From Jaws to Psycho, movie sets can be exhausting, tragic, and beautiful all at once — and these photos prove it.
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33 Of The Most Epic War Movies Of All Time
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1 of 51Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando smoke and take a load off on the set of A Streetcar Named Desire.
The Tennessee Williams play was adapted by Elia Kazan, who also directed James Dean in East Of Eden.
- New Orleans, Louisiana.Mondadori/Getty Images 2 of 51Cinema legend Steven Spielberg on the set of his production-plagued horror film, Jaws.
Jaws changed the summer blockbuster forever. It told studios that wide releases and genre pictures were not only viable, but enormously profitable.
- Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/ Getty Images 3 of 51Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese became the epitome of actor-director duos in the 1970s.
Their work on films such as Taxi Driver (seen here) have become hallmarks of 1970s cinema.
- Columbia Pictures/Getty Images 4 of 51From left to right: Ernest Thesiger, Colin Clive, Boris Karloff — who popularized the Frankenstein character on film — and Elsa Lanchester.
Seen here is the cast of Bride of Frankenstein taking a gander at the film’s art direction.
1935.John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images 5 of 51Jack Nicholson and visionary cinematic genius Stanley Kubrick on the set of The Shining.
Stephen King, whose novel the film was based on, detested Kubrick’s film.
- Elstree Studios, Hertfordshire, England.Murray Close/Sygma/Getty Images 6 of 51Bruce Willis takes an important call on an enormous 1990s cell phone while shooting Die Hard With a Vengeance.
1994.Mitchell Gerber/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images 7 of 51Filming Apocalypse Now was so utterly physically, mentally, and financially exhausting that Francis Ford Coppola had numerous breakdowns on the Philippines set.
Dennis Hopper’s drug use, Martin Sheen binge-drinking, and Marlon Brando not learning his lines were a cakewalk compared to the logistics of helicopter sequences like this.
The subsequent documentary Hearts of Darkness is a must-watch for any casual fan of the film.
April 28, 1976. Baler, Philippines.Dirck Halstead/Liaison 8 of 51Tom Cruise scored a major blockbuster hit with 1986’s Top Gun.
The character of Maverick became somewhat of a template for the actor throughout several of his genre-oriented films.
Director Tony Scott tragically committed suicide by leaping from the Vincent Thomas Bridge in 2012.
1986.Paramount Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 9 of 51The Terminator and eventual governor of California, himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger chomps down on a cigar while filming James Cameron’s True Lies.
- Tony Savino/Sygma/Getty Images 10 of 51Stanley Kubrick in the midst of production on the political satire Dr. Strangelove.
His work with Peter Sellers also appeared with 1962’s adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita.
1963.George Rinhart/Corbis/Getty Images 11 of 51Before Antonio Banderas was a household name, he starred in an action blockbuster called Desperado that showed he could lead a film of this caliber.
1995.Santiago Bueno/Sygma/Getty Images 12 of 51Brad Pitt said that he was becoming rather dissuaded by Hollywood and his career trajectory during the mid-1990s — until he met David Fincher.
The two are extremely close friends to this day and have worked on three major movies together.
The duo is seen here on the set of Se7en, which became a gigantic success.
1995.New Line Cinema/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 13 of 51Francis Ford Coppola had to deal with terrible weather in the Philippines and his fairly unreliable cast throughout the 16-month shoot of Apocalypse Now.
April 28, 1976. Philippines.Dirck Halstead/Getty Images 14 of 51A remarkable swath of screenwriters attests to this day that Lawrence Kasdan’s screenplay of Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the finest, most cohesive adventure scripts ever written.
Harrison Ford and director Steven Spielberg made four Indiana Jones films together.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 15 of 51Hong Kong “gun fu” movie legend John Woo watches as Nicolas Cage ensures he’s on his mark and in position with the shot on the set of Face/Off.
1997.Touchstone/Getty Images 16 of 51A young Leonardo DiCaprio being carried by co-star James Madi on the set of The Basketball Diaries.
The press run of this film was rooted firmly in anti-drug discussions, as well as honoring the writer of the source material, Jim Carroll.
- New York, New York.Mark Peterson/Corbis/Getty Images 17 of 51Roman Polanski with Mia Farrow on the set of Rosemary’s Baby.
Farrow was served with divorce papers by her husband Frank Sinatra during the shoot. He was furious she accepted the role. He had demanded earlier she quit her career.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 18 of 51Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling chill out while the crew prepares to shoot on the set of The Nice Guys.
Both Crowe and Gosling reportedly took the roles specifically to work with each other.
- Los Angeles, California.TSM/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images 19 of 51Director Lewis Milestone with Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Sammy Davis Jr. on the set of Ocean’s 11.
1960.Hulton Archive/Getty Images 20 of 51Werner Herzog (center) directs dwarf actors on the set of his 1971 film Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen (Even Dwarfs Started Small).
The plot revolves around a group of institutionalized dwarfs who take over the asylum on a remote island, with mayhem ensuing.
1970.John Springer Collection/Corbis/Getty Images 21 of 51Will Smith, in character as heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, with director Michael Mann on the set of Ali.
Smith spent nearly two years learning about Ali, including physical training, learning his dialect, and studying his beliefs.
- Los Angeles, California.Peter Brandt/Getty Images 22 of 51Alfred Hitchcock and Janet Leigh on the famous shower set of Psycho.
This iconic scene had a profound effect on its star actress. “I stopped taking showers and I only take baths,” Leigh later revealed. “And when I’m someplace where I can only take a bath, I make sure the doors and windows of the house are locked. I also leave the bathroom door open and shower curtain open. I’m always facing the door, watching, no matter where the shower head is.”
This 45-second scene used a whopping 78 camera set-ups and 52 edits.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 23 of 51Martin Scorsese and Joe Pesci on the set of The Irishman.
Scorcese famously opted to work with Netflix on the project, as no other studio would likely green-light the unsettling epic, especially with its $140 million budget.
- New York, New York. Bobby Bank/GC Images 24 of 51Alfred Hitchcock and Paul Newman on the set of Torn Curtain.
The pair had an incompatible working relationship, as Newman wanted to keep refining the character and script, which Hitchcock found disrespectful.
“I think Hitch and I could have really hit it off, but the script kept getting in the way,” Newman reportedly said afterward.
1966.John Springer Collection/CorbisGetty Images 25 of 51Paul Newman and Robert Redford as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid posing for a photograph on the set of the eponymous western.
George Roy Hill’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid inspired directors such as David Fincher to go into filmmaking.
- Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images 26 of 51Francis Ford Coppola with young Vito Corleone, himself, Robert DeNiro, on the set of The Godfather Pt. II.
The role won DeNiro his first Oscar (for Best Supporting Actor).
Paramount Pictures/Getty Images 27 of 51Marvel actors Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, and Chris Evans film a scene for The Avengers.
New York, New York.Ray Tamarra/Getty Images 28 of 51Russell Crowe on the set of Ridley Scott’s sword-and-sandals epic, Gladiator.
Scott decided on this particular location when he learned that the Forestry Commission planned to remove a section of the forest — so he convinced them to let him shoot there and help with the “deforestation.”
- Bourne Wood, England.Ken Goff/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images 29 of 51Edward Norton has said that making 25th Hour with Spike Lee was one of the best filmmaking experiences he ever had.
He also called Lee the most “rigorous” and “prepared” director he ever worked with.
- New York, New York.Tom Kingston/WireImage 30 of 51Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe in between takes while filming John Huston’s The Misfits.
The shoot was plagued by regular 108 degree Fahrenheit heat and the crumbling of Monroe and husband Arthur Miller’s marriage. On top of that, Miller was revising the script throughout.
- Reno, Nevada.Ernst Haas/Getty Images 31 of 51Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks on the set of Saving Private Ryan.
The Omaha Beach landing scenes cost $12 million and employed more than 1,000 extras. 20 to 30 amputees were used for some of the more gruesome sequences.
1998.Paramount Pictures/Fotos International/Getty Images 32 of 51Two unidentified actors run for director Francis Ford Coppola’s harrowing Vietnam War recreation scenes on the set of Apocalypse Now.
- Philippines.Dirck Halstead/Getty Images 33 of 51Lauren Bacall has a smoke with her husband Humphrey Bogart on the set of the classic film, Key Largo.
