A very early FridayList
Hate to leave everyone hanging all day tomorrow, so here we go.
This is one is prompted by my recent trip to ATL... Watched a flick on the plane that made me feel this list is necessary.
Top 10 New York Movies (movies that feature the city prominently)
10. Pi/Requiem For a Dream -- A couple of whacked-out classics by Darren Aronofsky, the latter taken from Brooklyn-centric novelist Hubert Selby Jr. Great, off-the-beaten-path scenery of downtown and Brooklyn. "Requiem" is not recommended for repeat viewings; honestly, I've only seen it once.
9. The Wiz -- Ah, when Michael Jackson looked and acted normal.
8. Nighthawks -- Sly Stallone? Check, Rutger Hauer? Check. Billy Dee Williams? Check. Scene on the Roosevelt Island tram that should keep you from ever riding it again? Check.
7. Quick Change -- Bill Murray one-lining his way through the city. "Ghostbusters" might have been the more obvious call here, but I like this one better.
6. Do The Right Thing -- The beauty of New York is that everyone lives right on top and around one another. A beautiful, horrible, incredible flick about the city.
5. When Harry Met Sally -- Stands up all these years later. And hey -- they're at a Giants game!
4. The French Connection -- Amazingly, for me, only the second-best subway scene ever.
3. Rear Window -- The lily-white, 1950s version of what happens when we all live piled on top of one another. Filmed on a soundstage, so that knocks it down, but it's so New York.
2. The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3 -- Lesser-known flick about four guys who hijack a subway train and demand $1-million. You'd think it was made a hundred years ago, but it's from 1974, when the city was broke. The scenes are filmed in the subway and on the streets of lower Park Ave., and I must've watched this thing 50 times when I was a kid.
1. Goodfellas -- Not too many classic NYC scenes, but it's maybe one of the best four or five movies ever made. So there.
This was a tough, tough list to put together, and I hope you'll bombard me with your own suggestions and ridicule my choices. Getting this out of the way tonight also ensures there will be room for Giants news tomorrow. Enjoy.
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Comments (15)
Not only do you put Goodfellas ahead of The Godfather, but then you fail to even put it in the top ten. Very disappointing.
However, thanks for the prompt info on Tuck.
North by Northwest....
Superman
you call yourself a sportswriter? sound more like an idiot with a knack for self indulgence on OTHER PEOPLE'S TIME. You see that ad banner at the top of the page, and the paycheck you receive from my newsday subscription? That means you don't spend time dicking around like this.
Honestly....did you really think that was important for your Giants blog? Why not have another blog where all of your "fans" can read about this nonsense? I feel disrespected and, ultimately, dumber for having read that. Thanks for wasting my time and ensuring that I go elsewhere for Giants info.
You're not a football player. You don't have "fans." You are a writer; you have readers. They want to read about football. Wouldn't you complain if you turned on a Giants game and they were doing ballet?
Wow Simon, calm down. As far as I know, the blog is free to view. He can post whatever he wants on it. And if you don't like the lists, why would you waste time reading the article you can just glance and see that its not football related.
Arthur - what about 25th Hour by Spike Lee? The whole movie is an ode to New York.
He got Game? A Bronx's Tale? The Warriors? Wall Street? Gangs of New York?
He Got Game? Gangs of New York? A Bronx's Tale? The Warriors?
Simon has a point. These lists are pretty stupid.
Besides - just about every movie Woody Allen ever made is a better "New York movie" than 2-10 on this list.
Arthur - you rock!!!!
-Big BB
What about Turk182???
Manhattan, Annie Hall, Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon, Ghostbusters, Arthur, to name but a few...
Wow....some serious vitrol here this morning. Imagine if the Giants weren't on a streak where they hadn't lost in a month...
I think you have to have these added to that list:
Taxi Driver
The Basketball Diaries
Saturday Night Fever
And the ultimate NYC movie:
The Muppets Take Manhatten
It's good to mix it up but Arthur I hope you're a better sportswriter than a cinephile. Quick Change over Ghostbusters? Strike one. Rear Window? Like you said it was shot on a sound stage, Hello? McFly! Strike Two
How about On the Town The first Hollywood movie shot on location in New York.
And Number one with a bullitt King Kong, Giant Gorilla on the Empire State Building, probably the most famous image in the Cinema
WARRIORS AND GANGS OF NEW YORK. HANDS DOWN!!!
Whoa whoa whoa!!
Two misses on the list:
(1) State of Grace
It's filmed ENTIRELY in NYC, and it is a classic; it stars a very crazy Gary Oldman, Sean Penn, Ed Harris, etc.
Excellent gangster movie before the genre really took off.
(2) King of New York
Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, Wesley Snipes, Steve Buscemi - star studded cast, another great ganster movie
Plus the biggie smalls line, "I'm the black frank white"
some great suggestions here. what about "Splash" and in memory of deborah kerr, "An Affair to Remember".
First of all, Woody Allen movies can lick my labs. Second: Simon, I think you've found plenty of other ways to waste your time. Third: Staple, where's your head with Taxi Driver? Finally: Go Giants!