Barrandov Studio Tour

Lights…Camera…Action! The words synonymous with film productions around the world. Barrandov Studios, an established full service studio carries on that tradition and more here in Prague.

The studios history is rich and full of interesting facts and commentary. The founder of the studios was Vaclav Havel, the father of the ex-President of the Czech Republic. At the time, the studio was located on a large parcel of land away from the center of the city. Inspired by a trip in 1924 to California, Havel wanted to find a location to establish a studio as well as a terraced area that he enjoyed near Berkley, California. Today, we refer to this area as Barrandov Studios and Barrandov Terrace.

Barrandov Studios made its first film in 1935 and has been in full production making movies ever since. Max Urban, architect and urban planner as well as a film director, became the studio main designer. During this period, the studio created the most contemporary films in Europe. The Havels became known as the prominent patrons of Czech Film. Then in 1939, Barrandov Studios was confiscated due to the occupation of the Czech lands. Between 1939 and 1945, Germany utilized the modern equipment to make propaganda films. During this same period, the new halls, 3 buildings, were built to expand the studios. Then in 1945, during the uprising, the studios were a point of contention and in the end were nationalized. Films continued to be made and modernization of the studios occurred. After 1989, the studios were slowly privatized and continued to produce some amazing films.

Today, the studios rent out much of their space, equipment and costumes to production companies. A famous film by Milo Forman – Amadeus, which received and Academy Award for Best Costume Design, has contributed costumes to major international productions such as Roman Polanski – Oliver Twist, The Chronicles of Narnia, Edith Piaf biopic La vie en Rose, Irish historical series, The Tudors, and many more. You can find crews from any number of countries from around the world using the unique facilities available to make a film or tv show.

Tours begin at the recently renovated office building of the studios. The tour guide then leads you through the various areas of the studio grounds where you can see in the distance production crews working. We were also given an opportunity to walk through a building with different production rooms, some large and some small in size. Then back outside to see the area where facial masks, fake hands or other items are made by skilled craftsmen. Further around to the newest buildings that offer film makers the most modern facilities, including one studio where the floor can be removed and water can be added to film water scenes. The most famous production in this studio was to date is the famous beach scene in Casino Royale with Daniel Craig.

As competition is steep in the film industry, we were not allowed to pass-by any of the productions. There are sections of the grounds that even employees are not allowed to access during production time. From movies to Netflix and Amazon original shows, there is much activity each day at Barrandov Studios. A very recent release, Jojo Rabbit, was filmed at Barrandov Studios.

The tour commences in the Barrandov Studio Museum. There you will find a good chronological of the famous films produced at the studios. There is a display explaining the streets or buildings of Prague that have been created to look like another location in Europe. You can get up close to old film equipment. In lieu of touring the costume department, the museum has a nice selection of costumes to try on and you are encouraged to have fun and take photos. Barrandov Studios believes it owns over 350,000 costumes, which is believed to be one of the largest costume inventories in all of Europe. Costumes and props maybe rented out from the studios for your next special event too.

The studio tour is a wonderful experience for everyone. It is always exciting to be on a studio lot, you just don’t know which famous film star you may see!