5. Recording The Conversation - The Conversation (1974)
In the film: Francis Coppola's sweaty, anxious '70s surveillance thriller begins with a tightly orchestrated bugging, beginning with a long zoom into this San Francisco park.
The Google view: It's Union Sqaure in the city centre, and thanks to the wonder of Street View, you can glide over the park playing the spy yourself.
Slide over to the corner of Geary and Stockton to see the spot where Harry Caul's crew park their van.
6. The Coffee Shop Explosion - Children Of Men (2006)
In the film: In a recognisable but grim-looking future London, Clive Owen grabs a coffee and heads into the open just in time to avoid being splattered over the street by a bomb blast.
The google view: The old home of the British press, London's Fleet Street. In the movie it's transformed by subtle CGI, but scroll past the banks and greystones and you get a Clive’s-eye view of St Paul’s Cathedral.
Next: The Big Lebowski, E.T.
Comments
BenCh
May 21st 2009, 16:10
nice feature
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SCQ47
May 22nd 2009, 3:49
Thanks for the feature. My only question is why you went with the liquor store instead of the bowling alley from Big Lebowski. I'll be visiting most of these spots next week.
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avoidz
May 24th 2009, 9:00
The E.T. house makes a brief appearance in the Charlie's Angels movie. Drew Barrymore's character rolls down a hill naked and drops into the backyard, to the surprise of two boys. (An E.T. poster can be seen above the television they are playing a game on.)
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leeloo77
May 27th 2009, 17:30
Its not Simple Minds playing in the scene you brought up for 'Donnie Darko' it is Tears for Fears.
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torsloke
May 27th 2009, 18:55
@SCQ47 - it's because the dear departed Hollywood Star Lanes was torn down and is now an elementary or middle school. Hollywood Star Lanes also appears in the eminently less watchable Family Man. I used to bowl in a league there during the filming of both movies. It was the best bowling alley, only made better by its connection to the Dude. It is sorely missed. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=5201+Santa+Monica+Blvd+Los+Angeles,+CA+90038&sll=34.092313,-118.303442&sspn=0.008565,0.019312&gl=us&ie=UTF8&ll=34.090803,-118.303227&spn=0.008565,0.019312&t=h&z=16&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=34.090806,-118.303341&panoid=J1ohxfaq4z5TCFzefSZY6w&cbp=12,45.9,,0,4
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mattrix33
Jun 9th 2009, 21:25
Cool feature. I live in Bristol and didn`t even know that the Grovsner Hotel had even been in a film
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dalebiskit
Oct 12th 2009, 14:56
I made a pilgrimage to the manhattan spot but couldn't get very close to recreating the shot so I assumed that they'd built over it. I hate it when I'm right.
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sforsythe
Dec 23rd 2009, 5:39
During the short time I was living in Manhattan, I went to find the spot as the Queensboro bridge was only a few blocks away. The bench is in fact still there, and it's an awesome sight to see. Just follow 58th street ALL the way to the east until it ends, and you will find it. The google maps shot was taken from FDR drive. A road that runs beneath where the bench is.
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