Mel gallops down a stunning Scottish mountain, Tom surveys the pristine Japanese countryside and Nicole sets up home in a mountain lodge fit for the pages of Country Home Beautiful. For me, it’s Liv Tyler sashaying around a Tuscan villa that gets my mind wandering into the scenery on screen.

And what does it matter we’re told that it’s Japan (or Middle Earth) when it’s really New Zealand? More often than not, watching a movie is just pure escapism. The big screen wraps us in filmed fantasy, whisking us away from our roughshod realities to bigger, brighter, warmer, friendlier worlds. That is of course, if you’re watching a G-rated Disney movie. Those fresh from a Lars von Trier (Idiots, Dogville) flick might see things a little more dimly.

Nevertheless, no matter the nature of a film, be it a blockbuster epic or two-dime sleeper hit, its biggest star is often the setting. From rolling landscape vistas vis-a-vie New Zealand in Lord of The Rings to the cobblestone streets of a whimsical city of passion a’la Paris in Moulin Rouge (actually shot in Sydney, Australia); audiences are seduced as much by the locations as by actors or plot. So much so, that every day pilgrimages are made to places made famous by their appearance in film. So we thought we’d take you on a journey around the world using the movies as our celebrity tour guide.

1. Amelie (2001)
Set in Paris, Amelie is awash with locations that drip with the very essence of both the movie and the city itself: romance. The film was shot in over 80 locations around the city, most of which are easily visited including Le Sacre Coeur, the Cathedral of Notre-Dame and the streets of Montmartre. You can also sit in the real café where Amelie worked, the Tabac Des Deux Moulins (15, Rue Lepic. Metro: Blanche or Pigalle). Other movie mentions: Chocolat (2000, filmed in the medieval village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, near Dijon in Burgundy); Moulin Rouge (2001, go to the real thing in Pigalle).

2. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

China is fast becoming the world’s most popular new destination for adventure travel and CTHD, with its dramatic and varied locations, has only fuelled the desire to explore this vast country. The film took in scenes from Beijing, Xinjing, the otherworldly Gobi Desert and Anji’s lush bamboo forest. Scenes were also shot in Mongolia and Kazakhstan. Other movie mentions: The Last Emperor (1987, numerous scenes were shot in the Forbidden City, Beijing - a vast, medieval complex covering some 250 acres and containing 9,999 rooms, now open to tourists), Empire of the Sun (1987, Shanghai).

3. The Godfather Trilogy (1972, ’74, ’90)

Although most of the sites featured in The Godfather trilogy exist only on celluloid, there remain a few locations for those who want to experience the essence of Mafioso New York. Check out the restaurant featured in the original GF, found on White Plains Road, Belmont. The Corleone mansion in the opening scenes is at 110 Longfellow Road Emerson Hill on Staten Island and the garden scenes were shot at 120. The shoot-out in GF2 was filmed on East 7th Street in East Village and you can see GF3’s Festival Street, actually Elizabeth Street, in Little Italy. Other locations include Hotel Edison (228 West 47th Street), the church on Staten Island and the New York County Courthouse. Other movie mentions: Scorsese’s Taxidriver (1976), Mean Streets (1973, Little Italy) and Goodfellas (1990). Citizen Kane (1941) was shot there and NYC landmark the Empire State Building stars alongside a monkey in King Kong (1933).

4. Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)

Chosen because, unlike the great African epics, there’s no rose coloured camera lens used to portray Africa in this comedy romp, yet the raw beauty of the Kalahari still hits you like a Coca-Cola bottle on the head. The bushscape of Botswana and the wildlife that roams through it makes you feel just like Xi, the bushman running around trying to find the owner of the glass bottle from the heavens: rather bewildered. Other movie mentions: Power of One (1992, Zimbabwe), Out of Africa (1985, Shaba National Game Reserve, Kenya), White Mischief (1987, Lake Naivasha and Happy Valley, Kenya), Gorillas in the Mist (1988, Rwanda).