Their relationship became so iconic that the alliteration of “Bogie and Bacall” was commonly uttered by a whole generation.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images 34 of 51Sigourney Weaver with director Ridley Scott on the set of his science-fiction horror classic Alien.
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 35 of 51Meryl Streep with actor and director Clint Eastwood on the set of The Bridges of Madison County.
When Warner Bros. chairman Terry Semel suggested Eastwood direct the film due to so many others dropping out, Eastwood replied, “Give me 24 hours.”
He then took a Warner’s jet to Madison County, inspected some locations for the shoot, and told the studio head, “Yeah, I’ll do it.”
- Madison County, Iowa.Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 36 of 51Before there were multiple actors who played the role of James Bond across several installments, there was only one man for the part — Sean Connery.
The Scotsman is seen here on the set of the fourth film,Thunderball, having a laugh while shooting a scene at a casino, in classic Bond tradition.
- London, England.Mario De Biasi/Mondadori/Getty Images 37 of 51The studio had such little faith in George Lucas and his bizarre fantasy film Star Wars that they essentially let him have the reins — as well as licensing and merchandising rights.
Little did they know that it would become one of the most profitable franchises in the history of medium.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 38 of 51Bruce Lee showing off his remarkable skills on the set of Enter the Dragon.
1973.Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images 39 of 51James Dean made quite the mark on Hollywood and the progression of realism in acting during his few short years as an A-lister.
Here he is on the set of Giant, having a smoke break between takes.
1955.Richard C. Miller/Donaldson Collection/Getty Images 40 of 51Marilyn Monroe films a scene that would become an iconic moment in cinema history outside a food store on 51st Street and Lexington Avenue.
The scene of her skirt getting blown up by the subterranean gusts of subway wind has since been parodied to death.
An estimated 1,500 New Yorkers stayed awake to congregate and watch this scene from The Seven-Year Itch get shot.
- New York, New York.Bettmann/Getty Images 41 of 51Global action star and infamous Scientologist Tom Cruise makes sure the shot is properly lined up on the set of Mission: Impossible.
It was entirely unclear at the time whether or not Cruise and director Brian De Palma’s gamble on reviving the television series as a movie franchise would pay off. Obviously, it did.
1996.Murray Close/Getty Images 42 of 51Quentin Tarantino helped revive John Travolta’s career by giving him the Vincent Vega role in Pulp Fiction.
The film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and confirmed Tarantino was a filmmaker to watch.
1994.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 43 of 51Actor and director Mel Brooks shouting through a bullhorn while still in costume on the set of Silent Movie.
His son, Max Brooks, wrote the hugely successful World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, which was adapted into a film of its own right.
Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images 44 of 51Sigourney Weaver with writer-director James Cameron on set of his movie Aliens.
Bob Penn/Sygma/Getty Images 45 of 51Marilyn Monroe adjusting her makeup with a trusty handheld mirror on the set of Bus Stop.
It was the first film she made under a new contract, and one she learned the Ozark accent for.
- Hulton Archive/Getty Images 46 of 51James Dean is prepped for the oil gusher scene in Giant.
1956.Warner Brothers/Getty Images 47 of 51Bruce Lee with producer Fred Weintraub on the set of Enter the Dragon.
1973.Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images 48 of 51Sylvester Stallone’s road to getting Rocky made is the stuff of Hollywood legend. Here he is filming a scene with Carl Weathers.
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Getty Images 49 of 51Elizabeth Taylor goes head over heels for James Dean on the set of Giant.
1956.Frank Worth, Courtesy of Capital Art/Getty Images 50 of 51The late director Curtis Hanson directs Eminem on the streets of his hometown, Detroit, on the set of 8 Mile, which won the renowned rapper an Oscar for Best Original Song.
- Detroit, Michigan.Universal Pictures 51 of 51Like this gallery?Share it:
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50 Behind-The-Scenes Photos That’ll Change The Way You Look At Famous Movies View Gallery
When filmmakers speak of movie magic, they’re not exactly joking. For some successful directors, their final products often seemed like impossible goals to reach at first. This is especially true for productions that were plagued with difficulties during the filming process.
Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:
33 Of The Most Epic War Movies Of All Time
44 Of The Best Historical Movies All History Buffs Need To Watch
33 Chilling Photos Of Vintage Crime Scenes At The Birth Of Forensic Photography
1 of 51Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando smoke and take a load off on the set of A Streetcar Named Desire.
The Tennessee Williams play was adapted by Elia Kazan, who also directed James Dean in East Of Eden.
- New Orleans, Louisiana.Mondadori/Getty Images 2 of 51Cinema legend Steven Spielberg on the set of his production-plagued horror film, Jaws.
Jaws changed the summer blockbuster forever. It told studios that wide releases and genre pictures were not only viable, but enormously profitable.
- Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/ Getty Images 3 of 51Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese became the epitome of actor-director duos in the 1970s.
Their work on films such as Taxi Driver (seen here) have become hallmarks of 1970s cinema.
- Columbia Pictures/Getty Images 4 of 51From left to right: Ernest Thesiger, Colin Clive, Boris Karloff — who popularized the Frankenstein character on film — and Elsa Lanchester.
Seen here is the cast of Bride of Frankenstein taking a gander at the film’s art direction.
1935.John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images 5 of 51Jack Nicholson and visionary cinematic genius Stanley Kubrick on the set of The Shining.
Stephen King, whose novel the film was based on, detested Kubrick’s film.
- Elstree Studios, Hertfordshire, England.Murray Close/Sygma/Getty Images 6 of 51Bruce Willis takes an important call on an enormous 1990s cell phone while shooting Die Hard With a Vengeance.
1994.Mitchell Gerber/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images 7 of 51Filming Apocalypse Now was so utterly physically, mentally, and financially exhausting that Francis Ford Coppola had numerous breakdowns on the Philippines set.
Dennis Hopper’s drug use, Martin Sheen binge-drinking, and Marlon Brando not learning his lines were a cakewalk compared to the logistics of helicopter sequences like this.
The subsequent documentary Hearts of Darkness is a must-watch for any casual fan of the film.
April 28, 1976. Baler, Philippines.Dirck Halstead/Liaison 8 of 51Tom Cruise scored a major blockbuster hit with 1986’s Top Gun.
The character of Maverick became somewhat of a template for the actor throughout several of his genre-oriented films.
Director Tony Scott tragically committed suicide by leaping from the Vincent Thomas Bridge in 2012.
1986.Paramount Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 9 of 51The Terminator and eventual governor of California, himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger chomps down on a cigar while filming James Cameron’s True Lies.
- Tony Savino/Sygma/Getty Images 10 of 51Stanley Kubrick in the midst of production on the political satire Dr. Strangelove.
His work with Peter Sellers also appeared with 1962’s adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita.
1963.George Rinhart/Corbis/Getty Images 11 of 51Before Antonio Banderas was a household name, he starred in an action blockbuster called Desperado that showed he could lead a film of this caliber.
1995.Santiago Bueno/Sygma/Getty Images 12 of 51Brad Pitt said that he was becoming rather dissuaded by Hollywood and his career trajectory during the mid-1990s — until he met David Fincher.
The two are extremely close friends to this day and have worked on three major movies together.
The duo is seen here on the set of Se7en, which became a gigantic success.
1995.New Line Cinema/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 13 of 51Francis Ford Coppola had to deal with terrible weather in the Philippines and his fairly unreliable cast throughout the 16-month shoot of Apocalypse Now.
April 28, 1976. Philippines.Dirck Halstead/Getty Images 14 of 51A remarkable swath of screenwriters attests to this day that Lawrence Kasdan’s screenplay of Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the finest, most cohesive adventure scripts ever written.
Harrison Ford and director Steven Spielberg made four Indiana Jones films together.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 15 of 51Hong Kong “gun fu” movie legend John Woo watches as Nicolas Cage ensures he’s on his mark and in position with the shot on the set of Face/Off.
1997.Touchstone/Getty Images 16 of 51A young Leonardo DiCaprio being carried by co-star James Madi on the set of The Basketball Diaries.
The press run of this film was rooted firmly in anti-drug discussions, as well as honoring the writer of the source material, Jim Carroll.
- New York, New York.Mark Peterson/Corbis/Getty Images 17 of 51Roman Polanski with Mia Farrow on the set of Rosemary’s Baby.
