‘Rocky’, and the 49 other best Philly movies

What makes a film a Philly film? A philm, if you will.

When we asked newsroom colleagues and film critics across the city, the results were surprising yet assuring. Sure, something that’s filmed here might qualify — as might something that is filmed elsewhere but is about Philly. But what it really needed is the vibe, that inexplicable thing that you’d just know if you’ve known this city.

Yes, we have our dumps, we have our glitzy skyscrapers, our crooks, and our millionaires. Any city does. But we also have an endless accommodation for the bizarre, paired with a heart that knows true joy because it has survived repeated dejection. We are ambassador-ed by a historic bell that doesn’t ring and a (spoiler!) boxer who loses his most famous match. The otherworldly, the everyday, the wins, and the losses — held together by the real, all too realness of it all. There is endless grit in our endless joys, and infinite joy in our infinite grit.

The same goes for our philms too. Here’s a list of 50 of our favorites.

In the coming months, we will be doing deeper dives into some of the filmmakers on the list. So if you’re a little miffed at the paucity of Rockys and M. Night Shyamalans, worry not and keep an eye out.

This biopic of Bayard Rustin, the civil rights legend who organized the March on Washington, isn’t filmed or set in Philadelphia, but it does spotlight local stars in LGBTQ+ history. West Philly-raised actor Colman Domingo shines in his first lead role after decades as a skilled character actor. Rustin, who grew up in a Quaker household in West Chester, gets his long-overdue recognition as a pivotal adviser to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and so does Rustin’s grandmother: Bayard often quotes Julia Rustin’s wise words preaching pacifism and love, highlighting the family’s impact on the racial justice movement. — Rosa Cartagena

This is the quintessential heartwarming Philadelphia Christmas story. The film opens with the Atwood family moving to Gladwyne and passing through Center City for the first time. Young Trevor starts school at an all boys school, similar to the Haverford School, called “Brynwood” (a portmanteau of the real town names of Bryn Mawr and Wynnewood.) When his teacher assigns him to write an essay about the city, Trevor goes to the Central Library of the Free Library of Philadelphia where he strikes up a friendship with Cleveland Meriwether, an elderly homeless man. The film serves as a moving reminder to help one another in the City of Brotherly Love. — Kristal Sotomayor

This raunchy comedy follows successful 37-year-old Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey) on her journey to becoming a mother. When it becomes difficult to conceive, she looks for a surrogate in Angie Ostrowski (Amy Poehler), an obnoxious and infantile South Philadelphian who offers the service cheap. Baby Mama came at the peak of Tina Fey-Amy Poehler powerhouse comedy, coming fresh off their dynamic tag team of Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update,” Fey’s 30 Rock, and right before Poehler’s iconic run as Leslie Knope in NBC’s Parks and Recreation. — Henry Savage

This film, which recently marked its 30th anniversary, retold one of Philadelphia’s most famous crime stories: the time down-on-his-luck South Philly longshoreman Joey Coyle found a bag with $1.2 million and then went on the run for five days, committing numerous mistakes along the way. The film was based on reporting by Mark Bowden, the then-Philadelphia Inquirer writer who later turned his reported series into a book called Finders Keepers.

Money for Nothing, shot briefly in Philadelphia but mostly elsewhere, was not a big success, due in part to an uneven tone, the miscasting of John Cusack as Coyle, and Coyle’s death shortly before its planned release. But it’s the cinematic immortalizing of a uniquely Philly story. — Stephen Silver

Can a film be a great Philly film without being a great film? 10th & Wolf offers evidence that, indeed, it can. Based on the Philly Mob Wars of the early 1990s, the film stars James Marsden as an ex-Marine and proud son of South Philly coerced by federal agents into informing on some gangster pals he grew up with (including Giovanni Ribisi, playing real-life local mobster Joey Merlino). Yes, it’s rote and a bit cheesy, and the fact that it was released the same year as Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning undercover-mob flick, The Departed, probably didn’t help its reputation. Still, 10th & Wolf abounds with South Philly rowhouses, walk-and-talks through the Italian Market, conspicuous signs marking Catharine Street, and a general, rough-and-ready attitude that feels distinctly Philly. — John Semley

David Lynch’s 1992 feature-length prequel to his hit ABC series Twin Peaks polarized critics and audiences. Many felt that the film — darker, more depressive, and franker in its depiction of domestic abuse — felt at odds with the soapy, madcap vibe of the TV series. Like any worthwhile film maudit, Fire Walk With Me has earned a cult of admirers, many of whom hail it as a masterpiece.

