Movie set Germany
The Oberbaumbrücke served as a backdrop in the movie "Run Lola Run" by Tom Tykwer and in the action thriller "Unknown" with Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger. A filming trip from Berlin via Eisenhüttenstadt to Neuschwanstein.
Oberbaumbrücke
The red brick bridge connects the Berlin districts Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. In "Unknown" (2011) the taxi driven by Diane Kruger has an accident and falls into the water. And Franka Potente spurts across the river Spree in "Run Lola Run" (1998).
A city to be seen
From the start Berlin has served both as a backdrop and a star in movies, from Walter Ruttmann's 1927 "Berlin - Symphony of a Metropolis" to Wim Wenders' 1987 "Wings of Desire." A fable about angels in a traumatized Berlin, it is arguably the finest film about the divided city. Wenders made extensive use of Berlin's landmarks - including the golden angel "Goldelse" on the Victory Column.
Remnants of the Iron Curtain
Berlin can still cash in on this aspect of its history. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks were in town to shoot a Cold War spy thriller. The movie "Bridge of Spies" (2015) used Potsdam's Glienicke Bridge as a location for a scene where agents are exchanged.
When even Erich Honecker was smitten
The 1973 film "The Legend of Paul and Paula" is today considered the most famous East German film. However, the country's censorship meant it was not released until party leader Erich Honecker personally approved it. The movie's enduring popularity led to a stretch of waterfront on the Rummelsburg lake, where a scene was filmed, to be renamed the "Paul and Paula shore."
Lehmann's Kreuzberg district
One of the many films about everyday life in West Berlin was the 2003 movie "Herr Lehmann," based on Sven Regener's novel of the same name. Set in the weeks before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the story focuses on a lethargic subculture of bohemians in the SO36 area of Kreuzberg in West Berlin. Part of that microcosm is barkeeper Frank, semi-formally called Herr Lehmann by friends and patrons.
And the Oscar goes to...
Perhaps the most eye-opening film to have come out of contemporary German cinema, the 2006 Oscar-winning "The Lives of Others" offered an insight into the Stasi-ridden world of 1980s East Germany. Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck took advantage of the relatively unreconstructed eastern part of Berlin for the set, and gained permission to film in the former Stasi archives.
Moscow can even be found in Berlin
Berlin offers a huge choice of film locations and attracts movie makers with its studios in Babelsberg. Audiences often don't realize that not everything was shot on location. For instance, in the 2004 "The Bourne Supremacy," Berlin not only serves as an exciting backdrop, it also doubles for other stops in Bourne's globetrotting, like Moscow.
Secret agents on the Alster
James Bond is always at home anywhere in the world - including Hamburg. As 007 in 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies," Pierce Brosnan can be seen looking from the globe on the roof of the exclusive hotel "Atlantic" over the Alster river. More recently, the hotel was used as a location for the 2014 spy thriller "A Most Wanted Man."
Art treasure hunt in the Harz
George Clooney caused quite a stir when he filmed part of his war film "Monuments Men" (2014) in the town of Halberstadt in the Harz region. Saxony-Anhalt's Premier Rainer Haseloff made use of this unexpected attention by saying, "Hollywood and Clooney realized what makes Saxony-Anhalt so special, something sadly many Germans have yet to manage."
Eisenhüttenstadt
Shooting in front of the natural stone mosaic by Walter Womacka for the film "Why?" directed by Bernd Böhlich. The original scenery in Germany's largest monument is ideal for productions that take place in the 1950s. US actor Tom Hanks had already raved about the socialist model city "Iron Hut City" in his homeland.
Film city Görlitz
Germany's easternmost town sustained little war damage and has been meticulously preserved. Many movies have used the historical sites in the city as backdrops, including the 2013 war drama "The Book Thief." Görlitz was also used as the primary shooting location for the Wes Anderson film "The Grand Budapest Hotel," the opening movie at the 2014 Berlin Film Festival.
Monks and medieval murder mysteries
Producer Bernd Eichinger and director Jean-Jacques Annaud chose the former Cistercian monastery of Eberbach in the Rheingau as a location for their 1986 film of the bestseller "The Name of the Rose," mainly because of the beautifully preserved historical buildings. The monk's dormitory in the film served as the scriptorium that contained the door leading to the mysterious library.
Filmmaking in Munich
Munich also has a big film history. The claustrophobic interior scenes in the 1981 Wolfgang Peterson movie "Das Boot" were created in the studios at Bavaria Film. Actor Jürgen Prochnow was memorable as the submarine captain, which brought him to international prominence. He has since starred in many well-received European and Hollywood productions.
The king's castles
Any film about Bavaria's most famous property developer cannot ignore his works. In Luchino Visconti's 1972 movie "Ludwig II" a young Helmut Berger takes on the role of the fairytale king plagued by visions and madness. Ludwig's castles, from Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee lake to Neuschwanstein, provide spectacular movie backdrops, as do the Bavarian Alps and lakes.