There are few cities, both in the United States and globally, that have appeared in as many movies as New York City. There’s just something about the location, its people, and its mix of cultures that makes the “Big Apple” the perfect place to tell a story, whether it be some of the greatest romantic comedies, drama, action, and several Best Picture winners
But, truth be told, there is a seemingly endless list of New York City movies going back to the early days of cinema, from classic silent films up to modern times, making it an arduous task to come up with a few titles to choose from. Worry not, though, for we have put together a list of movies almost as big as the city itself and where you can find them streaming or for purchase.
Wall Street (1987)
Undoubtedly one of the best stock market movies, as well as one of the meanest, Oliver Stone’s Wall Street is a tour de force. In this quintessential ‘80s film, Charlie Sheen takes on the role of the ambitious yet naive Bud Fox, a young stockbroker who makes the most of a first impression with his hero, the vicious Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas).
It’s hard to imagine a movie with the title Wall Street taking place anywhere else besides New York City, its busy streets, chaotic stock exchange, and fine-dining establishments. The city is treated more like a character than a setting, which adds to the film’s tension.
Stream Wall Street on Starz.
Rent/Buy Wall Street on Amazon.
Buy Wall Street on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (1992)
If you ever wondered what it would be like for a kid to spend a few days alone in New York City with nothing more than the clothes on his back, his whits, and his dad’s credit card, we have the perfect movie for you. Released in 1992, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York follows Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) as finds himself separated from his family over the holidays once again, only this time he’s in the “City That Never Sleeps” instead of a sleepy Chicago suburb.
Yeah, Home Alone 2 uses a lot of the same gags, tropes, and plot points as its predecessor, but there are a few aspects that were better than the original. And, the idea of a megacity being a kid’s personal playground is one that never gets old.
Stream Home Alone 2: Lost in New York on Disney+.
Rent/Buy Home Alone 2: Lost in New York on Amazon.
Buy Home Alone 2 on DVD on Amazon.
Annie Hall (1977)
Certain things haven’t aged well in Annie Hall, but there’s no denying the fact that Woody Allen’s 1977 classic is not only one the director’s best films, it’s also a quintessential New York movie. The movie follows the relationship between Alvy Singer (Allen) and Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) as they fall in and out of love and come to terms with the reality of their situation.
Yeah, several scenes indeed take place outside of New York City, specifically the Los Angeles sequences, but the “Big Apple” is essentially third billing. At times, it feels like the city is another lover in the Hall-Singer dynamic, one that slowly begins to break the relationship apart.
Stream Annie Hall on Prime Video.
Rent/Buy Annie Hall on Amazon.
Buy Annie Hall on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961)
One of the most iconic films of the ‘60s, Breakfast at Tiffany’s follows Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) and Paul Varjak (George Peppard), two strangers who strike up quite a relationship after moving into the same apartment building. With this “will they or won’t they?” dynamic to their relationship, the pair navigate life, love, older and more wealthy prospects, and the chaotic nature of New York City.
This brilliant adaptation of Truman Capote’s novella is outrageously funny, has a lot of heart and soul, and captures a certain era of mid-century New York. Highly influential, it’s easy to see the impact of the film on both cinema and culture in the years that followed its release.
Stream Breakfast at Tiffany’s on Hoopla.
Stream Breakfast at Tiffany’s on Paramount+.
Rent/Buy Breakfast at Tiffany’s on Amazon.
Buy Breakfast at Tiffany’s on Blu-ray on Amazon.
The Warriors (1979)
Though probably not one of the first things to come to mind when thinking about the best New York movies, few films have used the city better than The Warriors. Taking place over a single night, this cult classic follows the titular gang as they make their way back to Coney Island through any means necessary.
Brawling their way through multiple boroughs and the unique and iconic gangs that call them home, the Warriors take the viewer on a dark, violent, and rather unorthodox tour of NYC. Released in 1979, the movie also feels like a time capsule to one of the craziest eras in the city’s history.
Stream The Warriors on Prime Video.
Rent/Buy The Warriors on Amazon.
Buy The Warriors on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Coming To America (1988)
One of the funniest fish-out-of-water movies ever made, Coming to America has been considered an Eddie Murphy classic since pretty much the day of its release back in 1988. This absurdly funny comedy follows Prince Akeem Joffer (Murphy) the heir to the Zamundan throne travels to Queens to find a wife. After meeting the woman of his dreams, Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley), Akeem does everything in his power to win her over, even if that means working at her dad’s McDonald’s knockoff.
