Movies made in South Dakota: Oscar-nominated ‘Nomadland’ the latest

With “Nomadland” earning six Oscars nominations, South Dakota is once again taking center stage on the big screen.

Hollywood has filmed dozens of movies in the state, and many of them are classics, including “Dances With Wolves” and “North by Northwest.”

But like “Nomadland,” which features the Black Hills and Badlands, most of the movies filmed in South Dakota feature the western part of the state.

With the Academy Awards are set to air Sunday, we took a look back at some of the notable films made in the Mount Rushmore State.

‘North by Northwest’

Release date: 1959

IMDB synopsis: Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, this suspense film finds New York City ad executive Roger O. Thornhill (Cary Grant) pursued across the country by spy Phillip Vandamm (James Mason) after Thornhill is mistaken for a government agent.

Rotten Tomatoes score and consensus: 99%. “Gripping, suspenseful, and visually iconic, this late-period Hitchcock classic laid the groundwork for countless action thrillers to follow.”

Where it was filmed: Mount Rushmore features prominently during a chase scene at the conclusion of the movie. Though it appears the characters are climbing on the face of the mountain, the scenes were filmed on a soundstage. The park’s cafe was also recreated on a studio lot. Hitchcock ran afoul of National Park officials when it was learned he had planned to shoot action scenes with the memorial prominently featured, going against a previous agreement. He ended up shooting those scenes on a sound stage, and the The National Park Service and the Department of the Interior objected to the finished project, claiming it desecrated the national memorial, PBS reported.

Reception: The film was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Production Design. The American Film Institute placed it No. 55 on “100 Greatest American Films of All Time” list.

‘We all have stories to tell’:Meet the South Dakotans in Oscar-nominated ‘Nomadland’

‘How the West Was Won’

Release date: 1962

IMDB synopsis: Setting off on a journey to the west in the 1830s, the Prescott family runs into a man named Linus (James Stewart), who helps them fight off a pack of thieves. Linus then marries daughter Eve Prescott (Carroll Baker), and 30 years later goes off to fight in the Civil War with their son, with bloody results. Eve’s sister, Lily (Debbie Reynolds), heads further west and has adventures with a professional gambler (Gregory Peck), stretching all the way to San Francisco and into the 1880s.

Rotten Tomatoes score and consensus: 84%. “People have always been, and always will be, impressed with big movies; this Western was one of the very biggest.”

Where it was filmed: “The 1962 epic brought huge Cinerama cameras and a gigantic crew to Custer State Park for scenes involving the 1880 Train and two temporary “towns,” according to a post on CinemaSouthDakota. The scenes showing a buffalo stampede, a buffalo hunt and others with Native Americans were filmed in Custer State Park, the website said.

Reception: The film was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture. It won three: Best Story and Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, Best Sound and Best Film Editing. It grossed more than $50 million worldwide.

‘Dances with Wolves’

Release date: 1990

IMDB synopsis: A Civil War soldier (Kevin Costner) develops a relationship with a band of Lakota Indians. Attracted by the simplicity of their lifestyle, he chooses to leave his former life behind to be with them.

Rotten Tomatoes score and consensus: 83%. “Dances with Wolves suffers from a simplistic view of the culture it attempts to honor, but the end result remains a stirring western whose noble intentions are often matched by its epic grandeur.”

Where it was filmed: Most of the movie was filmed in South Dakota on private ranches near Rapid City and Pierre. The opening scene of the movie featuring a Civil War battle was filmed near Pierre, and the winter camp at the end was filmed in Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills. Native Americans from South Dakota reservations were given parts as extras. Many of the props used in the film can be found in the 1880 Town in Midland. Costner fell in love with the area and opened the Midnight Star casino in Deadwood in 1991.

Reception: ‘Dances with Wolves’ was nominated for 12 Oscars and won seven, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Cinematography. It made $184 million at the U.S. box office and $424 million worldwide.

‘Thunderheart’

Release date: 1992

IMDB synopsis: When a series of murders stuns a small Native American reservation, the FBI sends in agent Ray Levoi (Val Kilmer) to investigate.

Rotten Tomatoes score and consensus: 89%. “A fascinating murder mystery story that at the same time brings to our attention the plight of the modern Indians living on the reservation.”

Where it was filmed: The Redwood Motel in Wasta was used as the FBI agent’s field headquarters, and other scenes were shot in the Badlands, Wounded Knee and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where the film takes place, though it’s called Bear Creek Reservation. “The film employs many Indian actors, some of whose screen roles mirror their real lives,” the New York Times noted in its review.

Reception: The film grossed $22 million in the U.S. box office.

‘Starship Troopers’

Release date: 1997

IMDB synopsis: In the distant future, the Earth is at war with a race of giant alien insects. A mobile Infantry travels to distant alien planets to take the war to the Bugs.

Rotten Tomatoes score and consensus: 65%. “A fun movie…if you can accept the excessive gore and wooden acting.”