The film’s Philadelphia connections are sparse but important: an extended scene in a Philly FBI office (where beloved Twin Peaks characters Gordon Cole, Albert Rosefield, and Dale Cooper are all stationed) featuring David Bowie describing his encounters with a group of ghost-demons who live above a supernatural convenience store. However brief, this scene would become a core component in the grander Twin Peaks mythos, introducing characters and ideas explored further in both The Missing Pieces (a collection of Fire Walk With Me deleted scenes recut by Lynch himself), and 2017′s Showtime revival miniseries Twin Peaks: The Return. — John Semley

This 1950s melodrama is saturated with local connections, from casual references to Rittenhouse Square and South Philly to the familiar bulk of City Hall outside Paul Newman’s law office window. The Young Philadelphians is anchored in a version of the city that feels about as distant as the colonial era, with high society toffs ignoring the huddled masses south of South Street — no matter how powerful or rich the Italian and Irish elites become.

This movie is surprisingly convoluted — it bristles with subplots — but Newman and the rest of the cast are compelling enough to devote an evening to, even if his famous baby blues are nullified by the black-and-white cinematography. — Jake Blumgart

Based on the true story of Al Schmid, Pride of the Marines tells the story of the World War II veteran from before his service and after coming home blinded from combat. The film is also a love story as Al (John Garfield) finds an unexpected romance with Ruth Hartley (Eleanor Parker), culminating in grand gestures at 30th Street Station. The whole Philadelphia skyline consumes the screen as they express their passion for one another. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay. — Kristal Sotomayor

In a film loosely based on the life of Philadelphia swim coach James “Jim” Ellis, Terrence Howard plays Ellis, who, while facing racism, violence, and deteriorating conditions in 1970s Philadelphia, rehabilitates an abandoned pool building with hopes of inspiring a new crop of competitive swimmers. He is helped by a janitor named Elston, played by the late Bernie Mac. But when the two are faced by a hostile public official, who marks the building for demolition, Jim founds the city’s first all-black swim team. The team is named “PDR,” both for “Pride, Determination, Resilience” and the Philadelphia Department of Recreation. The group of swimmers competes against racist and more experienced teams, and with Ellis’ mentorship and guidance, they find themselves neck and neck with their opponents. — Earl Hopkins

Filmed locally in the summer of 2009, the 1970s-set Night Catches Us followed the story of a former member of the Black Panther Party (Anthony Mackie) who returns to Philadelphia after many years away. Here, he must deal with the fallout of the past, which includes the belief among many of his former compadres that he had snitched on them. It’s a quiet but thought-provoking character study.

In addition to the Philadelphia locations, Night Catches Us features a musical score by Philly’s own The Roots, as well as a supporting performance by Roots member Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter. The cast also includes Kerry Washington, as well as Wendell Pierce and Jamie Hector, both from The Wire. — Stephen Silver

Besides the Kellys, very few families have been as influential in Philadelphia as the du Ponts. In 2014′s Foxcatcher, Steve Carell portrays infamous chemical company heir and sports enthusiast John du Pont. The Foxcatcher Wrestling team coach and founder’s enigmatic ways and substance-induced paranoia eventually led to the murder of Olympic wrestler David Schultz (Mark Ruffalo). The film offers a glimpse into the unsettling sports compound du Pont created on a 1,000-acre farm in Newtown Square and the man’s extreme wealth and unhealthy obsessions. — Kiersten Adams

A History of Violence did not film at all in Philadelphia, opting instead for the director’s native Canada. But, it costars Norristown native and Villanova alum Maria Bello, and its most memorable line is “I should have killed you back in Philly.”

