Some movies are set in a city. Some use the city as a backdrop. And then there are some which really marry the characters to the setting to the point where the setting is almost a character in its own right. They are few and far between, but they are really awesome when they happen.

The reason I thought of this list was my inclusion of Taxi Driver in my alltime Top 10. That movie allows you to feel the rot of pre-Guiliani New York in a way that few others do. Midnight Cowboy would be a good addition too.

L.A. Confidential also should be recognized for its use of Los Angeles. Even better than Chinatown, though that one deserves mention as well.

What else is there? Blues Brothers for Chicago? I don't know the city well enough to know if it's a good representation or not. What say you?

Almost anything by Sidney Lumet.

After Hours uses New York City as a setting, a commentary and a character proper. Bringing Out The Dead, also from Scorsese, is the obverse of this and is just as fantastic a movie. Although it isn't always the case, Scorsese works best when he's working out of his home.

Hiroshima Mon Amour immediately leaped to mind. The postwar backdrop of Hiroshima plays a significant role in the lives of the two central lovers.

Does Dark City count?...Or is that a cop out? lol

Radio Days is Woody Allen's best film about New York. Manhattan gets all the praise, but I prefer the somber nostalgia of the later work. To boot, it's actually more about the city than Manhattan is. This is his actual love letter to his hometown.

But really, you could pick close to a dozen Allen films set in NYC and not be wrong. He's the easy, default choice.



I think that's an interesting question. Dark City does as good a job as any movie of creating an atmosphere based on its setting. I'll let Kunz give the official answer since this is his thread, but the movie certainly marries character with setting. Does the setting necessarily have to be real?

An obvious choice would be Vertigo for the use of San Francisco/the Bay Area. I confess I haven't seen Bullit except for the famous car chase, but it might be an even better candidate for the S.F. Bay Area.

Perhaps not the best example, but still: Rocky and to some extent the remaining Rocky movies except Rocky IV for the use of Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (1993) might be an obvious choice, but I'll have to rewatch the movie since I am not sure about how much the movie really does embrace the city.

Not sure how well it is represented/embraced, but I think The Fugitive is a candidate for Chicago, IL.

How about the two european cities London and Paris? This might be a bit complicated since it obviously requires extensive knowledge of British and French cinema respectively. Just thought I'll throw this in.

Definitely approve here, even if (as mentioned previously) I don't know that much about Chicago.



That's a funny answer but I think a good one. At the end of that movie, I know the Dark City pretty well. They really use the setting well even if it's a fantastical one.

Oh, I'll also throw out City of God. The favelas of Rio come alive in that film

Allen and Scorsese do a good job of captururing New York, but In America does as well.

Breaking Away for Bloomington, Indiana.
The Big Easy for pre-Katrina New Orleans.

As one who has lived in the heart of Chicago for many years (although not currently), I completely agree. In fact I'd say all the Chicago-based films Andrew Davis has done capture the the city beautifully and accurately. I also think High Fidelity captures Chicago well, although more in an essence-sense than in a geographic sense.

I'm not sure if this counts, but The Square (a film Kunzie steered me to) perfectly displays its small town -- it feels real and understandable geographically and personality-wise.

Blue Collar isn't necessarily evocative of a city in particular (well, maybe), but it very much captures the feel of Michigan cities in thrall of the auto industry. It looks in ruins, and that's before the industry dove into the shitter.

The Blues Brothers - Chicago

Collateral - LA

Sleepers - Hell's Kitchen, New York.

Not a movie, but probably the best use of city would be the HBO TV series The Wire. In fact, you could argue that the show itself is about Baltimore as it's really the glue that holds the many dozens of characters and story threads together.

For an actual movie, I'd have to say In Bruges. The city is pretty much it's own character, and the movie wouldn't have such a majestic atmosphere without it. Might as well throw in Venice, from Don't Look Now for good measure.

On that same note, I would say The Chicago Code best represented Chicago, damn shame it got cancelled.

Other movies with a strong New York backdrop:

Do The Right Thing is more of a ground level representation than what you usually get in movies, with the notable exception of Taxi Driver. Less big buildings and more street corners with hole-in-the-wall cafes and pizza places.

On the subject: a shout-out to Spider-Man 2 for briefly featuring Joe's Pizza. 7 Carmine St. off 6th Avenue if you're ever around there. The first three Spider-Man movies in general probably count, given that Spider-Man's residence in New York is an important element of his mythology and they took care to incorporate various NY sights. The new one has some token NY stuff, but a lot of it is California doubling.

The Superman movie is a little cagey about featuring obvious landmarks (exceptions: the Statue of Liberty, the Daily News building), but Metropolis pretty obviously NYC.

Damn it I was going to say Don't Look Now! Quite the opposite of picture-postcard Venice

Mondo New York, for a different (VERY different) view of the Big Apple.

Before Sunrise for an intimate look at Vienna.

Mystic Pizza captures the whole feel of Mystic CT.

Waiting for Guffman IS small-town America. Though it's not set in a real town, it could be many, many towns.

Emmanuelle in Bangkok was used as the basis for Lonely Planet's travel guide to that great city.

Wow! I'd surely take a look if I hadn't stumbled upon this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuelle_in_Space

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that when Lonely Planet finally releases their guide on Glaxon-13, they use Emmanuelle In Space as their template.

How do people view Leon's Euro-centric manipulation of New York?

Good or bad...or something inbetween?