John Ur stays a spell in Georgia during
this week's stop on the Cinematic Road Trip.
Despite having traversed my way across the country many times, Georgia has been a recent discovery for me, having made a few trips there within the past year to visit with my significant other and her family. We hiked to the top of Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, and we drove down to Athens to visit her alma mater and Michael Stipes' bamboo-surrounded house. But Georgia is still a world away from most things that I've ever experienced. And several films that have been shot in the state certainly reinforce that theory.
Driving Miss Daisy takes place in 1940s Atlanta. The story, on the surface, follows a 72-year old widow, Daisy Werthan (Jessica Tandy) as she adjusts to being driven around by Hoke (Morgan Freeman) after she's totaled her car and cannot find any insurance to continue driving herself. On the deeper level, the story is about both passive and active racism in the Deep South between the 40s and 60s when the Civil Rights movement was gaining ground.
The filming for Driving Miss Daisy took place in the Atlanta area - in Druid Hills and Castleberry Hills - and nearby locations including Decatur, Douglasville and Griffin, Georgia. The crew looked for places that made the area look rural and undeveloped, qualities that still hold true if you venture a little ways outside of Atlanta's boundaries.
this week's stop on the Cinematic Road Trip. Despite having traversed my way across the country many times, Georgia has been a recent discovery for me, having made a few trips there within the past year to visit with my significant other and her family. We hiked to the top of Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, and we drove down to Athens to visit her alma mater and Michael Stipes' bamboo-surrounded house. But Georgia is still a world away from most things that I've ever experienced. And several films that have been shot in the state certainly reinforce that theory.
Driving Miss Daisy takes place in 1940s Atlanta. The story, on the surface, follows a 72-year old widow, Daisy Werthan (Jessica Tandy) as she adjusts to being driven around by Hoke (Morgan Freeman) after she's totaled her car and cannot find any insurance to continue driving herself. On the deeper level, the story is about both passive and active racism in the Deep South between the 40s and 60s when the Civil Rights movement was gaining ground.
The filming for Driving Miss Daisy took place in the Atlanta area - in Druid Hills and Castleberry Hills - and nearby locations including Decatur, Douglasville and Griffin, Georgia. The crew looked for places that made the area look rural and undeveloped, qualities that still hold true if you venture a little ways outside of Atlanta's boundaries.
North of Atlanta are the mountains (that's where you'll find
Springer Mountain). Head east and you'll meet the border of South
Carolina defined by the Savannah and Tugaloo rivers. It's this area
that was the inspiration for the nightmare film Deliverance. Based on the novel by James Dickey, Deliverance
sets four adult men out in the mountain wilderness of North Georgia
where they intend to canoe the fictional Cahulawassee River before a
dam turns it into a man-made lake.
Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox play the foursome that find themselves in the deep backwoods. Getting lost in the search for the river, they end up stopping to ask for directions at a dilapidated wooden house - making for the now-famous "Dueling Banjos" scene. Eventually they make it to the river, but they're out of their element and in a land that seems like uncharted territory, at least as far as law and order are concerned. They then go on to find themselves in a slew of frightening predicaments with the locals...
There's no need for me to go into graphic details about the plot, as the setting is a star in itself. The trees and cliffs surrounding the river will let you know: You're on your own. But beware. The movie was shot on the Chattooga River and according to IMDB.com, 31 people lost their lives the year following Deliverance's release trying to travel down the same stretch of river.
Neither of these movies will show you southern Georgia and the coast near Savannah. You'll need to check out Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil for that. These movies feature the hidden areas of Georgia - the ones I did not grow up with - and hopefully, you will understand the state a little more after watching them.
Read More: Want to shoot your own movie in Georgia? You can learn how at the Georgia film office. For more films shot in Southwest Georgia, you can visit their own film commission site. And if you want information on the movies filmed in Savannah, the city has a whole list of films (including the classic Forrest Gump) which were shot there. And check out Janelle's recent visit to Georgia, and a whole slew of reader picks on what to do there. And read more stops along the Cinematic Road Trip by going here.
Photo: John Ur
Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox play the foursome that find themselves in the deep backwoods. Getting lost in the search for the river, they end up stopping to ask for directions at a dilapidated wooden house - making for the now-famous "Dueling Banjos" scene. Eventually they make it to the river, but they're out of their element and in a land that seems like uncharted territory, at least as far as law and order are concerned. They then go on to find themselves in a slew of frightening predicaments with the locals...
There's no need for me to go into graphic details about the plot, as the setting is a star in itself. The trees and cliffs surrounding the river will let you know: You're on your own. But beware. The movie was shot on the Chattooga River and according to IMDB.com, 31 people lost their lives the year following Deliverance's release trying to travel down the same stretch of river.
Neither of these movies will show you southern Georgia and the coast near Savannah. You'll need to check out Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil for that. These movies feature the hidden areas of Georgia - the ones I did not grow up with - and hopefully, you will understand the state a little more after watching them.
Read More: Want to shoot your own movie in Georgia? You can learn how at the Georgia film office. For more films shot in Southwest Georgia, you can visit their own film commission site. And if you want information on the movies filmed in Savannah, the city has a whole list of films (including the classic Forrest Gump) which were shot there. And check out Janelle's recent visit to Georgia, and a whole slew of reader picks on what to do there. And read more stops along the Cinematic Road Trip by going here.
Photo: John Ur
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