Pre-Giuliani NYC
Movies shot in a grittier, sometimes more dangerous, but overall less costly, less rabidly-gentrified New York. Filthy, X-rated, pre-Disney Times Square. Old Yankee stadium, pre-Sex in the City tour buses and cupcake ATMs. Redbird subway cars, coffee in Anthora paper cups, rattling radiator pipes, peeling lead paint, roaches, and those elevators with the gates on them. (Oh, and the garbage barge.) For better or worse, take it or leave it. But if you miss it sometimes, here's what to watch. Suggestions appreciated.
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146 titles
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJeff DanielsMelanie GriffithGeorge 'Red' SchwartzA free-spirited woman "kidnaps" a yuppie for a weekend of adventure. But the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-convict husband shows up.(just in the beginning)
- DirectorLeslie HarrisStarsAriyan A. JohnsonKevin ThigpenEbony JeridoWith hopes of becoming a doctor and not a product of her environment, a Brooklyn teenager is faced with numerous challenges that threaten her dreams.
- DirectorAdrienne ShellyStarsAdrienne ShellyTim GuineeRoger ReesDonna witnesses identical murders on the same street on different days. Is this a supernatural conspiracy or is she merely cracking up?(Yes, technically Giuliani had been in office almost 2 years by then, but I'm gonna say this is still old enough to count.)
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsEddie MurphyPaul BatesGarcelle BeauvaisAn extremely pampered African prince travels to Queens, New York and goes undercover to find a wife that he can respect for her intelligence and strong will.
- DirectorJerry SchatzbergStarsAl PacinoKitty WinnAlan VintFollows the lives of heroin addicts who frequent "Needle Park" in New York City.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsBilly CrystalMeg RyanCarrie FisherHarry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.In spirit: not exactly, but some good background shots. Definitely a yuppie UWS story.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsMia FarrowJohn CassavetesRuth GordonA young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsDustin HoffmanLaurence OlivierRoy ScheiderAfter the shocking murder of his older brother, a New York history student finds himself inexplicably hounded by shadowy government agents on the trail of a Nazi war criminal who is trying to retrieve smuggled diamonds.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsBill MurrayDan AykroydSigourney WeaverThree parapsychologists forced out of their university funding set up shop as a unique ghost removal service in New York City, attracting frightened yet skeptical customers.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsDustin HoffmanJon VoightSylvia MilesA naive hustler travels from Texas to New York City to seek personal fortune, finding a new friend in the process.
- DirectorPaul MazurskyStarsLenny BakerShelley WintersEllen GreeneThe ups and downs of life as experienced by a group of aspiring young artists in the early Fifties New York.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsMichael BeckJames RemarDorsey WrightA street gang known as the Warriors must fight its way from the Bronx to its home turf on Coney Island when its members are falsely accused of assassinating a respected gang leader.
- DirectorTony BillStarsJodie FosterTim RobbinsTodd GraffA psychotic young man returns to his old neighborhood after release from prison. He seeks out the woman he previously tried to rape and the man who protected her, with twisted ideas of love for her and hate for him.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroJodie FosterCybill ShepherdA mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.
- DirectorSam Henry KassStarsHolt McCallanyMichael BadaluccoNicholas TurturroLes is making a film about his old neighborhood in Brooklyn. One-eye Jimmy goes missing and Les switches to making a film about Jimmy and the people searching.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDanny AielloOssie DavisRuby DeeOn the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.
- DirectorTony SilverStarsDemonKase 2Eric HazeA documentary that exposes the rich growing subculture of hip-hop that was developing in New York City in the late '70s and early '80s, specifically focusing on graffiti art and breakdancing.
- DirectorJulian SchnabelStarsJeffrey WrightMichael WincottBenicio Del ToroThe brief life of Jean Michel Basquiat, a world renowned New York street artist struggling with fame, drugs and his identity.
- DirectorStan LathanStarsRae Dawn ChongGuy DavisJon ChardietAn aspiring DJ from the South Bronx and his best friend, a promoter, try to get into show business by exposing people to hip-hop music and the local culture.
- DirectorJoseph SargentStarsWalter MatthauRobert ShawMartin BalsamFour armed men hijack a New York City subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. The city's police are faced with a conundrum: Even if it's paid, how could they get away?
- DirectorJohn BadhamStarsJohn TravoltaKaren Lynn GorneyBarry MillerAnxious about his future after high school, a 19-year-old Italian-American from Brooklyn tries to escape the harsh reality of his bleak family life by dominating the dance floor at the local disco.
- DirectorTed WildeStarsHarold LloydAnn ChristyBert WoodruffHarold "Speedy" Swift, a fan of Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees, saves from extinction the city's last horse-drawn trolley, operated by his girlfriend's grandfather.