Based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke, A History of Violence has a great hook: Viggo Mortensen plays Tom, a mild-mannered family man and diner owner in a small Indiana town who foils a robbery. The attendant publicity exposes his past life and draws out old enemies from the Philadelphia underworld, led by his brother (William Hurt). — Stephen Silver

Sure, the film not only uses a term — downtown — that no local ever uses, the word is the movie’s title. And it acts as though Bryn Mawr is a neighborhood of Philadelphia, served by the Philadelphia Police Department, rather than a suburb. And it treats police gunplay and violence with a nonchalance that hasn’t aged especially well.

But this buddy cop movie starring Anthony Edwards and Forest Whitaker filmed (mostly) locally and benefited from strong chemistry between the two lead actors. Downtown offered a slightly more mature take on the buddy cop comedy genre amid the Police Academy era. — Stephen Silver

This 1988 drama stars Michael Keaton in an early, noncomedic role. He plays Daryl Poynter, a Philadelphia real estate agent who swindles a considerable sum of money from his employer to feed his snowballing cocaine addiction. When a woman ODs in his bed, Daryl lays low in a sober living facility. Initially contemptuous of the hospital and its patients (he spends most of the AA meetings trying to pick up eligible women), Daryl eventually commits to sobriety under the tutelage of a grizzled addict (M. Emmet Walsh). Released the same year as his breakout Beetlejuice, Clean and Sober showed that Keaton was talented beyond his more edgy, manic energy. That said, that same energy is on full display in the film’s early scenes, as he plays the smug, sleazy, ever-scamming addict driving around Philly downing beers to soothe his throbbing hangovers. — John Semley

This 2019 superhero fantasy film stars Zachary Levi, who plays the adult, superpowered version of Asher Angel’s Billy Batson. When Angel’s Billy is on a Philly subway escaping a group of bullies, he is transported to the lair of the wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou). The sorcerer gifts powers to Billy, sensing he’s “pure of heart.” When Billy utters the wizard’s name, he turns into the action hero depicted by Levi. The fantastical premise is like 1988′s Big, but with a red, lightning-adorned spandex suit and a dangerous villain, played by Mark Strong, on Levi’s trail. Through maniacal tactics, Strong’s Dr. Thaddeus Sivana unleashes the once-dormant Seven Deadly Sins, changing them from gargoyles in the wizard’s lair to an evil harnessed in Dr. Sivana’s right eye. While part of the now-defunct DCEU, Shazam! was a funny, lighthearted film compared to the dark, brooding offerings seen in Henry Cavill’s Superman, Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, and others. — Earl Hopkins

“The package never made it to Philly” are important words at the center of Next Day Air. When a delivery man gets high on the job, a package filled with cocaine gets sent to the wrong apartment address. The action-packed comedy centers around a rundown apartment complex on Wissahickon Avenue. A Dominican drug dealer scours the streets of Philadelphia searching for the package that was delivered across the hall to the apartment of a group of failed bank robbers. What ensues are guns, guns, and more guns on the quest for a Mexican cartel’s delivery. — Kristal Sotomayor

Denzel Washington drives this thriller as John Hobbes, a stylish gum-chewing Philadelphia police detective confronting a serial killer who won’t stay dead, even after facing the gas chamber. He and his partner (John Goodman) investigate a potential copycat killer, but the reality is more paranormal than true crime. Filmed almost entirely in Philly, Fallen includes recognizable shots of the late-night scene at Geno’s, the Ben Franklin Bridge, and rowhouses in Manayunk. Due to a lackluster box-office performance, it’s underrated in Washington’s catalog, but it has resurfaced as a cult classic in recent years, even earning an homage in season one of Loki. — Rosa Cartagena

A Star is Born meets Broadcast News in this newsroom rom-com with rookie reporter Tally Atwater (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her mentor/love interest, Warren Justice (Robert Redford). She takes a big job in Philadelphia to build her career away from Warren, but falters and needs his rescue. Married screenwriters Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne based their script loosely on the life of trailblazing KYW anchorwoman Jessica Savitch, who also inspired Anchorman. They lose points, though, for stereotyping the city as a hotbed of crime, especially when Tally becomes a hostage in a riot at the notorious Holmesburg Prison, which closed just months before the film crew arrived. — Rosa Cartagena

