From the glaciers of the South Island to the rolling hills of the North Island and snow-capped peaks, there’s nothing quite like New Zealand. New Zealand’s dramatic and diverse landscapes have attracted visitors worldwide for years and provided the ideal backdrop for many movies. Most films shot in the country use the Island’s breathtaking scenery to make fascinating worlds we can only imagine.
The pleasant views even inspired Hollywood to turn some famous fantasy novels into great movies. Other filmmakers use New Zealand’s idyllic landscapes to tell their own stories. Regardless of the genre, New Zealand lends its awe-inducing sceneries to filmmakers to create the best cinematic endeavors. Here are ten gorgeous films shot in New Zealand.
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10 Whale Rider (2002)
Newmarket Films
Whale Rider is a New Zealand drama film directed and written by Niki Caro. It is based on the 1987 novel The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera. The film is a contemporary story of rejection, love, and triumph. It follows Keisha Castle-Hughes (Kahu Paikea Apirana), a twelve-year-old Māori girl who desires to become the chief of the tribe, but her tribe believes that only males are allowed to ascend to chiefdom status. Whale Rider was filmed in New Zealand in the small coastal town of Whangara.
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The movie showed some of the North Island’s most breathtaking coastline, most prominently, Whangara on the Gisborne coastline, the east coast of New Zealand. The film pulled at the heartstrings of its audience and was well-received both in New Zealand and abroad, winning several awards.
9 Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)
Skydance Media
Mission: Impossible – Fallout is an American action spy movie directed and written by Christopher McQuarrie. It is the sequel to Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) and is the sixth chapter in the Mission: Impossible film series. In the film, bioterrorists strategize to blow up three plutonium cores for a synchronized nuclear attack on different cities. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the Impossible Mission Force team seek to prevent the carnage. This blockbuster franchise was partly filmed in New Zealand.
The film showcased New Zealand’s beautiful scenery. One scenery that was featured is the majestic South Alps. Part of the set was built in the Nevis Valley, where production constructed a jail-like structure to replicate Iraq. Filming also took place in Cromwell, Milford Sound, and Rees Valley. The movie is critically acclaimed, with praise for its action sequences. McQuarrie’s direction and screenplay are seen to be the best in the franchise.
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8 The Piano (1993)
Miramax Films
The Piano is an erotic period drama film directed and written by Jane Campion. It tells the story of a mute Scottish woman and her daughter, who travels to a remote part of New Zealand after her arranged marriage to a frontiersman. The film is set on the west coast of New Zealand and thus was shot in New Zealand. It offers viewers the best that Auckland offers, including Piha and Karekare beach.
The filming locations are gorgeous, but the movie can be disturbing and has an eerie atmosphere. The scene at KaraKara beach where the woman plays the piano can seem poetic but also evoke despair and tragedy. The Bay of Islands is also featured in the film. The film has received several awards, with Flora (Anna Paquin) receiving an Oscar at the tender age of eleven for her role in the movie.
7 Vertical Limit (2000)
Columbia Pictures
Vertical Limit is an American survival thriller film directed by Martin Campbell. The thriller is about climbing and falling from mountains. In the film, with her crew, Annie (Robin Tunney) gets trapped in a crevice atop K2, and her brother Peter Garret (Chris O’Donnell) must assemble a team to rescue them before they die. The film is shot in Pakistan, the United States, and New Zealand, with most of the filming taking place in Queenstown and the Southern Alps of New Zealand.
The most prominent location of the movie is Aoraki Mount Cook, New Zealand’s highest mountain. The movie is well-acted and beautifully crafted, showcasing the majestic mountain. While it received mixed reviews from critics, it is undoubtedly a gorgeous film with a spectacular setting. The film was also commercially successful, grossing 215.7 million dollars worldwide on a 75 million dollar budget.
6 Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
Madman Entertainment
Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a New Zealand adventure comedy-drama film directed and written by Taika Waititi. It is based on the book Wild Pork and Watercress by Barry Crump. The film tells the story of Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison), a juvenile delinquent and “uncle” Hector (Sam Neill) who flee into the New Zealand bush after becoming targets of a national manhunt. Most of the movie was filmed in the wilderness of Waitakere Ranges, New Zealand. Tongariro National Park is also featured in the film, with its rugged paths evoking a lot of suspense in its audience. The film’s stunning visuals, showcasing the landscapes of New Zealand, elevated the production and subsequently propelled the director’s career to new heights. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is critically acclaimed, with an average rating of 7.9 out of 10 on Rotten Tomatoes.