- DirectorLarry PeerceStarsTony MusanteMartin SheenBeau BridgesLate one night, two young toughs hold hostage the passengers in one car of a New York subway train.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsGene HackmanRoy ScheiderFernando ReyA pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
- DirectorMatthew RobbinsStarsHume CronynJessica TandyFrank McRaeAliens help a feisty old New York couple in their battle against the ruthless land developer who's out to evict them.
- DirectorRay AshleyMorris EngelRuth OrkinStarsRichard BrewsterWinifred CushingJay WilliamsA young boy fears that he shot his older brother, who is only faking. He then runs away to Coney Island, a crowded beach area, and gets money by returning soda bottles for their deposits.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroHarvey KeitelDavid ProvalIn New York City's Little Italy, a devoutly Catholic mobster must reconcile his desire for power, his feelings for his epileptic lover, and his devotion to his troublesome friend.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsCherNicolas CageOlympia DukakisLoretta Castorini, a bookkeeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she has agreed to marry.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroJerry LewisDiahnne AbbottA passionate yet unsuccessful comedian stalks and kidnaps his idol to take the spotlight for himself.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael DouglasKathleen TurnerDanny DeVitoA mousy romance novelist sets off for Colombia to ransom her kidnapped sister, and soon finds herself in the middle of a dangerous adventure hunting for treasure with a mercenary rogue.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroCathy MoriartyJoe PesciThe life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
- DirectorGene SaksStarsRobert RedfordJane FondaCharles BoyerPaul, a conservative young lawyer, marries the vivacious Corie. Their highly passionate relationship descends into comical discord in a five-flight New York City walk-up apartment.
- DirectorMilton KatselasStarsGoldie HawnEdward AlbertEileen HeckartA blind man moves into his own apartment against the wishes of his overprotective mother and befriends the freethinking young woman next door.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsJack LemmonShirley MacLaineFred MacMurrayA Manhattan insurance clerk tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsDustin HoffmanMia FarrowMichael TolanJohn and Mary meet in a singles bar, sleep together, and spend the next day getting to know each other.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonTony RobertsAlvy Singer, a divorced Jewish comedian, reflects on his relationship with ex-lover Annie Hall, an aspiring nightclub singer, which ended abruptly just like his previous marriages.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsMelanie GriffithHarrison FordSigourney WeaverWhen a secretary's idea is stolen by her boss, she seizes an opportunity to steal it back by pretending she has her boss' job.
- CreatorDick WolfRick EidStarsJerry OrbachJesse L. MartinDennis FarinaNew York's finest police detectives and prosecutors fight to make the city a safer place. With integrity as the guiding force from investigation to verdict, the teams weigh every perspective in their commitment to finding justice.Lots of street shots. Huge employer of NY actors back in the day. Jerry Orbach was the best. [ch-chung]
- CreatorLarry DavidJerry SeinfeldStarsJerry SeinfeldJulia Louis-DreyfusMichael RichardsThe continuing misadventures of neurotic New York City stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his equally neurotic New York City friends.eh. a little bit of outdoor shots. definitely a sheen.
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsJean RenoGary OldmanNatalie Portman12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
- DirectorPenny MarshallStarsTom HanksElizabeth PerkinsRobert LoggiaAfter wishing to be made big, a teenage boy wakes the next morning to find himself mysteriously in the body of an adult.
- DirectorCharles ShyerStarsDiane KeatonSam ShepardHarold RamisThe life of super-yuppie J.C. is thrown into turmoil when she inherits a baby from a distant relative.only in the beginning.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsRichard PryorJohn CandyLonette McKeeA minor-league baseball player must spend $30 million in 30 days in order to inherit $300 million. However, he's not allowed to own any assets, destroy the money, gift it, give it to charity, or tell anyone about the deal.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsDiana RossMichael JacksonNipsey RussellAn adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz" that tries to capture the essence of the African-American experience.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsAudrey HepburnGeorge PeppardPatricia NealA young New York socialite becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building, but her past threatens to get in the way.
- DirectorTerence YoungStarsAudrey HepburnAlan ArkinRichard CrennaA recently blinded woman is terrorized by a trio of thugs while they search for a heroin-stuffed doll they believe is in her apartment.
- 1977–199529mTV-Y7.3 (48)TV EpisodeDirectorStephen H. ForemanStarsButterfly McQueenStar-Shemah BobatoonGarrett MorrisJoanna Peabody is granted 7 wishes by "Aunt Thelma", a wise fairy-godmother who appears on Joanna's TV screen. Joanna squanders a few wishes before she learns the value of sharing.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRobert De NiroJames WoodsElizabeth McGovernA former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsFaye DunawayWilliam HoldenPeter FinchA television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsAl PacinoJohn CazalePenelope AllenThree amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank. A nice simple robbery: Walk in, take the money, and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsElizabeth HartmanGeraldine PageRip TornPost-teen virgin moves to New York City, falls for a cold-hearted beauty, then finds true love with a loyal lass.