State Property is a Philly movie in the sense that Philly rapper Beanie Sigel plays a Philly gang leader named Beans who aspires to be a big-time crime boss. He aims to rule “this city called Brotherly Love” while also astutely observing: “There ain’t no love here.” The body count builds as Beans orders rivals to “get down or lay down” and the women’s bodies are rarely fully clothed. Is this what Philadelphia looked like in 2002? No. The movie was filmed in New Jersey and Yonkers, save for one shot outside City Hall. Worth watching for Sigel’s performance, and Jay-Z, who commands his scenes as big boss Untouchable J. State Property 2 followed in 2005, featuring Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Freeway, Bernard Hopkins, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard. — Dan DeLuca

Fourteen years before the original Rocky, the Philadelphia Museum of Art played a key role in a very different movie. This film, starring Keir Dullea and Janet Margolin, is set mostly in a psychiatric treatment center, where David (Dullea) fears physical touch, while Lisa (Margolin) has what today would be called dissociative identity disorder. It was shot in the Philadelphia area, although mostly at interior locations. The exception is the film’s climax, which has David finding Lisa on the steps of the Art Museum. There’s even a statue at the museum that’s important to the plot, and it’s not Rocky’s, which wouldn’t go up for another 20 years. — Stephen Silver

What’s more Philly than a shot of the Liberty Bell in the first five minutes of a movie? Someone complaining about being in Philadelphia in the first 10 minutes of getting here.

1776, the film version of the Broadway musical-comedy, tells the story of the Continental Congress’ long and heated debates over the country’s future, leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. While it’s hard to recreate the magic of early Philadelphia, the Oscar-nominated film does capture the essence of Old City with cobblestone streets, Colonial brick buildings, and, of course, the history of America woven into the very fabric of Philadelphia. — Kiersten Adams

After his family’s murderer is let off lightly on a plea bargain, Gerard Butler as Clyde Shelton, a genius engineer, takes matters into his own hands in one of the best revenge-vigilante plots in cinema. This movie is so legendary that it has an action sequence take place among the headstones and mausoleums of Laurel Hill Cemetery, where a remote-controlled machine gun on wheels tears through granite, marble, and police SUVs. Jamie Foxx plays a Philadelphia prosecutor aiming for the assistant district attorney spot. This deadly game of cat and mouse also highlights the beautiful skylines and river views of Philly. — Henry Savage

Marley & Me took the world by storm and is still one of the best dog movies ever (and there are a lot out there). Fun fact: Before there was a best-selling book or blockbuster movie, Marley & Me was a column in The Philadelphia Inquirer, written by former columnist John Grogan. It’s not just a movie about a dog named Marley, it’s a family story following the passage of time through the chapters of Marley’s life as it relates to the growth of the Grogan family. It’s a must-watch, and then never-watch-again type of movie. — Henry Savage

Cynthia Erivo stars in this 2019 Oscar-nominated biopic about Harriet Tubman, the 19th-century abolitionist who escaped bondage in Maryland and shepherded dozens of the enslaved to freedom. Tubman arrived in Philadelphia in 1848 — Old City’s cobblestone streets figure prominently in the film — only to return to Maryland in an attempt to rescue her husband. He, however, was remarried and chose to remain in captivity with his new wife.

Heartbroken, Tubman returned North with friends from neighboring plantations through the Underground Railroad, the first in a series of journeys earning her the title “Moses.” Leslie Odom Jr. is William Still, a free Black man and Underground Railroad conductor worried that Tubman’s determination placed abolitionists’ efforts in jeopardy. Yet, Erivo’s Tubman proved that neither heartbreak nor whip could stop Tubman from her mission to save her people. — Elizabeth Wellington

We first meet Marnie (Tippi Hedren) on the run, stealing from her bosses from city to city with stylish flair. In Philadelphia, she meets Mark (Sean Connery), a patronizing businessman who decides it’s his job to put her on the right track — by marrying her, old boy!