5. The Big Blue (1988)

Considered a classic by some, a flop by others, but visually mesmerizing by all. The tale of rivalry and kinship between free divers Enzo and Jacques plays out amid the stunning coastline and azure waters of the Mediterranean. The film moves from Greece to Peru to the Cote d'Azur and finally to the Italian town of Taormina, Sicily, where most filming takes place underwater for the dive competition. The stranded ship ‘Olympia’ where Enzo rescues the diver can be visited in Amorgos, Greece. Other movie mentions: Captain Correlli’s Mandolin (2001, Kefallonia, Greece), Shirley Valentine (1989, Mykanos, Greece).

6. Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (1994)

The Australian outback was definitely king in this showgirl road movie that follows Priscilla (the bus used by the squabbling drag queens) from Sydney (stock hero shots of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge) across the rugged inland to Alice Springs. Star towns include Broken Hill (the girls shop along Argent Street and you can follow in their high heel-steps by checking in at Mario’s Palace in Sulphide Street), nearby Silverton (NSW) and Cooper Pedy (SA). In Alice Springs (NT) you can visit Lasseter’s Casino where the ‘girls’ eventually perform. Or check out nearby Watarrka NP and Mundi Mundi Plain (NSW) where desert scenes, including the breakdown, were shot. Other movie mentions: Crocodile Dundee (1986, New York, Kakadu, NT), Japanese Story (2003, Port Headland and the Pilbara region, WA), Getting’ Square (2003, Surfers Paradise, QLD).

7. Seven Years in Tibet (1997)

The mountain vistas and Tibetan monastery life in this film are enough to make you want to get lost in the Himalayas for seven years yourself – except that a lot of the film was actually shot in the South American Andes. Originally to be filmed in the Indian Himalayas, troubles with filming permits and foul weather saw production head to the Argentine-Chile border, in the Mendoza region. The production had to fly in a herd of yaks, with each animal having its own passport and photo ID. A few scenes are authentic: director Jean-Jacques Annaud managed to secretly film in Tibet and 20 minutes of footage made it into the film. Other movie mentions: Kundun (1997, Ouarzazate, Morocco), Alive (1993, Rocky Mountains, USA, doubling for the Chilean Andes).

8. Braveheart (1995)

Mel Gibson’s tale of Scottish clan hero William Wallace pays as much homage to Scotland’s dramatic highland scenery as to the fiery man himself. Battle scenes were played out on rolling plains near Glen Coe, Glen Nevis and Mamore mountains in West Scotland. Ireland was also used as a location, including Dunsogly Castle in Dublin, which filled in for Edinburgh Castle. Not sure what was wrong with the real thing – too many drunken Aussie tourists perhaps? Other movie mentions: Highlander (1986, various locations in Scotland including Eilean Donan Castle, Glen Coe, Glen Nevis, Loch Shiel, Torridon and Skye. Filming also took place in London, New York and Wales), Trainspotting (1996, Edinburgh and Glasgow).

9. Gladiator (2000)

The violent cut and thrust of the Ridley Scott/Russell Crowe blockbuster was filmed mainly in Morocco, Malta and the UK. The hit you over the head with a blunt axe opening scenes, set in Germania, were shot in the fields and forests of Farnham, Surrey, not far from London proper. Ben Haddou near Ouarzazate in Morocco set the scene for Crowe to be sold into slavery The African village had already hosted films the likes of Lawrence of Arabia and Jewel of the Nile.
The digitally enhanced Roman sets were built on top of the remains of Fort Ricasoli in Malta, also used in Brad Pitt vehicle, Troy. Other movie mentions: Ben Hur (1959, Rome, Italy).

10. Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001)

In Mexico, two teenage boys and an attractive older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life, friendship and sex while travelling through some parched but mesmerising Mexican scenery. The trio are headed to a idealised beach called Heaven’s Mouth, their journey taking you on an artistically viewed tour of some great roadside locations and the wonderfully isolated coastline - the beach used is located near Huatulco Bay in Oaxaca State, South Mexico. Other movie mentions: El Mariachi/Desperado (1993/95), The Mask of Zorro (1998), The Mexican (2001), and Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil (1958) were all filmed or set in Mexico.

