car park within Melbourne University but I left empty handed on that one due to the sheer size of the place and possibly the fact that it was a Sunday when I was on site and a lot of it was closed. However, on the way home I did get off at South Yarra station where I walked round the corner to Claremont Street which was the car park setting (below) where Goose burns rubber on his exit. Thanks to this Mad Max site for the info.
My favourite Bollywood film has to be 2005′s ‘Salaam Namaste‘. Oh Ok its the only one I’ve ever seen but I found it enjoyable enough, even the parts where they break into typical Indian song and dance. As well as Bourke Street Mall there were three other such scenes taking place at the following:
* Yarra Bridge (below) – The screenshot on 66 mins with Nick in it features Flinders Street Station in the background whereas my shot was taken from the other side of the river.
* Federation Square (below) – I couldn’t find a clip from the film featuring this place but I did come across the behind-the-scenes shot below left.
* St Kilda Beach – I didn’t actually go to St Kilda on this trip (apart from the F1 Grand Prix) but I used to live there and returned five years ago to take a trip down memory lane. The beach you see in the ‘Salaam Namaste‘ theme title song after 28 mins is St Kilda (below) though it looks far more impressive on screen than in reality. I can only presume it was filmed over the other side of the pier but I’m really not sure.
Beyond The Movies 