Farrow was served with divorce papers by her husband Frank Sinatra during the shoot. He was furious she accepted the role. He had demanded earlier she quit her career.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 18 of 51Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling chill out while the crew prepares to shoot on the set of The Nice Guys.
Both Crowe and Gosling reportedly took the roles specifically to work with each other.
- Los Angeles, California.TSM/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images 19 of 51Director Lewis Milestone with Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Sammy Davis Jr. on the set of Ocean’s 11.
1960.Hulton Archive/Getty Images 20 of 51Werner Herzog (center) directs dwarf actors on the set of his 1971 film Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen (Even Dwarfs Started Small).
The plot revolves around a group of institutionalized dwarfs who take over the asylum on a remote island, with mayhem ensuing.
1970.John Springer Collection/Corbis/Getty Images 21 of 51Will Smith, in character as heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, with director Michael Mann on the set of Ali.
Smith spent nearly two years learning about Ali, including physical training, learning his dialect, and studying his beliefs.
- Los Angeles, California.Peter Brandt/Getty Images 22 of 51Alfred Hitchcock and Janet Leigh on the famous shower set of Psycho.
This iconic scene had a profound effect on its star actress. “I stopped taking showers and I only take baths,” Leigh later revealed. “And when I’m someplace where I can only take a bath, I make sure the doors and windows of the house are locked. I also leave the bathroom door open and shower curtain open. I’m always facing the door, watching, no matter where the shower head is.”
This 45-second scene used a whopping 78 camera set-ups and 52 edits.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 23 of 51Martin Scorsese and Joe Pesci on the set of The Irishman.
Scorcese famously opted to work with Netflix on the project, as no other studio would likely green-light the unsettling epic, especially with its $140 million budget.
- New York, New York. Bobby Bank/GC Images 24 of 51Alfred Hitchcock and Paul Newman on the set of Torn Curtain.
The pair had an incompatible working relationship, as Newman wanted to keep refining the character and script, which Hitchcock found disrespectful.
“I think Hitch and I could have really hit it off, but the script kept getting in the way,” Newman reportedly said afterward.
1966.John Springer Collection/CorbisGetty Images 25 of 51Paul Newman and Robert Redford as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid posing for a photograph on the set of the eponymous western.
George Roy Hill’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid inspired directors such as David Fincher to go into filmmaking.
- Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images 26 of 51Francis Ford Coppola with young Vito Corleone, himself, Robert DeNiro, on the set of The Godfather Pt. II.
The role won DeNiro his first Oscar (for Best Supporting Actor).
Paramount Pictures/Getty Images 27 of 51Marvel actors Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, and Chris Evans film a scene for The Avengers.
New York, New York.Ray Tamarra/Getty Images 28 of 51Russell Crowe on the set of Ridley Scott’s sword-and-sandals epic, Gladiator.
Scott decided on this particular location when he learned that the Forestry Commission planned to remove a section of the forest — so he convinced them to let him shoot there and help with the “deforestation.”
- Bourne Wood, England.Ken Goff/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images 29 of 51Edward Norton has said that making 25th Hour with Spike Lee was one of the best filmmaking experiences he ever had.
He also called Lee the most “rigorous” and “prepared” director he ever worked with.
- New York, New York.Tom Kingston/WireImage 30 of 51Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe in between takes while filming John Huston’s The Misfits.
The shoot was plagued by regular 108 degree Fahrenheit heat and the crumbling of Monroe and husband Arthur Miller’s marriage. On top of that, Miller was revising the script throughout.
- Reno, Nevada.Ernst Haas/Getty Images 31 of 51Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks on the set of Saving Private Ryan.
The Omaha Beach landing scenes cost $12 million and employed more than 1,000 extras. 20 to 30 amputees were used for some of the more gruesome sequences.
1998.Paramount Pictures/Fotos International/Getty Images 32 of 51Two unidentified actors run for director Francis Ford Coppola’s harrowing Vietnam War recreation scenes on the set of Apocalypse Now.
- Philippines.Dirck Halstead/Getty Images 33 of 51Lauren Bacall has a smoke with her husband Humphrey Bogart on the set of the classic film, Key Largo.
Their relationship became so iconic that the alliteration of “Bogie and Bacall” was commonly uttered by a whole generation.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images 34 of 51Sigourney Weaver with director Ridley Scott on the set of his science-fiction horror classic Alien.
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 35 of 51Meryl Streep with actor and director Clint Eastwood on the set of The Bridges of Madison County.
When Warner Bros. chairman Terry Semel suggested Eastwood direct the film due to so many others dropping out, Eastwood replied, “Give me 24 hours.”
He then took a Warner’s jet to Madison County, inspected some locations for the shoot, and told the studio head, “Yeah, I’ll do it.”
- Madison County, Iowa.Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 36 of 51Before there were multiple actors who played the role of James Bond across several installments, there was only one man for the part — Sean Connery.
The Scotsman is seen here on the set of the fourth film,Thunderball, having a laugh while shooting a scene at a casino, in classic Bond tradition.
- London, England.Mario De Biasi/Mondadori/Getty Images 37 of 51The studio had such little faith in George Lucas and his bizarre fantasy film Star Wars that they essentially let him have the reins — as well as licensing and merchandising rights.
Little did they know that it would become one of the most profitable franchises in the history of medium.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 38 of 51Bruce Lee showing off his remarkable skills on the set of Enter the Dragon.
1973.Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images 39 of 51James Dean made quite the mark on Hollywood and the progression of realism in acting during his few short years as an A-lister.
Here he is on the set of Giant, having a smoke break between takes.
1955.Richard C. Miller/Donaldson Collection/Getty Images 40 of 51Marilyn Monroe films a scene that would become an iconic moment in cinema history outside a food store on 51st Street and Lexington Avenue.
The scene of her skirt getting blown up by the subterranean gusts of subway wind has since been parodied to death.
An estimated 1,500 New Yorkers stayed awake to congregate and watch this scene from The Seven-Year Itch get shot.
- New York, New York.Bettmann/Getty Images 41 of 51Global action star and infamous Scientologist Tom Cruise makes sure the shot is properly lined up on the set of Mission: Impossible.
It was entirely unclear at the time whether or not Cruise and director Brian De Palma’s gamble on reviving the television series as a movie franchise would pay off. Obviously, it did.
1996.Murray Close/Getty Images 42 of 51Quentin Tarantino helped revive John Travolta’s career by giving him the Vincent Vega role in Pulp Fiction.
The film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and confirmed Tarantino was a filmmaker to watch.
1994.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 43 of 51Actor and director Mel Brooks shouting through a bullhorn while still in costume on the set of Silent Movie.
His son, Max Brooks, wrote the hugely successful World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, which was adapted into a film of its own right.
Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images 44 of 51Sigourney Weaver with writer-director James Cameron on set of his movie Aliens.
Bob Penn/Sygma/Getty Images 45 of 51Marilyn Monroe adjusting her makeup with a trusty handheld mirror on the set of Bus Stop.
It was the first film she made under a new contract, and one she learned the Ozark accent for.
- Hulton Archive/Getty Images 46 of 51James Dean is prepped for the oil gusher scene in Giant.
1956.Warner Brothers/Getty Images 47 of 51Bruce Lee with producer Fred Weintraub on the set of Enter the Dragon.
1973.Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images 48 of 51Sylvester Stallone’s road to getting Rocky made is the stuff of Hollywood legend. Here he is filming a scene with Carl Weathers.
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Getty Images 49 of 51Elizabeth Taylor goes head over heels for James Dean on the set of Giant.
1956.Frank Worth, Courtesy of Capital Art/Getty Images 50 of 51The late director Curtis Hanson directs Eminem on the streets of his hometown, Detroit, on the set of 8 Mile, which won the renowned rapper an Oscar for Best Original Song.
- Detroit, Michigan.Universal Pictures 51 of 51Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:
33 Of The Most Epic War Movies Of All Time
44 Of The Best Historical Movies All History Buffs Need To Watch
33 Chilling Photos Of Vintage Crime Scenes At The Birth Of Forensic Photography
1 of 51Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando smoke and take a load off on the set of A Streetcar Named Desire.
The Tennessee Williams play was adapted by Elia Kazan, who also directed James Dean in East Of Eden.
- New Orleans, Louisiana.Mondadori/Getty Images 2 of 51Cinema legend Steven Spielberg on the set of his production-plagued horror film, Jaws.
Jaws changed the summer blockbuster forever. It told studios that wide releases and genre pictures were not only viable, but enormously profitable.
- Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/ Getty Images 3 of 51Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese became the epitome of actor-director duos in the 1970s.
Their work on films such as Taxi Driver (seen here) have become hallmarks of 1970s cinema.
- Columbia Pictures/Getty Images 4 of 51From left to right: Ernest Thesiger, Colin Clive, Boris Karloff — who popularized the Frankenstein character on film — and Elsa Lanchester.
Seen here is the cast of Bride of Frankenstein taking a gander at the film’s art direction.
1935.John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images 5 of 51Jack Nicholson and visionary cinematic genius Stanley Kubrick on the set of The Shining.
Stephen King, whose novel the film was based on, detested Kubrick’s film.
- Elstree Studios, Hertfordshire, England.Murray Close/Sygma/Getty Images 6 of 51Bruce Willis takes an important call on an enormous 1990s cell phone while shooting Die Hard With a Vengeance.
1994.Mitchell Gerber/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images 7 of 51Filming Apocalypse Now was so utterly physically, mentally, and financially exhausting that Francis Ford Coppola had numerous breakdowns on the Philippines set.
Dennis Hopper’s drug use, Martin Sheen binge-drinking, and Marlon Brando not learning his lines were a cakewalk compared to the logistics of helicopter sequences like this.
The subsequent documentary Hearts of Darkness is a must-watch for any casual fan of the film.
April 28, 1976. Baler, Philippines.Dirck Halstead/Liaison 8 of 51Tom Cruise scored a major blockbuster hit with 1986’s Top Gun.
The character of Maverick became somewhat of a template for the actor throughout several of his genre-oriented films.
Director Tony Scott tragically committed suicide by leaping from the Vincent Thomas Bridge in 2012.
1986.Paramount Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 9 of 51The Terminator and eventual governor of California, himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger chomps down on a cigar while filming James Cameron’s True Lies.
- Tony Savino/Sygma/Getty Images 10 of 51Stanley Kubrick in the midst of production on the political satire Dr. Strangelove.
His work with Peter Sellers also appeared with 1962’s adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita.
1963.George Rinhart/Corbis/Getty Images 11 of 51Before Antonio Banderas was a household name, he starred in an action blockbuster called Desperado that showed he could lead a film of this caliber.
1995.Santiago Bueno/Sygma/Getty Images 12 of 51Brad Pitt said that he was becoming rather dissuaded by Hollywood and his career trajectory during the mid-1990s — until he met David Fincher.
The two are extremely close friends to this day and have worked on three major movies together.
The duo is seen here on the set of Se7en, which became a gigantic success.
1995.New Line Cinema/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 13 of 51Francis Ford Coppola had to deal with terrible weather in the Philippines and his fairly unreliable cast throughout the 16-month shoot of Apocalypse Now.
April 28, 1976. Philippines.Dirck Halstead/Getty Images 14 of 51A remarkable swath of screenwriters attests to this day that Lawrence Kasdan’s screenplay of Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the finest, most cohesive adventure scripts ever written.
Harrison Ford and director Steven Spielberg made four Indiana Jones films together.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 15 of 51Hong Kong “gun fu” movie legend John Woo watches as Nicolas Cage ensures he’s on his mark and in position with the shot on the set of Face/Off.
1997.Touchstone/Getty Images 16 of 51A young Leonardo DiCaprio being carried by co-star James Madi on the set of The Basketball Diaries.
The press run of this film was rooted firmly in anti-drug discussions, as well as honoring the writer of the source material, Jim Carroll.
- New York, New York.Mark Peterson/Corbis/Getty Images 17 of 51Roman Polanski with Mia Farrow on the set of Rosemary’s Baby.
Farrow was served with divorce papers by her husband Frank Sinatra during the shoot. He was furious she accepted the role. He had demanded earlier she quit her career.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 18 of 51Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling chill out while the crew prepares to shoot on the set of The Nice Guys.
Both Crowe and Gosling reportedly took the roles specifically to work with each other.
- Los Angeles, California.TSM/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images 19 of 51Director Lewis Milestone with Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Sammy Davis Jr. on the set of Ocean’s 11.
1960.Hulton Archive/Getty Images 20 of 51Werner Herzog (center) directs dwarf actors on the set of his 1971 film Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen (Even Dwarfs Started Small).
The plot revolves around a group of institutionalized dwarfs who take over the asylum on a remote island, with mayhem ensuing.
1970.John Springer Collection/Corbis/Getty Images 21 of 51Will Smith, in character as heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, with director Michael Mann on the set of Ali.
Smith spent nearly two years learning about Ali, including physical training, learning his dialect, and studying his beliefs.
- Los Angeles, California.Peter Brandt/Getty Images 22 of 51Alfred Hitchcock and Janet Leigh on the famous shower set of Psycho.
This iconic scene had a profound effect on its star actress. “I stopped taking showers and I only take baths,” Leigh later revealed. “And when I’m someplace where I can only take a bath, I make sure the doors and windows of the house are locked. I also leave the bathroom door open and shower curtain open. I’m always facing the door, watching, no matter where the shower head is.”
This 45-second scene used a whopping 78 camera set-ups and 52 edits.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 23 of 51Martin Scorsese and Joe Pesci on the set of The Irishman.
Scorcese famously opted to work with Netflix on the project, as no other studio would likely green-light the unsettling epic, especially with its $140 million budget.
- New York, New York. Bobby Bank/GC Images 24 of 51Alfred Hitchcock and Paul Newman on the set of Torn Curtain.
The pair had an incompatible working relationship, as Newman wanted to keep refining the character and script, which Hitchcock found disrespectful.
“I think Hitch and I could have really hit it off, but the script kept getting in the way,” Newman reportedly said afterward.
1966.John Springer Collection/CorbisGetty Images 25 of 51Paul Newman and Robert Redford as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid posing for a photograph on the set of the eponymous western.
George Roy Hill’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid inspired directors such as David Fincher to go into filmmaking.
- Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images 26 of 51Francis Ford Coppola with young Vito Corleone, himself, Robert DeNiro, on the set of The Godfather Pt. II.
The role won DeNiro his first Oscar (for Best Supporting Actor).
Paramount Pictures/Getty Images 27 of 51Marvel actors Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, and Chris Evans film a scene for The Avengers.
New York, New York.Ray Tamarra/Getty Images 28 of 51Russell Crowe on the set of Ridley Scott’s sword-and-sandals epic, Gladiator.
Scott decided on this particular location when he learned that the Forestry Commission planned to remove a section of the forest — so he convinced them to let him shoot there and help with the “deforestation.”
- Bourne Wood, England.Ken Goff/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images 29 of 51Edward Norton has said that making 25th Hour with Spike Lee was one of the best filmmaking experiences he ever had.
He also called Lee the most “rigorous” and “prepared” director he ever worked with.
- New York, New York.Tom Kingston/WireImage 30 of 51Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe in between takes while filming John Huston’s The Misfits.
The shoot was plagued by regular 108 degree Fahrenheit heat and the crumbling of Monroe and husband Arthur Miller’s marriage. On top of that, Miller was revising the script throughout.
- Reno, Nevada.Ernst Haas/Getty Images 31 of 51Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks on the set of Saving Private Ryan.
The Omaha Beach landing scenes cost $12 million and employed more than 1,000 extras. 20 to 30 amputees were used for some of the more gruesome sequences.
1998.Paramount Pictures/Fotos International/Getty Images 32 of 51Two unidentified actors run for director Francis Ford Coppola’s harrowing Vietnam War recreation scenes on the set of Apocalypse Now.
- Philippines.Dirck Halstead/Getty Images 33 of 51Lauren Bacall has a smoke with her husband Humphrey Bogart on the set of the classic film, Key Largo.
Their relationship became so iconic that the alliteration of “Bogie and Bacall” was commonly uttered by a whole generation.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images 34 of 51Sigourney Weaver with director Ridley Scott on the set of his science-fiction horror classic Alien.
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 35 of 51Meryl Streep with actor and director Clint Eastwood on the set of The Bridges of Madison County.
When Warner Bros. chairman Terry Semel suggested Eastwood direct the film due to so many others dropping out, Eastwood replied, “Give me 24 hours.”
He then took a Warner’s jet to Madison County, inspected some locations for the shoot, and told the studio head, “Yeah, I’ll do it.”
