The plot of Night Train is morbid yet undeniably fascinating. A dead man is found on a train. Noone knows who he is and the only item the conductor and two passengers find in his possession is a set of white diamonds. What do they do? Do they tell the police and hand over the jewels? Of course they don’t (there wouldn’t be a movie then, after all). Instead they try to dispose of the body while getting tangled in an ever more dangerous web, as they soon discover that others are equally determined to lay their hands on the diamonds.

Crossing Borders

Thankfully a train journey through Europe is not likely to reveal either dead bodies or stashes of hidden jewels. What the European trains do allow is for travelers to cross from one country to another in a matter of a couple hours. You can be in the Hungarian capital Budapest in the morning, stop in Bratislava for lunch and arrive in Vienna a short while later. Borders are crossed with little drama and often without even a passport inspection.

Night Trains

Night trains are a popular way for those on a budget to get between cities. For those who can sleep almost anywhere, a relatively cheap berth on an overnight train allows a night’s rest without the expense of a hotel night. While some countries (notably the UK) shut down most of their rail services around midnight, in much of central and eastern Europe the stations come to life at this time with traders and travelers waiting on platforms for their onward connections.

Night Train is set in Bulgaria although there is no indication in the movie that the setting is anywhere but North America. Presumably filming a night movie means that little consideration needs to be made for scenery or the architecture of station buildings, while creating a carriage with an American feel is not too difficult.

Bulgaria Travels

Take a vacation in Bulgaria and you’ll find traveling around easy and cheap. The capital Sofia is worth a day or two of exploration, while the Black Sea coast is a great place to unwind on the popular sandy beaches. The country is well connected by a cheap and fairly efficient rail service. One piece of advice though: if you happen to find a set of jewels on a train, it’s always best to hand them in and avoid the consequences. Watch Night Train and I’m sure you’ll agree with us!

Photo | Alasdair McLellan

“Lord of the Flies” is without doubt one of the best-read children’s books despite, or perhaps because of, its dark subject material. Published first in 1954, it was hardly an instant success with only 3,000 copies sold on its initial release. Within a few years however it had become a major success and became a mainstay on the curriculum of many school’s English literature classes. Yet the many links between the story and the Caribbean island of Jamaica reveal a web of intrigue and even controversy. Set at the time of a nuclear war, William Golding’s book tells the story of a group of boys who are stranded on an isolated island following a plane crash. They struggle to form a system of law and order and what they do create soon breaks down amid violence and discord.

At Errol Flynn’s Place in Jamaica

While Golding’s book does not reveal the identity of the island, the two movie adaptations of “The Lord of the Flies” have both been set in the Caribbean. A 1963 British version, directed by Peter Hook, was shot in Puerto Rico while the 1990 Hollywood remake was filmed near  the home of Errol Flynn in the popular resort of Port Antonio. Flynn’s property in Jamaica is now very much part of the tourist trail, with visitors coming to see where Harry Hook’s movie had been produced.

High Jamaican Wind

Many claim that Golding took the idea for the book from an earlier classic, the 1929 “High Jamaican Wind” by Richard Hughes. Hughes’s book also tells of a group of children lost at sea and faced with many difficult and deadly situations. Yet while Golding carefully molds each child’s character to represent a particular trait (the leader, the brains, the rebel), Hughes allows the children to be more authentic characters and his book is considered an unsung and under-rated classic as a result. In “High Jamaican Wind” the characters are raised on a Jamaican plantation and are heading back to England some time in the 19th century. The island plays a starring role in the early parts of the book. It is fitting therefore that in the latest adaptation of Golding’s “The Lord of the Flies,” whatever the origins of his idea, at least the story is once again set on the sandy beaches of Jamaica.

Iberostar Hotels & Resorts offers 3 luxury all-inclusive hotels in Jamaica on some of the best Caribbean beaches.

Photo |  jemasmith

Of Gods and Men is proof if it were ever needed that even today the essence of a great movie continues to be about the quality of the script and the acting. There is no computer generated wizardry here and no expensive film sets. Yet by drilling down to an astonishing level of detail Xavier Beauvois has expertly told the moving and ultimately tragic tale of a group of nine French monks in Algeria who get caught up in the country’s civil war in the 1990s.

Living in Peace

The actors who were cast to play the Trappist monks spent time in an abbey, learning Gregorian chants and living the monastic life alongside the resident monks. One of them even learned to pray for the first time in order to better understand his character.

In the movie the monks are shown as an integral part of the local rural community, providing medical help to the Arab population. Christians and Muslims co-exist peacefully and the monks are highly respected members of the village in which their order is based. The tranquility is shattered with the arrival of the insurgents yet the monks manage to dodge several dangerous moments before their inevitable capture.

Filming in Morocco

Filming Of Gods & Men in Algeria was never an option given the instability and danger in the rural parts of the country. Step forward neighboring Morocco, a country that has served as a double in movies perhaps more times than any other. The Tibhirine monastery to the south of Fez was chosen to serve as the monk’s home. It was now abandoned but had been used until the 1960s as a Benedictine-run meeting point between Christians and Muslims. The building was renovated to resemble closely its Algerian equivalent. Extra care was taken in dressing the extras who played local people in the movie in order to make them appear Algerian and not Moroccan.

Two monks escaped the kidnapping and one is still alive today. He was consulted during the production (along with the families of the others) and was said to be moved and very pleased with the way the brothers and their life together were portrayed.

Moroccan Contrasts

Travel to Morocco today and you’ll find a land full of contrasts and with a rich blend of present and past Arabic culture. While many visitors head to the souks and the big-city chaos of Marrakesh and Casablanca, there are plenty of places to find your own bit of peace and quiet. Head into rural Morocco and you’re likely to discover with pleasure just why this was considered a perfect setting for monastic life.

Photo | Ps2613

“Travel back through time and space to the edge of man’s beginnings…discover a savage world whose only law was lust!”

If you see a movie advertised with a tag-line such as this one, you get a pretty good idea of what to expect. Add in an iconic bikini-clad poster of a young Raquel Welch and you have a movie that might not be vying for any Oscars but that’s sure to capture plenty of attention.

A Skimpy Plot

And so it was with the 1966 classic One Million Years B.C. The image of Raquel Welch is far more recognizable than any details about the movie itself and a quick look at the plot makes it clear why this is the case. Humans battling with dinosaurs, bikini clad tribeswomen fighting for the attention of bearded cavemen and unconvincing volcanic catastrophes all help to make this one of those movies that was so bad that it was always destined for cult status.

Canary Islands and a Fake Volcano

Much of the movie was shot in the Canary Islands, with the barren landscapes of Lanzarote and the rocky slopes of Mount Teide on Tenerife providing the prehistoric backdrop the producers were looking for. Sadly for them there were no active volcanoes in the region, but their workaround solution chimed perfectly with the overall feel of the movie. They created a 6-foot volcano in the studios with eruption materials consisting of wallpaper paste, oatmeal and red dye.

Shawshank Redemption

The movie itself may have been written off as nonsense by all but a few hard-core fans, but the poster image of Raquel Welch became prominent again when it featured in the Shawshank Redemption. The famous depiction of the world’s first bikini was used to cover Andy Dufresne’s escape tunnel for the many years he was confined in his prison cell.

Take a holiday in the Canaries now and your chances of seeing dinosaurs are pretty slim. You might have a better chance of seeing a fur-bikini-clad young cavewoman, but that depends on your choice of venue for your late-night entertainment.

Photo | Lew57