Othello (1952)

Orson Welles directs and stars in the title role as the hot-tempered Moor who is consumed with jealousy when his devious underling, lago, leads him to believe that his wife, Desdemona, is unfaithful. This classic won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Films Festival in 1952.

Starring: Orson Welles, Michael MacLiammoir
Director: Orson Welles

Shot on Location in: Essaouria

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Director David Lean's Oscar-winning epic tells the true-life story of warrior-poet T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole), who helped unite warring Arab tribes so they could strike back against the Turks in World War I. Lushly filmed and expertly acted, this timeless classic underscores the clash between cultures -- and within one man -- that changed the tide of war. Alec Guinness and Anthony Quinn co-star.

Starring: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness
Director: David Lean

Shot on Location in: the Sahara Desert, Ait Ben Haddou

Patton (1970)

George C. Scott shines as Gen. George S. Patton, one of World War II's most famous commanders. Patton earned his nickname, "Blood and Guts," with his ruthless determination on the battlefield. The film is a character study masquerading as a war movie. Although the combat scenes astonish, it's Scott's dazzling performance and Franklin J. Schaffner's razor-sharp direction that make the movie work so well.

Starring: George C. Scott, Karl Malden
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner

Shot on Location in: Ouarzazate

The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

Based on a famous short story by Rudyard Kipling, this tall tale is a prime example of charismatic casting. Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) and Peachy Carnahan (Michael Caine) are a couple of bored British soldiers stationed in India when they hear of a kingdom filled with riches just ripe for the picking, high in the mountains of Kafiristan. They soon embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

Starring: Sean Connery, Michael Caine
Director: John Huston

Shot on Location in: Ouarzazate

The Jewel of the Nile (1985)

In this sequel to Romancing the Stone, romance writer Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) has grown bored traveling the world with her boyfriend, Jack Colton (Michael Douglas), and accepted an invitation to journey to the Middle East with a sheik. Once there, Joan is abducted and imprisoned with a luckless spiritual leader. Now, Colton and his new partner, Ralph (Danny Devito), must come to Wilder's rescue.

Starring: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner
Director: Lewis Teague

Shot on Location in: Ouarzazate

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

Nikos Kazantzakis' landmark novel comes to life in this moving and spiritual film from director Martin Scorsese. The all-star cast includes Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, Harry Dean Stanton, David Bowie and Willem Dafoe as Jesus.

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel
Director: Martin Scorsese

Shot on Location in: Ait Ben Haddou

Absolutely Fabulous: Series 2 (1994)

Full of fashion, fun and wit, this hilarious British comedy series centers on Edina and Patsy -- two hilarious misfits who love drugs, drinking and being outrageous. In Series 2, Pasty, Eddie, and Saffy go to Marrakech on a fashion shoot looking for underage sex, drugs, and indigenous population (whatever that is).

Starring: Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley
Director: Bob Spiers

Shot on Location in: Marrakech, Ouirgane

Kundun (1997)

A change of pace for director Martin Scorsese, this biopic about the life of the Dalai Lama was filmed with a cast of unknowns in Morocco when film crews were forbidden to enter Tibet. The Lama's escape during the Chinese invasion, meetings with Chairman Mao and eventual exile in India are vividly depicted with Oscar-nominated cinematography (by Roger Deakins), music (by Philip Glass), costumes and art direction.

Starring: Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, Gyurme Tethong
Director: Martin Scorsese

Shot on Location in: Imlil, Ouarzazate

The Mummy (1999)

You'll want your mummy when you spin this action-packed thriller from Universal Studios (the dream factory that produced the 1932 original). This remake joins the Indiana Jones series in the pantheon of great adventure flix. With strong performances by Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, and a treasure trove of extras -- including a primer on Egyptian mythology -- The Mummy is a scream.

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz
Director: Stephen Sommers

Shot on Location in: Ouarzazate, Merzoga

Hideous Kinky (1999)

With two young daughters in tow, a soul-searching mother (Kate Winslet) on a quest for enlightenment leaves 1970s London for Morocco, where she takes up with a kindhearted street performer (Saïd Taghmaoui) who does his best to protect her family. But her thirst for adventure proves bad medicine for her children. The film is based on a novel by Esther Freud, a descendant of the famous founder of psychoanalysis.

Starring: Kate Winslet, Said Taghmaoui
Director: Gillies Mackinnon

Shot on Location in: Marrakech

Gladiator(2000)

Oscar winner Russell Crowe is Maximus, whom Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) had picked to succeed him. But Marcus's son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) snatches the throne, ordering Maximus dead. Instead, he's enslaved and learns to be a skilled fighter. When the Coliseum opens for gladiator games, Maximus finally has the chance for revenge. Ridley Scott directs this vivid epic, winner of the Oscar and Golden Globe for best picture.

Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix
Director: Ridley Scott

Shot on Location in: Ouarzazate , Marrakesh

Rules of Engagement (2000)

Sensing a crisis in Yemen, the U.S. government sends Col. Terry Childers (Samuel L. Jackson) to remove the U.S. ambassador and his family. Childers succeeds but ends up killing 80 civilians in the process. Fearing a court martial that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life, Childers looks to Col. Hayes Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones) to defend him in court.

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson
Director: William Friedkin

Shot on Location in: Ouarzazate

The Mummy Returns (2001)

Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz return as the intrepid Egyptologists in this rousing sequel. This time they unearth a prehistoric relic capable of releasing cataclysmic forces and satanic warriors led by the sinister Scorpion King (pro wrestler Dwayne Johnson, aka "The Rock"). Meanwhile, evil mummy Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), revived by his reincarnated paramour, schemes to snatch control of the Scorpion King's power from its unsuspecting sentinels.

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz
Director: Stephen Sommers

Shot on Location in: Ouarzazate, Merzouga
 

Spy Game (2001)

Robert Redford and Brad Pitt reunite in this espionage thriller from director Tony Scott. On the verge of retiring from the CIA, veteran spy Nathan Muir (Redford) learns that his one-time protégé and close friend, Tom Bishop (Pitt), is a political prisoner sentenced to die in Beijing. Although their friendship has been marred by bad blood and resentment, Muir agrees to take on the most dangerous mission of his career and rescue Bishop.

Starring: Robert Redford, Brad Pitt
Director: Tony Scott

Shot on Location in: Casablanca, Ouarzazate, Skoura
 

Black Hawk Down (2001)

Based on a true story. When U.S. Rangers and an elite Delta Force team attempt to kidnap two underlings of a Somali warlord, their Black Hawk helicopters are shot down. Facing intense fighting from the militia on the ground, the Americans suffer heavy casualties. Director Ridley Scott (Gladiator) captures the brutal and incessant battle scenes with powerful and intimidating framework and pace.

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana
Director: Ridley Scott

Shot on Location in: Salé

Alexander (2004)

Director Oliver Stone takes on the epic saga of Alexander the Great (Colin Farrell), the Macedonian warrior who became legendary for his military might. Although Alexander's leadership was unflinching and his politics cunning, his interior life was as complicated as he was and included a strangely twisted relationship with his mother (Angelina Jolie), a complex marriage to Roxanne (Rosario Dawson) and a male lover (Jared Leto).

Starring: Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie
Director: Oliver Stone

Shot on Location in: Marrakesh, Ouarzazate

Hidalgo (2004)

Viggo Mortensen stars as Frank T. Hopkins, reputed to be one of the best riders of the Wild West. His chance to prove his talent comes when an affluent sheik invites him to join one of the most outrageous and grueling races of all: a 3000-mile trek across the Arabian Desert. Previously open only to those who ride Arabian horses, the event allows Hopkins to join with his Mustang, Hidalgo.

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Omar Sharif
Director: Joe Johnston

Shot on Location in: Merzouga

Exorcist (2004)

Director Renny Harlin traces the roots of evil in this prequel to the box office smash of the 1970s. Sent to Africa at the close of World War II to tend to the needs of the local community, Father Lankester Merrin (Stellan Skarsgard) gets more than he ever bargained for when he has his first brush with a devilish force. Costars Izabella Scorupco, James D'Arcy and Gabriel Mann.

Starring: Stellan Skarsgard, James D'Arcy
Director: Renny Harlin

Shot on Location in: Marrakesh

Sahara (2005)

Based on Clive Cussler's best-selling novels starring action hero Dirk Pitt, Sahara sets the daring adventurer on a mission to save the world from destruction. While investigating a deadly water-borne epidemic along the Nile, Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) uncovers a secret dating back to Lincoln's assassination and battles, an evil industrialist bent on killing every living thing in the world's oceans.

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Penelope Cruz, Steve Zahn
Director: Breck Eisner

Shot on Location in: Ouarzazate, Merzouga, Oujda

Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

During the 12th century in the holy city of Jerusalem, a young peasant blacksmith (Orlando Bloom) takes up the mantle of knighthood so he can help repel the army of Christian crusaders that took control of the city in the year 1099. To complicate matters (of course), the young knight also falls in love with a beautiful princess (Eva Green). Costars Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis and Brendan Gleeson.

Starring: Orlando Bloom, Eva Green
Director: Ridley Scott

Shot on Location in: Ourzazate

And finally, perhaps the most famous movie set in Morocco, Casablanca.

Although the movie captures the spirit, adventure, and romance of Morocco, this film was actually shot entirely in the studios of Hollywood. Kudos to the set designers!

Casablanca(1942)

As time goes by, this 1942 classic starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman (as Rick and Ilsa, star-crossed lovers who just aren't meant to be) only gets better. Of all the "gin joints" in Morocco, Ilsa, with husband Victor (Paul Henreid) in tow, had to walk into the one owned by Rick, a former beau she abandoned in Paris. War looms over them all, and in a much-discussed ending, Rick and Ilsa make heroic but heartbreaking choices.

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman
Director: Michael Curtiz

Shot on Location in: Hollywood, California