MovieChat Forums > Cold Mountain (2003) Discussion > Filming Location is All Wrong

Filming Location is All Wrong

posted 15 years ago by WhiteHeron
41 replies | jump to latest

This movie is supposed to be set in North Carolina but was filmed in Romania. As a Southerner, it was distractingly obvious that this was not filmed in the South. The hills were too big, the tree were wrong, and the light was wrong. The look of the geography competed with the story, lessening my belief in the story.

I'm sure they chose to film in Romania because of cost, but really, how much more expensive could it have been to film somewhere in the South. The cost-of-living and wages are low in the South and there is lots of available land.

Was anyone else bothered by this?

reply

[–] JR541 14 years ago

The light was wrong? Pretty sure it's the same sun they have in North Carolina.

He's taking the knife out of the Cheese!
Do you think he wants some cheese?

reply

[–] WhiteHeron 14 years ago

Oh, ha ha, JR541. Lame joke, dude.

reply

[–] JBounds71 13 years ago

The reason they chose Romania is because of it's landscape has basically been untouched. I live in North Carolina and it seemed pretty convincing to me. I think you're being way to picky and critical.

reply

[–] WhiteHeron 13 years ago

Oh, gee. I have a right to my opinion. But, thanks for being "picky and critical" about what I said.

Disagree if you want--that's fine and what the board is about, but don't get personal about it.

reply

[–] dee_dee333-1 13 years ago

I'm from Romania, I know the places where they shot Cold Mountain.
I can understand how you people must feel about making a movie like this in a country that has nothing to do with the Civil War.
But do you really think it's not authentic because of that? As far as I know, none of the leading roles were assigned to american actors and a lot of the gear they used was probably made in China.

But if you really think about it, it's great that someone put together all these elements from around the world to honor your history. I think you should be proud of that.

Tell you what I got on my side - the confidence of youth.

reply

[–] WhiteHeron 13 years ago

I didn't say it wasn't "authentic." I really don't care where they film things since I understand that producers need to choose the most cost effective locations. My complaint is that the the geography of the place doesn't look like the South. The mountains in the South aren't that high--they're more gentle and rolling. The quality of the light was wrong. The light in Romania is more subtle and diffuse while the sun in the South can be quite strong.

If they're going to have one location stand in for another, it needs to look like the location the story is set in. Romania does not look like the southern United States.

You truly missed my entire point.

reply

[–] dee_dee333-1 13 years ago

Well I'm pretty sure they weren't supposed to look like the South as it is, but more like the South in Charles Frazier's book - it's the feel of it. As for the light, I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with our sun, but with the editing and "final touches" long after the filming.

But hey, you know this reminds me of that time Janet Jackson went to that look-alike Janet Jackson contest she got the third place.

Tell you what I got on my side - the confidence of youth.

reply

[–] WhiteHeron 13 years ago

Well I'm pretty sure they weren't supposed to look like the South as it is, but more like the South in Charles Frazier's book - it's the feel of it. As for the light, I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with our sun, but with the editing and "final touches" long after the filming.

Huh? Not sure I get what you're trying to say. But, the "feel" of it is wrong. And whether the light was added in the "editing" of the "final touches" is immaterial--it's not correct to the location.

The geography of a place isn't going to change hugely in 150 years, so I'm not sure what you're meaning to say with that comment, either.

The geography just doesn't look like the South.

reply

[–] dee_dee333-1 13 years ago

Hah, sorry to be amused by it, but you're making it sound like the South is nothing but a huge desert...

I've read the book, and Frazier mentions a lot of places like the ones you can see in the film... so if I don't know how the mountains in North Carolina look, I know what Frazier wanted people to imagine. Minghella just follows the feel of the book.

They could have found other cheap locations similar to what you are describing, they just went with this one here because it expressed better what the author/director had in mind...

Tell you what I got on my side - the confidence of youth.

reply

[–] WhiteHeron 13 years ago

Hah, sorry to be amused by it, but you're making it sound like the South is nothing but a huge desert...

What ARE you talking about?! A DESERT?!

I never said anything of the sort. I'm worried about your reading comprehension.

You say you've never seen the North Carolina mountains. I have. I think that pretty much explains it all.

The setting looked like Romania, not N.C.

reply

[–] dee_dee333-1 13 years ago

Wow. Being rude much?

Tell you what I got on my side - the confidence of youth.

reply

[–] WhiteHeron 13 years ago

I'm rude?

