Vienna’s imperial flair has served as a favourite movie set for many years. Wherever you look, the city is a feast for the eyes of screenwriters, film location scouts and directors, both Austrian and international. Its baroque palaces are adorned with sculptures and the diverse styles of its churches, towers and spires add a note of fantasy. See locations used in “Woman in Gold” starring Helen Mirren, “The Three Musketeers” with Kiefer Sutherland and Tim Curry, or “Mission Impossible 5” with Tom Cruise abseiling from the roof of the Staatsoper. Endless is also the list of film artists who have made their way from Vienna to Hollywood, producers, directors, actors, composers and cinematographers. Names like Erich von Stroheim, Max Reinhardt, Otto Preminger, Max Steiner, Erich Korngold, Fred Zinnemann, Billy Wilder, Leon Askin, Peter Lorre or Hedy Lamarr have become Hollywood household names. Many were attracted by the prospects of a glamorous career, for hundreds of others Hollywood meant freedom from racial and political persecution.
