When Cities Become Supporting Characters in Film

I’m headed to the Big Apple this weekend to take in a little tennis at the U.S. Open. My imminent trip got me thinking about films that pay tribute to cities by featuring them predominantly as though they’re another character. One filmmaker who comes immediately to mind as one whose films are often linked to their locales is Woody Allen. Allen has used New York City as the locale of several films like Manhattan, Annie Hall and Bullets Over Broadway. London was the backdrop for Match Point and Scoop, and Spain the locale for Vicky Christina Barcelona. His film Midnight in Paris was shot in, well, Paris.

Allen’s films are typically philosophical, dialogue-heavy and character-driven, but they’re also odes to the cities in which they take place. Allen’s films almost capture the tangibility of the place they’re in and they’re beautifully shot so that you almost feel, as you watch the film, that you’ve been taken there. Sometimes it’s not the acting or the directing that make a movie, but the cinematography and the scenery that captures the imagination of moviegoers and leaves a lasting impression. Movie locales can play so powerful a role that thinking of the movie taking place in any other location would compromise the overall effect of the film.

Here are a few notable films which capture cities unforgettably.

Ghostbusters – New York

Fargo - Minnesota

Lost in Translation – Tokyo

L.A. Confidential – 1950’s L.A.

Y tu Mama Tambien – Mexico City

Slumdog Millionaire – Mumbai

Angels and Demons – Vatican City

Stealing Beauty – Tuscany

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - London

Before Sunrise – Vienna

The Departed – Boston

Milk – San Francisco

In which films do you think cities have been well captured? Let us know in the comments section.