- DirectorGene SaksStarsJack LemmonWalter MatthauJohn FiedlerA New Yorker newly separated from his wife moves in with his best friend, a divorced sportswriter, but their ideas of housekeeping and lifestyles are as different as night and day.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsMichelle PfeifferAlec BaldwinPaul LazarA mobster's wife hates her lifestyle, but gets a chance to change it when her husband is killed - if the Long Island mob and the FBI let her.
- DirectorJames TobackStarsNastassja KinskiRudolf NureyevHarvey KeitelWisconsin farm girl Elizabeth Carlson leaves her family and her English-teacher lover behind, and escapes to New York City, where she soon makes a career for herself as a fashion model. During a private viewing of paintings, she is approached by a mysterious man whose motives are not clear.
- DirectorMichael DinnerStarsJudge ReinholdMeg TillyCleavant DerricksJoe Gower's job is skating through library shelves, fetching books. A police officer and friend of his is chosen to participate in a charity dance performance. Gower agrees to take his place in the show by posing as a police officer. He falls for a female officer in the show, and gets into various scrapes with fellow cops and also crooks, and he dances.
- DirectorRobert RedfordStarsRalph FiennesJohn TurturroRob MorrowA young lawyer, Richard Goodwin, investigates a potentially fixed game show. Charles Van Doren, a big time show winner, is under Goodwin's investigation.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsRichard PryorGene WilderJoan SeveranceDave is deaf, and Wally is blind. They witness a murder, but it was Dave who was looking at her, and Wally who was listening.
- DirectorPeter FaimanStarsPaul HoganLinda KozlowskiJohn MeillonAn American reporter goes to the Australian outback to meet an eccentric crocodile poacher and invites him to New York City.
- CreatorJames L. BrooksStan DanielsDavid DavisStarsJudd HirschJeff ConawayDanny DeVitoThe staff of a New York City taxicab company go about their job while they dream of greater things.
- DirectorJoseph JacobyStarsJohn LefkowitzLinda De CoffRonald Anton"Hurry Up, Or I'll Be 30" is the critically-acclaimed film of one man's frustration with his boring life. This motion picture features Danny DeVito in one of his earliest screen roles. For Georgie (soon to be 30!) a new and exciting world lies just over the Brooklyn Bridge. Life at home with his parents is at its limits. There are new worlds to explore, and perhaps even romance. Only the Brave!
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsSean GulletteMark MargolisBen ShenkmanA paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.
- DirectorRick FamuyiwaStarsTaye DiggsSanaa LathanYasiin BeyFriends since childhood, a magazine editor and a hip-hop record executive stumble into romantic territory.An exception must be made for this film. This is probably the newest one I'd add, but a significant portion is set in the early 80s, and the whole thing is an ode to hip hop.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsAlfre WoodardDelroy LindoDavid Patrick KellySpike Lee's vibrant semi-autobiographical portrait of a school teacher, her stubborn jazz musician husband and their five kids living in Brooklyn in 1973.
- DirectorWaris HusseinStarsShirley MacLainePerry KingDavid ElliottAn upper-class Manhattan divorcee comes to believe that her brother is possessed by the spirit of a serial killer who beheaded young women in Spanish Harlem.
- DirectorMichael CampusStarsRony ClantonDon GordonJoyce WalkerA gifted young man is caught up in gang life.
- DirectorMilton KatselasStarsMichael MoriartyYaphet KottoSusan BlakelyPolice officer Patty Butler, alias "Chicklet," is the live-in girlfriend of Thomas 'Stick' Henderson to gather evidence. Detective Bo Lockley is instructed to try to find her, not knowing she's also a cop.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsAl PacinoJohn RandolphJack KehoeAn honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.
- DirectorCarlo LizzaniStarsPeter BoylePaula PrentissFred WilliamsonThe rise and fall of a Mafia gangster, based on the life of murdered New York gangster "Crazy" Joey Gallo.
- DirectorAnthony HarveyStarsGeorge C. ScottJoanne WoodwardJack GilfordIn a Manhattan psychiatric hospital, a man convinced that he is Sherlock Holmes is treated by a female doctor who happens to be named Watson.
- DirectorRobert ButlerSidney J. FurieStarsJames BrolinCliff GormanRichard S. CastellanoA tough, New York City ex-cop relentlessly searches for his kidnapped teenage daughter whom is held by a twisted psycho after mistaking her for the daughter of a wealthy businessman.
- DirectorPeter Ily HuemerStarsUma ThurmanPaul DillonPaul RichardsA popular woman who enjoys her nights on the town gets more than she bargained for when a stalker murders a loved one and begins hunting her down.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsRichard GereGregory HinesDiane LaneMeet the jazz musicians, dancers, owner, and guests (like gangster Dutch Schultz) of The Cotton Club in 1928-1930s Harlem.
