where is it?
zeph’s pop culture quiz #16
In which city is the street in the picture? All right, I confess, the screencap is not from a recent movie, but it has a direct connection to a very recent one. And for those faithful readers—if any of them are left, that is—of ↑ye ole xirdalium: I’ve been there once … long, long time ago.
Just leave a comment with your educated guess—you can ask for additional hints, too. [Leaving a comment is easy; just click the ‘Leave a comment’ at the end of the post and fill in the form. If it’s the first time you post a comment, it will be held for moderation. But I am constantly checking, and once I’ve approved a comment, your next ones won’t be held, but published immediately by the system.]
looks like the part of Paris in “Inception”…
No, sorry, it’s neither Paris nor ‘Inception,’ and there’s no virtual reality technology, of which kind whatsoever, involved at all.
Instead there is a lot of surveillance technology involved, I guess. Could it be a part of Budapest?
That is one hell of a guess, I have to say! Yes there is surveillance technology involved, but no, it’s not a part of Budapest ;-) … But with that guess I think you were perfectly aware of that.
I got a bit confused with that screencap not to be from a recent movie, but as it seems it is not even from a movie at all?
:-) Well, that is a matter of definitions. Nevertheless it is correct that the screencap is not from a full length feature film that hit the cinemas’ big screens, rather it is from a television series. But still there is a connection to a very recent feature film, as you seem to know …
Brno (Brünn)…
I tried to zoom in the road sign, but it failed..damnit! Nevertheless I concentrated on this damn sign and finally I got it ;)
And the connection you mention is between the BBC series and Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy, I guess? Jim Prideaux got was tortured in Czechoslovakia…
mentioned…
That’s absolutely correct, congratulations! Yes, it is a street scene in Brno, bach then Czechoslovakia, nowadays Czech Republic. And yes, it’s from the ’70s BBC miniseries ‘Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy’ … I’ll update the post as soon as possible.
is it prague?
No, klandestino was correct with Brno. Sorry, I didn’t get around writing a comment earlier.
I landed here through Google Image Search by looking for exactly the same screen capture. I wanted to find out where it was shot.
The scene is supposed to be in Brno, but I very much that an espionage film starring good Brits chasing nasty Russkies was actually shot behind the iron curtain when the cold war was still pretty cold. Jim Prideaux (Ian Bannen) was supposed to be in the country to contact a general who offered his services to MI6 as a revenge for the Prague spring. Think for a second: would Gustáv Husák have allowed it?
As far as I can see, ALL visible cars in that scene are western, BTW. That would be quite unusual for the real Prague or Brno for 1978-1979. Furthermore, the Orange VW is recycled in the next scene.
It is known that the preceding and following scenes were shot in a rundown industrial neighborhood in Scotland. IIRC, Glasgow. I would expect some older city in the same general area to stand in as Brno, using clever camera angles, masking tape, and a couple of props like the bus stop.That would be more than enough for a scene that hardly lasts 30 seconds.
Really nice to see a comment reviving this post :) And, yes, you are probably right with everything you said!