Where Was The Courier Filmed? Filming Location Of The 2020 Historical Thriller!!

Do you like to watch mystery thriller flicks with riveting plots? If you do, then be sure to check this article, where I discuss an outstanding historical flick, The Courier. And also let you in on where was The Courier filmed.

The crime thriller movie, The Courier, released in 2020 was inspired by real-life events that took place during the Cold War era. Director Dominic Cooke in this film presents the story of Greville Wynne, an English businessman. Who covertly extracts classified data from the high-ranking offices in Moscow, and saves the world from a full-blown nuclear war.

The Courier premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020 and was later globally released the following year. This crime thriller film performed decently at the box office and received positive reviews from the audiences and critics, as well. The Courier also earned a nomination at the British Independent Film Awards in 2021.

Now before I discuss the plot of the film. Allow me to share where was The Courier Filmed. So that you can enjoy the beautiful filming locations of this historical drama film.

Where Was The Courier Filmed? | Let’s Know This Thriller Flick Closely!!

Director Dominic Cooke, along with other creative heads of the production, primarily decided to shoot The Courier in parts of England and Russia. But the Russian government did not give the production unit permission to film. The filming crew soon began looking for other alternative places to shoot the sequences that would portray the scenes of Moscow shown in the film. 

After scouting for different potential filming locations in Europe, the production unit came to the conclusion to shoot in the capital of Czech Republic, Prague. Although it’s important to mention that, the majority of the filming took place in England, specifically in Cambridgeshire, London and Buckinghamshire. While only some were filmed in Prague.

The principal photography began in the second week of October 2018 and was completed in 4 months. The filming schedule was delayed for a number of reasons, that we will further look into. For now, without wasting any more time, let’s discuss where was The Courier filmed in-depth and explore more about the gorgeous shooting sites.

London | England 

The production unit, after sorting the filming locations, readily began filming in London. The opening sequence of the film, where the character of Oleg Penkovsky is shown, was filmed here. Other outdoor sequences featured the Hornsey Town Hall, which was used to portray the South Kensington Tube Station shown in the film. And Nell Gwynn House located at Sloane Avenue in London, depicts the scenes of the London Royale Hotel.

The Swan Lake ballet scene was filmed in the London Coliseum. The production had to struggle with capturing the exterior shots at this location, due to the area being densely crowded.

Cambridgeshire | England

The crew then moved to the county of Cambridgeshire. The sequence where Greville is shown to board an airplane to travel to Moscow was filmed here. The RAF Duxford Airport, in the village of Duxford, was used to film this entire exterior sequence. However, while filming at this location the production crew ran into a problem with the actual authorities of the airport. Which resulted in the filming schedule being delayed for two straight weeks. Later, the dispute was resolved and the filming resumed subsequently.

Buckinghamshire | England

A few other pivotal outdoor shots were captured in the County of Buckinghamshire before the crew began filming the interior sequences. The production constructed a set inside the Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath. The scenes in the film where the MI6 and CIA headquarters are shown were shot here. Filming lasted for more or less 4 weeks in this location. And the production unit moved to Europe to shoot the remaining parts of the film.

Prague | Czech Republic

After completing the majority of the filming in England. The production crew reached the capital of the Czech Republic. The filming crew extensively captured the sequences which depicted Soviet Russia in the movie. The outdoor shots of the Vltava River and the gothic churches located in the heart of the city were also filmed. 

To portray the place where Penkovsky and Greville were held captive, the filming crew traveled to the outskirts of the city. A vacant building was then turned around by the production unit to make it look like a prison. Thereafter the interior sequences of the Russian prison were filmed. The filming crew also had to arrange special light and sound equipment while shooting at this location. Filming in Europe was wrapped up within 3 weeks.

Ok friends, time for us to discuss the plot of the film in brief, so that you may get a better understanding of the storyline. In the meantime, you can also check out All Quiet on the Western Front and Catch Me If You Can which can prove to be a good watch as well.

 Plot Of The Courier | What’s It About

At the very beginning of the movie, we are introduced to the character of Oleg Penkovsky. A high-ranked officer of the Soviet Union is shown to contact the American intelligence agency, CIA, to shell out classified information, related to the nuclear war. 

Later in the film, the central character of the film, Greville Wynne, is an affluent English businessman who gets appointed by MI6 and the CIA to leach out secret information from Moscow. The plot thickens as Greville reaches Moscow and contacts Penkovsky. The high-ranking official then hands Greville a confidential package that contains significant information and asks him to deliver it to the intelligence agency.

The CIA soon unearths Soviet Russia’s plan to sabotage Cuba and uses the tropical country as a nuclear launch pad. However, after Greville is shown to leave Moscow, and Penkovsky gets poisoned by KGB officials after they learn about his doings.

Towards the final quarter of the film, Greville returns to Moscow, to help Penkovsky escape, but readily gets apprehended and is kept captive along with Penkovsky. After sustaining horrific torture and ill-treatment inside the jail, Greville learns that his efforts were not wasted. His heroism actively helped to de-escalate the “Cuban Missile Crisis”. Eventually, Greville is sent back to his country, in exchange for a Soviet war prisoner. And Penkovsky gets sentenced to death.

Final Words

Ok guys, so now that you’ve gone through the plot of the film. And know where was The Courier filmed. I hope you’ll give this film a shot, if you haven’t watched it already. Don’t forget to add your thoughts in the comment section below. And be sure to check out other amazing articles on Viebly.

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