Movies That Take Place in the Big Apple!
by horne_jeffrey | created - 08 Mar 2013 | updated - 08 Mar 2013 | PublicI wanted to create a list of movies that take place in Harlem since my mother is from there. However, I decided to include movies that take place in Brooklyn, Queens, Harlem, and the Bronx since I could not find enough Harlem movies. As you can tell, I am a big fan of New York despite being from Jersey City.
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1. Paid in Full (2002)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young man from Harlem, forced to cope with the 1980s drug scene, builds an illegal empire, only to have a crisis of conscience.
Director: Charles Stone III | Stars: Mekhi Phifer, Wood Harris, Chi McBride, Kevin Carroll
Votes: 14,226 | Gross: $3.04M
2. Above the Rim (1994)
R | 96 min | Crime, Drama, Sport
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Director: Jeff Pollack | Stars: Duane Martin, Tupac Shakur, Leon, David Bailey
Votes: 17,087 | Gross: $16.04M
3. Juice (1992)
R | 95 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Four inner-city teenagers get caught up in the pursuit of power and happiness, which they refer to as "the juice".
Director: Ernest R. Dickerson | Stars: Omar Epps, Tupac Shakur, Jermaine Hopkins, Khalil Kain
Votes: 30,349 | Gross: $20.15M
4. Harlem Nights (1989)
R | 116 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
During the 1930s, a New York City illegal gambling house owner and his associates must deal with strong competition, gangsters, and corrupt cops in order to stay in business.
Director: Eddie Murphy | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Danny Aiello
Votes: 24,785 | Gross: $60.86M
5. A Rage in Harlem (1991)
R | 115 min | Comedy, Crime
A gangster's girlfriend flees to Harlem with a trunkload of gold after a shootout, unaware that the rest of the gang are on her trail.
Director: Bill Duke | Stars: Forest Whitaker, Gregory Hines, Robin Givens, Zakes Mokae
Votes: 2,354 | Gross: $10.44M
6. Fresh (1994)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Death and violence anger a twelve-year-old drug courier, who sets his employers against each other.
Director: Boaz Yakin | Stars: Sean Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Samuel L. Jackson, N'Bushe Wright
Votes: 14,578 | Gross: $8.09M
7. Money Train (1995)
R | 110 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A vengeful New York City transit cop decides to steal a trainload of subway fares. His foster brother, a fellow cop, tries to protect him.
Director: Joseph Ruben | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Lopez, Robert Blake
Votes: 43,184 | Gross: $35.32M
8. Boomerang (1992)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A successful executive and womanizer finds his lifestyle choices have turned back on him when his new female boss turns out to be an even bigger deviant than he is.
Director: Reginald Hudlin | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Robin Givens, Halle Berry, David Alan Grier
Votes: 31,365 | Gross: $70.10M
9. Do the Right Thing (1989)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama
On 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.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson
Votes: 112,381 | Gross: $27.55M
10. Jungle Fever (1991)
R | 132 min | Drama, Romance
Friends and family of a married Black architect react in different ways to his affair with an Italian secretary.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Spike Lee, Ossie Davis
Votes: 19,656 | Gross: $32.48M
11. He Got Game (1998)
R | 136 min | Drama, Sport
A basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter sentence.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Denzel Washington, Milla Jovovich, Ray Allen, Rosario Dawson
Votes: 51,440 | Gross: $21.55M
12. New Jack City (1991)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A crime lord ascends to power and becomes megalomaniacal while a maverick police detective vows to stop him.
Director: Mario Van Peebles | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Allen Payne, Chris Rock
Votes: 38,813 | Gross: $47.62M
13. Maid in Manhattan (2002)
PG-13 | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A Senatorial candidate falls for a hotel maid, thinking she is a socialite, when he sees her trying on a wealthy woman's dress.
Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Stanley Tucci
Votes: 96,167 | Gross: $94.01M
14. Coming to America (1988)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Romance
An 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.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Paul Bates, Garcelle Beauvais, Feather
Votes: 223,499 | Gross: $128.15M
15. A Bronx Tale (1993)
R | 121 min | Crime, Drama
An intense drama about a boy torn between his tough, hard-working father and a violent yet charismatic crime boss.
Director: Robert De Niro | Stars: Robert De Niro, Chazz Palminteri, Lillo Brancato, Francis Capra
Votes: 161,034 | Gross: $17.27M
16. Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (1996 TV Movie)
R | 120 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
A dramatization of the life of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (Don Cheadle), with a lot of factual based occurrences. A reformed junkie returns from prison to clean up his act and devote the ... See full summary »
Director: Eriq La Salle | Stars: Don Cheadle, James Earl Jones, Michael Beach, Ronny Cox
Votes: 3,149
17. Brown Sugar (2002)
PG-13 | 109 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Friends since childhood, a magazine editor and a hip-hop record executive stumble into romantic territory.
Director: Rick Famuyiwa | Stars: Taye Diggs, Sanaa Lathan, Yasiin Bey, Nicole Ari Parker
Votes: 10,238 | Gross: $27.36M
18. Disappearing Acts (2000 TV Movie)
R | 115 min | Drama, Romance
A couple in the midst of a tumultuous relationship fight to stay together.
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood | Stars: Sanaa Lathan, Wesley Snipes, Michael Imperioli, Laz Alonso
Votes: 1,922
19. Ghost (1990)
PG-13 | 127 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
After a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic.
Director: Jerry Zucker | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn
Votes: 235,859 | Gross: $217.63M
20. Mr. Deeds (2002)
PG-13 | 96 min | Comedy, Romance
A sweet-natured, small-town guy inherits a controlling stake in a media conglomerate and begins to do business his way.
Director: Steven Brill | Stars: Adam Sandler, Winona Ryder, John Turturro, Allen Covert
Votes: 152,480 | Gross: $126.29M
21. Ghostbusters (1984)
PG | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Three 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.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis
Votes: 449,844 | Gross: $238.63M
22. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
PG | 93 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Four teenage mutant ninja turtles emerge from the shadows to protect New York City from a gang of criminal ninjas.
Director: Steve Barron | Stars: Judith Hoag, Elias Koteas, Josh Pais, David Forman
Votes: 104,797 | Gross: $135.27M
23. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)
PG | 88 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
The Turtles discover their origins while they endeavour to save New York City from the evil Shredder and his Foot Clan.
Director: Michael Pressman | Stars: Paige Turco, David Warner, Michelan Sisti, Leif Tilden
Votes: 60,992 | Gross: $78.66M
24. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)
PG | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
When journalist April O'Neil discovers an ancient scepter with magical powers, the Turtles must cow-a-bunga their way back to 17th century Japan to rescue her from the evil clutches of Lord Norinaga.
Director: Stuart Gillard | Stars: Elias Koteas, Paige Turco, Stuart Wilson, Sab Shimono
Votes: 36,428 | Gross: $42.66M
25. Ghostbusters II (1989)
PG | 108 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
The discovery of a massive river of ectoplasm and a resurgence of spectral activity allows the staff of Ghostbusters to revive the business.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis
Votes: 224,677 | Gross: $112.49M
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