40 free films have been hidden inside Google Maps - the full list and how to find them

Film fans might find themselves swapping their remote for a compass, as Google Maps has launched a new ‘virtual movie hunt’.

Films have been scattered across the UK for free to watch online as part of the virtual hunt.

The initiative is in collaboration with the British Film Institute (BFI), in a bid to encourage viewers to rediscover and download films that have topped the rewatchable movie list

Hidden across UK locations

Selected by the BFI, around 40 of the 50 top watchable films of the last 50 years will be hidden across the UK on Google Maps, in relation to where they are set.

Films available to find and download will include Skyfall and Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

Clues as to where to discover the movies will be released throughout the month.

How will it work?

There is no official launch date for the new ‘Mobile Cinema’ feature, but Google has said it is coming in late November.

Users will be able to search the map of the UK to find the location revealing a hit movie, with clues pointing them in the right direction. Once you have found a film it will be available to watch from anywhere.

However, the feature will require a 5G data plan to work, so users will have to ensure their mobile device connects to a valid 5G network before beginning.

What films will be available?

Aligned with the launch of the Pixel 5, the BFI revealed the most rewatchable movies of all time.

The films, which will be able to be found in the new ‘virtual egg hunt’ feature, had to meet certain criteria to make the list.

Criteria included whether the film had a memorable first viewing, featured great characters and performances, has music that triggers nostalgia, and popularity.

The list was compiled into certain categories, with the BFI noting, “Different genres of films work on us in different ways. Ever find yourself choosing a film based on your mood? A comedy to cheer you up? A dead-of-night horror to scare yourself senseless? A romance to weep to?

"We’ve broken down our list of 50 Most Rewatchable British Films into genres (Laugh, Scare, Romance, Drama, Action, Cult and Biography), but all of them share characteristics that speak to why they’ve become favourites of audiences; a criteria that seeks to examine our nostalgic affinity for our most beloved movies."

The list of films is as follows:

LAUGHEast is East (1999)Gosford Park (2001)Shaun of the Dead (2004)Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)In the Loop (2009)Four Lions (2010)Sightseers (2012)

SCARE28 Days Later (2002)

ROMANCEA Room With A View (1985)Truly Madly Deeply (1990)Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)Sense and Sensibility (1995)Shakespeare in Love (1998)Atonement (2007)Weekend (2011)Phantom Thread (2017)

DRAMAThe Go Between (1971)Barry Lyndon (1975)The Long Good Friday (1980)Orlando (1992)The Remains of the Day (1993)The English Patient (1996)Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)This is England (2006)Fish Tank (2009)Locke (2013)Pride (2014)The Souvenir (2019)

ACTIONAttack the Block (2011)Skyfall (2012)

CULTPerformance (1970)A Clockwork Orange (1971)The Wicker Man (1973)Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)Quadrophenia (1979)Babylon (1980)Withnail & I (1987)Trainspotting (1996)Dog Soldiers (2002)Children of Men (2006)Moon (2009)Under the Skin (2013)Duke of Burgundy (2014)

BIOGRAPHY24 Hour Party People (2002)Amy (2010)Good Vibrations (2012)Belle (2013)The Theory of Everything (2014)The Favourite (2018)

‘Familiar movies help us to create positive memories’

Google revealed that, during lockdown, searches for “what to watch” doubled, and the term has started to see a rise again since the introduction of lockdown restrictions in England.

Dr Wing Yee Cheung, senior lecturer in psychology and researcher on nostalgia at the University of Winchester, said, “These movies are embedded with sensory memories of when we first watched them and whom we watched them with, which are key triggers of nostalgia.

“We can take the opportunity during the lockdown to create more positive memories with people in our social bubble for future recollection.”

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