New York movies: The 100 best films set in New York City

From King Kong's spire down to the scummiest subway tunnel, TONY ranks the definitive list of the 100 best New York movies: crime dramas, romantic comedies, documentaries and more.

By David Fear, Stephen Garrett, Joshua Rothkopf, Keith Uhlich and Alison Willmore Tue Jul 3 2012

New York movies: Click to the next image to see our 100 best films set in New York City
New York movies: C.H.U.D. (1984)
New York movies: Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That! (2006)
New York movies: Black and White (1999)
New York movies: Hi, Mom! (1970)
New York movies: God Told Me To (1976)
New York movies: Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
New York movies: Wolfen (1981)
New York movies: Man Push Cart (2005)
New York movies: Hamlet (2000)
New York movies: Three Days of the Condor (1975)

New York movies: Click to the next image to see our 100 best films set in New York City

Paradise and prison, bustling metropolis and the loneliest place on earth: New York City has a cinematic identity that infuses all walks of life. Even as we write our own narratives in this most famous of locations, we walk alongside fictional characters (and sometimes real ones, too, if we’re lucky).

In selecting the 100 most essential New York movies, we kept the city’s boldness in mind. TONY Film staffers David Fear, Joshua Rothkopf and Keith Uhlich teamed up with movie experts Stephen Garrett and Alison Willmore to gather titles from all genres and eras—the widely known and the obscure—in pursuit of a complete picture of NYC on film.

Our only parameter: The movie had to be set in New York City, not Metropolis (sorry, Superman fans), Oz (ditto, you Wiz diehards), nor anywhere else. Dive in, jostle politely, find your seat or ride standing: Please tell us what we’ve missed. It’s a big town.—Joshua Rothkopf, senior Film writer

100

C.H.U.D. (1984)

More funny than scary, this schlock-horror Z flick articulates a primal NYC fear harbored by anyone who’s ever peered down a sewer grate: Who (or what) is living below? Not the homeless, not alligators, but cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers. As the poster of a shimmering Manhattan skyline warned, “They’re not staying down there, anymore!”—Joshua Rothkopf

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Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That! (2006)

An essential New York band plays a landmark NYC venue (MSG) as 50 fans capture the event for posterity; only the Beastie Boys could turn a crowdsourced concert movie into a time capsule, a tour of the city’s musical styles (hip-hop, punk, Latin funk) and a tribute to the power of Gotham’s DIY spirit. RIP, MCA.—David Fear

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Black and White (1999)

James Toback’s giddy ensemble drama transforms the city into an urban playground where rich white kids play-act ghetto fabulousness, criminals consort with moguls and Brooke Shields sports dreadlocks. It’s a bold think piece on the malleability of class and race in NYC, spiced with the single most sizzling sex scene ever set in Central Park.—David Fear

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Hi, Mom! (1970)

Brian De Palma’s darker-than-dark comedy stars Robert De Niro as a XXX-rated filmmaker wanna-be who peeps on his neighbors. The no-budget film captures porn-theater-era New York at its seediest; it also features an astonishing sequence satirizing downtown experimental theater, in which a white-bread audience is viciously humiliated (and they love it).—Keith Uhlich

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God Told Me To (1976)

Larry Cohen’s sci-fi chiller about a detective investigating murderers who claim to be carrying out God’s will is the surreal B-side to Taxi Driver: a nightmare vision of the city’s repressed rage that starts with cameoing Andy Kaufman gunning down the St. Patrick’s Day parade and ends with our hero becoming what he was trying to stop.—Alison Willmore

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Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Stanley Kubrick’s polarizing swan song takes place in a Manhattan of the mind, specifically the sexually frustrated brain stem of Tom Cruise’s upper-crust physician. The film’s fantasy Greenwich Village, populated by taunting fratboys, a hard-sell hooker and a Lolita-like teen is especially weird—and disquieting.—Keith Uhlich

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Wolfen (1981)

Long before it was cool to go green, Woodstock director Michael Wadleigh helmed this environmentally conscious (though still pretty damned scary) werewolf movie. The South Bronx provides some memorably decayed, practically postapocalyptic terrain, and a number of vertigo-inducing scenes are shot atop the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.—Keith Uhlich

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Man Push Cart (2005)

Indie filmmaker Ramin Bahrani provides an eloquent, empathetic backstory to a pushcart vendor so street-corner standard, he’s all but invisible to passersby. Bahrani explores the fictional man’s past as a Pakistani rock star and his lonely, lowly present in a New York that’s both beautiful and coolly indifferent to his Sisyphean struggle.—Alison Willmore

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Hamlet (2000)

