Lara Croft: Tomb Raider — Ta Prohm Temple at Angkor
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider — Ta Prohm Temple at Angkor
Simon West filmed Angelina Jolie entering a fictional tomb at Ta Prohm — the temple the French deliberately left unrestored, its stone walls split by fig tree roots — and introduced the Angkor complex to the West’s collective imagination.
The filming story
Ta Prohm was built by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII in the late 12th century as a Buddhist monastery and university. After the fall of the Khmer Empire, it was swallowed by the jungle. When the École française d’Extrême-Orient began restoration work at Angkor in the early 20th century, Ta Prohm was intentionally left in its overgrown state — an aesthetic and philosophical choice that made it unique among the Angkor temples. Giant silk-cotton and strangler fig trees grow directly through the stone galleries, their roots prying apart corbelled vaults and enclosing entire towers.
Director Simon West chose Ta Prohm as the exterior of the “Tomb of Ten Thousand Shadows,” where Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) enters to retrieve a magical device. Filming took place in 2000 over several weeks; the production donated $5,000 USD to the Cambodian government for ongoing conservation work — a sum widely noted as modest given the film’s eventual box-office receipts of $274 million worldwide. Ta Prohm is 2 kilometres from Angkor Wat itself; together they form part of the 400 km² Angkor Archaeological Park.
The film introduced many Western audiences to the Angkor complex for the first time. Cambodian tourism officials have repeatedly cited it as a turning point in international awareness of the site. Visitor numbers to Angkor grew from roughly 300,000 in 2001 to over 2 million by 2007.
Film details
- Director: Simon West
- Release date: 15 June 2001
- Location: Ta Prohm temple, Angkor Archaeological Park, Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Scenes filmed: Exterior of the “Tomb of Ten Thousand Shadows” — Lara Croft’s entry and interior pursuit sequences
- Filming year: 2000
Visit the location today
Ta Prohm is included in the standard Angkor Archaeological Park pass, which is purchased at the main ticket centre in Siem Reap. The temple is best visited early in the morning before tour groups arrive. The specific tree-root-covered gallery used in the film is the eastern entrance corridor; a sign now marks the spot. The overall Angkor complex is large enough to warrant two or three full days: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom (including the Bayon), and Ta Prohm make a natural first-day circuit. Siem Reap town is 8 kilometres from the main Angkor entrance and has extensive accommodation.
📷 Diventa un fotografo di Cultural Heritage Online
Condividi le tue foto dei luoghi: restano pubblicate con la tua firma come autore. Più vengono viste, più ti fai conoscere — e presto un concorso premierà le foto più apprezzate.
Accedi o registrati gratis per aggiungere una foto