11. The Piano (1993)
Who could forget the dramatic cinematography of a wild beach on which the eponymous piano was to be left to the crashing surf. The real stretch of black sand is Karekare beach, found in West Auckland, New Zealand. There are several tour operators offering guided walks to the location. It’s also worth checking out the dense rainforest nearby which also featured in the film. Other movie mentions: Whale Rider (2002, Gisborne region, east coast of North Island, NZ), The Last Samurai (2003, Taranaki region, west coast of North Island, NZ), Heavenly Creatures (1994, Christchurch, NZ).

12. Ocean’s Twelve (2004)

Following their Las Vegas heist in Ocean’s Eleven, Danny’s dozen is off on a European holiday. But there’s a little work involved as they plot three more crimes including snatching the Coronation Egg from the Vatican. The sequel took in several well-known European locations including the Termini train station in Rome, Villa Erba and the surrounds of Lake Como in Italy, and Monaco. Other movie mentions: The Bourne Identity (2002, Prague, Paris, Italy), The Italian Job (1969/2003, indulge in your own Mini Cooper chase down the steps of the Gran Madre di Dio church in Turin), Roman Holiday (1953, scooter through Piazza Venezia and visit the Spanish Steps).

13. Midnight Express (1978)

This flick might not get you rushing to Turkey given it’s based on the true story of a man caught smuggling drugs out of Istanbul and his incarceration in one of the country’s less than humane prisons. Chosen because the film makes an anti-hero of its location, and even anti-heros become much loved stars – just look at how popular Istanbul and the rest of Turkey is with travellers nowadays. The movie was actually shot in Valetta, Malta. You can retrace the original Express train route between Istanbul and Erdirne in the west, but it’s slower than the bus and no longer passes through the Greek territory where drug smugglers used to alight. Other movie mentions: Murder on the Orient Express (1974, Turkey and France), Bangkok Hilton (1989, Bangkok, Thailand and Goa, India), The African Queen (1951, the famous boat scene with the reed-filled riverbank was actually shot in Dalyan, Turkey).

14. Lost in Translation (2003)

Meloncholy oozes from this post modern flick, sitting uncomfortably yet appropriately alongside the neon-lit, heaving mass that is Tokyo. Fans of the film can enjoy a drink at the New York Bar (US$19 cover charge) on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt, where the main characters stay and drink. Take a tour to the futuristic Shinjuku district and through Shibuya's busy game centres and karaoke parlours. Don’t miss the Hachiko, Tokyo’s most famous modern visual, which Charlotte quietly admires. Hire the karaoke rooms (US$25 per hour) seen in the movie at one of the Karaoke-Kan outlets: the one featured in the film is in the heart of Shibuya's Center Gai district and the actual rooms used are rooms 601 and 602. For something more sedate, visit the Jugan-ji Temple, where Charlotte reflects on life. Other film mentions: Black Rain (1989, Osaka), Kill Bill I & II (2003/4, ‘The Cruel Tutelage of Pei Mei’ chapter features Miao Gao temple in Zhongwei, China and a lot of the second instalment was shot in Tokyo.)

15. Apocalypse Now (1979)/Platoon (1986)

Okay, so scenes of war and mayhem don’t necessarily get you reaching for your backpack straight away – but hey, the wars are over and films, even those depicting real life, are make-believe, remember? Ignore the bullets and bodies and look at the lush, stunning landscapes and melting pot cities that today are relatively safe zones for exploration. But before you book a ticket to Vietnam remember that both films were filmed largely in the Phillipines. Platoon took in Manila, Mount Makling, Maragadong and Puerto Azul. Apocalypse now also used the Chavron River in the Dominican Republic as a location. Other movie mentions: The Quiet American (2002, shot entirely on location in Vietnam including Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Ninh Binh and Hoi An), Indochine (1992, Lucerne, Switzerland, Malaysia, Vietnam and Paris).

