When Hollywood stars of the screen dropped in on Powys

Some have gone on to become pop culture favourites while others proved to be less successful.

So which movie shot in Powys is regarded as the best and worst? Here is a list of some of the films shot in Powys. Have we missed any? Get in touch and let us know.

The Dark Knight Rises

Henryd Waterfall. Picture: Wiki.

Christopher Nolan’s 2012 superhero movie starring Christian Bale as Batman along with a supporting cast of Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy and Marion Cottilard.

In addition to being Nolan's highest-grossing film, it became the seventh-highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release, as well as the third-highest-grossing film of 2012.

The external waterfall scene of the Bat Cave at the end of the film was shot at Sgwd Henrhyd falls, on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

Young Winston

Richard Attenborough. Picture: GDC Graphics/Wiki.

The 1972 British adventure drama war film covering the early years of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, based in particular on his 1930 book, My Early Life.

The first part of the film covers Churchill's unhappy schooldays and the second half covers his service as a cavalry officer in India and the Sudan, his experiences as a war correspondent in the Second Boer War, during which he is captured and escapes, and his election to Parliament at the age of 26.

Churchill was played by Simon Ward, who was relatively unknown at the time but was supported by a distinguished cast including Robert Shaw, John Mills (as Lord Kitchener), Anthony Hopkins, Anne Bancroft, Patrick Magee, Robert Hardy, Ian Holm, Edward Woodward and Jack Hawkins.

The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and nominated for three Academy Awards:

The film was partly shot in Pen-y-cae in the Brecon Beacons National Park between Abercraf and Craig-y-Nos Castle.

An American Werewolf in London

An American Werewolf in London. Picture: Wikipedia.

An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 horror black comedy film written and directed by John Landis.

The film stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne and John Woodvine.

The film's plot follows two American backpackers, David and Jack, who are attacked by a werewolf while traveling in England, causing David to question whether he will become werewolf under the next full moon.

It was a critical and commercial success, winning the 1981 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film and the first ever Academy Award for Best Makeup. Since its release, it has become a cult classic.

The moors were filmed around the Black Mountains in Wales, and East Proctor is in reality the tiny village of Crickadarn, about six miles southeast of Builth Wells off the A470.

The Angel of Death statue was a prop added for the film, but the red phone box is real, though the Welsh road signs were covered by a fake tree

Restoration

Robert Downey Junior. Picture: Gage Skidmore/Wiki.

Restoration is a 1995 American historical drama film directed by Michael Hoffman.

It stars Robert Downey Jr. as a 17th-century medical student exploited by King Charles II.

The film, which is based on the 1989 novel of the same title by Rose Tremain, was filmed in Wales and won the Academy Awards for art direction and costume design.

The film also stars Sam Neill, Meg Ryan, David Thewlis, Ian McKellan, Hugh Grant and Ian McDiurmid and was partly shot at Tretower Court in Crickhowell.

Second Best

John Hurt. Picture: Walterlan Papetti.

Second Best is a 1994 British film produced by Sarah Radclyffe and directed by Chris Menges. It closely follows the 1991 novel of the same name by David Cook, who also wrote the screenplay.

The plot follows, Graham, a lonely Welsh postal worker, who adopts James, a troubled ten-year-old boy who loves his biological father too much to give Graham a chance.

The film stars John and William Hurt and was largely shot in Knighton.

The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain

The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain. Picture: Wikipedia.

The Englishman who Went up a Hill but Came down a Mountain is a 1995 film with a story by Ifor David Monger and Ivor Monger, written and directed by Christopher Monger.

The film is based on a story heard by Christopher Monger from his grandfather about the real village of Taff's Well in Glamorgan, and its neighbouring Garth Hill and was filmed in Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant and Llansilin in Powys.

The film is set in 1917, with World War I in the background, and revolves around two English cartographers, the pompous George Garrad and his junior, Reginald Anson.

They arrive at the fictional Welsh village of Ffynnon Garw to measure its "mountain" – only to cause outrage when they conclude that it is only a hill because it is slightly short of the required height of 1,000 feet

The villagers, aided and abetted by wily local, Morgan the Goat, and the Reverend Mr Jones who, after initially opposing the scheme, grasps its symbolism in restoring the community's war-damaged self-esteem, conspire to delay the cartographers' departure while they build an earth mound on top of the hill and make it high enough to be considered a mountain.

The film stars Hugh Grant, Tara Fitzgerald, Ian McNeice and Colm Meaney.

You Should Have Left

You Should Have Left. Picture: Wikipedia.

You Should Have Left is a 2020 American psychological horror film written and directed by David Koepp, based on the 2017 book of the same name by Daniel Kehlmann.

It stars Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried as an older man married to a younger wife.

They book a vacation in Wales, but there is something strange about the house—time passed unusually fast and they both experience bad nightmares. They also discover that neither one of them made the booking, each thinking the other did it.

Filming took place at various locations in Wales, including at the Life House in Llanbister which Bacon poured praise following the production of the film