- Madison County, Iowa.Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 36 of 51Before there were multiple actors who played the role of James Bond across several installments, there was only one man for the part — Sean Connery.
The Scotsman is seen here on the set of the fourth film,Thunderball, having a laugh while shooting a scene at a casino, in classic Bond tradition.
- London, England.Mario De Biasi/Mondadori/Getty Images 37 of 51The studio had such little faith in George Lucas and his bizarre fantasy film Star Wars that they essentially let him have the reins — as well as licensing and merchandising rights.
Little did they know that it would become one of the most profitable franchises in the history of medium.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 38 of 51Bruce Lee showing off his remarkable skills on the set of Enter the Dragon.
1973.Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images 39 of 51James Dean made quite the mark on Hollywood and the progression of realism in acting during his few short years as an A-lister.
Here he is on the set of Giant, having a smoke break between takes.
1955.Richard C. Miller/Donaldson Collection/Getty Images 40 of 51Marilyn Monroe films a scene that would become an iconic moment in cinema history outside a food store on 51st Street and Lexington Avenue.
The scene of her skirt getting blown up by the subterranean gusts of subway wind has since been parodied to death.
An estimated 1,500 New Yorkers stayed awake to congregate and watch this scene from The Seven-Year Itch get shot.
- New York, New York.Bettmann/Getty Images 41 of 51Global action star and infamous Scientologist Tom Cruise makes sure the shot is properly lined up on the set of Mission: Impossible.
It was entirely unclear at the time whether or not Cruise and director Brian De Palma’s gamble on reviving the television series as a movie franchise would pay off. Obviously, it did.
1996.Murray Close/Getty Images 42 of 51Quentin Tarantino helped revive John Travolta’s career by giving him the Vincent Vega role in Pulp Fiction.
The film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and confirmed Tarantino was a filmmaker to watch.
1994.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 43 of 51Actor and director Mel Brooks shouting through a bullhorn while still in costume on the set of Silent Movie.
His son, Max Brooks, wrote the hugely successful World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, which was adapted into a film of its own right.
Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images 44 of 51Sigourney Weaver with writer-director James Cameron on set of his movie Aliens.
Bob Penn/Sygma/Getty Images 45 of 51Marilyn Monroe adjusting her makeup with a trusty handheld mirror on the set of Bus Stop.
It was the first film she made under a new contract, and one she learned the Ozark accent for.
- Hulton Archive/Getty Images 46 of 51James Dean is prepped for the oil gusher scene in Giant.
1956.Warner Brothers/Getty Images 47 of 51Bruce Lee with producer Fred Weintraub on the set of Enter the Dragon.
1973.Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images 48 of 51Sylvester Stallone’s road to getting Rocky made is the stuff of Hollywood legend. Here he is filming a scene with Carl Weathers.
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Getty Images 49 of 51Elizabeth Taylor goes head over heels for James Dean on the set of Giant.
1956.Frank Worth, Courtesy of Capital Art/Getty Images 50 of 51The late director Curtis Hanson directs Eminem on the streets of his hometown, Detroit, on the set of 8 Mile, which won the renowned rapper an Oscar for Best Original Song.
- Detroit, Michigan.Universal Pictures 51 of 51Like this gallery?Share it:
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1 of 51Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando smoke and take a load off on the set of A Streetcar Named Desire.
The Tennessee Williams play was adapted by Elia Kazan, who also directed James Dean in East Of Eden.
- New Orleans, Louisiana.Mondadori/Getty Images 2 of 51Cinema legend Steven Spielberg on the set of his production-plagued horror film, Jaws.
Jaws changed the summer blockbuster forever. It told studios that wide releases and genre pictures were not only viable, but enormously profitable.
- Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/ Getty Images 3 of 51Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese became the epitome of actor-director duos in the 1970s.
Their work on films such as Taxi Driver (seen here) have become hallmarks of 1970s cinema.
- Columbia Pictures/Getty Images 4 of 51From left to right: Ernest Thesiger, Colin Clive, Boris Karloff — who popularized the Frankenstein character on film — and Elsa Lanchester.
Seen here is the cast of Bride of Frankenstein taking a gander at the film’s art direction.
1935.John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images 5 of 51Jack Nicholson and visionary cinematic genius Stanley Kubrick on the set of The Shining.
Stephen King, whose novel the film was based on, detested Kubrick’s film.
- Elstree Studios, Hertfordshire, England.Murray Close/Sygma/Getty Images 6 of 51Bruce Willis takes an important call on an enormous 1990s cell phone while shooting Die Hard With a Vengeance.
1994.Mitchell Gerber/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images 7 of 51Filming Apocalypse Now was so utterly physically, mentally, and financially exhausting that Francis Ford Coppola had numerous breakdowns on the Philippines set.
Dennis Hopper’s drug use, Martin Sheen binge-drinking, and Marlon Brando not learning his lines were a cakewalk compared to the logistics of helicopter sequences like this.
The subsequent documentary Hearts of Darkness is a must-watch for any casual fan of the film.
April 28, 1976. Baler, Philippines.Dirck Halstead/Liaison 8 of 51Tom Cruise scored a major blockbuster hit with 1986’s Top Gun.
The character of Maverick became somewhat of a template for the actor throughout several of his genre-oriented films.
Director Tony Scott tragically committed suicide by leaping from the Vincent Thomas Bridge in 2012.
1986.Paramount Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 9 of 51The Terminator and eventual governor of California, himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger chomps down on a cigar while filming James Cameron’s True Lies.
- Tony Savino/Sygma/Getty Images 10 of 51Stanley Kubrick in the midst of production on the political satire Dr. Strangelove.
His work with Peter Sellers also appeared with 1962’s adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita.
1963.George Rinhart/Corbis/Getty Images 11 of 51Before Antonio Banderas was a household name, he starred in an action blockbuster called Desperado that showed he could lead a film of this caliber.
1995.Santiago Bueno/Sygma/Getty Images 12 of 51Brad Pitt said that he was becoming rather dissuaded by Hollywood and his career trajectory during the mid-1990s — until he met David Fincher.
The two are extremely close friends to this day and have worked on three major movies together.
The duo is seen here on the set of Se7en, which became a gigantic success.
1995.New Line Cinema/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 13 of 51Francis Ford Coppola had to deal with terrible weather in the Philippines and his fairly unreliable cast throughout the 16-month shoot of Apocalypse Now.
April 28, 1976. Philippines.Dirck Halstead/Getty Images 14 of 51A remarkable swath of screenwriters attests to this day that Lawrence Kasdan’s screenplay of Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the finest, most cohesive adventure scripts ever written.
Harrison Ford and director Steven Spielberg made four Indiana Jones films together.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 15 of 51Hong Kong “gun fu” movie legend John Woo watches as Nicolas Cage ensures he’s on his mark and in position with the shot on the set of Face/Off.
1997.Touchstone/Getty Images 16 of 51A young Leonardo DiCaprio being carried by co-star James Madi on the set of The Basketball Diaries.
The press run of this film was rooted firmly in anti-drug discussions, as well as honoring the writer of the source material, Jim Carroll.
- New York, New York.Mark Peterson/Corbis/Getty Images 17 of 51Roman Polanski with Mia Farrow on the set of Rosemary’s Baby.
Farrow was served with divorce papers by her husband Frank Sinatra during the shoot. He was furious she accepted the role. He had demanded earlier she quit her career.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 18 of 51Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling chill out while the crew prepares to shoot on the set of The Nice Guys.
Both Crowe and Gosling reportedly took the roles specifically to work with each other.
- Los Angeles, California.TSM/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images 19 of 51Director Lewis Milestone with Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Sammy Davis Jr. on the set of Ocean’s 11.
1960.Hulton Archive/Getty Images 20 of 51Werner Herzog (center) directs dwarf actors on the set of his 1971 film Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen (Even Dwarfs Started Small).
The plot revolves around a group of institutionalized dwarfs who take over the asylum on a remote island, with mayhem ensuing.
1970.John Springer Collection/Corbis/Getty Images 21 of 51Will Smith, in character as heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, with director Michael Mann on the set of Ali.
Smith spent nearly two years learning about Ali, including physical training, learning his dialect, and studying his beliefs.
- Los Angeles, California.Peter Brandt/Getty Images 22 of 51Alfred Hitchcock and Janet Leigh on the famous shower set of Psycho.
