A good movie can whisk you away from reality, make you forget about your own life for a moment and pull you into someone else’s story. But when the lights come on and you stand up to shake the popcorn crumbs from your lap, you sometimes find yourself wishing you could visit that world in reality. While this is impossible, you can come close(ish) by visiting the locations such movies were filmed in.

Here are some spots around Australia that have featured on the silver screen.

1) Clunes, Victoria in “Mad Max”

Released in 1979, “Mad Max” tells the story of a policeman, Max, out to avenge his murdered wife and child. This journey takes him across the barren wastelands in order to find those responsible. The film was a great success and gave birth to a franchise, with the most recent instalment “Mad Max: Fury Road” meeting critical acclaim and a 378 million USD box office take.

 

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Many of the scenes in the original were filmed in various locations in and around Melbourne but perhaps the most interesting location of all is the small town of Clunes. It’s home to 1728 people and can be found about two hours drive north-west of Melbourne.

Clunes is a gold-rush town; once upon a time it was the fifth largest in the entire state. In 1851, the first nugget of the good stuff was found and miners flooded into the town. Today, the town is remarkably well-preserved, having one of the best-kept collections of 19th century architecture.

Bonus fact: Clunes also featured in 2003’s “Ned Kelly” starring Heath Ledger!

Bonus non-fact: The original title for the film, “Miffed Max”, was changed after executives thought it didn’t adequately communicate just how angry the title character was.

2) Sydney in “The Matrix”

Even though the filmmakers belched out a couple of disappointing sequels, the original Matrix film remains a modern classic. It tells the story of a dystopian future where humans are (unbeknownst to them) used by machines as fuel, their minds locked up in a computer-simulated world. It’s a film that produces stoner-talk in even the soberest of people (“How DO we know what’s real?!”) and is packed to the brim with thrilling action and discovery.

Many scenes were filmed in Sydney, but one particularly memorable location can be found on Eddy Ave – the Adam Street Bridge.

 

In the film, this is the place where Neo has to decide whether to continue with his boring life or follow through with meeting Morpheus and find out what the Matrix really is.

3) Melbourne in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”

Released in May this year, the latest instalment of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise sees Captain Jack Sparrow battling a crew of ghost pirates led by his old nemesis Captain Salazar. The ghost pirates want to kill all the regular pirates, and Captain Jack’s only chance to stop them is to find the Trident of Poseidon, an object that lets the holder control the seas. If that sounds a little trite, you’d be in agreement with most critics – the film has a 29 per cent score on RottenTomatoes.com. Despite the film’s lacklustre narrative, as a big-budget production, it features lots of cool locations and sets, one of which is the Spit, found on the Gold Coast.

Bonus fact: Several other movies have filmed on the Gold Coast, including San Andreas, Kong: Skull Island, Muriel’s Wedding and Scooby Doo.

4) Robertson in “Babe: Pig in the City”

The sequel to 1995’s “Babe”, this film saw the titular character returning to Hoggett’s farm where, unfortunately, Farmer Hoggett falls injured, and it’s up to Babe to head for the city to save the farm.

The real-life location of Hoggett’s farm is, in fact, the village of Robertson in New South Wales. With an abundance of rolling green pastures and farmlands, it’s the perfect place to get away from the madness of the city.

Bonus fact: “Babe: Pig in the City” was directed by the same George Miller that directed “Mad Max”. Rumour has it the first draft of the script had Babe embarking on a similar quest to Max, seeking revenge for his friend being turned into a bacon sandwich, but the studio stepped in to take things in a more family-friendly direction.

It’s always great fun when you find something you remember from a movie in the real world. If you’re ready to get on the road to see any of these famous locations, sort your car hire and get in touch with East Coast Car Rentals today.