16. City of God (2002)

The City of God, a favela (slum) in the outer suburbs of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, is the central character in this look at the troubled life of Brazil’s fringe-dwellers. A city within a city, it was regarded as one of the most dangerous places in the world with drug lords enforcing their ultimate authority on its violence riddled streets. The film was shot mainly in the outskirts of Rio although the real-life Cidade de Deus remained too dangerous for filmmakers, so they used a marginally safer neighbouring slum. You can visit a real favela in Rio - make sure you are accompanied by a local guide. Other movie mentions: The Mission (1986, filmed in Colombia and at the waterfalls of Cataratas del Iguazú on the border of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil.)

17. Star Wars (1977)

Luke Skywalker’s Tatooine home is located in Matmata, Tunisia, and has become a must-see for Star Wars fanatics who arrive by the busload. Matmata was chosen because of its unusual houses dug two storeys deep into the ground. Interior shots were of the inner courtyards of the Sidi Driss Hotel where you can still see murals and some of the set dressing from the movie. Tataouine is a real Tunisian town, some miles south of the movie location. The homestead where Luke contemplates the two suns is part of the vast Chott el Jerid, the white salt flat near the oases of Tozeur and Nefta. Nearby is La Grande Dune, used for the 'Dune Sea', where C3P0 and R2D2 wander aimlessly. The canyon seen in Star Wars is Sidi Bouhel near Tozeur. Other movie mentions: Dune (1984, California and Mexico).

18. Notting Hill (1999)

You can’t get much more London that Notting Hill, the movie or the place. Head to Portobello Road where market scenes were shot. It’s the same market that most travellers hang out at anyway, especially for the eponymous Carnival. The famous blue door of the Notting Hill flat at 280 Westbourne Park Road has gone (it was the subject of too much attention), but you can see Thacker's travel bookshop (now a furniture shop) at 142 Portobello Road or have a pint at The Castle on Portobello Road. Other W11 locations in the film include Westbourne Park Road, Golborne Road, Landsdowne Road and the Coronet Cinema. The 'Henry James' scenes were filmed at Kenwood House, Hampstead. Other movie mentions: The L-Shaped Room (1962, Notting Hill), Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001, depicts Holland Park but filmed in Borough, including at the Globe Pub, 8 Bedale Street) About A Boy (2002, London including Regent’s Park, Soho and Notting Hill), Wimbledon (2004).

19. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

The spectacular sweeping desertscapes traversed by Peter O’Toole’s Lawrence were filmed in Jordan’s Wadi Rum desert but an awful lot of director David Lean’s revered epic was shot in Seville, southern Spain where the breathtaking Moorish architecture stood in for Egypt. The 'Cairo' hotel, where Lawrence's companion is refused a drink, is the Palaçio Español, a semi-circular arcaded building in the Plaza de España. The Plaza can be found in Maria Luisa Park along with other buildings recogniseable from the film. Real life Lawrence locations in Jordan include Aqaba and Azraq forts, Petra and Karak. He stayed at Baron Hotel in Aleppo, Syria and regularly attacked the train station in Damascus. In England, you can check out Oxford – he studied there. Other movie mentions: The Ten Commandments (1956, Egypt and the Sinai).

20. Evita (1996)

Madonna and travel – well, she does get around…here lending her voice to that of Evita (Eva) Peron in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a city that nearly steals the Material Girl’s limelight with it’s incandescent, and very European, beauty. The most famous scene in this movie - the balcony where Evita sings to her people - can be viewed at Casa Rosada (Argentina’s Government House) at Plaza De Mayo. Other Buenos Aires locations include the British Victorian Retiro Station and the Colon Opera House. You can also visit Evita’s grave at Recoleta Cemetary. Other movie mentions: Gerry (2002, Argentina, Utah), Assassination Tango (2002, Buenos Aires, Paris).

21. Indiana Jones trilogy (1981, ’84, ’89)

Indy is the traveller we’d most like to emulate: from steamy South American jungles to the deserts of the Middle East and cities of Europe, he’s been pretty much everywhere. Scenes were shot in Venice (where he finds a clue in the Church of San Barnaba, Campo San Barnaba in the Dorsoduro district), Germany, Jordan (Petra), Tunisia (Tozenur and Kairouan), Spain (Almeria), Sri Lanka (Kandy – where the rope bridge scene was created), and Hawaii (Kauai). Locations in the US include the Arches National Park near Moab in Utah, Texas (Amarillo) and New Mexico. The school where Indie teaches can be found in Hertfordshire UK. Peru (Chachapoyas), Nepal (Patan), China (Shanghai) and Egypt (Cairo) are some of the places portrayed that were never used as actual locations. Other movie mentions: Bond series (1962 – 2002 and counting), King Solomon’s Mines (1950, the earlier version shot in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and the Congo).

