14 best films about New York

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese and other talented directors liked to shoot about "Big Apple".

1. Sweet smell of success

• USA, 1957.
• Noir.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

Advertising agent Sidney Falco promotes aspiring celebrities with the help of influential journalist JJ Hansecker. But when it turns out that Falco is broke, Hansecker puts the question bluntly: he will not work until Sidney quarrels between JJ's sister and her boyfriend, musician Steve Dallas.

"Sweet Smell of Success" failed at the box office, but eventually became one of the exemplary satirical films. The film tells about the unsightly shadow side of New York and is considered one of the best films about this city.

2. Apartment

• USA, 1960.
• Tragicomedy.
• Duration: 125 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

The comedy film by Billy Wilder tells the touching story of the relationship between a humble accountant and an elevator girl. Bachelor C. C. Baxter is an ordinary employee of an insurance company. His secluded New York City apartment on the West Side is ideal for married colleagues to meet with their mistresses.

A good-natured man does not mind helping his friends at all. In the end, even Baxter's boss is among the secret visitors to the apartment. The situation changes when the hero falls in love with the charming girl Fran, not even suspecting that she is the boss's mysterious mistress.

The films of the Hollywood wizard Billy Wilder - "There are only girls in jazz", "Sunset Boulevard" and others - to this day do not lose their sharpness and relevance. The Apartment is definitely one of the director's best films. It is curious that the main role is played by Jack Lemmon, who played one of the main characters in the comedy "There are only girls in jazz".

3. Breakfast at Tiffany's

• USA, 1961.
• A romantic comedy.
• Duration: 115 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

Alphonse and not-so-lucky writer Paul Varzhak move to New York and meet new housemate Holly Golightly, a desperate playwright who idolizes the Tiffany jewelry store. Holly at first gives Paul the impression of a superficial fool, but in the end it turns out that the girl is much deeper than she seems.

In the film, many legendary places of the "Big Apple" were "lit up": the New York Public Library, Central Park and, of course, the Tiffany store, the windows of which the main character admired while having breakfast on the go with a croissant and coffee.

4. West Side Story

• USA, 1961.
• Musical.
• Duration: 152 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

The plot is based on the classic story of Romeo and Juliet told in a new way. The two rival street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, will in no way divide the streets of New York. But everything changes when Tony and Maria fall in love at first sight.

The film was filmed in Manhattan's West Side, which was unsightly in the 1960s. After the release of West Side Story, the famous Lincoln Center was erected on the site of the slum.

5. Taxi driver

• USA, 1976.
• Drama, thriller, neo-noir.
• Duration: 113 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

New York taxi driver Travis Bickle is haunted by the thought of how much dirt, violence and debauchery is around. At some point, the hero realizes that his true mission is to cleanse the streets of evil.

Martin Scorsese portrayed New York in the darkest light: dim lanterns, dirty alleys, huge skyscrapers reminiscent of Babylonian towers. All of this is partly true. The fact is that at the time of filming, the city was going through one of the most difficult periods in its history: the financial crisis and unsuccessful management decisions of the country's President Gerald Ford affected.

In addition, when Taxi Driver was being filmed, the New York scavenger strike was in full swing. Unsurprisingly, the oppressive atmosphere leaked into Scorsese's film of its own accord.

6. Annie Hall

• USA, 1977.
• A romantic comedy.
• Duration: 94 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

The film tells the story of the relationship between stand-up comedian Alvy Singer and aspiring singer Annie Hall. When they first meet, Elvy and Annie immediately fall in love, but over time it becomes clear that their differences give rise to a lot of problems.

It is known that New York has a special place in the heart of Woody Allen. The director treats his hometown with tenderness and is unlikely to ever fall out of love with it. Moreover, Allen's films characterize New York from different angles: this is a place where both a real tragedy and a light comedy story can happen to Woody's characters.

7. Manhattan

• USA, 1979.
• A romantic comedy.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

The main character - 42-year-old screenwriter Isaac - cannot decide on his sympathies in any way. When he meets the cynical bohemian Mary, he leaves his young girlfriend without hesitation, which he later regrets.

Woody Allen again talks about love in the big city, and his characters sort out their tangled relationships in the most picturesque and recognizable places in New York: from Central Park to the Brooklyn Bridge.

