Tag Archives: Netflix

A Book Takes Movie Walks in Paris

Books, Destinations, Guide Books, Movies, Paris, , , , , , , ,

 

Paris Movie Walks by Michael Schurmann

Destination: Paris

Book: Paris Movie Walks: Ten Guided Tours Through The City of Lights! Camera! Action!, by Michael Schurmann

I was going to say “You don’t have to be a movie fan to enjoy this book.”  But who among us is NOT a movie fan? And who has seen a movie set in Paris and NOT wanted to glide right over the Seine?

It might have been the breathtaking chases of the Bourne Identity. Or perhaps you swayed to Gene Kelly’s dancing in American in Paris.  Or romance, ahh, romance, with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton in Somethings Got to Give (2004) or Keven Kline and Meg Ryan in French Kiss (1995) And the camera made love to Audrey Hepburn in many Paris films and I not only wanted to BE Audrey Hepburn, but I wanted to be Audrey Hepburn IN PARIS.

I can not list all of the movies made in Paris, and even Michael Schurmann, himself an American in Paris, does not try to list every movie ever made in this popular location. There are too many.  But Schurmann’s book Paris Movie Walks give you ten ambles through neighborhoods, and each route crosses paths with several movies.

The tours cover much more than just ‘this chase scene took place on this street,’ or ‘this kiss on this bridge.’  Schurmann packs the book with value added.  Although he promises “there will be no endless lists of French monarchs and their annoying mistresses, no stories about poets and painters about whom you know little and care even less” the book does include some references to history and the usual ‘Hemingway slept here’ kind of information. Inclusion of plenty of information beyond movie sets makes the book useful to more people and makes it more useful to all readers.

The book includes

  • Tips on dining in Paris without going bankrupt. (Maxims charges €35 for a mousse au chocolat.)
  • How to adapt to French culture
  • A list of movies with Eiffel Tower shots. (Every apartment in a movie set in Paris has a view of the Eiffel Tower, he says.)
  • The evolution of the use of locations rather than studio sets, with an aside on American in Paris. (Did they or didn’t they?)
  • The student riots of the 1960s.
  • Movies with scenes in or outside the Louvre.
  • The best view (and most photographed view in movies) in Paris.

I love this book.

  1. I love the useful index that shows which of the walks show scenes from which movies.
  2. I love that each walk starts and ends at a metro stop and a metro map is included.
  3. I love the list of movies to see before you go.
  4. I love the depth of research that went into the book.

I would love it even more if the maps of each walk showed where the stops are, if the photographs had captions, and if there were not quite so many French language movies included which are unfamiliar to me. Sigh! I guess I’d better spend more time at the Loft Theater, Tucson’s foreign and indie film house.

But on balance, this is a valuable book for the movie lover traveling to Paris, or even the person who just wants to find interesting walks in the city of “Lights!” without the “..camera!action!”

Australian Scenery Star of Movie Australia

Australia, Destinations, Movies, , , , , , ,

Destination: Australia

Movie: Australia (2008)

Stars: Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackson and AUSTRALIAN LANDSCAPE

Rather than talk about this movie which was released in 2008, let me instead just suggest that if you have not seen it, scurry down to BlockBuster [a dated reference in2018!] or click over to Netflix.  If this movie does not put Australia on your travel list, you just are not paying attention to that gorgeous scenery. Baz Luhrmann manages to make a beautiful landscape even more alluring.

We can go have a beer and discuss Luhrmann’s techniques later, but for now, let’s concentrate on where the heck all that beautiful stuff is to be found. And if we are lucky travelers, we will get to go on location in Australia.

Western Australia and the Kununurra Visitor Center are ready to welcome you to scenes from the movie Australia. They will tell you about the Mirima National Park, a tiny wonderland of canyons, waterfalls and rock formations practically inside the town of Kununurra.

The Kimberley Range, 422,000 sq. km. of more eye-popping scenery can be seen in a promotional video on You Tube.

The El Questro Wilderness Park, privately owned, stretches over a mind boggling million acres of land that was once a cattle station. (Take THAT, Texas ranchers!)  If you want to stay in a tented cabin or a bungalow in one of the scenic areas near where the movie was filmed, it will set you back about $220 to $550 dollars for four people. [Those 2009 prices have changed a bit. In 2018 it will set you back $2,029 to $3,089 per night–but that does include meals.  Guess you should have gone in 2009.] Open between 1 April and end of October. Learn more at their website,  www.elquestro.com.au/

Of course your base of operations will not be those Australian cities you are more or less familiar with like Sydney or Melbourne. Oh, no. We are talking the far north and west, here. Darwin, the Northern Territories, the town that starred in the movie, will serve as an operational base. (If you have journeyed to the iconic Ayers Rock in Australia, you know Darwin).

This Year in Jerusalem

Books, Destinations, Israel, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Destination: Israel

Books: The Bible; From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Freidman; Exodus by Leon Uris

Whether your interest runs to history or contemporary geo-politics, Roman ruins or Medieval times, when you travel to Israel, you will find a country that is exasperating, beautiful, inspiring, welcoming and off-putting all at the same time.

Jerusalem Market photgraph by David King
Jerusalem Market photgraph by David King

Conflict between “tribes” did not start with the founding of the modern state of Israel. The region has been embroiled in struggles since time began. The book that captures the modern conflicts best is Thomas Freidman in From Beirut to Jerusalem. Before his father-knows-best sermons on everything from ecology to world banking made him a best selling author and popular columnist, Friedman was a hard-working journalist who tried to find the truth behind the middle-East conflicts by visiting with a wide variety of people and telling their stories. He delves into the American contribution to the Israeli state and shows that it is not always benign.

As the center of three major religions, Israel has drawn pilgrims for a thousand years.The once mighty Jordan may have shriveled to a mere stream because of siphoning off for farming, but place names like Bethlehem and Jericho took me right back to Sunday School lessons in the little white church in Ohio where I grew up. Unfortunately, I did not have a copy of The Book, the Bible, with me. When I got home I pored over maps and archaeology of the Bible from my father’s library. I used a very old out of print book, but there is a newer one available, on archaeological study of the Bible.

Finally, the birth of the modern state of Israel comes vividly to life in Exodus by Leon Uris, and sheds light on today’s struggles. Since it is now out of print, you can try Amazon or American Book Exchange for a used copy. The movie version starring Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint may be available on Netflix.

Have you been to Israel?What books or movies did you find useful? I would particularly like to have your recommendations for more Bible-related books. My Bible is the Christian one, but I welcome suggestions for religious books that enhance the travel experience for Jews and Muslims as well.