22. Dr Zhivago (1965)

Although Moscow is the city location for the original Dr Zhivago the street scenes were actually shot in Spain, with marble dust used for snow. Locations included Madrid, Granada, Malaga and the Aldeadalvia Dam on the Douro River in Salamanca. Warmer weather forced a move to Finland for the Siberian scenes taking in Punkaharju, Punkasalmi, Lake Phyhaselka and Helsinki. The remake starring Keira Knightly and Sam Neill (2002) was shot in Slovakia and the Czech republic. Other movie mentions: The Saint (1997, Moscow including Red Square, and the UK), White Nights (1985, depicts ‘Leningrad’ but filmed in Portugal, Finland and UK).

23. Gandhi (1982)

The story of India’s famed non-violent protest leader and eventual martyr was filmed in India and you can visit most of the locations, which were often where the real events portrayed happened. Amritsar, Punjab, is where the massacre of hundreds of Hindus occurred. Other locations included Bombay, Maharashtra (where you can visit his one-time headquarters, now a memorial house), Calcutta in West Bengal (where Gandhi went on a hunger strike) and New Delhi (where he was assassinated). Other movie mentions: A Passage to India (1984, India including Bangalore Palace), Octopussy (1983, India including the floating Lake Palace Hotel on Lake Pichola).

24. The English Patient (1996)

Italy and Tunisia were the main locations for this modern epic, which stakes its visual claim with scene stealing landscapes. Tunisia stands in for Egypt, with the desert camp of Count Laszlo de Almásyis located in the Sahara near the oasis of Nefta, beneath the bizarre Onk Jemal formation. A guided desert safari, with a four-wheel drive vehicle is the most practical way to see the location. In Italy, visit The Hotel Des Bains, on the corner of Santa Maria Elizabetta in Venice or head to Tuscany where Anthony Mighella shot the monastery scenes in and around the village of Pienza, 52 kilometers south of Siena. Monastero di Sant'Anna is the real monastery. He also filmed in Viareggio, a coastal resort town near Pisa, to create the emergency field hospital triage tent and in Rome. Other movie mentions: Death In Venice (1971, Venice), Stealing Beauty (1996, Tuscany).

25. Casablanca (1942)

Generally regarded as one of the most popular films of all time. The real location upon which Rick's Cafe Americain was modelled is Hotel El Minzah, found at 85 Rue De La Liberte in Tangier - not Casablanca - Morocco. Very little else was shot in the north African nation, in fact most was shot on sound stages in the States. The Los Angeles Metropolitan Airport, now known as the Van Nuys Airport, was used as Casablanca’s Airport - the art deco control tower seen in the film was demolished in the 1960's. The main hangar is no longer on airport property, but still exists at 16217 Lindbergh Street. Other movie mentions: Jewel of The Nile (1985, Ait Benhaddou, Morrocco), Greystoke, The Legend of Tarzan (1984, Bimbia, Cameroon).

Honorable but obvious

Okay, I can hear the rabid complaints of fanatics blasting me in DolbySound protest. Yep, of course Lord of The Rings (New Zealand) and The Beach (Thailand) were seminal location movies. But done to death. Someone mentioned Finding Nemo (for the Great Barrier Reef (Queensland) and The Lion King (Africa) but I’m not sure cartoons count. And I don’t consider The Texas Chainsaw Massacre the US state’s best piece of tourism PR.

If you’re serious about a ‘round the world adventure in eighty hours, try jumping aboard a James Bond movie-a-thon. 007 has dodged bullets in more locations around the world than Theroux has thumbed his literary nose at.

For a full recently updated travel guide to movie locations, check out www.movie-locations.com or buy The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations by Tony Reeve through www.amazon.com.