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Boyan Atanaschev
Broadway has never seemed as seductively menacing as it does in Alexander Mackendrick's bitter farce about a venomous gossip columnist (Burt Lancaster), his soulless lackey (Tony Curtis) and the wreckage left in their wake. Times Square becomes a monochromatic monstrosity full of harsh lights, sad-sack lunch counters and nonstop noise; the luxe interiors of 21 and the Elysian Room double nicely for Dante's ninth circle of Hell.
Park Slope is burning in Sidney Lumet's scorching heister, based on the true story of a colossally botched bank robbery. Al Pacino (who first worked with Lumet in the terrific NYC cop film Serpico) has the noblest of intentions for orchestrating the holdup: to pay for his boyfriend's sex-change operation. The following year, Lumet would direct another NYC classic about delusions of grandeur: Network.
It's a clich to refer to the Woodster's dramedy as a valentine to his hometown, but c'mon: How else could you describe this gorgeous tribute to the skylines, the Queensboro Bridge and the city dwellers of New York? "Chapter One: He was as tough and romantic as the city he loved. He adored Manhattan. He idolized it all out of proportion." Take that, Brooklyn!
Spike Lee and cinematographer Ernest Dickerson transform an actual block of Bedford-Stuyvesant into an outer-borough version of Gauguin's Tahiti: Every block, bodega and trash-talking B-boy suddenly becomes part of a colorful, expressionistic landscape that somehow feels hyperreal. Made as a direct response to the Howard Beach incident, Spike's story about New York's racial melting pot coming to a boil encompasses Brooklyn in full: the mix of ethnicity and class, stoop culture and gentrification, pride and anger. All this, and Rosie Perez dancing to Public Enemy's "Fight the Power." How many movies can claim that fact, Jack?
Where else would the watershed movie of American independent cinema be shot but NYC? John Cassavetes's landmark debut ambles along with neurotic Beats through MoMA, drifts in and out of smoky nightclubs and their denizens' heads, and watches as cityfolk fall in love with (and betray) each other.
Martin Scorsese's "minor" downtown-after-dark comedy offered up some nice lessons for '80s New York newbies: Stay out of Soho (or at least away from Spring Street's boho lofts) once the sun goes down; hold on to your money whenever you take a taxi south of 14th Street; and never trust the city's punk clubgoers or ice-cream-truck drivers. This Scorsese picture exemplifies Gotham as a nightmarish wonderland almost as essentially as Taxi Driver.
Suffer from claustrophobia or L-train freak-outs? Then Joseph Sargent's original thriller about the hijacking of a 6 subway is just the sort of shock therapy you need. If it's too much for your nervous system, just revel in the fantastic cast of cranks and crazies, led by Walter Matthau's grumpy transit cop and Robert Shaw's suave psycho ringleader.
Very likely Woody's best balance of nebbishment and nourishment, this romantic comedy immortalizes a trove of NYC experiences that are, heartbreakingly, no more: Bobby Short cooing at the Carlyle Club; punk bands squalling at CBGB; intellectuals flirting at the old Pageant Books.
A seven-year-old boy runs away to Coney Island in this black-and-white slice of life codirected by Ray Ashley, Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin, which may be the best cinematic record of the hazy boardwalk in existence. There's little dialogue to speak of; just the sights, sounds and smells of summer. If you've grooved on any number of French New Wave or child's-eye Iranian films, give praise to the big daddy.
A WWII soldier (Robert Walker) falls for city girl Judy Garland while on two-day leave, and he romances her in cathedral-size, extras-populated re-creations of Gotham landmarks such as Penn Station, Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Directed by Vincente Minnelli (and an uncredited Fred Zinnemann), this spellbinding romance is golden-age Hollywood at its finest.
You play the game with Kevin Bacon; why not watch the film? Donald Sutherland and Stockard Channing make ideal NYC art snobs in Fred Schepisi's excellent adaptation of the John Guare play, filled with pitch-perfect details: swank UES apartments, a visit to the Strand Bookstore, a stolen kiss in a Central Park buggy.
Accept no remakes. Here's the gold-standard origin film, which unwittingly captures a pungent Koch-era New York in all its glory. We dare you not to get a lump in your throat when Christopher Reeve soars past Battery Park and the old skyline. That image alone merits the movie's placement on any reputable NYC list; the rest of the film offers at least a dozen more.
This movie's reputation has soared since its release. Dustin Hoffman plays a down-on-his-luck NYC actor who lands a soap-opera role by posing as a prim Midwestern woman. Local landmarks include the National Video Center (now home to luxury apartments and the Signature Theatre) and the Russian Tea Room (where Hoffman reveals his ploy to his agent); even Andy Warhol makes an appearance.