Filmed in Chester County and billed as a “suspenseful sex mystery,” the Alfred Hitchcock classic was one of his many attempts to understand the female inner psyche, with cinematic but catastrophic results. Hedren delivered a masterful performance as the unraveling victim of childhood trauma enduring a domineering man whose lust knew no bounds, but behind the camera, the cost weighed heavily: She later said Hitchcock sexually assaulted and abused her on set. Her terrified expressions onscreen reflected that blurred boundary between fictional and real violence. — Rosa Cartagena

» READ MORE: Try our very fun Philly Movies geo-guesser game!

» READ MORE: Test your knowledge of Philly-based movies by guessing the locations they filmed in

Just when you thought you’d met every kind of man from Philly — Chicken Man, the four-wheelers on Broad Street, Jason Kelce — along comes Chuck Barris. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is a biographical espionage film starring Sam Rockwell as the host, producer, and alleged spy, Chuck Barris — a Drexel University grad with a real knack for storytelling. The film is based on Barris’ 1984 autobiography of the same name, where the author writes about his life as an assassin for the CIA, killing 33 people in the 1960s and ‘70s (all claims the CIA adamantly denied). Raised in Lower Merion, Barris, who died in 2017, will always be remembered for his memoirs, his single “Palisades Park,” and his column in the Drexel newspaper, the Triangle. Thanks for the stories, Sloppy Chuck Barris. — Kiersten Adams

On its face, this Cameron Diaz-Toni Collette flick seems like a lighthearted enemies-to-best friends story about two extremely different sisters: the impulsive, selfish blond, Maggie, and the uptight, overachieving lawyer, Rose. This adaptation of a novel by Jennifer Weiner (a former Inquirer columnist) provides more layers. The two meet a long-lost grandmother (Shirley MacLaine) and uncover their bougie Main Line family’s toxic history while balancing the cheeky tone of an early-aughts comedy. It wasn’t a box-office hit, due to poor marketing according to critics at the time, but it earned extra points for its portrayal of Philadelphia as a foodie destination and beautiful place to dog-walk. — Rosa Cartagena

George A. Romero revolutionized the zombie genre with his outrageously bloody franchise that began with 1968′s Night of the Living Dead. The second installment centers on four Philadelphians, two TV journalists and two cops, who manage to escape the blue-skinned monsters long enough to find shelter in a shopping mall (Monroeville Mall outside of Pittsburgh and near Romero’s alma mater, Carnegie Mellon). The site becomes a home, playground, and battlefield as they scramble to stay alive. Beyond the gore, Romero infuses an offbeat humor killing off scores of glassy-eyed, chomping extras — 124 deaths, total — while keeping viewers on edge till the end. — Rosa Cartagena

In Philadelphia we ride bikes, we ride four-wheelers, and we definitely ride horses. Concrete Cowboy, the Idris Elba-starring Netflix drama is a moving story based on the legacy of the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, a famous equestrian club based out of North Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion neighborhood. Since 2004, the Fletcher Street riders have added to the novelty of Philadelphia, inspiring films and books along the way. What makes Concrete Cowboy an essential Philly film is not the use of the word jawn, but the surrealness of Black cowboys riding around a heavily concreted North Philadelphia, a common and almost magical sight. — Kiersten Adams

This dark comedy crime flick stars Christian Bale as Irving Rosenfeld, a con artist that dabbles in forgery and loan-sharking. Then he falls in love with Amy Adams’ Sydney Prosser. The two grifters go on a scamming rampage until they are caught by FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). Bale and Adams’ Irving and Sydney, who pose as English aristocrats, are forced to work undercover for DiMaso in order to avoid being arrested. Together, they devise a plan to catch the fictional Camden, N.J., mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner) — inspired by Angelo Errichetti — in a sting operation. The rest of the film is a mind-bender, with viewers questioning who’s being truthful and who’s playing the con game. The film, inspired by the FBI Abscam operation of the late 1970s, went on to receive 10 nominations at the 86th Academy Awards, including best picture and best director. — Earl Hopkins

OK, so there are really only a handful of scenes from National Treasure shot in Philadelphia. But I stand firm in endorsing it as a classic Philly film. I’ll admit that may be because of a story I know from behind the film’s scenes.

