The Denver Mine

The surviving structures of the Denver mining plant hang precariously off the hillside above the town of Rodalquilar, inside the Cabo de Gata natural park. The buildings still bear black painted letters--”Dorm Block B,” “Guard Block D”--from a movie production almost 30 years ago. The foundations of the separation tanks create enormous circles at the bottom of the hill. Across the plain lies the Mediterranean ocean.

The mining industry transformed the landscape of Almeria during the nineteenth century as modern technology allowed for large scale exploitation of iron, lead and other resources. Activity slowed during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, after which the fascist government took control of the site at Rodalquilar. At the time, it was believed there were vast gold deposits hidden under ground. During the 1950s, the state constructed the Denver plant along with dozens of houses for workers, schools, a pharmacy, and other buildings. However, the mine's resources didn't live up to expectations. The mine was closed on March 9, 1966, less than ten years after it opened.

The remains were later rediscovered by filmmakers looking for an otherwordly location. In the early summer of 1985, dozens of technicians and laborers began constructing a massive set on top of the old mine buildings, turning it into a post-apocalyptic prison camp. The movie Solarbabies takes place in the future after a global drought has turned the planet into a desert and a mysterious police state, called The Protectorate, controls all water resources. Children are raised in orphanages where they become prisoners of the system. At the center of the story are a rebellious group of adolescents who escape at night to play a version of lacrosse on rollerskates.

The film was widely derided as a cheap Mad Max imitator and labeled "an apalling stinker" by Leonard Maltin. But it includes several familiar faces from the 80s, including Jami Gertz, Jason Patric, and Lukas Haas, along with rollerskating chase scenes over desert landscapes that were specially paved over for the film. The painted letters still readable on the mine buildings mark the prison dorm and guard buildings. One of the police vehicles, an oversized metal armadillo, still sits on a lot behind an old western movie set in Tabernas.

A few years later the site was transformed again to medieval England. In The Reckoning, starring Willem Dafoe and Paul Bettany, a traveling theater troupe arrives in a strange, isolated town at the base of a castle and then get entangled in solving the mystery surrounding the murder of a local boy. The castle, constructed on top of the mine buildings, towers over the town below. Tudor facades follow the circular foundations at the bottom of the bill, creating a surreal, curving structure, which also provides the round theater the players perform in. The entire landscape is covered with a layer of snow throughout the film. A long stairway which runs up the right side of the mine facility can be picked out in the film, but the site seems otherwise entirely unrecognizable.

The team spent over 6 weeks constructing the set. The film itself received lukewarm reviews, criticized for being unoriginal and pedantic. But Andrew McAlpine’s production design was singled out for its ingenuity. Variety magazine wrote:

The Reckoning’s most impressive player ... is its stunning set. When scouting expeditions in England failed to yield a viable medieval village, the producers opted to create one in Spain. On the ruins of an abandoned gold mine, production designer Andrew McAlpine and his team built a thoroughly convincing 14th century town, complete with a castle for de Guise.

In reality the climate is not nearly so harsh as it appears in either film. Just out of view is the Mediterranean ocean and one of its most stunning, undeveloped beaches.

A production still of the set from The Reckoning, from Andrew McAlpine's website.

The Final Duel

Mortimer stands eyeing his Colt Buntline Special on the ground, which has just been shot out of his hand. Indio approaches holding a musical watch. Inside the watch is a picture of Mortimer’s sister, who shot herself while being raped by Indio. The two gunmen stand inside a large circle bounded by a low stone wall at the edge of town. In the background is only desert, a few dry shrubs and distant mountains. Manco approaches, offering his gunbelt and pistol to Mortimer before taking a seat on the low wall. The duel begins. As Indio starts to reach for his gun, he is knocked down by Mortimer’s bullet.

The final duel scene from For a Few Dollars More is one of the most memorable in western film history. The scene was shot outside the town of Los Albaricoques in the desert of Níjar. Sergio Leone made use of this location for several scenes throughout the Dollars trilogy.

In recent years the town has grown rapidly, adding plots of modern townhomes. Cars line the narrow lanes. And the modest white houses which once stood in for a dusty Mexican pueblo have been fixed up and repainted. However, local officials have renamed the streets to honor their history -- one famous scene was filmed on what is now Calle Clint Eastwood. The circular ring from the final duel scene has also been reconstructed on the original site, seen in the photo above (click on the photo for a larger image). The row of houses in the background are new. But the small white building and round tower directly in back of the ring can be seen in the film, much as they are today.

"Landscapes de un Sueño" in today's La Voz de Almeria

The article appears online also here. 

Washington Post: Photographers share tips for budding shutterbugs

The cover story on friday's Washington Post Weekend section highlighted the work of three DC photographers, including Joshua Cogan, Josh Sisk, and myself. Journalist Lavanya Ramanathan provides an engaging look at what drives these three photographers and also includes some expert advice on how to take better pictures. The Post gave lots of space to showcase selected images, including my panoramic shot of the old Flagstone set from Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West. The article is accompanied by a guide to March photography events in DC -- it's a busy month, including friday March 18 openings for Mirror to the World at Photoworks in Glen Echo Park and FotoDC's Flash in Crystal City.

Read the full story online here.

Check out the online image gallery here.

Lawrence of Arabia and an Illegal Hotel

Almost half a century ago ago this barren section of the Almeria coastline in southern Spain was bustling with the activity of a small metropolis. Workers were constructing a replica of the city of Aqaba for the filming of the famous battle scene in Lawrence of Arabia. After the shoot, the entire set was dismantled, leaving the rocky coastline exactly as it had been before. The site now lies within the borders of the protected natural park of Cabo de Gata.

A few years ago, a developer began construction on a mega-resort complex alongside the Algarrobico beach, a few hundred meters from the site of Aqaba. The main hotel, Azata del Sol, was to include 411 rooms in 20 stories, most with water views due to the fact that the hotel scales the side of a cliff. Another seven residential buildings and an 18-hole golf course were also part of the plan.

However, opponents of the development claimed that it was in violation of regulations protecting the natural park and the Spanish coastline. In February 2006 a court ruling declared the construction illegal and ordered that work on the hotel be stopped. Last year, the government of the province of Andalucia stated that they would purchase the land the hotel is on, after which they would demolish the building and return the site to its original state.

So far, the unfinished building still stands. I was there in February and took some photographs. The previous week, seventy Greenpeace activists had draped the hotel with more than 18,000 square meters of green material in order to draw attention to the blemish the construction has created on the coastline.