NYC is a cinematic city – it has inspired many classic movies. Films created by New York artists offer an authentic view of the landscape, culture and character of the city.
The following films are set in NYC, and were filmed (at least in part) in actual city locations. NYC plays a central role in each of these films.
(Click on the link for information about the film)
Films of Woody Allen – particularly Annie Hall, Broadway Danny Rose, Hannah and Her Sisters, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Bullets Over Broadway, and, of course, Manhattan.
On the Waterfront (okay, filmed in Hoboken, but set on the docks of NYC)
The Out-of-Towners (1970)
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
West Side Story
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Fame (1980)
Films set (at least partially) in NYC
King Kong (1933 & 2005) (2005 remake meticulously recreates 1930s Manhattan)
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- King Kong (1933)
42nd Street (or Footlight Parade…basically the same movie)
When Harry Met Sally (come on, who can forget that scene in Katz Delicatessen?)
The Jazz Singer (1927)
An Affair to Remember & Sleepless in Seattle (in you’re going to the Empire State Building, you gotta see these films)
Once Upon a Time in America (Beautifully evokes turn-of-the-century Lower East Side)
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
The Fisher King (amazing fantasy sequence in Grand Central Terminal)
Spiderman Trilogy
Arthur (1981)
The Seven-Year Itch (featuring Marilyn Monroe’s famous encounter with a subway grating)
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- When Harry Met Sally
Reds (partially set in bohemian Greenwich Village)
Hester Street (immigrant life on the Lower East Side)
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- 42nd Street
Sophie’s Choice (romantic old Brooklyn)
Of course, this is only a partial list of memorable NYC movies. Have I left off any of your favorites?