Dredd is a sci-fi film reboot of the comic strip Judge Dredd. If you’re a comic book fan, you’ll know about it. If you also like movies, you might’ve recalled that 1995 movie with Sylvester Stallone and Armand Assante that covered the same story. This 2012 production was directed by Pete Travis and features Lena Headey, Karl Urban, Wood Harris, and Olivia Thirlby in the cast.
Released in 2012 by DNA Films, and with a $30 million budget, it barely made back the investment, raking in a meager $41.5 million at the box office. Still, the movie is sort of a cult icon for fans of the comic book, just like its Stallone predecessor. And today, we’re going to take a look at some of its filming locations
Dredd Filming Locations
Dredd was filmed between the United Kingdom and South Africa in 2010, with the bulk of the movie being shot in South Africa in November of that year across 13 weeks, with extra photography taking place in the exteriors of several cities in the African country for an extra seven. Now, let’s explore in depth where the cast and crew shot the scenes that gave this movie its life.
Fun fact: the head cinematographer for this production, BAFTA-Award winner Anthony Dod Mantle, whose work with Slumdog Millionaire is amazing, had never worked with 3D cinematography before, and took on the challenge.
United Kingdom
A minority of indoor and outdoor scenes took place in and around the London district of Colindale; the opening scenes take place at a big shopping center called the Oriental Shopping Center, a mall that distributes goods and services from Asia; it is a great place to grab a bite if you want to engage into Asian cuisine, or are interested in buying some good quality products from that region.
South Africa
From the United Kingdom, we travel to South Africa, where most of the movie’s photography took place between the cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town across a total of twenty weeks split into two parts, thirteen weeks for in-depth and action sequences and an additional seven for outdoors and ambiance.
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Cape Town
Dredd’s indoor scenes were shot at Cape Town Film Studios, located at the Western Cape in that city. Founded in 2010, it is home to several high-profile productions like Chronicle, Mad Max: Fury Road, Tomb Raider, and Bloodshot. The studio features 200 hectares of space, and it’s also been the filming location for productions like the eleventh series of Doctor Who, Netflix’s One Piece, and Warrior.
Cape Town is a beautiful location that is also the legislative capital of South Africa; it has many touristic attractions like Devil’s Peak and Table Mountain, Sea Point and Lion’s Head, the historical V&A Waterfront, a bustling central business district, and the Camps Bay.
Johannesburg
Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa, nicknamed the “The City of Gold.”, it is the seat of the Judicial Branch of the country, home to the biggest firms and banks of that nation, and also the place where the cast and crew settled for a few weeks to shoot several scenes across its vast urban landscape, filled with buildings, and city areas that were accommodated to give Dredd that city-like futuristic feel.
Among the many landmarks in Johannesburg are Hillbrow Tower, Ponte City, the famous University of the Witwatersrand, the iconic Nelson Mandela bridge, whose night-time lights make it a great place to take a photo, the city’s art gallery and the many districts, markets and shopping centers that make the city a bustling metropolis and a tourist hub for anyone wishing to visit.
And with Johannesburg, we wrap up our coverage of Dredd’s filming locations, an action film that takes place in some dark futuristic city, and thanks to the magic of talented cinematographers and the versatility of the filming locations in which the movie takes place, the production team were able to bring that world to life.
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