This iconic scene had a profound effect on its star actress. “I stopped taking showers and I only take baths,” Leigh later revealed. “And when I’m someplace where I can only take a bath, I make sure the doors and windows of the house are locked. I also leave the bathroom door open and shower curtain open. I’m always facing the door, watching, no matter where the shower head is.”
This 45-second scene used a whopping 78 camera set-ups and 52 edits.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 23 of 51Martin Scorsese and Joe Pesci on the set of The Irishman.
Scorcese famously opted to work with Netflix on the project, as no other studio would likely green-light the unsettling epic, especially with its $140 million budget.
- New York, New York. Bobby Bank/GC Images 24 of 51Alfred Hitchcock and Paul Newman on the set of Torn Curtain.
The pair had an incompatible working relationship, as Newman wanted to keep refining the character and script, which Hitchcock found disrespectful.
“I think Hitch and I could have really hit it off, but the script kept getting in the way,” Newman reportedly said afterward.
1966.John Springer Collection/CorbisGetty Images 25 of 51Paul Newman and Robert Redford as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid posing for a photograph on the set of the eponymous western.
George Roy Hill’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid inspired directors such as David Fincher to go into filmmaking.
- Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images 26 of 51Francis Ford Coppola with young Vito Corleone, himself, Robert DeNiro, on the set of The Godfather Pt. II.
The role won DeNiro his first Oscar (for Best Supporting Actor).
Paramount Pictures/Getty Images 27 of 51Marvel actors Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, and Chris Evans film a scene for The Avengers.
New York, New York.Ray Tamarra/Getty Images 28 of 51Russell Crowe on the set of Ridley Scott’s sword-and-sandals epic, Gladiator.
Scott decided on this particular location when he learned that the Forestry Commission planned to remove a section of the forest — so he convinced them to let him shoot there and help with the “deforestation.”
- Bourne Wood, England.Ken Goff/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images 29 of 51Edward Norton has said that making 25th Hour with Spike Lee was one of the best filmmaking experiences he ever had.
He also called Lee the most “rigorous” and “prepared” director he ever worked with.
- New York, New York.Tom Kingston/WireImage 30 of 51Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe in between takes while filming John Huston’s The Misfits.
The shoot was plagued by regular 108 degree Fahrenheit heat and the crumbling of Monroe and husband Arthur Miller’s marriage. On top of that, Miller was revising the script throughout.
- Reno, Nevada.Ernst Haas/Getty Images 31 of 51Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks on the set of Saving Private Ryan.
The Omaha Beach landing scenes cost $12 million and employed more than 1,000 extras. 20 to 30 amputees were used for some of the more gruesome sequences.
1998.Paramount Pictures/Fotos International/Getty Images 32 of 51Two unidentified actors run for director Francis Ford Coppola’s harrowing Vietnam War recreation scenes on the set of Apocalypse Now.
- Philippines.Dirck Halstead/Getty Images 33 of 51Lauren Bacall has a smoke with her husband Humphrey Bogart on the set of the classic film, Key Largo.
Their relationship became so iconic that the alliteration of “Bogie and Bacall” was commonly uttered by a whole generation.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images 34 of 51Sigourney Weaver with director Ridley Scott on the set of his science-fiction horror classic Alien.
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 35 of 51Meryl Streep with actor and director Clint Eastwood on the set of The Bridges of Madison County.
When Warner Bros. chairman Terry Semel suggested Eastwood direct the film due to so many others dropping out, Eastwood replied, “Give me 24 hours.”
He then took a Warner’s jet to Madison County, inspected some locations for the shoot, and told the studio head, “Yeah, I’ll do it.”
- Madison County, Iowa.Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 36 of 51Before there were multiple actors who played the role of James Bond across several installments, there was only one man for the part — Sean Connery.
The Scotsman is seen here on the set of the fourth film,Thunderball, having a laugh while shooting a scene at a casino, in classic Bond tradition.
- London, England.Mario De Biasi/Mondadori/Getty Images 37 of 51The studio had such little faith in George Lucas and his bizarre fantasy film Star Wars that they essentially let him have the reins — as well as licensing and merchandising rights.
Little did they know that it would become one of the most profitable franchises in the history of medium.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images 38 of 51Bruce Lee showing off his remarkable skills on the set of Enter the Dragon.
1973.Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images 39 of 51James Dean made quite the mark on Hollywood and the progression of realism in acting during his few short years as an A-lister.
Here he is on the set of Giant, having a smoke break between takes.
1955.Richard C. Miller/Donaldson Collection/Getty Images 40 of 51Marilyn Monroe films a scene that would become an iconic moment in cinema history outside a food store on 51st Street and Lexington Avenue.
The scene of her skirt getting blown up by the subterranean gusts of subway wind has since been parodied to death.
An estimated 1,500 New Yorkers stayed awake to congregate and watch this scene from The Seven-Year Itch get shot.
- New York, New York.Bettmann/Getty Images 41 of 51Global action star and infamous Scientologist Tom Cruise makes sure the shot is properly lined up on the set of Mission: Impossible.
It was entirely unclear at the time whether or not Cruise and director Brian De Palma’s gamble on reviving the television series as a movie franchise would pay off. Obviously, it did.
1996.Murray Close/Getty Images 42 of 51Quentin Tarantino helped revive John Travolta’s career by giving him the Vincent Vega role in Pulp Fiction.
The film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and confirmed Tarantino was a filmmaker to watch.
1994.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 43 of 51Actor and director Mel Brooks shouting through a bullhorn while still in costume on the set of Silent Movie.
His son, Max Brooks, wrote the hugely successful World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, which was adapted into a film of its own right.
Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images 44 of 51Sigourney Weaver with writer-director James Cameron on set of his movie Aliens.
Bob Penn/Sygma/Getty Images 45 of 51Marilyn Monroe adjusting her makeup with a trusty handheld mirror on the set of Bus Stop.
It was the first film she made under a new contract, and one she learned the Ozark accent for.
- Hulton Archive/Getty Images 46 of 51James Dean is prepped for the oil gusher scene in Giant.
1956.Warner Brothers/Getty Images 47 of 51Bruce Lee with producer Fred Weintraub on the set of Enter the Dragon.
1973.Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images 48 of 51Sylvester Stallone’s road to getting Rocky made is the stuff of Hollywood legend. Here he is filming a scene with Carl Weathers.
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Getty Images 49 of 51Elizabeth Taylor goes head over heels for James Dean on the set of Giant.
1956.Frank Worth, Courtesy of Capital Art/Getty Images 50 of 51The late director Curtis Hanson directs Eminem on the streets of his hometown, Detroit, on the set of 8 Mile, which won the renowned rapper an Oscar for Best Original Song.
- Detroit, Michigan.Universal Pictures 51 of 51Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
1 of 51Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando smoke and take a load off on the set of A Streetcar Named Desire.
The Tennessee Williams play was adapted by Elia Kazan, who also directed James Dean in East Of Eden.
- New Orleans, Louisiana.Mondadori/Getty Images
2 of 51Cinema legend Steven Spielberg on the set of his production-plagued horror film, Jaws.
Jaws changed the summer blockbuster forever. It told studios that wide releases and genre pictures were not only viable, but enormously profitable.
- Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/ Getty Images
3 of 51Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese became the epitome of actor-director duos in the 1970s.
Their work on films such as Taxi Driver (seen here) have become hallmarks of 1970s cinema.
- Columbia Pictures/Getty Images
4 of 51From left to right: Ernest Thesiger, Colin Clive, Boris Karloff — who popularized the Frankenstein character on film — and Elsa Lanchester.
Seen here is the cast of Bride of Frankenstein taking a gander at the film’s art direction.
1935.John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images
5 of 51Jack Nicholson and visionary cinematic genius Stanley Kubrick on the set of The Shining.
Stephen King, whose novel the film was based on, detested Kubrick’s film.
- Elstree Studios, Hertfordshire, England.Murray Close/Sygma/Getty Images
6 of 51Bruce Willis takes an important call on an enormous 1990s cell phone while shooting Die Hard With a Vengeance.
1994.Mitchell Gerber/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images
7 of 51Filming Apocalypse Now was so utterly physically, mentally, and financially exhausting that Francis Ford Coppola had numerous breakdowns on the Philippines set.
Dennis Hopper’s drug use, Martin Sheen binge-drinking, and Marlon Brando not learning his lines were a cakewalk compared to the logistics of helicopter sequences like this.
