The Revenant is set in the American frontier of 1823. The film was not shot in the Dakotas, where the real Hugh Glass story took place.
Most of it was filmed in Canada. The production then moved to Montana for one famous river sequence and to Argentina for the snowy final scenes.
Where Was The Revenant Filmed? The Short Answer
The main filming base was Calgary, Alberta, in Canada. Much of the outdoor work took place in Kananaskis Country and the Bow Valley, west of Calgary.
Other confirmed locations were:
- Squamish Valley, British Columbia, for the bear attack
- Kootenai Falls, Montana, for the rapids and waterfall escape
- The Olivia River near Ushuaia, Argentina, for the final scenes
The story is set in what is now Montana and South Dakota. The locations above stood in for that frontier landscape.
Filming Locations in Alberta, Canada
Kananaskis Country and the Bow Valley
Kananaskis Country was the heart of the shoot. Its mountains, forests and rivers gave the film its cold, remote look.
Fortress Mountain, in the same region, was used for mountain and avalanche material. The production worked in difficult winter conditions, with short days and snow that could change fast.
The Bow River and Morley
The opening Arikara ambush was filmed along the Bow River, near Morley in Alberta. The location was on Stoney Nakoda First Nation land.
This is a useful correction to older guides. The Bow River was not simply a background river. It was the setting for one of the film’s largest set pieces.
Dead Man’s Flats
The set for Fort Kiowa was built at Dead Man’s Flats, west of Calgary toward Canmore. The fort is fictional in the sense used by the film, but the set gave the trappers a fixed base on screen.
Drumheller Badlands
The Drumheller Badlands in Alberta were also used. Their dry, eroded landscape contrasts sharply with the snow-covered forest scenes, which is part of why the location stands out.
The Bear Attack: Squamish, British Columbia
The bear attack was filmed in the Squamish Valley in British Columbia, in forest near the Squamish River. No real bear was used on set.
Stunt performer Glenn Ennis wore a blue suit and a foam bear head for the bear-on-man sections. Industrial Light & Magic then created the bear digitally, building its movement, muscle, fur and weight from reference material.
Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki shot with natural light. That choice limited each day’s usable shooting time and made the forest scenes harder to film, but it also gave the sequence its grey, unpolished look.
The River Scene: Kootenai Falls, Montana
The scene in which Glass goes over rapids and a waterfall was filmed at Kootenai Falls in Montana. The falls are on the Kootenai River.
This was one of the few major sequences shot in the United States. It is easy to confuse with the Alberta river scenes, but the waterfall escape is the Montana location.
Why The Revenant Moved to Argentina
The film was shot in story order. By the time the crew reached the final scenes, the snow in Canada had begun to melt.
Iñárritu did not want to fake the snow. The production moved to Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of South America, where it was winter.
The final confrontation between Glass and John Fitzgerald was filmed on the Olivia River, near Ushuaia in Argentina. Tierra del Fuego is shared by Argentina and Chile, but the filming location used for this sequence was on the Argentine side, near Ushuaia.
This was a late move to finish the film, not the original plan. The production did not relocate its whole shoot to South America at the start.
How The Revenant Was Shot
Iñárritu shot the film almost entirely in natural light. That meant long waits, short shooting windows in winter, and a schedule shaped by weather and daylight.
Principal photography began in 2014 and ran for many months, far longer than a standard shoot. The cold, the remote locations and the natural-light rule all added to that time.
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass, Tom Hardy as John Fitzgerald, Domhnall Gleeson as Andrew Henry and Will Poulter as Jim Bridger.
Is The Revenant Based on a True Story?
The film is loosely based on Michael Punke’s novel The Revenant. That novel was inspired by the real frontiersman Hugh Glass.
In 1823, Glass was mauled by a grizzly bear while scouting ahead of a fur-trapping party. Two men, John Fitzgerald and Jim Bridger, were paid to stay with him. They later left him, believing he would die.
Glass survived and made his way to Fort Kiowa, partly by crawling and partly by raft on the Cheyenne River. The broad outline of that survival is historical. Much of the detail has been retold and changed over time.
The film changes important facts, so it should not be treated as a documentary:
- The real bear attack happened in summer, not in deep winter snow.
- There is no reliable record of a son travelling with Glass on the 1823 expedition. The film’s son, Hawk, is a dramatic invention.
- Glass’s later search for Fitzgerald and Bridger was far less straightforward than the film’s revenge story suggests.
The power of the story is real. The exact dialogue, characters and winter setting are not.
Awards and Release
The Revenant was released in December 2015, with a wider release in January 2016. It grossed more than $533 million worldwide.
At the 88th Academy Awards, it received 12 nominations, including Best Picture. It won three Oscars: Best Director for Iñárritu, Best Actor for DiCaprio and Best Cinematography for Lubezki.
It did not win Best Picture. That award went to Spotlight. Older articles that list Best Picture among its wins are wrong.
Filming Locations at a Glance
| Location | What was filmed there |
|---|---|
| Kananaskis Country and Bow Valley, Alberta | Most of Glass’s journey and wilderness scenes |
| Bow River near Morley, Alberta | Opening Arikara ambush |
| Dead Man’s Flats, Alberta | Fort Kiowa set |
| Drumheller Badlands, Alberta | Badlands sequences |
| Squamish Valley, British Columbia | Bear attack |
| Kootenai Falls, Montana | Rapids and waterfall escape |
| Olivia River near Ushuaia, Argentina | Final Glass and Fitzgerald confrontation |
Frequently Asked Questions
Was The Revenant filmed in South Dakota?
No. The real Hugh Glass story took place in what is now South Dakota, but the film was not shot there. Alberta stood in for most of that landscape.
Was a real bear used in the bear scene?
No. The bear was created digitally by Industrial Light & Magic, after live-action work with a stunt performer in a suit. No real bear attacked DiCaprio on set.
Why does the ending look different from the rest of the film?
The final scenes were filmed in Argentina after the Canadian snow melted. The southern winter gave the production the snow it needed to finish the story.
Where can I watch The Revenant?
Streaming and rental availability changes by country and over time. Check current listings in your region before planning a watch, rather than relying on an old streaming claim.