Where it was filmed: Looking for an alien landscape on Earth? There aren’t many better places than The Badlands, which provide the backdrop of another planet in the film.

Reception: The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. It earned $121 million worldwide. Slant Magazine ranked the film No. 20 on its list of best 100 films of the 1990s.

‘Mercury Rising’

Release date: 1998

IMDB synopsis: “Mercury Rising” stars Bruce Willis as Art Jeffries, a renegade FBI agent who combats ruthless federal agents to protect Simon (Miko Hughes), a 9-year-old autistic boy who has cracked the government’s new unbreakable code.

Rotten Tomatoes score and consensus: 21%. “Mercury Rising lays the action on thick, but can never find a dramatic pulse to keep viewers — or Bruce Willis — engaged with its maudlin story.”

Where it was filmed: The opening scene of the movie starts with an establishing shot of a helicopter flying over the Black Hills landscape and into Sturgis, where a bank robbery was shot in the downtown area.

Reception: The film made $32 million domestically and $60 million internationally.

More:South Dakota hits the big screen in Oscars-favorite ‘Nomadland’

‘Into the Wild’

Release date: 2006

IMDB synopsis: Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), son of wealthy parents (Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt), graduates from Emory University as a top student and athlete. However, instead of embarking on a prestigious and profitable career, he chooses to give his savings to charity, rid himself of his possessions, and set out on a journey to the Alaskan wilderness.

Rotten Tomatoes score and consensus: 83%. “With his sturdy cast and confident direction, Sean Penn has turned a complex work of non-fiction like Into the Wild into an accessible and poignant character study.”

Where it was filmed: On his way to Alaska, McCandless stops at Carthage, South Dakota, and takes a job on a grain farm. The Argus Leader reported at the time that filming took place over a week and included scenes at the Cabaret and the Carthage elevator. Cast and crew stayed in vacant houses in Carthage and in Mitchell, De Smet and Oldham. A scene showcasing running horses was filmed in the Hot Springs area.

Reception: The film was nominated for two Oscars: Best Editing and Best Supporting Actor (Hal Holbrook). It made $18 million at the U.S. box office and $38 million worldwide.

‘National Treasure: Book of Secrets’

Release date: 2007

IMDB synopsis: Ben Gates and his father Patrick are surprised by Mitch Wilkinson’s claims that their ancestor was a conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln based on the missing page of Booth’s diary that he possesses. Outraged, together with his wife, Abigail, and his best friend, the writer Riley Poole, they head to France, England, Washington and South Dakota to collect clues to prove his honor.

Rotten Tomatoes score and consensus: 36%. “A talented cast goes to waste in the improbable National Treasure: Book of Secrets, which is eerily similar to the first film.”

Where it was filmed: Black Hills residents will soon realize the geographic liberties the film took of the Black Hills — a scene where the main characters are looking for a cave’s entrance at the beautiful Sylvan Lake makes it appear that the lake is right behind Mount Rushmore. The characters also are shown in a shot admiring the monument. Scenes featuring the Hall of Records on top of Mount Rushmore were shot on a soundstage.

Reception: The film earned $219 million domestically and $459 million total worldwide.

‘Nebraska’

Release date: 2013

IMDB synopsis: Cantankerous old buzzard Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) can barely walk down the street of his home in Billings, Mont., without stopping for a drink. So when Woody receives receives a sweepstakes notice in the mail and insists on making a 750-mile trip to Lincoln, Neb., to collect his prize.

Rotten Tomatoes score and consensus: 91%. “Elegant in its simplicity and poetic in its message, Nebraska adds another stirringly resonant chapter to Alexander Payne’s remarkable filmography.”

Where it was filmed: Woody travels with his son through western South Dakota, and a scene shows them on I-90 traveling by bikers a few miles outside of Rapid City. Mount Rushmore is shown during a quick trip to the monument, and the two stay at the Stardust Motel in Rapid City.

Reception: The film was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Dern) and Best Cinematography. It grossed $27.7 million at the box office.

‘Nomadland’

Release date: 2020

IMDB synopsis: A woman in her sixties who, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.

Rotten Tomatoes score and consensus: 94%. “A poetic character study on the forgotten and downtrodden, Nomadland beautifully captures the restlessness left in the wake of the Great Recession.”

Where it was filmed: “Nomadland” focuses on Fern and her life as a nomad, but it’s also largely a love letter to South Dakota scenery, with its sweeping frames of the Badlands, glimpses of the Black Hills and peaceful sunsets in western South Dakota. The Badlands feature prominently in the middle part of the movie, and Fern takes a tour of the Black Hills, including Needles Highway and Custer State Park, during a montage scene. She also takes a part-time job at Wall Drug, where she’s seen working in the cafe. Other shots show various attractions at Wall Drug. Several South Dakota residents worked as actors and extras in the movie.

Reception: Nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for Frances McDormand. The film, which won the best film BAFTA, has made $6 million combined at the worldwide box office.