We don’t witness a lot of the glitz and glamour of New York as typically seen in many movies of its era, but Coming to America does take the audience on an unofficial tour of one of the city’s most notorious and culturally significant areas.
Stream Coming to America on Paramount+.
Rent/Buy Coming to America on Amazon.
Buy Coming to America on Blu-ray on Amazon.
25th Hour (2002)
Spike Lee’s 2002 drama, 25th Hour, follows Monty Brogan (Edward Norton) as he spends his last night walking the streets of New York City before turning himself in to start a seven-year prison sentence. With his freedom quickly evaporating, the convicted drug dealer contemplates running away from it all.
One of the first movies to be shot in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, 25th Hour captures the fractured exterior of New York City and the nation as a whole. You can feel the hurt, loss, and confusion at any given point in the gripping drama and are immediately taken back to that strange period that has since become a distant memory.
Stream 25th Hour on Hoopla.
Rent/Buy 25th Hour on Amazon.
Buy 25th Hour on DVD on Amazon.
West Side Story (1961)
Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise’s 1961 adaptation of the landmark Broadway musical, West Side Story, tells a modern-day Romeo and Juliet story but instead of being set in 15th-century Verona, this takes place in the streets, alleys, and on the fire escapes of 1950s New York City, where the Jets and Sharks are constantly at one another’s throats.
There are few musicals, both those about New York City and in general, that are as beloved as West Side Story, a movie that has not only withstood the test of time, it has gotten better with each passing day. And, it’s hard to imagine Maria (Natalie Wood) and Tony (Richard Beymer) risking it all and falling for one another anywhere besides the Upper West Side.
Stream West Side Story on Pluto TV.
Stream West Side Story on Tubi.
Rent/Buy West Side Story on Amazon.
Buy West Side Story on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Miracle On 34th Street (1947)
When the Santa hired to headline the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade shows up drunk, a man claiming to be the real Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) takes his place and becomes an immediate sensation in the retailer’s flagship store, where he enchants children and adults alike who can’t help but fall under his spell.
George Seaton’s 1947 Christmastime classic, Miracle on 34th Street, beautifully captures the mood of New York City at the height of the holiday season with its story, characters, and undeniable charm. You could argue it's just an extended ad for Macy’s, but few Christmas movies use some of the Big Apple’s biggest institutions so well.
Stream Miracle on 34th Street on Disney+.
Buy Miracle on 34th Street on DVD on Amazon.
When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
Rob Reiner’s When Harry Met Sally… tells the story of Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) and Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) as they go from two college graduates who want nothing to do with one another to two young professionals madly in love with one another, even if they don’t want to admit it.
When Harry Met Sally… is one of those quintessential New York City movies, one of those timeless films that make you want to jump on a plane and fly to “The City That Never Sleeps” in hopes of finding all the locations of all those incredible scenes whether it be a diner, Washington Square Park, or even where the Meadowlands once stood.
Rent/Buy When Harry Met Sally… on Amazon.
Buy When Harry Met Sally… on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Tootsie (1982)
Upon realizing that no one wants to work with him, struggling New York actor Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman, in a performance that somehow didn’t win an Oscar) dresses up as a woman and creates the Dorothy Michaels persona. After getting a small part on a daytime soap opera, Dorothy becomes an overnight sensation thanks to her feisty attitude.
Sydney Pollack’s 1982 comedy, Tootsie, while mostly taking place in a TV studio, has some memorable New York City moments, including the iconic shot of Dustin Hoffman, dressed as Dorothy, walking through the streets of the Big Apple; a scene that has been recreated in movies like Elf.
Stream Tootise on Pluto TV.
Rent/Buy Tootsie on Amazon.
Buy Tootsie on DVD on Amazon.
The Godfather (1972)
Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather tells the story of the Corleone crime family over the course of more than a decade, with a primary focus on Vito (Marlon Brando) and his son and successor, Michael (Al Pacino), and how the two men change over time.
Some of the most pivotal moments in The Godfather take place in and around New York City. There’s the attempted hit on Don Vito Corleone, Paulie Gatto’s (Johny Martino) assassination with the Statue of Liberty in the background, Michael Corleone killing a rival mob boss and crooked cop at a Bronx restaurant, and Sonny Corleone (James Caan) being ambushed and murdered at a toll booth. It’s hard to imagine the movie without the city and the other way around.
Stream The Godfather on Paramount+.
