Movies Shot in Idaho
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Idaho has stunning scenery and unique spots along with long summer days providing daylight until 10 P.M. Perfect for the movies. Filming movies that is. Beautiful locations and long working days provides an ideal fit for film makers. When it comes to the big screen, the whole state of Idaho hasn’t been used quite as often big cities like Chicago, New York and Atlanta. A few film makers dared to take a chance on the Gem State and these are their masterpieces!
The Idaho Film Office says explains that Idaho has everything a filmmaker could want to use in their films: mountains, whitewater, dusty back roads, farms, lava flows and quaint towns. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that you get natural sunlight to shoot well into the evening in the summer months. It’s also an attractive state to film in because most of Idaho’s cities don’t require you to file any film permits. Here’s a look at 10 movies shot in Idaho you didn’t know were filmed in the Gem State and one that you most definitely know was!
Put these shot-in-Idaho films on your summer movie list.
Northwest Passage (1940). Filmed in McCall & Sandpoint. Starring Spencer Tracy and Robert Young. Langdon Towne and Hunk Marriner join Major Rogers’ Rangers as they wipe out an Indian village. They set out for Fort Wentworth, but when they arrive they find no soldiers and none of the supplies they expected.
Bus Stop (1956). Filmed in Sun Valley and Ketchum. Starring Marilyn Monroe. A naive but stubborn cowboy falls in love with a saloon singer and tries to take her away against her will to get married and live on his ranch in Montana.
Breakheart Pass (1975). Filmed in Lewiston. Starring Charles Bronson. John Deakin is being transported, as a prisoner, on a train with supplies and medicine to Fort Humboldt, Nevada.
Heaven’s Gate (1980). Filmed in Wallace. Starring Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, John Hurt and Sam Waterston. During the Johnson County War in 1890 Wyoming, a sheriff born into wealth does his best to protect immigrant farmers from rich cattle interests.
Bronco Billy (1980). Filmed in Boise and area. Starring Clint Eastwood. An idealistic, modern-day cowboy struggles to keep his Wild West show afloat in the face of hard luck and waning interest.
Dante’s Peak (1997). Filmed in Wallace. Starring Pierce Bronson. A vulcanologist arrives at a countryside town recently named the second most desirable place to live in America, and discovers that the long dormant volcano, Dante’s Peak, may wake up at any moment.
Breakfast of Champions (1999). Filmed in Twin Falls. Starring Bruce Willis and Nick Nolte. A rich car dealer is losing his mind. His son lives in the bomb shelter. His suicidal wife has an affair with his transvestite sales manager.
Town and Country (2001). Filmed in Sun Valley. Starring Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn. Porter Stoddard is a well-known New York architect who is at a crossroads… a nexus where twists and turns lead to myriad missteps, some with his wife Ellie, others with longtime friends.
Napoleon Dynamite (2004). Filmed in Preston and Franklin. Starring Jon Heder and Efren Ramirez. A listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while he must deal with his bizarre family life back home.
Magic Valley (2011). Filmed in Twin Falls. Starring Scott Glen, Kyle Gallner and Allison Elliott. In a small Idaho town, two young boys find a dead body of a young woman. They decide it’s only a proper thing to bury it. Meanwhile, her family and the local Sheriff show an eerie lack of interest in her disappearance.