Book Review by Maggie Woods | London Film Location Guide

London Film Location Guide

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED where a movie you are watching was filmed? If it was in London, you're in luck — because, having thoroughly researched our capital city, Simon R H James will know. In his book, the London Film Location Guide, you will find details of the locations with areas, street names, descriptions of film scenes and a liberal sprinkling of mostly-colour photographs not only showing the location as it is now but how it was when it was filmed.

Perhaps you live in London and have always wondered whether it was somewhere close to your home that Bill Nighy was attacked by zombies in the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead. Was that scene from the Harry Potter blockbuster movies shot at a site near you? Or do you think you recognise a landmark and want to confirm it?

One of the most vibrant and versatile film locations in the world, London has provided some of the most stunning settings in film history. This fascinating guide covers the whole of the London metropolis area-by-area, so you'll be able to find the streets where you live, work or play, whether Chelsea, Greenwich or Whitechapel. The London Film Location Guide is great for dipping into for fun or referencing London from these locations.

Spanning decades of cinema history in London, from the classic Hitchcock thriller Blackmail (1927) to cult movie A Clockwork Orange (1971) and even Children of Men (2006) — it seems that everyone from James Bond to Alex Rider has pounded the city's pavements.

Who could forget the romantic Notting Hill with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant? But Notting Hill isn't only famous for the film of the same name — it features in many other films, including Bend It Like Beckham (2002). In The Saint (1997), Simon Templar (Val Kilmer) plans his next job from The Halycon Hotel at Holland Park and Jeremy Irons lived at
2 St James' Gardens in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981).

Other films featured are Blow Up (1966) with David Hemmings; Jack
and Sarah (1995) with Richard E Grant and Sliding Doors (1998) with Gwyneth Paltrow. You'll also find The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night (1964), The Italian Job (1969) with Michael Caine and 101 Dalmatians (1996).

The charming Somerset House also features as a location — The Day of the Jackal (1973) and The Governess (1998). A courtyard at the back served as part of the grounds of Buckingham Palace in King Ralph (1991).

With a comprehensive film and street index covering over 750 films and 1,500 London streets, this book is a delight for both film buffs and for those passionate about London. So go on...grab a copy and see if your postcode is there. You know you want to…

• The London Film Location Guide by Simon R H James is out now in paperback at an RRP of £14.99, published by Batsford, 10 Southcombe Street, London W14 0RA — an imprint of Anova Books Group. (ISBN 9780713490626.

About the author: Simon James is passionate about London film locat-ions and he has been researching the subject for the last ten years. When not immersed in watching the movies and walking the streets of London, he is a Latin teacher and the author of a number of texts on Latin.

home • top of page • all book reviews