Combining Films and Travel
Discover the Joy of Walking through Former Movie Setting
For those who enjoy movies and traveling, films can be a way to revisit a place again and again.
For a Gen-Xer like me, movies may be the most influential art medium of our time. And having been to the location of a movie shoot can be, to celebrity watchers, like walking in the footsteps of present-day gods. For me, however, recognizing the setting in a film gives it more depth and context. It can almost be like an additional character who only those in the know can see.
After watching the movie "From Hell," with Johnny Depp and Heather Graham, my traveling partner and I instantly recognized the setting in one scene as being the inside of a museum in Prague. Prague was also the setting for "Mission Impossible," as well as several other films.
Almost anyone who visits Salzburg, Austria, can't help but notice the signs for the "Sound of Music" tours. Unfortunately, most of the movie was actually filmed in Hollywood.
When my traveling buddy and I had first started planning and dreaming of moving to Europe, we were headed to Italy. Numerous people asked if we'd seen "Under the Tuscan Sun" and wanted to follow in Diane Lane's footsteps. They weren't completely off base.
Of course, numerous movies are set in Paris - "Remember Paris," "An American in Paris" and "French Kiss," which also has scenes from the French Riviera.
When I settled in Nice, a friend gave me a copy of "To Catch a Thief," with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. The whole movie is set on the Cote d'Azur and I recognize more of the settings each time I watch it.
Although I have yet to see it, "Marie Antoinnette" probably has at least a few scenes set in Versailles, which my traveling buddy and I visited last August. I'm sure one reason I'm looking forward to seeing the film is for the settings.
Conversely, when I'd heard the movie "Mozart" was set in Vienna, I was excited to see it as much for the story as for it's settings. I was disappointed when I discovered that very few scenes were set anywhere I might recognize.
Thinking about all the movies set in Paris, it makes one wonder why more movies are set in, say, Amsterdam or Berlin.
As a movie buff who is addicted to Europe, I'd be interested to hear about any good movies that combine the two. Suggestions?