5 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)
New Line Cinema
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is composed of The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003). Directed by Peter Jackson, the movies are an adaptation of the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The epic trilogy takes place in the fictional world of middle earth and follows the hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) as he takes on the Dark Lord to destroy the One Ring. The Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed entirely in New Zealand, utilizing the country’s picturesque landscapes to bring the fictional world of Middle-Earth to life.
These beautiful settings have cemented New Zealand’s reputation as a top filming location. One of the most significant locations in the trilogy is Rivendell, a sanctuary for heroes and the site where The Fellowship of the Ring made their vow to destroy the Ring. Other notable locations include Kaitoke Regional Park’s waterfall, as well as Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Ruapehu.
4 The Hobbit Trilogy (2012-2014)
Warner Bros. Pictures
The Hobbit trilogy is a series of three epic high fantasy adventure films: An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Desolation of Smaug (2013), and The Battle of the Five Armies (2014). The films, directed by Peter Jackson, are an adaptation of the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J.R.R. The movies take place in Middle-Earth’s fictional world and follow hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), who is on a mission to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch). Alongside him is the Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) and the 13 Dwarves. The films were filmed in New Zealand, with most of the scenes shot in The Otago Region.
The breathtaking landscapes of New Zealand were instrumental in creating the setting for Bilbo and his companions’ journey and home. Many of the events in the trilogy took place in Mount Ruapehu, but there were two notable locations. The first is Hobbiton, which is situated on a farm near the towns of Waikato and Matamata; it was prominently featured in the first movie. The second is Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve, which was prominently used in the second movie.
3 The Last Samurai (2003)
The Last Samurai is an epic period action drama movie co-produced and directed by Edward Zwick, who is mainly known for producing historical epics. The film follows Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), who is hired to join the Japanese army to engage in battle with the Samurai rebellion. However, Algren is captured by the Samurai, and he ends up embracing their culture. The film was set in Japan, but most epic scenes were shot in New Zealand.
While the traditional Japanese villages in the movie were filmed in Himeji and Kyoto in Japan and the studio in California, most of the forests and plains were shot in the Taranaki Region in New Zealand. The scene that stood out is the breathtaking Mount Taranaki used to depict Mount Fuji due to their resemblance. The beautiful forests around the area were used as the villages’ background.
2 The Chronicles of Narnia Trilogy (2005-2010)
Walt Disney Pictures
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of three epic adventure films: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008), and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010), which are based on a series of novels by C.S Lewis. Andrew Adamson directed the first two movies, and Michael Apted directed the third one. The series follows four children in the world of Narnia as they embark on an adventure to help prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), who tries to win his throne back from King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto).
Most of the first two films were filmed in New Zealand, with the epic landscape providing the perfect backdrop for the fictional world of Narnia. The most prominent location used was Cathedral Cove in the Coromandel Peninsula; the location was chosen because the arch gave the feeling of the tunnel the children go into before being beckoned back to Narnia. Other notable places are Elephant rocks in Waitaki valley, Flockhill, and Auckland. Some of the scenes in the third film were also shot in New Zealand. The areas featured include; the Bay of Islands, New Plymouth Coromandel, and Hawkes Bay.
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1 X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
20th Century Fox
The American superhero film X-Men Origins: Wolverine is centered on Logan (Hugh Jackman), an ex-mutant mercenary who now lives a quiet life with his girlfriend. However, his girlfriend is assassinated by a figure from his past, compelling him to seek revenge. The movie is shot in the beautiful Otago region of the South Island in New Zealand.
In the film, Logan was living in the woods in a cabin. His Cabin was built atop Deer Park Heights, offering an idyllic view of the Remarkables mountain range. While the location wasn’t part of the movie’s action sequence, it was crucial to the movie. The film is well-shot and edited, and its storyline is very compelling.
