Touchstone Pictures' "Hidalgo," which opens March 5, tells the story of Frank Hopkins, who in 1890 rode his horse Hidalgo 3,000 miles across the Arabian peninsula. But when it came to choosing a place to film that not only offered the wide open expanse of dunes under a sweltering sky but also made it efficient and safe for an epic-sized crew that included 400 extras and 200 horses, the filmmakers headed to Morocco.

"It was the closest we could come to capturing the Arabian setting and still be responsible for the safety of the crew and still capture the culture," says Casey Silver, the film's producer. "The background, the extras, the wardrobe, the animals are authentically there. You don't have to go through a massive effort to re-create it all in an environment that just isn't as accurate."

Morocco has been a backlot for Europe for many years and has been enjoying a growth spurt as a film destination during the past 10 years. The two recent "Mummy" movies shot there as well as "The Four Feathers"; the upcoming "Exorcist" prequel, "Exorcist: The Beginning"; and Oliver Stone's upcoming "Alexander." Ridley Scott filmed "Gladiator" in Morocco and plans to return for his next film, "Kingdom of Heaven."

"Hidalgo" executive producer Don Zepfel that what makes Morocco attractive is its film-friendly environment with its king, a film buff, setting the tone. For example, the country has streamlined procedures to facilitate filmmaking, creating a simple customs process for filmmakers.

It also is relatively easy to access, since crews can drive through Spain, then take a ferry that crosses the Strait of Gibraltar.

With its infrastructure of soundstages, studios and local crews, the city of Ourzazate is the country's film capital. But it's not soundstages that attract filmmakers to Morocco -- instead, it's the exteriors that can be filmed in the desert.

The "Hidalgo" team, for instance, ended up in Erfoud, site of the famous Merzouga dunes.

"There's no power lines, no freeways, nothing," Zepfel says. "It's hard to find that, a place where you can see 360 degrees for miles and see nothing."

Because Morocco is an Islamic country, there also are cultural differences that come into play.

"You don't just slap down your money and say, 'We want to film here,' " Zepfel says. "This is a stately, Old World culture, and it's quite an experience to learn how things work. A lot of mint tea is consumed. A lot of peanuts are eaten. It's a very ceremonial culture."

To navigate that landscape, the "Hidalgo" filmmakers relied on Dune Films, one of several companies that assist foreign filmmakers by hiring local crews, booking cars and constructing sets. And in "Hidalgo's" case, that also included taking care of the horses by building corrals and transporting huge amounts of feed and water.

Sandstorms can present a problem, but this particular film turned that to its advantage. "Our director Joe Johnston said, 'There are sandstorm scenes in the movie,' " Zepfel recalls. "So we went out there with our goggles and bandanas and our headscarves and shot in the sandstorms." Zepfel doesn't recommend following in their footsteps. "You really can't see," he says, "and it really hurts your face."

The "Hidalgo" filmmakers did supplement their Moroccan footage with some scenes shot in California's deserts at locations like Dumont Dunes. But there they ran into a modern-day problem they didn't have to face in Morocco -- dune buggies.

"Because of the (Bureau of Land Management) rules, you can ask the buggies not to drive through your shot, but you can't stop them," Zepfel says. "And the dune buggy tracks really scar up the desert and the dunes. It's really sad."