Best Travel Movies

August 4, 2010

Here are twenty-five of my picks for “Best Travel Movie”:

2 Days in Paris (Paris)
A Mighty Heart (Pakistan)
After The Wedding (Denmark and India)
Before Sunrise (Vienna)
Charlie Wilson’s War (Afghanistan)
Children of Heaven (Iran)
Chinatown (Los Angeles)
Elsa and Fred (Madrid and Rome)
Giant (Texas)
In Bruges (Belgium)
Kite Runner (Afghanistan)
Memoirs Of A Geisha (Japan)
Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil (Savannah, Georgia)
Rififi (Paris)
The Class (Paris)
The Counterfeiters (Germany)
The Edge of Heaven (Berlin and Turkey)
The Good German (Berlin)
The Orphanage (Spain)
The Savages (Upstate New York)
The Tunnel (Berlin)
There Will Be Blood (California)
Transsiberian (Russia)
Under The Same Moon (Mexico and U.S.)
Vitus (Switzerland)

Last updated by Dick Jordan at February 17, 2013.

{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

Danique October 12, 2011 at 3:15 AM: Nice list. Love 2 days in Paris and the kite runner. Paris, Texas is also one of my favourites. Heard some good things about In Bruges (the one with Colin Farrell, isn’t it?). I am definetely going to rent that dvd!
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Dick Jordan October 12, 2011 at 10:13 AM: Thanks for your comment.

Yes, In Bruges is a fine, amusing little film starring Colin Farrell.
Ketones December 17, 2011 at 5:52 AM: I remember it was around 10 years back when I watched Before Sunrise. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy was amazing. I am looking to watch some of the other movies that you have mentioned in your top 25 list too.
Dick Jordan December 17, 2011 at 11:01 AM: Thanks for your comment. Hope you enjoy the other films on our top pick list.
Traveler's Muse February 12, 2012 at 4:26 PM: Where there is a will there is a way and I feel that one day I will find my ticket over seas. I have always wanted to travel the world even with all the chaos that goes on with our different governments I am still driven. “A Mighty Heart” is a perfect example of a sad story but also one of strength that is just beautiful in many ways. I like traveling even as Dish has me doing business around the country; I feel I am still seeing places I have never seen. I plan little side adventures in each new place as a way of getting the most out of my trip but there are always the airports. Many get stressed out in these wonderful lounges of mayhem but as a subscriber to dishonline I visit there often to unwind. I get lost in wonderful films, which are pouring out of the site and ease any stressful situation I find. I love travel films and appreciate the list you put together and I will be watching some of these on my next trips.
Dick Jordan February 13, 2012 at 4:12 PM: Thanks for your comment. Glad you enjoyed the film listing.
Vera Marie Badertscher Twitter: pen4hire February 22, 2012 at 8:18 AM: Hi Dick: Boy, it is hard to narrow the choices, isn’t it. And Darn it! you’ve presented me with a bunch of things I haven’t seen yet. But In Bruges, did make us alter our travel plans to see that charming city on our last trip to Europe. For Paris, though, I think Woody Allen’s Oscar-nominated Midnight in Paris trumps all the Paris films I’ve ever seen.
National Geographic Traveler has a “best travel films” article this month, with which I took exception (of course). Jane Boursaw (Reellifewithjane.com) and I will publish our thoughts on their list shortly.
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Dick Jordan February 22, 2012 at 9:46 AM: Like you, I saw “In Bruges” before heading to Amsterdam and was motivated to visit it. Unlike you, I didn’t get there as it would have required either lopping off too many days at another stop, are just doing a “one-night stand” in Bruges. Sometimes Europe seems like a candy store with too many things to “consume” during a single trip, even one a month-long as have been my last two Continental journeys.

I loved “Midnight in Paris” and it’s the only Woody Allen movie I’ve ever really enjoyed. I’ll either have to expand or edit my “travel movie” list to include it.

I think this may be the “National Geographic Traveler” piece on movies that you mention.
Linda Watanabe McFerrin Twitter: lwmcferrin February 23, 2012 at 9:55 AM: Great list … a lot of favorites there. I loved In Bruges and not just because I’ve been in Bruges. It’s a very sharp movie. Great screenplay. I’d put The Last Emperor on this list because you can’t go to that China anymore.
Dick Jordan February 28, 2012 at 3:43 PM: Thanks, Linda.

I probably should expand this list beyond the current twenty-five and add “The Last Emperor,” which I agree is a great flick about bygone days in China.