# Movie Scenes that Involve a Shocking Change in the Natural Landscape or Famous Landmarks **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [August 28, 2025, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549 "2025-08-28T05:18:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/21 "2025-08-28T17:09:48Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > (The bridge was actually somewhere in Tennessee and was composited into into the scene.) So, the movie stole the identity of Tennessee, then? > [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](#): > > New York in the campy but supremely fun Escape from New York Whose bridge scenes (and some of the decrepit city) were filmed not too far from the non-existent bridge of _Identity Thief_ in St. Louis mentioned above. As for Planet of the Apes, I maintain Taylor et al didn’t land in the Atlantic, but in Lake Powell (the actual location used). Compare and contrast: [![](https://mikestakeonthemovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/apes.jpg) ](https://mikestakeonthemovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/apes.jpg) [![](https://www.8newsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/59/2023/05/MikeyTantalo-insta-boat-cover-2.jpg?strip=1&w=640) ](https://www.8newsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/59/2023/05/MikeyTantalo-insta-boat-cover-2.jpg?strip=1&w=640) So that would mean that the stature of Liberty at the end was not the original, but the one from the Strip [![](https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/0c/eb/8e/21/statue-of-liberty-in.jpg) ](https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/0c/eb/8e/21/statue-of-liberty-in.jpg) “You blew up Vegas! Goddamn you all to hell! The buffets are GONE!” ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/22 "2025-08-28T17:20:24Z")
Parts of Escape From New York were filmed on the old [Chain of Rocks Bridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_of_Rocks_Bridge) in north St Louis County (near where the Missouri and Mississippi rivers meet). That’s a ways north of the downtown area. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/23 "2025-08-28T17:26:32Z")
In _The Day After Tomorrow_, New York is flooded by superstorms and then frozen under ice sheets. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/24 "2025-08-28T17:27:44Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Cusack may be the only actor to ever star in 2 different movies whose titles are just 4-digit numbers (the other one being the Stephen King adaption _1408_). More recently, he had a prominent supporting role in _Detective Chinatown 1900_. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/25 "2025-08-28T17:32:26Z")
How many times have Godzilla and Friends destroyed Tokyo? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/26 "2025-08-28T17:34:24Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > That’s a ways north of the downtown area. About 6 miles. That’s “not too far”. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/27 "2025-08-28T17:41:56Z")
In the old ones (1950s-1970s) I rarely got the impression that the city models were based on actual neighborhoods of Tokyo. The only two exceptions I can think of was Ghidorah knocking off the top of Tokyo Tower and another where Mothra spins a cocoon to the same tower. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/28 "2025-08-28T18:01:12Z")
From Mad Magazine’s spoof of _Armageddon_: “These meteors have incredibly good aim! Not only are they all landing on major cities, they’re only striking those cities’ biggest landmarks!” ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/29 "2025-08-28T18:02:44Z")
Not sure how relevant this is, but in _Wargames_ there’s a scene where Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy are running to catch the ferry to the island where the recluse who designed WOPR lives. As I’ve commented elsewhere, they’d better know how to swim: they’re running down a boat ramp (the ferry dock — in Steilacoom WA — is on the other side of the trestle). ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/30 "2025-08-28T18:44:19Z")
_Deluge_ (1933) – Goodbye New York! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2AbXQcwHyt4/hqdefault.jpg "Deluge (1933) - Destruction of New York") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AbXQcwHyt4) _Frisco Jenny_ (1933), _San Francisco_ (1936) and _The Sisters_ (1938) all have recreations of the 1906 earthquake. > [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > In _The Day After Tomorrow_, New York is flooded by superstorms and then frozen under ice sheets. In addition, CG-tornados thrash the Hollywood Sign, the Capitol Records building and (gasp!) an Angelyne billboard. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/31 "2025-08-28T19:12:56Z")
The miniseries “Texas Rising” was filmed in Durango, Mexico, and as a result had a lot more stark mountains and deserts than Texas actually has, at least where the actual events took place. Most of the areas where the actual Texas Revolution took place are more or less flat, or are rolling hills with grass and woodlands, and are flatter and more wooded the closer to San Jacinto you get. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/32 "2025-08-28T21:29:43Z")
In the opening scene of _Team America: World Police_, the protagonists accidentally knock over the Eiffel Tower. As it falls over, it crushes the Arc de Triumph. Then they blow up the Louvre. In a later scene, they blow up a pyramid, the Sphinx, and Abu Simbel. The bad guys blow up the Panama Canal and Mount Rushmore. In _Superman II_, the bad guys replace three of the faces on Mount Rushmore with their own faces, and demolish the fourth. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/33 "2025-08-28T21:32:30Z")
One of the **Resident Evil** movies had survivors fighting zombies on the remains of the Las Vegas strip, in particular the replica Eifel Tower. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/34 "2025-08-28T21:35:02Z")
In _Close Encounters of the Third Kind_, the government builds a fairly sizable military base at the foot of the Devil’s Tower. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/35 "2025-08-28T21:47:16Z")
> [@Mortimus](#): > > Planet of the Apes, Statue of Liberty on the beach scene. The only one I liked. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/36 "2025-08-28T23:20:10Z")
In “Superman II” Mount Rushmore is reshaped to portray Zod and his crew. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/37 "2025-08-28T23:48:14Z")
The Coney Island Cyclone burns to the ground in the finale of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/38 "2025-08-28T23:49:32Z")
I always thought Futurama’s Lost City of Atlanta was pretty funny. “The ancient city of Atlanta was _more_ than just a Delta hub.” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/39 "2025-08-29T01:12:10Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Mortimus](#): > > > > Planet of the Apes, Statue of Liberty on the beach scene. > > The only one I liked. See also the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549/40 "2025-08-29T01:13:17Z")
How about the comet impact in _Deep Impact_? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-that-involve-a-shocking-change-in-the-natural-landscape-or-famous-landmarks/1022549.md?page=3)