Where Was The Saint Filmed? Val Kilmer’s Chilling Thriller Film From 1997!!

Have you watched Val Kilmer’s iconic action thriller film, The Saint? More importantly, do you know where was The Saint filmed? If not, you can follow this piece and learn everything about this special movie starring Kilmer and Elisabeth Shue.

The American action-adventure film, The Saint was released in April 1997. The movie’s main character is inspired by Leslie Charteris’ fictional novel, published way back in 1928. Jonathan Heinsleigh and Wesley wrote the screenplay for this project, while Phillip Noyce pitched in as the director.

The basic premise of The Saint revolves around the enigmatic character of Simon Templar, a skilled professional thief. The plot thickens when Simon is sent to Russia to retrieve a secret package from a highly guarded building in the Kremlin.

The Saint was a roaring success at the box office. This action flick grossed over $169 million in worldwide collections against a nominal shooting budget. Apart from collecting two prestigious nominations, The Saint also bagged a major award in 1998. 

Movie fans who enjoy watching spy-thriller films thoroughly enjoyed the stellar on-screen performance of Val in the lead role. So if you too are intrigued to find out where was The Saint filmed, read this article till the end.

Where Was The Saint Filmed? Let’s Know This Crime Action Flick Closely!

The story of The Saint is set partly in America and Russia. Now, even though a major portion of this incredible movie was actually filmed in Russia, none of the scenes were captured in America.

Noyce, instead, used the well-equipped studios in the U.K. to capture the depiction of the background of America. However, the movie’s interior scenes were also filmed inside the same studio located in Leavesden, Hertfordshire.

Apart from these scenes, the director also had to shoot a couple of other outdoor scenes in England. Thus, in the initial stage of production, Noyce and his team scouted a number of places in London and Oxfordshire.

After the ideal filming locations were identified by the crew, the director asked them to begin filming. The principal photography of The Saint commenced in the final week of March 1996 and continued till the end of December of the same year.

Although, it’s important to note that the actual filming process was done in two separate phases. The first phase of shooting began in the final week of March 1996 and continued till the end of August.

While the second shooting stage began in December 1996 and lasted for a month or so, the production members didn’t face any major issues during the entire filming process.

However, while capturing the outdoor scenes in Moscow and near the Kremlin, the filming crew faced minor issues with the Russian authorities. But, thankfully, after the director intervened, the matter was quickly resolved.

The shooting process of The Saint lasted for 6 months in total. By the first week of January 1997, the filming wrapped the shooting process and began working on the promotion of this movie.

Let us now discuss in detail where was The Saint filmed.

Russia

The shooting of The Saint began in Moscow, Russia. The film’s opening scene, where we see the lead character leaving a busy train station, was actually filmed outside of Leningrad Station, Moscow.

Before filming this scene, the production members had to take special shooting permission from the Russian government. Other important scenes in Moscow were captured inside the Peking Hotel and near Tverskoy District.

After filming these scenes, the production members took more shots near Foreign Ministry Building in Moscow and the iconic Red Square.

England

The second phase of filming began in London. A number of interior sequences were shot inside Halcyon Hotel, located at 81 Holland Park, London. The production members also filmed a few outdoor scenes near Drapers Hall and Freemasons Hall.

Finally, the last phase of shooting began in Buckinghamshire. The Pinewood Studios, located in the village of Iver Heath, was used to film the remaining interior scenes of the movie.

Let us now take a closer look at the plot of The Saint. In the meantime, you can also read Suzume, The Suite Life of Zack, and Cody and Beast.

Plot Of The Saint | What’s It About

The story of The Saint is about an orphan boy who becomes a super-skilled thief after growing up. At the very beginning of the film, John Rossi gets inspired by the fictional character of Simon Templar.

As the story progresses further, John steps into the world of crime and becomes a professional thief, working under the title of “The Saint.” Shortly after, the lead actor visits Russia for a covert operation. Upon reaching Moscow, John finally makes his way into the Kremlin and steals a highly-classified document.

But all hell breaks loose when the Red Army finds out about the infiltrator and declares a red alert in Moscow. Watch The Saint and witness John’s ultimate story of an epic robbery.

Final Words

Ok, guys! I hope you’ve noted all the filming locations of The Saint which I’ve mentioned above. Let us know in the comments section below if you’d like us to add anything else. We’d be more than happy to make the necessary changes.

Other than that, if you’re interested in reading similar pieces, then check out other entertaining blogs on Viebly.