A brutal NYC classic (one its star, Charles Bronson, had an uneasy time defending), this vigilante thriller crystallized the dangerous Beame-era Manhattan in the minds of millions. The pivotal scene goes down on a grungy subway car, where a furious Upper West Sider takes nickel-plated, .32-caliber vengeance on a pair of hapless muggers. Life would imitate art.
A spoiled Manhattan WASP (Beau Bridges) buys a Brooklyn tenement and learns some hard (but hilarious) life lessons from his primarily black tenants. Director Hal Ashby, making his feature debut, vividly captures the rough-and-tumble neighborhood that was Park Slope, long before it became stroller-mom central.
For their October 2004 Madison Square Garden concerts, the legendary Beastie Boys circulated 50 Minicams among the bumptious crowd, resulting in a kinetic, undeniably sloppy testament to fan-idol collaboration. This was crowdsourcing way ahead of the curve. We mourn you, Adam Yauch.
I may have just spent 5 days straight in my PJs watching Netflix coping, but also doing this very important research and found these feel-good comedies that made me laugh set in New York City. New York is often a big screen backdrop, but while some movies might only have a quick stock clip of NYC, the following comedies, because yes laughter is the best medicine, will distract and transport you to New York virtually. This list something for everyone, from throwbacks to animations and even the holidays, you will find a movie that matches your mood. Which one did we miss or which one is your favorite? Comment below!
This 2005 romcom follows Hitch as he can help his clients find love, but he cannot seem to keep his cool in his own dating life. From jet-skiing to Ellis Island to the Metropolitan Museum of Art steps, NYC plays a main role in this funny flick.
This technically is not a movie but a comedy special that follows Colin through an off-Broadway performance about the history of the people New York. The set and jokes will prepare you for a visit surrounded by crazy New Yorkers or strike a few chords with many locals.
This fun Parent Trap style double love story follows two assistants as they set up their workaholic bosses. From a Yankees game to the High Line to NYC rooftops framed by water towers, this movie has some great NYC scenery.
This Christmas-themed trilogy begins and ends in New York as a commoner falls in love with a prince. It has all the cheesy NYC holiday vibes before whisking you away to a real winter wonderland filmed in Romania. Who says you can only watch holiday movies once a year?!
Welcome to the 31st season of summer movies in Bryant Park! Bring a blanket and a friend, and snag your spot on the lawn to watch a feature film on the big screen under the stars. The lawn opens 5pm; film begins 8pm.
To be young and carefree amid the blue waters and idyllic landscape of sun-drenched Italy in the late 1950s? That's la dolce vita Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) craves and Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) leads. When Dickie's father asks Tom to bring his errant playboy son back home to America, Dickie and his beautiful expatriate girlfriend, Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow), never suspect the dangerous extremes to which Ripley will go to make their lifestyle his own.
A cocky ad executive, Marcus (Eddie Murphy) has a reputation as a ladies' man. Marcus, however, gets a taste of his own medicine when a merger finds him working under the beautiful Jacqueline (Robin Givens), who has a similarly cavalier attitude about romance. Marcus and Jacqueline become involved, but he is put off by her noncommittal approach to their relationship. Meanwhile, Marcus also begins to develop feelings for the pretty Angela (Halle Berry), who is more thoughtful than Jacqueline.
The Roman emperor's son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), is enraged when he is passed over as heir in favor of his father's favorite general, Maximus (Russell Crowe). Commodus kills his own father (Richard Harris), then arranges the murder of the Maximus and his family. Maximus narrowly escapes, only to be sold as a slave and trained as a gladiator, but his subsequent popularity in the arena threatens the throne.
After discovering his girlfriend (Juliette Lewis) has been participating in illicit affairs, attorney Mitch (Luke Wilson) feels his world come undone. He moves into a new place, which happens to be near a college campus, and tries to get his life back together. Two of his best friends, Frank (Will Ferrell) and Beanie (Vince Vaughn), start hanging out at Mitch's house, eventually turning the place into a wild party pad, much to the ire of the college's dean, Gordon "Cheese" Pritchard (Jeremy Piven), who aims to make their lives difficult.
Dispatched on an assignment, New York City-based fashion photographer Dick Avery (Fred Astaire) is struck by the beauty of Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn), a shy bookstore employee he photographed by accident, who he believes has the potential to become a successful model. He gets Jo to go with him to France, where he snaps more pictures of her against iconic Parisian backdrops. In the process, they fall for one another, only to find hurdles in their way.
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