Classic
New York Movies
There is seemingly
no end to the great movies that feature
New York City. Here are some of the best:
The Age of Innocence
The story of passion and constraints set
against 1870s New York society. Based on
the novel by Edith Wharton which won
Wharton a Pulitzer Prize in 1920.
All About Eve
One of our all-time favorites,
featuring Bette Davis as a Broadway
veteran who is out-smarted by an
ambitious ingénue played by Anne Baxter.
Won three Oscars, including Best Picture.
(1950)
An Affair to Remember
One of the great romantic films of
all times featuring a climatic scene atop
the Empire State Building (which is later
echoed in Sleepless in Seattle).
(1957)
Annie Hall
Classic Woody Allen flick that inspired a
trend in women's fashion. Won Oscars for
Best Picture and Best Actress (Diane
Keaton). (1977)
The Apartment
A romantic comedy written and
directed by Billy Wilder, about a man who
tries to climb the corporate ladder by
lending out his apartment to colleagues
for their extramarital trysts. (1960)
Barefoot in the Park
A poplar adaptation of a Neil Simon
play starring Robert Redford and Jane
Fonda as newlyweds living in an apartment
building full of eccentric characters.
(1967)
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard star in
this ode to the sophistication and
glamour of New York City. Directed by
Blake Edwards and based on the novella by
Truman Capote. (1961)
Broadway Melody
Musical about life and love on
Broadway. Won an Oscar for Best Picture.
(1929)
Dead End
Another movie based on a Broadway
play, featuring the East Side waterfront
and a fine supporting role by Humphrey
Bogart. (1937)
Death Wish
Charles Bronson is a Manhattan
architect turned vigilante after the
murder of his wife and rape of his
daughter; depicts the concerns about
muggers and lawlessness in 1970s NYC.
(1974)
Do the Right Thing
Spike Lee's take on racial relations
in Bed-Sty in the late 1980s. (1989)
Dog Day Afternoon
Al Pacino takes the lead in a bank
robbery gone bad. (1975)
Falling in Love
Meryl Streep and Robert de Niro are
attracted to each other on a Metro North
train. (1984)
The French Connection
Tough cop movie that contains the
best car chase scene ever. Won Gene
Hackman an Oscar for Best Actor. (1971)
Ghostbusters
"Who ya gonna call?" We
guarantee you won't get the catchy tune
for this zany 1984 film out of your head
for days. Features performances by Dan
Aykroyd and Harold Ramis (who also wrote
the screenplay), as well as Bill Murray,
Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis.
Nominated for 2 Oscars.
The Godfather
Marlon Brandon, who won an Oscar for his
role, plays a mobster; Al Pacino is his
son. Based on the novel by Mario Puzzo.
(1972)
The Godfather, Part II
The saga continues. Unlike most sequels,
though, this one was good enough to earn
three Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director
(Francis Ford Coppola) and Best
Supporting Actor (Robert de Niro). (1974)
Goodfellas
Ray Liotta plays Henry Hill, a
gangster with mob connections that
spanned several decades. Violent but
compelling. (1990)
King Kong
A movie that has become so much a part of
our culture that it's hard to visit the Empire
State Building
without imagining King Kong scaling the
skyscraper. The 1933 version with Fay
Wray is the best, although Naomi Watts
and Jack Black made the 2005 film
worthwhile. Wouldn't bother with the 1976
attempt.
Kramer vs. Kramer
An Upper East Side couple's battle for
custody of their son. Won Oscars for Best
Picture, Best Director (Robert Benton),
Best Actor (Dustin Hoffman) and Best
Supporting Actress (Meryl Streep). (1979)
The Lost Weekend
Ray Millard plays a writer who does a bar
crawl on the Upper
East Side (filmed on Third
Avenue). Won Oscars for Best Picture,
Best Actor (Millard) and Best Director
(Billy Wilder). (1945)
Manhattan
It takes place in New York and
features Woody Allen. Need we say more?
(1979)
Marathon Man
Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier
star in this dark, gritty,
conspiracy-laden film. (1976)
Marty
Ernest Borgnine stars as a middle-age
butcher in the Bronx. Won Borgine an
Oscar; also took Oscars for Best Picture
and Best Director (Delbert Mann). (1955)
Mean Streets
Ok, much of the filming was done in
LA, but Martin Scorsese's intimate
knowledge of the city comes through just
the same. (1973)
Midnight Cowboy
Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman play lost
souls in a squalid (pre-Disney) Times
Square. Won an Oscar for Best Picture.
