Did anyone else notice this? It looked like any European city, completely devoid of the sizzle, passion and joie de vivre that I've seen in my trips to Rio in the past few years. The Rio in 'Notorious' was buttoned-down, staid and stale, if you ask me.
I know, there are many reasons for this; I just thought that the contrast was absolutely striking.
Was there myself not too long ago but I got the impression that the Rio of 1946 was as lively and full of passion as the Rio of present day.
I have always wondered which scenes where actually shot on location in Rio and which where shot in a studio in Hollowood.
Everybody censors, including you.
The exterior-shots of Rio were taken by a second-unit around the time that WW2 was ending,and even cities in South America would have been affected by the War: getting to Rio wouldn't have been easy for Americans when air-travel was still primitive and cut-back by wartime restrictions.
When Devlin goes to visit Alicia's apartment on the night before they are to go horse-riding together,there is a back-projection from the window of Rio's famous curving beach :it is practically empty and there's little traffic on the road below.That's how it would have looked before tourists were invented: only a select few foreigners would have visited it (or just Rio itself) in the mid-'40s.: it was hard to get to,with or without the difficulties of wartime.
Bit of a late reply, but thanks for the information. I forgot that how difficult it must have been to shoot on location abroad with all those wartime restrictions and still primitive air-travel.
Everybody censors, including you.
is there ANY place that today is unchanged from 1946?
shareI prefer European so I much prefer the Rio in the film.
shareI prefer anywhere in 1946 to now, but especially Rio in the film. It was mysterious and glamorous.
shareIn the movie Rio looks like a very livable place. It feels like a tropical & Mediterranean city, not very far apart from the Rio of my childhood, and not like the chaotic and violent megalopolis of today. Despite all the world's progress, there are some places and things that clearly got worse with the passing of the years.
shareEven the recent Olympics failed to hide the decay of thr city. A friend of mine went telling me horror stories of her wallet being stolen (luckily it there was just cash there) and not enjoying the nightlife as much due to give of being unsafe and she was a group. I wonder what happened to make Rio become the way it has.
shareOne of the back-projection shots in "Notorious" that sticks in the mind is the view from Alicia's apartment of the almost empty,curving,beach and of the promenade that has little traffic on it:maybe people go to Rio thinking that it's still like that.
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