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 Whether it’s the fountain where Anita Ekberg frolicked in La Dolce Vita, the scuzzy convenience store where Dante wasn’t even supposed to be that day in Clerks or the hotel where Jack Nicholson went a little bit bonkers in The Shining, there are plenty of movie locations that remain a source of pilgrimage for holiday makers, movie buffs and – on occasion – completely barmy fans. Whichever you are, the efforts of Tony Reeves in The Worldwide Guide To Movie Locations means that you need never miss out on finding that obscure bit of land that looks nothing lime it did on the screen.
The first thing that you notice is the sheer comprehensiveness of the book. Yes, all the usual suspects are here with large sections of the book dedicated to all the locations made famous by Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and numerous other Hollywood blockbusters. But scratch below the surface and you can find a myriad of more obscure delights. You can try and find the monastery that was at the heart of The Name Of The Rose, the crop fields where Cray Grant escaped from the biplane in North By Northwest and even the train station that formed the centre of wonderful Czech film Closely Observed Trains.
The book itself is simply laid out and easy to navigate, with films in alphabetical order and an index organised by country at the back. And thanks to the fact that Reeves peppers the location descriptions with some personal comments about the movies he’s mentioning, it avoids becoming a dry reference book.
This is one of these books that make a great gift for film enthusiasts as you just can’t help dipping into to find out where your favourite movies were shot and – if you’re going away – what locations you can search out. It also allows to find out which films were made were you live and, to my delight, it turns out that I work every day in a building where they shot some of Billy Liar. And if you want to find out where that is, then you’re just going to have to buy the book….
PUBLISHER: Titan Books
ISBN: 1-84023-992-1
PAGES: 464 pages
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