What do you call this?

Hah, sorry to be amused by it, but you're making it sound like the South is nothing but a huge desert...

reply

[–] dee_dee333-1 13 years ago

I hardly think that's rude. Calm down.
I was implying that you were overreacting, not that the South really is a desert and most certainly not the fact that you may not be capable of understanding written word (but you did say that about me)

Obviously, you don't like people disagreeing with you, but you see, making public your opinions may lead to that and we all must face it with dignity and not imply that everyone else is a half-wit just because they think differently.

Tell you what I got on my side - the confidence of youth.

reply

[–] WhiteHeron 13 years ago

You calm down. I'm already calm. Telling someone to calm down is rude, so if you're wanting to lecture people on being rude...

Perhaps you aren't aware that it is very hard to convey tone in written word unless you are a highly skilled writer. You did come across as being quite snarky in your response, whether that was your intent or not.

I don't mind people disagreeing with me at all--if it's done intelligently and nicely.

reply

[–] dee_dee333-1 13 years ago

Yet I see you do mind, and for some reason you found my posts as being particularly offensive - what that reason might be, I have no idea - other people here disagreed with you and some of them were even sarcastic.
You thought it would be correct to "doubt the reading abilities" of someone who actually stated that, in spite of exaggerating a little, you might be right to a certain degree.

Tell you what I got on my side - the confidence of youth.

reply

[–] WhiteHeron 13 years ago

what that reason might be, I have no idea

And, yet I explained it to you. Hmm...

I really don't need a lecture from you on proper behavior; I'm done with this conversation. You're on ignore now.

reply

[–] Terrapin2212 13 years ago

Too bad I knew it was made in Romania (they mentioned it in some reviews)but I would have been fooled except for a few shots of the jagged mountain peaks. But most of the scenes were believable. I have been to the mountains in Virginia, Tennessee and West Virginia but admittedly not North Carolina.

I usually like to check the filming locations AFTER I see the movie and see if I'm surprised. On another Southern note I feel Renee Zelweggers accent sounds very fake and forced while Nicole Kidman's was better same with Natalie Portman who also played a southern girl in Where the Heart Is.

reply

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Bellawen_Bolger_Of_Bree 13 years ago

I just watched this movie for the first time last night and I thought the scenery was beautiful. It made me want to hop in my car and look at the Blue Ridge Mountains again (I live in Tennessee, near the Cumberland Plateau). I never thought it wasn't North Carolina until going on this message board. Although, I was surprised at how tall the mountains seemed and how they were more cold looking and blue than the green hills I know. But, I went to Virginia a few times and the mountains there are much higher than the hills around here, so I was fooled into thinking this really was a part of North Carolina I hadn't been to.

reply

[–] inrepair 12 years ago

I'm watching this right now, and I've seen it many times before. I'm a southerner born and raised, so of course I am nit-picky as well. However I really enjoy the choice of Romania for the time period. As others have said, most places here now aren't spacious enough to seem authentic, and in regards to what some have said about the mountains seeming too high, mountains and the landscape in general can change dramatically within 100 years. I wouldn't doubt if the mountains in NC were that tall back then.

reply

[–] Rifuarians 12 years ago

It was surely to do with the cost. I've spent a lot of time backpacking in the area and there are vast amounts wilderness in eastern NC/western TN. Hundreds of thousands of acres. The real Cold Mountain is in the middle of a National Forest. Perfectly suitable for filming. In fact Last of the Mohicans was filmed in the Blue Ridge and that movie looks fantastic. I've been to the Carpathians, they're beautiful, but not quite the same as the Southern Appalachians. The whole thing about not being able to find wide open, untouched areas is BS. Still love this movie though.

And it could be worse. Has anyone ever seen Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas, which was obviously filmed out West?

reply

[–] brockmeeks 12 years ago

I've lived in the south all my life. I thought it was a good choice but I noticed a few things.

- The sweeping shot that pulls back from Inman to show the mountains is off. The mountains are too large. They even have tree lines!

- Kidmans farm looked southern but something about it and the other farms looked a bit dreary. Camera filter or bad weather?

- The trees in all but the swamp scene and the willow at the end were off.

reply

[–] Gov_William_J_LePetomane 11 years ago

I've lived in West Virginia for almost 35 years now. The location was just fine. Never once did I think it was being filmed anywhere other than in Appalachia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbLB3z_kFDw&feature=plcp

reply

1
2
3