8. Hannah and her sisters

• USA, 1986.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

The plot is centered around three sisters: Hannah, Lee and Holly. Their quiet life comes to an end when Hannah's husband, Elliot, unexpectedly falls in love with Lee, but is unable to leave his ideal wife. Meanwhile, Hannah's ex-husband is experiencing another attack of hypochondria, and Holly dreams of becoming a stage actress, but fails over and over again.

In every Woody Allen movie, New York is a little different. And in Hannah and Her Sisters, the city is shown with special fondness. The action takes place both in New York itself and in the luxurious apartments of its residents, who are looking for answers to complex questions of life.

9. New York stories

• USA, 1989.
• Comedy, melodrama.
• Duration: 124 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 4.

A successful artist tries to win the favor of his beloved, the daughter of rich and famous parents suddenly finds herself in a completely incredible situation, and a New York lawyer dreams that an overly critical mother would leave him alone.

Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen are familiar names to many. The style of each of these filmmakers is unique. But in one thing they are similar: the work of all three is closely related to New York. In the film almanac "New York Stories" famous filmmakers come together to tell stories about the inhabitants of the "Big Apple" in their own way.

10. Nice Guys

• USA, 1990.
• Crime, gangster.
• Duration: 146 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 7.

The aspiring gangster Henry Hill dreams of being cool and respectable. Together with mobsters Jimi Conway and Tommy DeVito, Henry begins his ascent to the heights of criminal fame.

Martin Scorsese's Nicefellas have long been recognized as the gold standard for filmmaking. Take one of the most famous one-shot shots in film history, when Henry Hill and his new girlfriend walk into the Copacabana nightclub from the front door. There is a version that Scorsese came up with the scene of the passage through the back rooms after the director was not allowed to film it at the main entrance to the club, where people were constantly crowding.

By the way, "Copacabana" exists in reality (unless the address has changed). Tony Lip from The Green Book, played by Viggo Mortensen in the film of the same name, once worked here. In the same institution, the action of the paintings "Raging Bull" and "Tootsie" takes place.

11. New York, New York

• USA, 2008.
• Drama.
• Duration: 124 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

The action takes place in the theater district of Manhattan. The talented director Kayden Kotard is determined to stage an honest and poignant performance about his own life and to turn the whole world of contemporary art upside down. While working on the play, Kayden plunges more and more into the world of his fantasies and slowly goes crazy.

The film tackles the difficult question of how sometimes the line is thin between genius and insanity, and talks about extinction, regret and loneliness.

12. New York, I love you

• USA, 2009.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 110 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 3.

After the audience was conquered by the film almanac "Paris, I love you", it was conceived to shoot a series of sequels, in which romantic stories would develop against the background of other cities.

Among the directors of the new project were well-known masters such as Fatih Akin ("At the Limit", "Golden Glove") and Shekhar Kapoor ("Elizabeth", "Golden Age"). Actresses Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman also tried their hand at directing and filmed a short film for the anthology.

True, the Johansson episode was cut from the final version of the picture, since it did not correspond to the general spirit of the tape. For the same reason, the short story of the Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev was not included in the film.

13. Chinese puzzle

• France, USA, Belgium, 2013.
• Drama.
• Duration: 117 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

The fastidious Xavier Russo cannot choose a spouse for himself. Finally he marries the Englishwoman Wendy. But it was not so: his wife runs away from him from Paris to New York, taking two children with her. And then the hero goes after her to start living from scratch.

In the multifaceted and multicultural New York, Xavier will experience all the hardships of a migrant's life, including getting married for a visa, as well as “exciting” looking for an apartment and work.

14. Brooklyn

• Ireland, Canada, UK, 2015.
• Melodrama.
• Duration: 112 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

Eilish Lacey, a young Irish woman, leaves her hometown of Enniscorthy for New York. Gradually, life in a new place is getting better: Eilis has a study, a job and a lover. But fate requires the girl to return to a boring Irish backwater, where the heroine will have to make a difficult choice.

Based on the novel of the same name by Colm Toybin, sensual Brooklyn feels like a real declaration of love for New York: where else to go in pursuit of the American dream, if not there?