Set on the Texas border · Shot in New Mexico and Marfa, 2006

No Country for Old Men

A straight highway running into a small town under a wide pale sky, power poles on one side

US 90 into Marfa · Matthew Rutledge, CC BY 2.0

Javier Bardem in a peaked cap and dark jacket, smiling — **Javier Bardem** Chigurh · Toronto, Sept 2007 · gdcgraphics, CC BY 2.0

Josh Brolin, dark swept-back hair, looking at the camera — **Josh Brolin** Moss · December 2007 · lukeford.net, CC BY-SA 2.5

Tommy Lee Jones in sunglasses, suit and patterned tie, smiling — **Tommy Lee Jones** Sheriff Bell · Toronto, Sept 2007 · gdcgraphics, CC BY 2.0

A motel vent with Texas behind it.

The story runs along the Texas border. The film was made mostly in Las Vegas, New Mexico, with rooms in Santa Fe, a motel in Albuquerque, and seven or eight days on the real plain at Marfa.

Where this comes from

Five vents, five Texas names

Take the screws out.
Texas is behind the grille.

Moss hides the money in a motel air duct. The film hid its Texas the same way. Pick a grille, take out its four screws, and see the real place.

A three-storey red-brick Victorian hotel with an ornate parapet and striped awnings — The Plaza Hotel on the plaza in Las Vegas, New Mexico. KeanoManu · CC BY-SA 4.0

The hotel in Eagle Pass, Texas

Grille 1: The hotel in Eagle Pass, Texas. Four screws to take out.

The story says

The hotel in Eagle Pass, Texas

Behind this grille is a real place you can stand outside today. 4 to go.

Marfa, West Texas · the only real Texas

Seven or eight days
on the real plain.

Main unit shoots in Marfa for seven or eight days, for the feel of the border country. Tommy Lee Jones persuaded the Coens to shoot some scenes on location in Texas.

Smoke from an oil-fire test drifts over the plain.

An oil-fire test for There Will Be Blood sends smoke over the set, and filming waits a day.

Where this comes from

A wide main street leading to a domed courthouse under big clouds — Highland Avenue and the Presidio County Courthouse, Marfa. Paul Joseph · CC BY 2.0

Presidio County, West Texas

The town

Sheriff Bell loads his horse outside a farmhouse in Marfa.

Chip Love, president of Marfa’s only bank, plays the driver Chigurh stops on the highway.

Parts of the film were shot in Marfa, where Giant was filmed in 1956.

Walk Highland Avenue to the courthouse. The ranches round town are private land.

Where this comes from

Hotel Saint George

Hotel Saint George, Marfa

Marfa, Texas · Rates on booking · (432) 729-3700

A 55-room hotel on Highland Avenue, Marfa’s main street, with Bar Saint George and LaVenture for dinner. Not connected with the film; the base for the plain.

Check rooms

A round stone viewing platform on open grassland under a blue sky — The Marfa Lights Viewing Area on US 90, east of Marfa. Allison Meier · CC BY 2.0

US 90 between Marfa and Alpine

The opening

Deakins and his assistant shoot the opening montage of prairie and empty road round Marfa during preparation.

The location manager for the Texas unit worked on ranches of 30,000 to 100,000 acres.

Pull in at the Marfa Lights Viewing Area, 9 miles east of town on US 90. The ranch land either side of the road is private.

Where this comes from

Visit Marfa

Marfa Lights Viewing Area

Marfa, Texas · Free · on US 90

A pull-in on US 90, 9 miles east of town towards Alpine, looking over the plain the opening montage came from. Go at dusk.

About the viewing area

Las Vegas, New Mexico, after dark

Texas by night
was a railroad town in New Mexico.

The film is made between 23 May and 19 August 2006, its night scenes in Las Vegas. Walk it stop by stop, under the street lights.

Stop 1 of 5: Mike Zoss Pharmacy.

A wide street of low historic shopfronts under a bright sky — Douglas Avenue, in the Douglas–Sixth Street Historic District. John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0

610 Douglas Ave, Las Vegas, New Mexico

Mike Zoss Pharmacy

Chigurh gets medical supplies at Mike Zoss Pharmacy, named after the Coens’ company.

The name is a nod to Mike Zoss Productions, the Coens’ company.

KRQE describes it as an empty Las Vegas property.

The building stands empty. Look from Douglas Avenue.

Where this comes from

A low adobe-style campus with lawns and paths, hills beyond — The Santa Fe campus at 1600 St Michael’s Drive, home of Garson Studios, about 2011. Adsedit · CC BY 3.0

1600 St Michael’s Drive, Santa Fe

Indoors, in Santa Fe

Many of the film’s interiors are shot at Garson Studios in Santa Fe.

More scenes were shot elsewhere in Santa Fe. Tourism Santa Fe lists the film among those shot in the city, alongside Longmire, Crazy Heart and True Grit.

Garson has since merged with its neighbour, Midtown Studios, into Aspect Media Village, a 23-acre film and television campus.