Michael Almereyda transposes William Shakespeare’s seminal tragedy to the world of high finance as Ethan Hawke’s brooding prince goes up against his slick CEO stepfather. The modern-day setting—moving from grungy streets to antiseptic boardrooms and even that cylindrical mousetrap the Guggenheim—adds thematic heft to the greatest of all plays.—Keith Uhlich

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Three Days of the Condor (1975)

Filmed at the peak of Hollywood’s political paranoia, this CIA thriller captures a tense, spy-saturated NYC that would reappear in The Bourne Ultimatum. Choice local touches include Robert Redford’s clandestine office on 77th Street at Madison, a quiet Brooklyn Heights getaway (occupied by sultry Faye Dunaway) and a WTC window overlooking the intrigue.—Joshua Rothkopf

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(31 ratings)

The World of Henry Orient was way better than a lot of films that made your list. The cinematography was excellent the story was pretty good and the scenes around the city and in Central Park really got me. Reminded me of people I knew, though not quite so upscale.

Peter Schug Thu Jul 5 2012
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I have a fondness for movies shot in NYC in the 70s. Today, movie crews clean up a street to make it pristine. Not so in the Abe Beame 70s. My favorite 70s movies shot in NYC that did not make the list were An Unmarried Woman, and Looking for Mr. Goodbar. Others I would add to the list are Gloria, Crossing Delancey, and The Godfather II, which really shows you what NYC looked like at the turn of the century. I would also add that while American Psycho takes place in NYC, very little of it was shot there and I think the movie suffers a little bit because of it.

Paul Thu Jul 5 2012
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Interesting list but how on earth was "Crossing Delancey" not on the list at all when in fact in should be in the top 10. One of my favorite films of all time. Peter Riegert is fantastic!

Barry Goldklang Thu Jul 5 2012
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Some interesting choices, but some horrible ones as well. American Psycho would not make my top 200. Missed some great oldies (and others): It Should Happen to You (Judy Holliday), The Gambler, Next Stop Greenwich Village, The World of Henry Orient (one of the best uses of New York in the sixties), The Lost Weekend, Enemies: A Love Story, Prince of the City, The Pope of Greenwich Village, Easy Living (for it's Automat scene at the least) among others missing.

Peter E. Thu Jul 5 2012
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Where is Working Girl? I reject the entire list because of that omission!

robby Thu Jul 5 2012
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You missed a real big one: THE LOST WEEKEND! I don't know any movie with better usage of authentic, classic New York scenes: ; the Metropolitan Opera; the 3d Avenue EL; the original P.J. Clarke's, Bellevue Hospital; even a great portrayal of an old time NYC-type nightspot (where Don steals the purse) - and I could go on. And, unlike a lot of the drek on the list,its really a great movie.

Steven Bratone Thu Jul 5 2012
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Other crucial NYC films (some pretty obvious) missing from the list: "A Bronx Tale" "Brooklyn Lobster" "Bye Bye Bravermen" "Doubt" "Five Corners" "Miracle on 34th Street" "Pride of the Yankees" "Take Out" "The Bronx is Burning" "The House on 92nd Street" "The Night They Raided Minsky's" "TheSeven-Ups" "The Wanderers" "61*" (even though the field level of Tiger Stadium had to substitute for the old Yankee Stadium, very effective CGI made up for it...)

r-gordon-7 Thu Jul 5 2012
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Kind of surprised Woody's "Radio Days" didn't make the cut. As a quintessentially "New York" movie, I think it ranks higher than a couple of the Woodman's on your list - namely, Annie Hall and HAHS. Both great films, but as a love letter from Woody to NYC, Radio Days is arguably only overshadowed by Manhattan.

Al Lawson Thu Jul 5 2012
Rated as: 4/5
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Sorry, I meant Simon about Men in Black. aleXander is totally right about The Cruise!

Admiral TV Thu Jul 5 2012
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I think the following films are missing from this list: The Apartment - A romantic comedy that is surprisingly dark. Boiler Room - Whereas Wall Street deals with the high fliers like Gordon Gecko, Boiler Room shows the destructive dark underbelly of Wall Street that characters like Gecko inspired. Donnie Brasco - A gangster picture about the small time hood, I prefer it to big names like Goodfellas and Once Upon a Time in America. Men in Black - aleXander is right, missing out on Men in Black was a real oversight. Few movies are more quintessentially New York than this one. 9/11 - I rewatched this the other day and was astonished at how well it held up when seen through the fog of memory (that New York feels like a different world) rather than as a raw wound. This is a nice counterpoint to Man on Wire.

Admiral TV Thu Jul 5 2012
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