Books/movie recommendations

[cardbucfan]

I'm going to post this in a couple of places to hit all the countries our Grand Med cruise is going to next May.

 

One thing I like to do prior to visiting a new place is read books and watch movies based in those places so I'm looking for suggestions for movies based in Barcelona or books based there-preferably fiction! (I'm reading all the guide/travel books and websites I can find lol!)

 

I'm planning to re-watch The Tourist and re-read Angels and Demons by dan Brown but wondered about others. (Guess I could throw Roman Holiday in there too!)

[euro cruiser]

Which ports in Italy?

[Chloe1500]

Well, I like to do this too (and be sure to save a book or movie for the long flights). For Italy ports, I read "The Bottecelli Secret" by Maria Fiorato, which is a fun mystery set in Renaissance Florence and Venice. I was an English Major, so I have to add a suggestion for a classic as well, "A Room With a View" by E.M. Forster, mostly set in 19th century Florence. It's also a really good film but older and harder to find.

[Keith1010]

Please list out your ports.

 

Ben Hur comes to mind.

 

Keith

[cardbucfan]

@keith1010 and @eurocruiser- Florence, Rome, Naples and Venice.

 

@chloe1500-thanks for the suggestions!

[cruisemom42]

Book for Venice: City of Falling Angels (Berendt) -- nonfiction, but reads like fiction

 

Movie for Venice: Don't Look Now -- 1970s eerie movie with Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland; lots of spooky Venice scenes

 

Another Venice movie: Wings of the Dove -- a period piece with Helena Bonham Carter

[cruisemom42]

For Rome, you absolutely MUST see "The Great Beauty" (La Grande Bellezza), winner of the best foreign film a couple of years ago at the Academy Awards. It is a stunning, visual tour through Rome with a beautiful soundtrack and a somewhat loose plot that makes more sense after watching it several times. (Trust me on that one....)

[cardbucfan]

Thanks cruisemom42!

[euro cruiser]

Venice:

 

Any of the Donna Leon mysteries. I loved the old Katherine Hepburn movie (actually I love almost anything she was in) "Summertime".

 

Florence:

 

"Brunelleschi's Dome". I second "Room with a View", both the book and the movie. The movie "Enchanted April" is really set in Tuscany (I think), not the city, but it's still wonderful. Dan Brown's "Inferno". "Midnight Angels" by Lorenzo Carcaterra. "The Sixteen Pleasures" by Robert Hellenga.

[euro cruiser]

For Rome, absolutely La Grande Bellezza. The opening shots alone of the Fontana dell'Acqua Paola up on the Giancolo hill are worth it.

 

I also like the David Hewson mysteries set in Rome, as well as the Conor Fitzgerald series about Commissario Alec Blume.

[anjiebaby]

For Rome and Positano the movie 'Only You' hooked me on wanting to visit. It is a Norman Jewitson film with Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr from 1994. It is on Itunes. I still have it on vHS!

[cruisemom42]

For Rome and Positano the movie 'Only You' hooked me on wanting to visit. It is a Norman Jewitson film with Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr from 1994. It is on Itunes. I still have it on vHS!

 

It also has some nice scenes in Venice. :D

[cardbucfan]

These are all great! Glad I've got some time!

[CathyCruises]

Ha! One that hasn't been mentioned. . .The Talented Mr. Ripley! Great footage of Rome and Venice. Also, for countryside/Tuscany/Positano footage, Under the Tuscan Sun.

 

I read Basilica on a TA, fascinating book about the construction of St. Peter's and all of the political intrigue that went into the building of it, the number of Popes who were involved etc.

Edited July 6, 2015 by CathyCruises

[cruisemom42]

For Pompeii: The book "Pompeii" by Robert Harris (fiction) gives a nice sense of the last days of the place.

 

Please, please skip the horrid movie of the same name (Pompeii) from 2014. It's 105 minutes you'll never get back...

[jhutch]

I was wondering about this too.......... these are great suggestions... I can't wait to start watching these movies and reading the books. (A good alternative to all the tour books.)

 

We're also going to Paris and Normandy before the cruise so I'm sure we'll be watching lots of WWII movies but any suggestions on Paris movies not war related?? :)

 

Our other ports are Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi, & Athens/Piraeus ...... in case there are any ideas involving these areas.

 

Thanks!!!

Edited July 8, 2015 by jhutch

[jhutch]

Sorry, but I can't edit my post above again - it's too late - but I didn't realize this was for the ports in Italy only and you had other threads for the other countries of our various ports.

 

Thanks again for all the suggestions!!

[Bobal]

Book for Venice : Miss Garnett's Angel by Salley Vickers, another book/movie for Venice (particularly the Lido) Death in Venice by Thomas Mann (the cinematography and music in the movie is wonderful)

 

La Grande Bellezza is an excellent suggestion for Rome as is Woody Allen's To Rome with Love

 

Another Woody Allen movie for Barcelona is Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Edited July 8, 2015 by Bobal

[CathyCruises]

For Pompeii: The book "Pompeii" by Robert Harris (fiction) gives a nice sense of the last days of the place.

 

Please, please skip the horrid movie of the same name (Pompeii) from 2014. It's 105 minutes you'll never get back...

 

Lol! I flipped it on accidentally and lasted about 10 minutes. Travesty!

 

We have spent a lot of time in Normandy; Band of Brothers is a wonderful miniseries if you have the time. If you need any info on Normandy, email me at cathy at gonellarealty dot com. It's my favorite subject!

Edited July 8, 2015 by CathyCruises

[Turtles06]

I was wondering about this too.......... these are great suggestions... I can't wait to start watching these movies and reading the books. (A good alternative to all the tour books.)

 

We're also going to Paris and Normandy before the cruise so I'm sure we'll be watching lots of WWII movies but any suggestions on Paris movies not war related?? :)

 

 

I know we're in the wrong country here, but "The Longest Day" is well worth watching (or re-watching) before a visit to the D-Day sites. It's cheesy by today's standards, but great history, and you'll appreciate your visit even more.

[cruisemom42]

I think you mentioned Barcelona?

 

I enjoyed the movie "Gaudi Afternoon", filmed there -- kinda of a wacky plot but great shots of several of the famous Gaudi buildings.

[bobalink]

I was wondering about this too.......... these are great suggestions... I can't wait to start watching these movies and reading the books. (A good alternative to all the tour books.)

 

We're also going to Paris and Normandy before the cruise so I'm sure we'll be watching lots of WWII movies but any suggestions on Paris movies not war related?? :)

 

Our other ports are Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi, & Athens/Piraeus ...... in case there are any ideas involving these areas.

 

Thanks!!!

"D-Day 360" is an excellent documentary made for PBS on Normandy. We watched it last summer before we went to Normandy and it really helped me visualize what it must have looked like. It is outstanding.

 

Here is a link:

http://www.pbs.org/program/d-day-360/

[MrsMuir]

For Classical Greece, you might want to read The Wine-Dark Sea. I forget the author. Most illuminating about the era right after the Golden Age/Age of Pericles.

[jhutch]

These are great suggestions........ thanks so much!!

I can't wait to get started checking these out.

[cardbucfan]

So I'm reading Brunelleschi's Dome (actually had this one-my son had to read it for IB English !) and it's interesting. Started watching Room with a View but dang-the dialogue is killing me! Scenery is beautiful though. I have Woody Allen's "To Rome with Love" to watch and just got "City of Falling

Angels" all from the library. DH is very amused!