- DirectorSollace MitchellStarsPatricia CharbonneauStephen McHattieBoyd GainesA journalist agrees to meet an obscene caller at a bar, and ends up witnessing a murder.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsPeter BoyleDennis PatrickSusan SarandonTwo men--wealthy conservative Bill and far-right factory worker Joe--form a dangerous bond after Bill confesses to Joe about murdering his daughter's drug-dealer boyfriend.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsAl PacinoPaul SorvinoKaren AllenA police officer goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.
- DirectorGary WeisStarsLouis GiganteDepicts the daily life of gangs within the context of the South Bronx. Deals primarily with two African American and Puerto Rican gangs known as the "Savage Skulls" and the "Savage Nomads".
- DirectorMario Van PeeblesStarsWesley SnipesIce-TAllen PayneA crime lord ascends to power and becomes megalomaniacal while a maverick police detective vows to stop him.
- DirectorSusan SeidelmanStarsSusan BermanBrad RijnRichard HellA talent-challenged girl tries to promote herself to stardom in New York's waning punk music world.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsPaul NewmanEdward AsnerKen WahlIn New York City, South Bronx's main police precinct is nicknamed Fort Apache by its employees who feel like troopers surrounded by hostiles in a wild west isolated outpost.
- DirectorGordon ParksStarsRichard RoundtreeMoses GunnCharles CioffiA crime lord hires black private eye, John Shaft, to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
- DirectorMichael SchultzStarsSheila E.Joseph SimmonsDarryl McDanielsThe story of a man who has started a new hip-hop/rap label called Krush Groove.
- DirectorMichael SchultzStarsTaimakVanityChristopher MurneyIn New York City, a young man searches for a Master to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the Glow.
- DirectorOssie DavisStarsGodfrey CambridgeRaymond St. JacquesCalvin LockhartTwo Harlem cops investigate a robbery, believing that a reverend has staged it in order to steal the money he's collected for a local fundraiser.
- DirectorGordon Parks Jr.StarsRon O'NealCarl LeeSheila FrazierThe daily routine of cocaine dealer Priest who wants to score one more super deal and retire.
- DirectorGordon Parks Jr.StarsMoses GunnKevin HooksIrene CaraIn New York City, a young black boy and Puerto Rican girl fall in love despite objections from each other's families.
- DirectorJohn BerryStarsDiahann CarrollJames Earl JonesLawrence Hilton-JacobsIn the 1970s Harlem, garbage collector Roop feels intimidated by the idea of dating Claudine who is a single mother of six on welfare.
- DirectorOssie DavisStarsPaul WinfieldCarl LeeDavid DowningFour Vietnam Vets go to war against the drug dealers and pimps of Harlem.
- DirectorMichael WinnerStarsCharles BronsonHope LangeVincent GardeniaA New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad after his wife is murdered by street punks. In self-defense, the vengeful man kills muggers on the mean streets after dark.
- DirectorBarry ShearStarsAnthony QuinnYaphet KottoAnthony FranciosaTwo New York City cops go after amateur crooks who are trying to rip off the Mafia and start a gang war.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsEddie BarthIrene CaraLee CurreriA chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsGriffin DunneRosanna ArquetteVerna BloomAn ordinary word processor has the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit a girl in Soho he met that evening at a coffee shop.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsTreat WilliamsJerry OrbachRichard ForonjyA New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption, and soon realises he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsJoe MortonDaryl EdwardsRosanna CarterA mute alien with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem.
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsZoë LundBogeyAlbert SinkysA timid and mute seamstress goes insane after being attacked and raped twice in one day, in which she takes to the streets of New York City after dark and randomly shoots men with a .45 caliber pistol.
- DirectorJohn CassavetesStarsGena RowlandsBuck HenryJulie CarmenWhen a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.
- DirectorSusan SeidelmanStarsRosanna ArquetteMadonnaAidan QuinnA bored New Jersey suburban housewife's fascination with a free-spirited woman she has read about in the personal columns leads to her being mistaken for the woman herself.
- DirectorAlex CoxStarsGary OldmanChloe WebbDavid HaymanThe relationship between Sid Vicious, bassist for British punk group Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is portrayed.
- DirectorPaul MorrisseyAndy WarholStarsBrigid BerlinRandy BorscheidtChristian PäffgenLacking a formal narrative, Warhol's art house classic follows various residents of the Chelsea Hotel in 1966 New York City, presented in a split screen with a single audio track in conjunction with one side of screen.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsEva Marie SaintDon MurrayAnthony FranciosaA Korean War veteran's morphine addiction wreaks havoc upon his family.
- DirectorRichard BenjaminStarsTom HanksShelley LongAlexander GodunovA young couple struggles to repair a hopelessly dilapidated house.