We’ve been enjoying HBO’s newest prestige show, Westworld, based on a 1973 screenplay and film written and directed by Michael Crichton; part of our affinity for the show is that its landscape is familiar territory, with many scenes are set on state and national park land. The original film starred Yul Brynner and James Brolin; the HBO series includes Ed Harris, Thandie Newton, Evan Rachel Wood, Anthony Hopkins and James Marsden.
The story presents an engineered amusement park inhabited by robots with intersecting and recurrent storylines. The concept brings up several interesting questions...can the human condition be replicated or changed? Is there such a thing as self-determination or free will? We don't want to spoil it, so will simply say that plot wise, the robots transcend the parameters of their design.
Several NPS units and state parks serve as locations for filming, including Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park, both in Utah, and the Paramount Ranch, located within the Santa Monica National Recreation Area.
Santa Monica National Recreation Area, courtesy of HBO.
Santa Monica National Recreation Area, courtesy of HBO.
The Paramount Ranch, part of Santa Monica National Recreation Area, photo by Amy Beth Wright.
Dead Horse Point State Park / Canyonlands National Park
Dead Horse Point State Park, courtesy of HBO.
Dead Horse Point State Park/Canyonlands National Park, courtesy of HBO.
Dead Horse Point State Park, photo from the National Archives.
Canyonlands National Park, photo by Amy Beth Wright.
Canyonlands National Park, Courtesy of HBO
Canyonlands National Park, Courtesy of HBO
Canyonlands National Park, photo by Amy Beth Wright.
Canyonlands National Park, photo by Derek Wright.
Have you seen other national or state parks in Westworld that we might have missed?
