Tag: glencoe

Eilean Donan Castle is set to star in a new movie by Oscar winner

Posted on by Dave

Eilean donan castle pictures , edc17680
Eilean Donan Castle is set to take a starring role in a new movie by Oscar winning set designer Roger Christian .

In 1980 he produced a film Black Angel which told the tale of a knight who rescues a princess while returning home from the Crusades, and was made entirely in Scotland, at locations such as Eilean Donan Castle, Bernera Barracks at Glenelg, Loch Eck in Argyll.

It was shown in 1980 in cinemas in Europe and Australia as part of screenings of The Empire Strikes Back – and became a cult classic.

Now he is going to return to the Highlands to turn Black Angel into a full length film.

He said: “I have to film in Scotland, and in late September and early October as I did the first time.

“The quality of the natural light at that time of year in Scotland is like nothing else in the world.

“It allowed us to shoot scenes that would have required CGI, technology that was not available to us at that time.”

Christian was involved in the original Star Wars movie as well as  Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace, as well as Alien.

The original Black Angel was found last year and made available online, ending fears that the film had been lost forever.

Visit Scotland has produced a map of film locations in Scotland .

A number of major film releases in recent years have featured well known locations in Scotland including

the Glenfinnan Viaduct, which appears in the Harry Potter movies, Glencoe, which featured in Skyfall, Braveheart and The 39 Steps, and Eilean Donan Castle, seen in Highlander and Bond movie The World Is Not Enough.

Stephen Spielberg’s latest smash hit  of the BFG was filmed in Skye, the Western Isles and Orkney.

Eilean Donan Castle posters

Eilean Donan Castle poster

Eilean Donan Castle poster , Giant A3 size , 16.5 by 11.7 inches , just £5.95 including free UK delivery .
[rps-paypal]

The Kelpies are renamed “glorious armoured giant horses”

Posted on by Dave

The Kelpies have become the most famous equine sculptures in the world . But now they have been given another name to make them more attractive to Chinese tourists.

VisitBritain, which markets the UK abroad, has dubbed them ‘Kai Po Ju Ma’ in promotional literature in China – which translates as “glorious armoured giant horses”.

It follows the results of a £1.6 million ‘Great Names for Great Britain’ campaign, which builds on the existing trend of giving relatable Mandarin names to favourite celebrities, places and foods.

 “Kai Po Ju Ma” have set records with over 600,000 in their first year of opening . A new visitor centre is being built to help cope with the influx of visitors and improve their experience at the sculptures.

New Mandarin names for 23 iconic Scottish attractions have been announced in total, including Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and Glencoe.

The campaign reached nearly 300 million Chinese prospective visitors to the UK through VisitBritain’s influential Weibo and WeChat social media platforms across China. Over two million people visited the campaign pages and nearly 30 million Chinese people watched the launch video, with 13,000 new names suggested throughout the ten week-long voting period.

Andy Scott, the artist responsible for the Kelpies, said: “I’m delighted that The Kelpies have reached out to a new audience and that they have been recognised with such an evocative and dynamic Mandarin name.

“It’s a real accolade for me as the artist and the whole team involved in The Kelpies that they have been adopted for the VisitBritain campaign and been so well received in China. Download our free Kelpies screensaver