The subsequent documentary Hearts of Darkness is a must-watch for any casual fan of the film.
April 28, 1976. Baler, Philippines.Dirck Halstead/Liaison
8 of 51Tom Cruise scored a major blockbuster hit with 1986’s Top Gun.
The character of Maverick became somewhat of a template for the actor throughout several of his genre-oriented films.
Director Tony Scott tragically committed suicide by leaping from the Vincent Thomas Bridge in 2012.
1986.Paramount Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images
9 of 51The Terminator and eventual governor of California, himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger chomps down on a cigar while filming James Cameron’s True Lies.
- Tony Savino/Sygma/Getty Images
10 of 51Stanley Kubrick in the midst of production on the political satire Dr. Strangelove.
His work with Peter Sellers also appeared with 1962’s adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita.
1963.George Rinhart/Corbis/Getty Images
11 of 51Before Antonio Banderas was a household name, he starred in an action blockbuster called Desperado that showed he could lead a film of this caliber.
1995.Santiago Bueno/Sygma/Getty Images
12 of 51Brad Pitt said that he was becoming rather dissuaded by Hollywood and his career trajectory during the mid-1990s — until he met David Fincher.
The two are extremely close friends to this day and have worked on three major movies together.
The duo is seen here on the set of Se7en, which became a gigantic success.
1995.New Line Cinema/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images
13 of 51Francis Ford Coppola had to deal with terrible weather in the Philippines and his fairly unreliable cast throughout the 16-month shoot of Apocalypse Now.
April 28, 1976. Philippines.Dirck Halstead/Getty Images
14 of 51A remarkable swath of screenwriters attests to this day that Lawrence Kasdan’s screenplay of Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the finest, most cohesive adventure scripts ever written.
Harrison Ford and director Steven Spielberg made four Indiana Jones films together.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images
15 of 51Hong Kong “gun fu” movie legend John Woo watches as Nicolas Cage ensures he’s on his mark and in position with the shot on the set of Face/Off.
1997.Touchstone/Getty Images
16 of 51A young Leonardo DiCaprio being carried by co-star James Madi on the set of The Basketball Diaries.
The press run of this film was rooted firmly in anti-drug discussions, as well as honoring the writer of the source material, Jim Carroll.
- New York, New York.Mark Peterson/Corbis/Getty Images
17 of 51Roman Polanski with Mia Farrow on the set of Rosemary’s Baby.
Farrow was served with divorce papers by her husband Frank Sinatra during the shoot. He was furious she accepted the role. He had demanded earlier she quit her career.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images
18 of 51Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling chill out while the crew prepares to shoot on the set of The Nice Guys.
Both Crowe and Gosling reportedly took the roles specifically to work with each other.
- Los Angeles, California.TSM/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
19 of 51Director Lewis Milestone with Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Sammy Davis Jr. on the set of Ocean’s 11.
1960.Hulton Archive/Getty Images
20 of 51Werner Herzog (center) directs dwarf actors on the set of his 1971 film Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen (Even Dwarfs Started Small).
The plot revolves around a group of institutionalized dwarfs who take over the asylum on a remote island, with mayhem ensuing.
1970.John Springer Collection/Corbis/Getty Images
21 of 51Will Smith, in character as heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, with director Michael Mann on the set of Ali.
Smith spent nearly two years learning about Ali, including physical training, learning his dialect, and studying his beliefs.
- Los Angeles, California.Peter Brandt/Getty Images
22 of 51Alfred Hitchcock and Janet Leigh on the famous shower set of Psycho.
This iconic scene had a profound effect on its star actress. “I stopped taking showers and I only take baths,” Leigh later revealed. “And when I’m someplace where I can only take a bath, I make sure the doors and windows of the house are locked. I also leave the bathroom door open and shower curtain open. I’m always facing the door, watching, no matter where the shower head is.”
This 45-second scene used a whopping 78 camera set-ups and 52 edits.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images
23 of 51Martin Scorsese and Joe Pesci on the set of The Irishman.
Scorcese famously opted to work with Netflix on the project, as no other studio would likely green-light the unsettling epic, especially with its $140 million budget.
- New York, New York. Bobby Bank/GC Images
24 of 51Alfred Hitchcock and Paul Newman on the set of Torn Curtain.
The pair had an incompatible working relationship, as Newman wanted to keep refining the character and script, which Hitchcock found disrespectful.
“I think Hitch and I could have really hit it off, but the script kept getting in the way,” Newman reportedly said afterward.
1966.John Springer Collection/CorbisGetty Images
25 of 51Paul Newman and Robert Redford as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid posing for a photograph on the set of the eponymous western.
George Roy Hill’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid inspired directors such as David Fincher to go into filmmaking.
- Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
26 of 51Francis Ford Coppola with young Vito Corleone, himself, Robert DeNiro, on the set of The Godfather Pt. II.
The role won DeNiro his first Oscar (for Best Supporting Actor).
- Paramount Pictures/Getty Images
27 of 51Marvel actors Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, and Chris Evans film a scene for The Avengers.
- New York, New York.Ray Tamarra/Getty Images
28 of 51Russell Crowe on the set of Ridley Scott’s sword-and-sandals epic, Gladiator.
Scott decided on this particular location when he learned that the Forestry Commission planned to remove a section of the forest — so he convinced them to let him shoot there and help with the “deforestation.”
- Bourne Wood, England.Ken Goff/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
29 of 51Edward Norton has said that making 25th Hour with Spike Lee was one of the best filmmaking experiences he ever had.
He also called Lee the most “rigorous” and “prepared” director he ever worked with.
- New York, New York.Tom Kingston/WireImage
30 of 51Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe in between takes while filming John Huston’s The Misfits.
The shoot was plagued by regular 108 degree Fahrenheit heat and the crumbling of Monroe and husband Arthur Miller’s marriage. On top of that, Miller was revising the script throughout.
- Reno, Nevada.Ernst Haas/Getty Images
31 of 51Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks on the set of Saving Private Ryan.
The Omaha Beach landing scenes cost $12 million and employed more than 1,000 extras. 20 to 30 amputees were used for some of the more gruesome sequences.
1998.Paramount Pictures/Fotos International/Getty Images
32 of 51Two unidentified actors run for director Francis Ford Coppola’s harrowing Vietnam War recreation scenes on the set of Apocalypse Now.
- Philippines.Dirck Halstead/Getty Images
33 of 51Lauren Bacall has a smoke with her husband Humphrey Bogart on the set of the classic film, Key Largo.
Their relationship became so iconic that the alliteration of “Bogie and Bacall” was commonly uttered by a whole generation.
- Hulton Archive/Getty Images
34 of 51Sigourney Weaver with director Ridley Scott on the set of his science-fiction horror classic Alien.
- Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images
35 of 51Meryl Streep with actor and director Clint Eastwood on the set of The Bridges of Madison County.
When Warner Bros. chairman Terry Semel suggested Eastwood direct the film due to so many others dropping out, Eastwood replied, “Give me 24 hours.”
He then took a Warner’s jet to Madison County, inspected some locations for the shoot, and told the studio head, “Yeah, I’ll do it.”
- Madison County, Iowa.Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images
36 of 51Before there were multiple actors who played the role of James Bond across several installments, there was only one man for the part — Sean Connery.
The Scotsman is seen here on the set of the fourth film,Thunderball, having a laugh while shooting a scene at a casino, in classic Bond tradition.
- London, England.Mario De Biasi/Mondadori/Getty Images
37 of 51The studio had such little faith in George Lucas and his bizarre fantasy film Star Wars that they essentially let him have the reins — as well as licensing and merchandising rights.
Little did they know that it would become one of the most profitable franchises in the history of medium.
- Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images
38 of 51Bruce Lee showing off his remarkable skills on the set of Enter the Dragon.
1973.Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images
39 of 51James Dean made quite the mark on Hollywood and the progression of realism in acting during his few short years as an A-lister.
Here he is on the set of Giant, having a smoke break between takes.
1955.Richard C. Miller/Donaldson Collection/Getty Images
40 of 51Marilyn Monroe films a scene that would become an iconic moment in cinema history outside a food store on 51st Street and Lexington Avenue.
The scene of her skirt getting blown up by the subterranean gusts of subway wind has since been parodied to death.
An estimated 1,500 New Yorkers stayed awake to congregate and watch this scene from The Seven-Year Itch get shot.
