Patriotic films and their locations you can visit this 4th of July!
By Viv Smith (SetJetters CMO & CoFounder)
At SetJetters we love the way movies open our eyes to the world around us, so for some special occasions we like to share our favorite movies and special insights about their real-world sets. You can find the exact locations of the scenes mentioned (and many more!) on the SetJetters app.
For the 4th of July holiday in the United States, we’ve gathered a few classic American movies and dived into their filming locations around the country. We hope they inspire you to get out and explore the diverse lands, people and cultures around the US.
Pearl Harbor - It’s certainly not the most accurate World War II movie, but it’s hard to leave an explosive, flag waving Michael Bay film off a list of movies for America’s birthday!
Pearl Harbor was shot mostly in California and Hawaii. The scene pictured here (where the young Scout boys watch the Japanese planes fly overhead) was shot on Kualoa Ranch in Hawaii which has also been the backdrop for Jurassic Park, Kong: Skull Island, Windtalkers, Triple Frontier and the new Jumanji film Welcome to the Jungle.
It’s a stunningly beautiful location on Oahu’s windward coast and was the residence of kings. In ancient Hawai’i, newborns of the ali’i (Hawaiian chiefs) were brought here and trained in ancient traditions, history and the arts of war. As fishermen passed this valley, they had to lower their sails, and if they didn’t, it meant death.
A League of Their Own
Since Right off the Bat in 1915, there have been about 200 films made about baseball! So, needless to say, we also couldn’t leave America’s favorite pastime off this list! A League of Their Own rises to the top of almost every baseball movie list, and for good reason - an inspiring story with a star studded cast.
Most of the movie was shot on the east coast of the US. The scene pictured (where Geena Davies shows what it really means to throw like a girl) was shot in Evansville, Indiana at Bosse Field. This field has its own place in baseball history: first opened in 1915, it is now the third oldest ballpark in the United States, surpassed only by Fenway Park in Boston and Wrigley Field in Chicago.
(Don’t worry we haven’t forgotten about Field of Dreams, but then we’d have two Costner films on the list! And 2022 is the 30th anniversary of A League of Their Own!)
Dances With Wolves
There are a number of films that show off the spectacular national parks of the United States, most recently was the Academy Award Winning film Nomadland (an honorable mention on our list!). The 1990 epic Dances With Wolves also does an amazing job of nestling its story into the very landscape in which it is set.
Mostly shot in South Dakota, Wyoming and the Badlands National Park (as pictured), what’s really fun to check out is the memorialized Dances With Wolves Film Set: A group of relocated buildings from the original filming site used as “Fort Hays”. You can now find the buildings on the site of the Chuckwagon Supper & Music Variety Show south of Rapid City on Highway 16. Our SetJetters users that have visited tell us you can access the interior of some of the buildings and there’s a South Dakota Movie Museum next door, all accessible for free.
We’d love to get more Native American-focused films in SetJetters. Submit the ones you feel we should have, via the Submit form in the SetJetters app.
Hidden Figures
Many credit the success of America’s space race to NASA as an organization, but the 2016 film Hidden Figures does a wonderful job of acknowledging the real people, many of whom were black women, behind the hard work, number crunching and engineering prowess that actually put man in space.
SetJetting Hidden Figures will take you all over the south from Georgia to Texas and to some real army and aeronautical research facilities. And of course you can find scenes and their locations on the SetJetters app. The scene below was shot at the Fort McPherson U.S Army Military Base in Atlanta Georgia (now repurposed by the Tyler Perry Film Studios).
We’d also love to get more films by Black filmmakers in SetJetters. Submit the ones you feel we should have, via the Submit form in the SetJetters app.
Independence Day
Obviously this was going to be on the list! Although it was the highest grossing film in 1996, it is perhaps a little dated now (so for some more updated alien invasion movies we recommend Arrival or Edge of Tomorrow) but Independence Day is a good one to include on any SetJetting list - there are some easily accessed scenes in Los Angeles - notably Captain Steven Hiller’s (played by Will Smith) house at 6033 West 7th Street, LA. (as pictured)
However, production for Independence Day was expansive and to visit all major filming locations will take you to New York, Washington, Flagstaff Arizona to the Plains of San Agustin New Mexico and salt flats of Utah.
The Patriot
Is there much explanation needed for including this flag waving patriot?!
The Patriot was entirely shot in South Carolina and the film is embraced by local tourism. All locations are open to the public, but some no longer exist or were built just for the movie, however here is a quick list of some key The Patriot scene locations:
Revolutionary War reenactment battles were staged at Rock Hill in York County off the Interstate 77
Historic Brattonsville served as the location for the Continental Encampment, the plantation in Camden, as well as Interiors of the Howard's home.
Exterior shots of Charlotte Selton's plantation were filmed at Mansfield Plantation in Georgetown County.
Interior shots of the assembly meetings were shot at Randolph Hall at the College of Charleston
The beach slave camp was shot at Botany Bay on Edisto Island.
The Britisher's ball scene was shot at Middleton Place Plantation in Dorchester County.
The King's highway skirmish scene was shot at Fort Lawn.
Cypress Gardens was used for the location of the Old Spanish Mission Black Swamp Militia's secret island headquarters.
SetJetters is the app that puts film locations in the palm of your hand.
Download for free on Android or Apple stores, and we look forward to seeing your photos from your favorite movie locations.
