London: Movie Edition

My tourist adventure day with Sheryl who is studying abroad in Paris became a bit of a hunt for film locations of some of my favorite movies. It was a day filled with so many stops and my feet and legs were in pain throughout the day.

The Da Vinci Code

Westminster Abbey (left) and Temple Church (right) are featured towards the middle of The Da Vinci Code. Temple Church was the English headquarters for the Knights Templar and was thought to house the Holy Grail in the film. After realizing he made a mistake interpreting a riddle, Professor Langdon with Sophie quickly went to Westminster Abbey where he cracked the code to the cryptex that held more clues to their quest for the Holy Grail.

On the day of my visit, both churches were closed. Westminster Abbey was opened a few hours earlier for tour at the cost of £11 for students which I probably wouldn't have paid for anyways. Temple Church is closed on Saturday and Sunday but would have been free to enter. I didn't take a picture of Temple Church because it didn't really have anything on the outside and is not very beautiful at all. The facade was yellowish like the column that has the Knights Templar on top and the stained glass windows are not pretty from the outside. On the other hand, Westminster Abbey is white and glimmering with emphasis on verticality. Personally, I'm surprised how good the picture came out on my phone. =D

V for Vendetta

In V for Vendetta, V blows up the Old Bailey in the "emergency demolition." Here, is the Old Bailey. Unfortunately, my shot didn't fit in the dome that probably would be more recognizable. The Old Bailey is actually the Central Criminal Court. Inscribed just above the columns are the words "Defend the Children of the Poor & Pvnish the Wrongdoers." I kind of like the quote.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

This is the infamous Millennium Bridge also nicked name the Wobbly Bridge. When it opened, it swayed so strong that they closed it down for two years to modify the structure. The bridge is featured in the latest Harry Potter where the Death Eaters brought it down. The whole thing snapped and the people ran for their lives. Everyone got off safely, but if that happened in real life, I'm sure everyone would have died.

Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street

I love Sweeney Todd. I've seen the play several times by various theatre groups and watched the film twice. Despite the story being semi-fictional/a urban legend, I was very excited to see what Fleet Street, where Sweeney Todd lived, worked, and killed, looks like. The film portrays Fleet Street as pretty dirty, dark, and crowded. Some buildings on the actual Fleet Street looks pretty dirty as well like the one in the photo. But the street now is lined with pretty tall structures on both sides and it's hard to imagine what it would have looked like 200 years ago.

While writing this post, I rewatched some part of The Da Vinci Code and found out the dragon statue from above can also been seen in the film. Temple Church is on Fleet Street so when Professor Langdon and Sophie ran out of the church to escape Teabing's servant, they were on Fleet Street. I didn't remember this scene so it was a nice surprise finding this out.