Rent/Buy The Godfather on Amazon.
Buy The Godfather on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Manhattan (1979)
Woody Allen plays Isaac Davis, a TV writer who finds himself unfulfilled in life, professionally, romantically, and personally. A lot of that changes when Isaac meets Mary Wilkie (Diane Keaton), a smart and opinionated writer who just so happens to be his best friend’s mistress.
There is no doubt about it, Manhattan is an unapologetic love letter to the city of New York. I mean the film’s opening, with its montage of beautiful shots of the city accompanied by “Rhapsody in Blue” and Allen’s character fumbling to start a book, tell you what the movie is about before we even meet a single character. Brilliant!
Stream Manhattan on Tubi.
Rent/Buy Manhattan on Amazon.
Buy Manhattan on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.
Big (1988)
Frustrated with his size, 12-year-old Josh Baskin (David Moscow) makes a wish that turns him into a fully-grown adult (Tom Hanks) and sets off to make a new life in New York City. Little does he know, but being a child stuck in a man’s body will soon give him the upper hand when he gets offered a job with a toy company.
One of the great things about Penny Marshall’s Big is the way it captures what you would imagine it feels like to be a kid on your own in one of the busiest (and scariest) cities on the planet.
Stream Big on Disney+.
Rent/Buy Big on Amazon.
Buy Big on DVD on Amazon.
Trading Places (1983)
After becoming the pawns in a sinister game carried out by a pair of brothers in which they are forced to switch places, Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) and Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) team up, not to get even, but to get revenge.
Directed by John Landis, Trading Places has one of the most sinister Wall Street-centric schemes to come out in the 1980s (as well as one of the best riches-to-rags stories), but the performances by Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd turn it into not only one of the best New York movies but one of the greatest comedies of all time.
Rent/Buy Trading Places on Amazon.
Buy Trading Places on DVD on Amazon.
Speedy (1928)
Ted Wilde’s 1928 iconic silent film, Speedy, stars Harold Lloyd as Harold “Speedy” Swift, a young man so deeply devoted to his girlfriend that he will do anything he can to stop the diabolical competitor of her family’s business from putting them out of business for good.
If you want to see what New York City was like in the years before the Great Depression, look no further than Speedy. The movie takes us to some of the most iconic landmarks of the city, including Yankee Stadium, where the hero has a run-in with Babe Ruth that is just something else.
Stream Speedy on Max.
Buy Speedy on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Ghostbusters (1984)
The biggest and baddest ghosts the Big Apple has ever seen are on the loose, and the only people who can stop them are a group of failed scientists and an everyman just looking for a job.
It is hard to think of a movie that yells out “New York City” in the 1980s more than Ivan Reitman’s 1984 classic, Ghostbusters. I mean, where else are you going to see a ghost in the confines of the New York Public Library, a demon dog running through Central Park, or a marshmallow man walking the streets of the city?
Stream Ghostbusters on Hulu.
Rent/Buy Ghostbusters on Amazon.
Buy Ghostbusters on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Do The Right Thing (1989)
When a disagreement over whose picture should be on the wall of a Brooklyn pizzeria explodes into a massive ordeal, the entire neighborhood gets caught up in the racial and social tension that has been building up for years.
Spike Lee has always had his finger on the pulse of New York City, which is shockingly clear in his 1989 classic, Do the Right Thing, which is one of the best movies on Amazon. By not shying away from the problems affecting the city, Lee is able to paint an accurate picture of the area he knows and loves.
Stream Do the Right Thing on Amazon.
Rent/Buy Do the Right Thing on Amazon.
Buy Do the Right Thing on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.
Taxi Driver (1976)
One of Martin Scorsese’s best movies, Taxi Driver puts you in the passenger seat with one of the most deranged characters ever written, Robert De Niro’s Travis Bickle. Mostly confined to his cab and decrepit apartment, Bickle slowly begins losing touch with reality.
New York City has its problems today, but nothing compared to the version of the city seen in Taxi Driver. This look back on a long-gone era (and city) is shockingly violent and doesn’t leave you hope, but there’s no denying its place in cinematic history.
Rent/Buy Taxi Driver on Amazon.
Buy Taxi Driver on Blu-ray on Amazon.
All of these movies capture a different feeling or era of New York City and help those who have never visited the Big Apple get a glimpse at what life is like in the famous city. And, who knows, maybe that tradition will continue with some of the upcoming 2024 new movie releases.
