film,london,british,movie,comedy,romantic comedy,musical,zombie,gangster,britflick
London films
As London\'s Brick Lane prepares to take its place in cinematic history, we take a look at some of beloved movies that have made the city famous the world over. From zombies to weddings to chimney sweeps, London\'s got it all...
Sliding Doors
Gwyneth Paltrow,Film
Sliding Doors
Nothing brings London to the world\'s attention like an American actress in a good solid Brit flick. Gwyneth Paltrow pulled off the English accent as two versions of herself flitted around London in parallel universes - she even managed to change tube lines without getting off a train. As well as numerous underground stations, the time-shifting drama takes in Albert Bridge in Battersea and St John Street in Clerkenwell, feasting in Ma\'s café in Notting Hill and Bertorelli\'s on Charlotte St W1.
My Fair Lady
my fair lady,film,london,british,movie,comedy,romantic comedy,musical,britflick
My Fair Lady
Before Covent Garden was a bustling boutique-lined tourist trap, it was a busy fruit and veg market, as famously depicted in the hit 1964 musical. Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) may have hailed from North London\'s Lisson Grove, but she scraped a living selling flowers in Covent Garden - until she was whisked off to posh Wimpole Street by phonetics expert Henry Higgins, whereupon London got a whole lot more glamorous.
Shakespeare In Love
Gwyneth Paltrow,Film
Shakespeare In Love
Gwyneth pops up again in this hugely successful period romp set in a London everyone could recognise: Shakespeare\'s London. While many of the Elizabethan scenes were filmed in Shepperton Studios in Surrey, London\'s Barnes provided the romantic river scenes, and both Smithfield in Holborn and Spitalfields in Shoreditch feature.
Four Weddings And A Funeral
Hugh Grant,Film
Four Weddings And A Funeral
From the minute Hugh Grant started stuttering out the F word, Four Weddings... cemented itself in the memories of moviegoers and found its place in London movie history. Wedding two takes places in the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, while another key landmark is the South Bank Centre, where Carrie meets Charles\' deaf brother, and where Charles makes his awkward profession of love. Was it raining? We didn\'t notice.
Notting Hill
Julia roberts,Hugh Grant,Film
Notting Hill
Flushed with the success of Four Weddings..., the Working Title team really put London on the map with this smash hit comedy in which even poor posh people lived in a nice part of town. If you\'re planning a Notting Hill tribute tour, start with Portobello Market, take in a movie at the Coronet Cinema, then pop over to Mayfair for a meal at Nobu where Julia and Hugh had their dinner date. True obsessives could even plan a replica wedding at The Hempel Hotel in Bayswater, but that could be taking it a bit far.
Bridget Jones\' Diary
Colin Firth,Renee Zellweger,Hugh Grant,Film,Comedy
Bridget Jones\' Diary
An instant chick flick classic, Bridget Jones\' Diary snubbed the posh locations of Notting Hill and opted for up-and-coming Borough Market, where Bridget spends most of her time cooking badly and agonising over her love life. King\'s Cross and Liverpool Street Station also feature, although the luvvies get a look in during the dinner party scene, which takes place in upmarket Primrose Hill, home of Jude Law et al.
Mary Poppins
mary poppins,film,london,british,movie,comedy,romantic comedy,britflick
Mary Poppins
"Chim Chimney, Chim Chimney, Chim Chim Charoo..." London views don\'t come much more iconic than in this 60s classic, and all that nimble rooftop leaping was even enough to distract us from Dick Van Dyk\'s appalling accent. The cheerful chimney sweep made London\'s skyline famous with families the world over - and made St Paul\'s Cathedral very popular with pigeon fanciers.
Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels
lock stock and two smoking barrels,film,london,british,movie,comedy,romantic comedy,britflick,gangster,guy ritchie
Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels
Celebrity wives came aflocking after English geezers Guy Ritchie and Matthew Vaughn delivered their memorable tribute to the dodgier side of East End London, complete with gamblers, drug dealers and guns a-blazing, Bethnal Green and Hackney provided the backdrop for much of the skullduggery, although Bow, Clerkenwell and Borough Market all got a look in thanks to the low-budget trailblazer.
Shaun Of The Dead
Film,Comedy
Shaun Of The Dead
Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright made London famous for something other than gangsters and weddings with this witty tribute to zombie movies set in London\'s cinematically neglected, and somewhat middle class, Crouch End. Wide-eyed extras ran riot around Muswell Hill and Archway too, proving that nowhere in North London is safe from the undead. Something to remember there.
Brick Lane
brick lane,film,london,british,movie,comedy,romantic comedy,britflick
Brick Lane
This new Brit drama brings the curry-lined streets and bargain-strewn markets of East London vividly to life as Bangladeshi heroine Nazneen struggles to adjust to life in a dank block of flats with a fat old husband. Never fear, there\'s a hot young guy (Christopher Simpson) just around the corner in this adaptation of Monica Ali\'s novel that offers a decidedly realistic slice of London life.
See our Brick Lane special