- New York, New York.Bettmann/Getty Images
41 of 51Global action star and infamous Scientologist Tom Cruise makes sure the shot is properly lined up on the set of Mission: Impossible.
It was entirely unclear at the time whether or not Cruise and director Brian De Palma’s gamble on reviving the television series as a movie franchise would pay off. Obviously, it did.
1996.Murray Close/Getty Images
42 of 51Quentin Tarantino helped revive John Travolta’s career by giving him the Vincent Vega role in Pulp Fiction.
The film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and confirmed Tarantino was a filmmaker to watch.
1994.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
43 of 51Actor and director Mel Brooks shouting through a bullhorn while still in costume on the set of Silent Movie.
His son, Max Brooks, wrote the hugely successful World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, which was adapted into a film of its own right.
- Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images
44 of 51Sigourney Weaver with writer-director James Cameron on set of his movie Aliens.
- Bob Penn/Sygma/Getty Images
45 of 51Marilyn Monroe adjusting her makeup with a trusty handheld mirror on the set of Bus Stop.
It was the first film she made under a new contract, and one she learned the Ozark accent for.
- Hulton Archive/Getty Images
46 of 51James Dean is prepped for the oil gusher scene in Giant.
1956.Warner Brothers/Getty Images
47 of 51Bruce Lee with producer Fred Weintraub on the set of Enter the Dragon.
1973.Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images
48 of 51Sylvester Stallone’s road to getting Rocky made is the stuff of Hollywood legend. Here he is filming a scene with Carl Weathers.
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Getty Images
49 of 51Elizabeth Taylor goes head over heels for James Dean on the set of Giant.
1956.Frank Worth, Courtesy of Capital Art/Getty Images
50 of 51The late director Curtis Hanson directs Eminem on the streets of his hometown, Detroit, on the set of 8 Mile, which won the renowned rapper an Oscar for Best Original Song.
- Detroit, Michigan.Universal Pictures
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50 Behind-The-Scenes Photos That’ll Change The Way You Look At Famous Movies View Gallery
50 Behind-The-Scenes Photos That’ll Change The Way You Look At Famous Movies View Gallery
50 Behind-The-Scenes Photos That’ll Change The Way You Look At Famous Movies View Gallery
50 Behind-The-Scenes Photos That’ll Change The Way You Look At Famous Movies View Gallery
50 Behind-The-Scenes Photos That’ll Change The Way You Look At Famous Movies
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Some of the most revered movies, from Apocalypse Now to The Shining to Jaws, are often linked to the brilliance of their directors. However, filmmaking is a collective process. Every single movie set experience chronicled below makes that abundantly clear, for better or for worse.
According to The Roanoake Times, for instance, Steven Spielberg believed he was finished as a director upon concluding the seemingly disastrous Jaws.
“I thought my career as a filmmaker was over,” he said. “I heard rumors…that I would never work again because no one had ever taken a film 100 days over schedule.”
Of course, Jaws later turned out to be a massive success. But it’s not the only movie that seemed like it was doomed before it hit the theaters.
From The Wizard of Oz to The Avengers, mundanity on set turned to magic on the screen. It just goes to show that sometimes a challenging journey can lead to a glorious destination — and one hell of a story.
Steven Spielberg Wrangles Jaws
Before Spielberg’s horror classic hit the scene, summers without major blockbusters were commonplace. Jaws changed that for good.
It was the first movie to cross the $100 million box-office mark — though it nearly sank before production had even wrapped.
Centered around a seaside community plagued by a vengeful shark, it was vital for the fake great white to seem like a real animal. The then-27-year-old director quickly found that his mechanical terror — named Bruce after Spielberg’s real-life lawyer — didn’t even work properly.
“Every single day the shark was put in the water, something went wrong,” said line producer Bill Gilmore. “Our own crew sarcastically referred to the title of the movie as Flaws.”
The young filmmaker knew he had to adapt or drown. So that’s exactly what he and his crew did.
“We shot anything and everything in the movie that didn’t have a shark in it,” Gilmore said.
Steven Spielberg on the set of Jaws.
With the original 55-day schedule extending to a whopping 159 days, it’s no surprise that Spielberg thought his career was over. The budget, too, spiked from $3.5 to $10 million, which certainly didn’t boost anyone’s confidence.
Steven Spielberg on the set of Jaws.
Ultimately, no one could’ve predicted that the new minimalistic approach would improve, rather than ruin the film. With John Williams’ terrifying score underpinning the tension, the director had a hit on his hands.
“The film went from a Japanese Saturday matinee horror flick to more of a Hitchcock, the less-you-see-the-more-you-get thriller,” Spielberg said.
After an audience member at a Jaws test screening ran out of the theater to vomit — before ultimately returning to his seat, Spielberg finally knew for sure that his film hadn’t failed.
The Hearts Of Darkness: The War Of Apocalypse Now, One Battle At A Time
According to Peter Cowie’s Coppola, the renowned director Francis Coppola told screenwriter John Milius to “write every scene you ever wanted to go into that movie.” The result was 10 drafts and over a thousand pages.
Though based on Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness about the imperialist horrors in the Congo, Milius wanted to use the source material as “a sort of allegory. It would have been too simple to have followed the book completely.”
With simplicity out the window, Apocalypse Now became a Vietnam War movie that ran six weeks behind schedule and $2 million over budget.
“My greatest fear is to make a really sh-tty, embarrassing, pompous film on an important subject, and I am doing it,” he said in the making-of documentary, Hearts of Darkness. “And I confront it. I acknowledge, I will tell you right straight from… the most sincere depths of my heart, the film will not be good.”
An excerpt from the Hearts of Darkness documentary.
Filming in the Philippines — with a typhoon wrecking an entire set — the production became infamous for being disastrous. Coppola was forced to personally cover some $16 million of the film’s $30.5 million budget, in the end offering all that his Godfather successes had purchased as collateral.
An excerpt from the Hearts of Darkness documentary.
Realizing that a lead character isn’t working, of course, only complicated matters. Martin Sheen replaced Harvey Keitel as the star, only to suffer a heart attack during the shoot. When Marlon Brando showed up on set an estimated 90 pounds overweight, Coppola was at the end of his wits.
“There is only about a 20 percent chance I can pull the film off,” Coppola reportedly told his wife.
While initial screenings seemed to confirm his fears, post-production on the audio, tinkering with the voiceover, and substantially editing large portions of the film turned it into a masterpiece. Only perseverance and fighting the right battles led Coppola to glory.
His efforts on that set inspire filmmakers to this day.
The Shining: An Overlooked Production Hell
Stanley Kubrick was arguably the most notorious perfectionist in the history of American cinema. According to a ZFOnline interview with Joe Turkel, the seemingly simple “bar scene” wherein Jack Nicholson’s character meets Lloyd the bartender took a whopping six weeks — to rehearse.
He then claimed that the same scene took nearly half a day to actually shoot, leaving him drenched in sweat by the time all was said and done. He also admitted that it was his favorite scene in the movie — lending some credence to Kubrick’s methods.
Not unlike Apocalypse Now, the arduous production of this movie was later chronicled in a documentary. Perhaps most indicative of the stress on set were the scenes starring Shelley Duvall, who was routinely berated for her acting and eventually fell ill from stress for months.
The famous baseball bat scene between a crazed Nicholson and a hysterical Duvall, for instance, took a reported 127 takes, according to Rolling Stone.
“Going through day after day of excruciating work was almost unbearable,” Duvall said. “Jack Nicholson’s character had to be crazy and angry all the time. And in my character I had to cry 12 hours a day, all day long, the last nine months straight, five or six days a week.”
An excerpt from Vivian Kubrick’s Making The Shining.
She added, “I was there a year and a month, and there must be something to Primal Scream therapy, because after the day was over and I’d cried for my 12 hours… After all that work, hardly anyone even criticized my performance in it, even to mention it, it seemed like. The reviews were all about Kubrick, like I wasn’t there.”
An excerpt from Vivian Kubrick’s Making The Shining.
On top of all this was Kubrick’s insistence on using the Steadicam, which had only been developed a few years earlier and was relatively new technology at the time.
In the end, however, all the work and no play involved in the filming resulted in one of the greatest movies of all time.
After checking out these 50 mesmerizing photos from movie sets, learn the harsh truth behind 11 historical movies. Then, check out these 13 true stories behind Hollywood’s scariest horror movies.
