OSCAR-winning director Steven Spielberg has heaped praise on Dartmoor saying he believes there is no place like it in the world.

Speaking shortly after the premiere of War Horse in London's Leicester Square – which was partly shot on the land above Sheepstor on Dartmoor – he said he considers its landscape and skyline to be the film's "third character".

The acclaimed director, who flew in and out of Exeter International Airport in his private jet while making the film, has previously said he felt he had "hardly scratched the surface" of what Dartmoor has to offer.

And speaking to the press at the premiere, he again spoke of his awe at filming on location.

"There's no place like it in the world," he said, "When I got to Dartmoor I suddenly realised I had a third character that I needed to include in War Horse and that was the land and the sky.

"Dartmoor plays a major role. We had three days of amazing sunsets and we actually took advantage of them.

"There was no sky replacement. Audiences are so used to digital enhancements or replacements that they don't trust cinema any more.

"They see a movie and if they see something beautiful and it strikes them emotionally, they think 'well that was fake' or 'they did that on the computer'.

"Not a single shot in this movie has sky enhancement or a replaced sky or landscape. That is Devon and Dartmoor, and those are the tors on the moors. It is extraordinary country."

Spielberg, whose films include Saving Private Ryan, Jaws and Raiders Of The Lost Ark, spent several weeks in August 2010 filming scenes for War Horse.

The film is based on a novel of the same name by Devon writer Michael Morpurgo. The book tells the moving story of a horse sold to the cavalry and then shipped to France during the First World War, and his young owner's mission to bring him home.

Actors involved in the film include Oscar-nominated Emily Watson and David Thewlis, who played Professor Lupin in the Harry Potter films.

And Spielberg's location researchers are not the only ones to have noticed Dartmoor..

Location teams for the forthcoming James Bond film have also visited and looked at the moorland above Sheepstor, although it is understood they are likely to use locations in Wales.