Gritty, Grimey New York City - Early 70's to Mid 80's
A list of movies filmed on location on the streets of NYC circa 1970 - 1985. It started off as a topic in the recommendations message board and I decided to make a list out of it so others could enjoy this troubled part of NYC's past. The movies range from straight-up classics (The French Connection) to straight-up nonsense (1990 Bronx Warriors), but they all share one unique characteristic: a gritty, grimey atmosphere that can't be reproduced on a Hollywood soundstage. Enjoy.
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- 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.Even though this was filmed pre-1970, I had to include it.
- DirectorGordon ParksStarsRichard RoundtreeMoses GunnCharles CioffiA crime lord hires black private eye, John Shaft, to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorCarlo LizzaniStarsPeter BoylePaula PrentissFred WilliamsonThe rise and fall of a Mafia gangster, based on the life of murdered New York gangster "Crazy" Joey Gallo.
- DirectorLarry CohenStarsFred WilliamsonJulius HarrisGloria HendryA gangster in Harlem must rescue his ex-wife, who has been kidnapped by the Mafia.
- DirectorJerry SchatzbergStarsAl PacinoKitty WinnAlan VintFollows the lives of heroin addicts who frequent "Needle Park" in New York City.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorGordon Parks Jr.StarsJim BrownFred WilliamsonJim KellyBlaxploitation film about three martial-arts specialists who prevent white supremacists from tainting the U.S. water supply with a toxin that's only harmful to black people.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- DirectorGordon Parks Jr.StarsRon O'NealCarl LeeSheila FrazierThe daily routine of cocaine dealer Priest who wants to score one more super deal and retire.
- 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?
- DirectorLarry CohenStarsFred WilliamsonGloria HendryArt LundRaised in Harlem, Tommy Gibbs becomes a successful mob boss but he clashes with the rival Mafia and his old enemy, dirty cop McKinney.
- DirectorGilbert MosesStarsRoscoe OrmanDiana SandsThalmus RasulalaA social worker tries to get a pimp to change his ways.
- 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.
- DirectorGordon ParksStarsRichard RoundtreeMoses GunnDrew Bundini BrownShaft is back to find the murderer of an old friend on the cold hard city streets with a little help from his new friends.
- 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.
- 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.