A working film studio, not open to visitors. See it from St Michael’s Drive.

Where this comes from

Cannes, May 2007 · Hollywood, February 2008

Four Oscars.
One went next door.

Javier Bardem in sunglasses and a white shirt beside Ethan and Joel Coen, outdoors — Javier Bardem with Ethan and Joel Coen at Cannes, May 2007. Georges Biard · CC BY-SA 3.0

The film is shown In Competition at the Festival de Cannes.

It wins Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for the Coens, and Best Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem.

Where this comes from

Roger Deakins is nominated for his cinematography. That Oscar goes to There Will Be Blood. The smoke had the last word.

Where this comes from

Every grille unscrewed.
Every place, as it is now.

Where it is now

12 places you can visit, from the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas to the plain east of Marfa. Carla Jean’s mother’s house is someone’s home: named, not mapped. The Desert Sands has gone; its spot on Central Avenue is mapped.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working hotel on the old plaza: walk into the lobby, eat at the Plaza Grill, or book a room on 505-425-3591.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working motel on North Grand Avenue. Look from the street, or ask at the desk for a room.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Now the Knights Inn, a motel on Grand Avenue. Look from the street.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The building stands empty. Look from Douglas Avenue.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Ordinary town streets, a short walk from Douglas Avenue. Keep to the pavement; the alleys back onto homes and shops.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The payphone has gone. The station at 500 Railroad Avenue has a waiting room and is a stop on Amtrak.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The set has gone. The overpass is an ordinary street; Railroad Avenue runs underneath.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: area · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public university campus a few minutes’ walk from the overpass.

The Plaza Hotel on the plaza in Las Vegas, New Mexico. KeanoManu · CC BY-SA 4.0
230 Plaza, Las Vegas, New Mexico
The Plaza Hotel
The Plaza Hotel plays the hotel in Eagle Pass, Texas, where Moss finds the transponder hidden in the money.
A working hotel on the old plaza: walk into the lobby, eat at the Plaza Grill, or book a room on 505-425-3591.
Where this comes from
East Las Vegas, New Mexico, in 2015: a view nearby, not the motel itself. Roman Eugeniusz · CC BY-SA 3.0
1809 N Grand Ave, Las Vegas, New Mexico
The Regal Inn
Moss hides the case of money in the air-conditioning duct of his room here.
A working motel on North Grand Avenue. Look from the street, or ask at the desk for a room.
Where this comes from
East Las Vegas, New Mexico, in 2015: a view nearby, not the café itself. Roman Eugeniusz · CC BY-SA 3.0
1152 Grand Ave, Las Vegas, New Mexico
Pancho’s Café
This motel diner plays Pancho’s Café.
Now the Knights Inn, a motel on Grand Avenue. Look from the street.
Where this comes from
Douglas Avenue, in the Douglas–Sixth Street Historic District. John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0
610 Douglas Ave, Las Vegas, New Mexico
Mike Zoss Pharmacy
Chigurh gets medical supplies at Mike Zoss Pharmacy.
The building stands empty. Look from Douglas Avenue.
Where this comes from
The old fire station in the Douglas–Sixth Street Historic District. John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0
615 6th St and the corner of 6th and Baca, Las Vegas
Sixth Street and Baca Avenue
Moss runs through the alley at 615 Sixth Street, a few blocks from the hotel.
Ordinary town streets, a short walk from Douglas Avenue. Keep to the pavement; the alleys back onto homes and shops.
Where this comes from
The railway station and the old Castañeda, a former Harvey House, on Railroad Avenue. Asaavedra32 · CC BY-SA 3.0
East Lincoln Street and Railroad Avenue, Las Vegas
The payphone on Railroad Avenue
Chigurh uses Moss’s phone bill at a payphone here to track him.
The payphone has gone. The station at 500 Railroad Avenue has a waiting room and is a stop on Amtrak.
Where this comes from
Railroad Avenue, Las Vegas: the street the border station was built above. John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0
East University Avenue overpass, above Railroad Avenue
The border station
The crew built the US border station as a set on the East University Avenue overpass, closing it for a week.
The set has gone. The overpass is an ordinary street; Railroad Avenue runs underneath.
Where this comes from
The Rogers Administration Building, New Mexico Highlands University. John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0
University Avenue, Las Vegas, New Mexico
New Mexico Highlands University
On Sunday 23 April 2006 the film held an open casting call for extras in the Student Center Ballroom on the Highlands campus.
A public university campus a few minutes’ walk from the overpass.
Where this comes from

Stay

A room at the Eagle Pass hotel.

The Plaza in Las Vegas, which played it, and a hotel on Marfa’s main street for the plain.

Plaza Hotel

The Plaza Hotel, Las Vegas

Las Vegas, New Mexico · Rates on booking · 505-425-3591

The film’s Eagle Pass hotel, and its lobby and staircase. Opened in 1882; 70 rooms, 19 of them over Plaza Park, and the Plaza Grill downstairs.

Check rooms

Hotel Saint George