Best Films by City List
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Last Updated: 7/15/25
Note:
It's simple and straightforward: the best film by city in cinema history. In order to be considered, the film
must represent the city very well. If there are at least two films listed, they are ranked in order from left
to right.
Multiple parts (i.e. duology, trilogy, etc.) can be put together as one if there's a continuation in the narrative.
Miniseries, telefilms, and documentaries are fair game.
These films have made the cut because they have shown brilliance in most, if not all, aspects: acting, characters,
screenplay, plot, direction, editing, cinematography, and so on. They must also be "culturally, historically,
or aesthetically significant." Then, I think about cultural phenomenon, uniqueness, famous movie moments,
iconic scenes and/or lines, cinematic power, and timelessness.
This list is based on what I have seen so far. Cities with no representative at all won't be listed as there
are too many of them.
Atlantic City, NJ
Berlin, Germany
Birmingham, AL
Bloomington, IN
Boston, MA
Bruges, Belgium
Buffalo, NY
Casablanca, Morocco
Chicago, IL
Cleveland, OH
Darien, CT
Daytona, FL
Detroit, MI
El Paso, TX
Eugene, OR
Flint, MI
Gettysburg, PA
Hong Kong, China
Houston, TX
Las Vegas, NV
Los Angeles, CA
Marfa, TX
Miami, FL
Minneapolis, MN
Nashville, TN
New Orleans, LA
New York City, NY
Paris, France
Philadelphia, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Portland, OR
Prescott, AZ
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rome, Italy
Salem, MA
San Francisco, CA
Texarkana, TX/AK
Tuskegee, AL
Washington, DC