(1969)
Mighty Aphrodite
Adoptive father (Woody Allen) searches
for his child's birth mother (Mira
Sorvino, who won an Oscar for her
performance). (1995)
Moonstruck
Love story featuring Cher (who won an
Oscar for Best Actress and was
unforgettable saying "Snap out of
it!" to Nicholas Cage), Brooklyn,
and the Metropolitan Opera. (1987)
Morning Glory
Katherine Hepburn (who won the first of
her four Oscars for this film) plays a
small-town girl looking for her big
Broadway break. (1933)
The Naked City
For many, this taut, tense
semi-documentary style film is the
penultimate NYC movie. Features great
location shooting and cinematography that
supercedes the rather ordinary crime
drama. (1948)
Nothing Sacred
How natural it seems that Carole
Lombard's small-town girl's dying wish is
to visit New York, and that even when she
finds out she's ok, she wants to go
anyway. (1937)
On the Town
Three sailors (Gene Kelly, Frank
Sinatra, and Jules Munshin) are
determined to experience as much New York
as they can in 24 hours of shore leave. A
wonderful musical with plenty of dancing;
includes that incomparable number, New
York, New York.
On the Waterfront
A tale of corruption and treachery
featuring Marlon Brando as a failed
prizefighter. Swept the 1954 Oscars.
Raging Bull
Another Robert de Niro movie abut a
middleweight boxer from the Bronx. (1980)
Rear Window
An Alfred Hitchcock thriller featuring
Jimmy Stewart spying on his Greenwich
Village neighbors. (1954)
Scent of a Woman
Al Pacino plays a feisty blind Army
officer who leads an honorable but poor
prep-school boy through sophisticated New
York City. Pacino received an Oscar for
Best Actor for his role. (1992)
The Seven Year Itch
Marilyn Monroe's subway grate antics are
but one highlight of this 1955 film.
Shall We Dance?
In one memorable scene of this 1937 film,
Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire dance on
roller skates in Central Park while
singing "Let's Call the Whole Thing
Off."
Sleepless in Seattle
Although much of the action takes place
elsewhere (hence the title), New York
places a pivotal role at the heart of the
story. Features Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.
Sophie’s Choice
Features great shots of Brooklyn,
where the title character (played by
Meryl Streep) lives with her husband and
recounts her past. This amazing film won
5 Oscars plus numerous other awards and
nominations. (1982)
Sweet Smell of Success
A satiric look at the savage world
of a powerful (and largely immoral) New
York City gossip columnist. (1957)
Taxi Driver
Another Martin Scorsese flick that
stars NYC as much as any of the actors.
(1976)
Tootsie
Dustin Hoffman is a cross-dressing
actor. Look for the scene in the Russian
Tea Room. (1982)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A dysfunctional family headed by a
character portrayed by James Dunn
struggles in turn-of-the-century
Williamsburg. Dunn won an Oscar for Best
Supporting Actor. (1945)
Wall Street
Classic '80s tale of greed gone amuck.
Michael Douglas's role as a nasty
investment banker won him an Oscar for
Best Actor. (1987)
The Way We Were
Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford
try to make a go of it, but politics
ultimately get in the way. (1973)
West Side Story
"Romeo and Juliet" in what
once was Hell's Kitchen. Swept the
Oscars, taking Best Picture, Best
Director (Jerome Robbins and Robert
Wise), Best Supporting Actress (Rita
Moreno) and Best Supporting Actor (George
Chakiris). (1961)
When Harry Met Sally
One of the ultimate "feel
good about New York" movies where
romance is in the air (finally) and the
city is a place you'd want to be. Stars
Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. (1989)
Working Girl
A Cinderella storyu framed as an ode
to 80's corporate-ladder climbing, big
shoulders and bad hair. (1988)
NYC Movies for Kids
Miracle on 34th Street
Macy's and Gimbels battle, as Kris
Kringle (played by Edmund Gwenn who won
an Oscar for Best Actor) struggles for
the heart of a little girl (played by
Natalie Wood) who doesn't believe in
Santa. (1947)
Muppets Take Manhattan
An adventure featuring Jim Hensen's
lovable creations. (1984)
Night at the Museum
The action takes place at the American
Museum of Natural History
(although only the exteriors
where actually filmed there, and some of
the displays in the movie don't actually
exist in the real museum), where the
protagonist is a night watchman who must
deal with the shenanigans of animals and
historic figures who come to life after
hours. (2006)
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