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Just for fun, this page provides a list of cameo appearances made by natural arches in the movies. If you know of any movies that should be added to this list, please contact the webmaster. Many of the depictions of arches in the movies are not real arches but instead are computer-generated ones. These are included here as well. Movies are listed alphabetically. You can scroll down or use the links here to jump directly to a movie. Australia (2008). This epic story of cattle ranching in the Northern Territory of Australia stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. At 60 minutes into the film there is a cattle stampede where some of the cattle go through a large arch. There are four different shots of the arch. All of the scenery in this sequence is computer generated, including the improbably large arch. We would have preferred to see computer-generated cattle going through the very real and very beautiful Beehive Arch in Western Australia.
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002). This Chinese "tailor made" romance was nominated for a Golden Globe for best foreign film. Among the movie's spectacular scenery filmed in the Zhangjiajie Mountains in Hunan Province is Heaven's Gate Mountain (Tianmen Shan). There are four scenes of the arch from the "The Village Beyond the Eye in the Sky" (at 7, 8, 55, and 92 minutes).
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005). This Walt Disney adaptaton of the C.S. Lewis fantasy children's book contains a scene (at 62 minutes) with the natural arch in the Czech Republic known as Pravcicka Brana.
Clash of the Titans (1981). Ray Harryhausen's final fantasy movie has some quick scenes (beginning at 104 minutes) filmed at Azure Window on the Island of Gozo, Malta. Notice the flat underside of the span! Since this movie was made, a large mass of rock has fallen from the underside of the span. Compare this shot with later movies showing the same arch (The Count of Monte Cristo and The Odyssey).
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) has scenes of several natural arches in Malta (on the islands of Gozo and Comino). At 13 minutes into the film, a couple is kissing near Azure Window. Compare the underside of the arch to the earlier film Clash of the Titans.
Between 68 and 70 minutes into the film, the protagonist visits five natural arches in rapid succession (although in reality the first is on a different island than the other four). These five natural arches are shown below. The first is the entrance to the Inland Sea on the island of Gozo. This tunnel-like sea arch has a span of 15 meters, and photos do not do it justice. The second, which has a span of 25 meters, is part of the Blue Lagoon complex on the west end of the island of Comino. The third is Elephant Arch in the east side of Comino. It has a span of 8 meters. The fourth and fifth are both part of the Blue Lagoon complex, which has multiple openings. The fifth one shows one of the interior tunnels. Photos do not do this place justice either.
Curse of the Golden Flower (2006). This Chinese historical costume drama starring Chow Yun-Fat and Gong Li includes an attack by ninjas sliding down ropes with Sky Dragon Bridge in the background. This is a large natural bridge near Wulong, China. The very brief scene is 60 minutes into the film.
The Edge of the World (1937). This film about a dying way of life on an isolated Shetland fishing port was filmed on the island of Foula. At 2 minutes into the film and again at 54 minutes there are shots of the Gaada Stack, a double arch just off the northern end of the island.
Everest (IMAX, 1998). During a training session before climbing Everest in this documentary IMAX film, two of the climbers bicycle through Corona Arch, Utah, and the aerial camera follows them right through the opening (4 minutes into the film). Very spectacular on the big IMAX screen.
Flight of the Phoenix (2004). This remake of the 1965 Jimmy Stewart movie is a story of the survivors of a plane crash in the Gobi Desert, starring Dennis Quaid. At 16 minutes into the film, the crashing plane scrapes the top of a computer-generated arch. One of the characters visits the scene at 41 minutes into the film, as seen below. The arch in the image is of course not real.
Hulk (2003). This first theatrical version of the comic book story starring Eric Bana has a sequence where the computer-generated Hulk goes bounding through real scenery in southern Utah. This includes jumping off Double Arch (at 103 minutes into the film) and getting chased by helicopters around the sandstone bowl at Delicate Arch (at 105 minutes into the film). Both arches are in Arches National Park, Utah. Although both arches are real, the scene below (showing the Hulk walking away from Double Arch) is altered by moving a rock monolith from another section of the Park!
In the scene below, a helicopter (top arrow) has just flown through Delicate Arch. The Hulk (middle arrow) is running around the sandstone bowl while being shot at by a second helicopter (bottom arrow).
