Arcata proper has not had a big-budget, critically acclaimed film shot in its city limits before. That is, until One Battle After Another, directed by acclaimed movie maker Paul Thomas Anderson and starring ultra-famous Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio, broke that precedent.
The film, coming to streaming on Prime and Apple TV on November 14th, follows a former revolutionary named Bob (played by DiCaprio) and his independent daughter, Willa. It takes place in an alternate fascist America.
The spark that ignites the plot is when Willa is kidnapped by a corrupt military officer with whom Bob has a history.
The main conflict of the film is getting Willa back. It leads Bob down his old path of revolutionary violence. He is aided by a further guerrilla fighter named Perfidia Beverly Hills. She is played by another very famous actor, Teyana Taylor.
The film’s themes include the challenges of Father-Daughter relationships, the repercussions of one’s past, and rebellious disobedience in general.
Overall, the movie has been nearly universally praised as a near 3-hour epic.
Exact locations where it was filmed include Raliberto’s taco shop, used for a police sting scene. The pedestrian bridge and Cal Poly Humboldt were used for a key chase scene as well as landscape shots. Carmella’s Mexican restaurant was used. Finally, Murphy’s market & Sequoia park were also utilized.
Still, this movie isn’t the only one shot entirely in Arcata. Neither is it the only movie with acclaim and extensive funds shot in Humboldt County as a whole.
CineMapper, a website started a year ago in 2024, gives you the shooting location of any film or movie. If you enter the website and scroll over to Humboldt, you’ll find a couple of films shot here.
The most notable of these is, of course, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. The scenes taking place on the heavily forested fictional planet, Endor, were filmed in Redwood National Park, just south of Orick. The Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park, further south, close to Rio Dell, was also used in Return of the Jedi. Both of these locations are only an hour’s drive from Arcata High.
The more locally based Humboldt Del Norte Film Commission website also has a so-called map of the movies. This chart displays a multitude of films shot in Humboldt.
Stephen Spielberg’s Jurassic Park: The Lost World had a scene recorded at Sue-Meg State Park. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, another Spielberg film, had numerous scenes filmed on private property just North of Crescent City.
This list displays the rich relationship Humboldt County has with the film industry, bolstered even more now by One Battle After Another’s release. It’s a history that deserves to be explored and dived into, and with Thanksgiving break falling this month, now is a perfect time to visit these cinematic locations that are a part of Humboldt’s past and possibly its future.
