Alright, folks, gather ’round, let me tell you about my little adventure trying to track down where they shot that ’80s action flick, Cobra. You know, the one with Stallone and all those sunglasses? Yeah, that one.
So, first, I fired up my trusty computer. Gotta start somewhere, right? I spent a good chunk of time just browsing the internet, you know, the usual spots – fan forums, movie databases, you name it. Lots of people talking about the movie, but not so much on the specifics of where it was actually filmed. Found a couple of dead ends, you know, the usual internet rabbit holes.
Then, I decided to get a little more methodical. I started making a list of all the iconic scenes I could remember. You got the grocery store showdown, the motel shootout, that crazy car chase through the shipyard…
- Grocery Store Mayhem
- Motel Shootout
- Shipyard Car Chase
- That weird cult meeting in the warehouse
With this list in hand, I went back to the internet. This time I tried a more focused approach. I searched for each scene individually, hoping to find some clues. It was slow going, but I finally started to get some hits. Turns out, a lot of it was shot in and around Los Angeles. No surprise there, right? Hollywood loves its own backyard.
I found out that the grocery store was some place called the “Chavez Ravine Market.” Looked it up on some old maps – apparently, it’s not there anymore. Demolished, I guess. Progress, huh?
The motel was a bit trickier. There were a bunch of motels used in the film, and it took some serious detective work to narrow it down. Finally, I found a forum post where some film location enthusiast had matched up the specific architectural details with a motel in Pasadena. The “Pasadena Inn” it’s called now. But guess what? They changed the entire facade, you could not even recognize it.
The car chase was the real gem. After hours of searching, I stumbled upon a blog dedicated to old Los Angeles industrial sites. And there it was – the Vincent Thomas Bridge and the surrounding shipyard in San Pedro. Those locations are still there, and they look pretty much the same as they did in the movie, which is super cool.
The warehouse scene, well, that was tough. I dug and dug, but couldn’t find a definitive answer. The place looks pretty generic in the movie, I am sure it was torn down and replaced by a fancy condo.
So, there you have it. My journey through the filming locations of Cobra. It wasn’t easy, but it was definitely a fun ride. Makes you appreciate those old movies a bit more, you know? Knowing the places behind the action, the real-world spots that made it all come to life.
