If you spend more time on online movie critic Rotten Tomatoes than you do on Facebook and your flatmates are constantly asking “Are you watching yet ANOTHER film? Do I even want to know how many that is today?” [Authors Note: a genuine question I have been asked], or known as the girl who manages on a daily basis to slip into conversation one too many film references, this is the travel list for you. Put down the remote/ turn off Netflix because Her Campus has compiled a list of fabulous film-inspired travel destinations!
Thanks to BFI’s top fifty greatest films of all time list, HCX has discovered some of the places which have featured time and time again.
1. Paris – features in five of the Top Fifty
‘La Règle du jeu’, ‘Breathless’, ‘The 400 Blows’, ‘Pierrot le Fou’ and ‘Play Time’
It is estimated that over 900 film shoots take place within the French capital every year, and over 5000 shooting locations, so it is not surprising that the BFI’s list was dominated by Paris. While ‘La Règle du jeu’ shows the upper class Parisians before World War II, in contrast with the gritty criminality in ‘Breathless’, one thing is clear – Paris is like a world of its own. The film industry is so popular within Paris, that regular tours take place to show tourists the filming locations such as ‘Amelie’ (the district of Montmartre, around the Terrass Hotel) and ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ (the Pont des Arts, the famous footbridge linking the Louvre to the Institut de France as well as the heart of Saint Germain, and the Concorde area). If you are looking for romantic Paris or gritty Paris, there is something for all film fans to scream over.
2. Rome – Features in five of the Top Fifty
‘8 1/2’, ‘L’avventura’, ‘Le Mepris’, ‘Bicycle Thieves’ and ‘La Dolce Vita’
When in Rome, eh. Whilst the city is filled with historical mysteries and intrigue, Rome is also extremely well renowned for its film locations. For example you could visit Piazza Barberini which features in ‘Roman Holiday’(1953) – the embassy where Anna stayed (played by the ever enchanting Audrey Hepburn), as a bored princess spending her holidays in Rome. Or you can go to the Piazza di Spagna, the movie location of ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ (1999), where Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) met Marge. Or you could visit Piazza del Popolo, where the first Roman scene of the movie ‘The Beautiful and Damned’ (1991) is set and where Mike (River Phoenix) arrives looking for his mother and wakes up at the foot of the obelisk. That is not even to mention the Colosseum or Vatican City …
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3. New York – features in four of the Top Fifty
‘Citizen Kane’, ‘The Godfather’, ‘The Godfather Part II’ and ‘Taxi Driver’
New York – a cultural phenomenon – certainly deserves a place on our list! No matter what your film genre preferences, from the romantic (I do not think Her Campus can scream ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ loud enough) to gritty gangster films (I could reel off the list off films set in New York, including of course ‘The Godfather’). You could visit the Empire State Building, featured in ‘King Kong,’ or the Columbus Circle, Lincoln Center and the Upper West Side, hop off at Zabar’s, the well-known market place featured in ‘You’ve Got Mail’, and the famous Dakota Building, home to Yoko Ono that can be seen in films like, ‘Hannah and Her Sisters ‘ and ‘Rosemary’s Baby’. Or even Grand Central Terminal, seen in ‘North by Northwest ‘and ‘Superman’.
4. Sicily – Features in three of the Top Fifty
‘L’avventura’, ‘The Godfather’ and ‘The Godfather Part II’
Sicily provides a stark contrast to the other three entries, as the majority of the films set within Sicily focus on their rural, historical past. ‘The Godfather’ shows Michael Corleone’s experiences during his exile from New York which shows rural Sicily at its finest as well as Vito’s flashbacks on ‘Godfather Part II’ set in the Sicilian town of Corleone. Films such as a ‘Cinema Paradiso’ show filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore’s romantic interpretation of his return to his hometown for the first time in 30 years, set in Palazzo Adriano and Cefalu. The film ‘Terra di Dio’ was filmed on Stromboli in the Aeolian Islands. The final scene of ‘Oceans 12’ was set at the Tonnara in Scopello. The rural nature of the majority of Sicily means that the films set there do not generally have the focus on architecture which the other three have, more on the romantic natural paradise as a backdrop.
If you are still craving more, here are the Top Five Film Locations/Sets You Can Still Visit!
1. Dyerville, Iowa – ‘A Field of Dreams’…Baseball Dime
2. New Orleans, Louisiana – ‘A Streetcar Called Desire’…The Streetcar
3. Lincoln Avenue, Illinois – ‘Home Alone’…The McCallister’s House
4. The Carlton Street Bridge, Edinburgh – ‘Trainspotting’…The place where Renton is caught shoplifting
5. Loyola High School, Los Angeles – ‘Donnie Darko’…Donnie’s School
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