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). During the opening credits of the third Indiana Jones movie, a group of Boy Scouts goes under Double Arch in Arches National Park to enter a cave under the arch. The arch is real but of course in reality there is no cave there.
The Island (2005). One of the most beautifully filmed sequences with a natural arch to ever grace the big screen occurs during the opening credits of this action-adventure science fiction film directed by Michael Bay and starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. The scene swoops the viewer right through the opening of a majestic sea arch just off the coast of the northern tip of the South Island of New Zealand — one of the Archway Islands off Wharariki Beach.
In a later scene (six minutes into the film), people are watching a big viewscreen flyby of another outstanding sea arch that in reality is only about a mile from the first one — this one is at Cape Farewell, New Zealand.
Jason and the Argonauts (1963). This film is best known for the Ray Harryhausen special effects. At 35 minutes into the film, the Argonauts land on shore and battle the giant bronze statue of Talos, which comes to life and attacks the Argonauts. This was filmed next to Palinuro Arch on the coast of Italy near Palinuro, and there is even one scene where the giant arm of Talos reaches through the (very real) arch, trying to grab escaping Argonauts. Four shots of this arch are shown below.
At 60 minutes into the film the Argonauts sail by another natural arch that is in reality not far from the first one and also on the coastline near Palinuro, Italy. It is called Faro (Lighthouse) Natural Arch and is seen below.
The Kentuckian (1955). This western starring Burt Lancaster shows Sky Bridge, Kentucky, at 17 minutes into the film.
King Kong (1976). This version of King Kong might be overshadowed by both the 1933 and 2005 versions, but at least it has a natural arch in it. When the boat lands on Kong's island (29 minutes into the movie), the real setting is Honopu Beach on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, and Honopu Arch can be seen in the background. Actress Jessica Lange is the first to go through the arch (below).
The Odyssey (TV 1997). This 3-hour TV miniseries with a $40 million budget is based on the book by Homer and stars Armand Assante as Odysseus. At 25 minutes into the movie there is a spectacular scene filmed at Azure Window on the island of Gozo, Malta.
Rescue Dawn (2006). This true story of an Amercian prisoner of war in Laos was filmed in Thailand. At 82 minutes into the film, two escaping prisoners pass by a beautiful limestone natural arch (the White Hole) in the Krabi District near Ao Nang, Thailand. It has an approximate span of 150 feet.
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002). This beautifully animated family film, which tells the story of a wild stallion who gets captured in the Old West, features music by Bryan Adams. One minute into the film, an eagle flies through the natural arch depicted below. (Just in case you were uncertain, the arch ain't real.)
Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace (1999). This movie definitely holds the record for the greatest number of computer-generated arches — found on the planet Tatooine. The famous pod race sequence goes through too many of them to count. At 62 minutes into the film, during the first lap of the pod race, we see the racers enter a corridor of arches in the scene shown below. There are 10 arches visible in this shot.
It is not until the third lap (at 65 minutes into the film) that we see what happens after entering this extensive concentration of arches. As soon as the racers go through an arch, more and more of them become visible, in a seemingly endless stream even though the sequence goes by incredibly fast. A typical shot (one of many) is below. Planet Earth has not produced arch corridors quite like these, but check out Abareqqa Arch in the Sahara Desert for an arch corridor view through three openings.
Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones (2002). We are back on the planet Tatooine for a quick look at a single virtual arch at 72 minutes into the film. A flying scooter passing under the span provides scale for the huge arch. The scooter can be seen in this still image as a tiny dark speck leaving a long dust trail along the ground behind it.
The Time Machine (2002). Most arches are formed by centuries of slow erosion. This 2002 adaptation of the H. G. Wells novel The Time Machine illustrates this concept on film. At 35 minutes into the film, as the protagonist's time machine is stuck in fast forward mode, the swift passage of time is in part indicated by the sight of a great stone arch beginning with a tiny hole and evolving into a large opening in a mere two seconds. The final result is shown below (computer generated, of course). The scene then shifts elsewhere, so we do not get to see the arch erode away and collapse, as it surely would do in the course of time.
Wild Rovers (1971). Much of this western was filmed in Arches National Park and Monument Valley. At 111 minutes, two cowboys are seen riding by Landsape Arch. This movie is not available on DVD and the image below comes from VHS.
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![Everest [Corona Arch]](everest.jpg)