It’s not my story; it’s my fiancé's. A Northeast Philly boy born and raised, he witnessed history being made one fine afternoon when he was in grade school. While on a school trip to the Convention Center, my fiancé went to the bathroom and bumped into Nicolas Cage during the filming of the sequel to the masterpiece we now know as National Treasure. And Cage was a class act. He looked that little kid in his face and signed a paper towel for him to treasure for the rest of his life (my fiancé lost it that very afternoon). We don’t have that paper towel enshrined on our wall as it should be, but knowing that story makes watching the action-packed National Treasure a little harder to pass up when it pops up on TV. — Sam Ruland

Boston-born Mark Wahlberg does his best South Philly accent in this real-life Rocky story. Wahlberg plays Vincent Papale, a 30-year-old substitute teacher and bartender who, in 1976, attended open tryouts for the Philadelphia Eagles, and actually made the squad. The real-life Papale had considerably more football experience than Wahlberg’s untrained-but-doggedly-determined mug. But why let the truth get in the way of a crowd-pleasing story? Beyond being a homegrown heartwarmer, Invincible also inspired a classic episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, in which several of the sitcom’s core group attend Eagles open tryouts, and are roundly humiliated. Fun fact: Invincible includes a cameo by local steak sandwich scion Tony Luke Jr. — John Semley

This mockumentary about a dog show in Philadelphia, and the quirky humans who participate in it, is a brilliant satire that always leaves me howling with laughter. It’s so doggone good it gets a place on this list, despite not actually being filmed here.

While the Mayflower Dog Show in the movie is fictional, having been to the Philadelphia Kennel Club’s National Dog Show, I can attest that it feels very familiar. In fact, the local show has the movie to thank for it becoming a holiday staple on NBC. When a network executive saw the film, he wanted to air a dog show after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Philly’s made a good fit. — Stephanie Farr

What do you do when the sole witness of a Philly police officer’s brutal murder is an 8-year-old Amish boy from Lancaster? You get Detective Harrison Ford on the case. This is one of the most unique crime thrillers, of not just the ‘80s, but of all time as it primarily takes place in a Pennsylvania Amish community — which wasn’t without controversy. The cast is stacked, including a young Lukas Haas in his breakout role, and the themes of corruption and crime in Philadelphia are as poignant as ever. — Henry Savage

Gangster film Mikey and Nicky is the opposite of a crime epic. It’s about two small-time crooks bound together by a lifelong relationship that neither of them get much out of anymore. Mikey (Peter Falk) and Nicky (John Cassavetes) are based on people that May knew growing up in Philadelphia, from a family that was connected to the Mafia but many rungs below the equivalent of a Michael Corleone.

The movie was filmed over 60 days in Philadelphia — with the city looking exceptionally ragged and derelict at its 1970s nadir — and then a further 60 days in Los Angeles when Falk had to return to keep shooting Columbo. Mikey and Nicky is little known, but it should be a classic Philadelphia movie. It explores a gritty and grimy side to the city, with characters that are underdogs — but not likable or morally superior ones like Rocky. Sometimes losers are just that. — Jake Blumgart

To some classical insiders, Fantasia warps its composers’ intentions. But the 1940 Walt Disney-Leopold Stokowski collaboration has also been one of the biggest ambassadors for classical music — and for Philadelphia. The music for seven of the film’s eight animated segments was recorded by the Philadelphia Orchestra in sessions at the Academy of Music, sending the trademark Philadelphia Sound around the world. ”Grotesquely kitschy,” sniffed film critic Pauline Kael of Fantasia, one segment of which has hippos in pink tutus dancing to the music of opera composer Amilcare Ponchielli. But kitsch was partially the point. The silliness factor took down a perceived barrier between Stravinsky, Bach, and Beethoven and millions. — Peter Dobrin

This underrated Black lesbian classic provides a time capsule of the ‘90s queer scene in and around Philly through the lens of Cheryl Dunye, the Liberia-born actor-director who graduated from Merion Mercy Academy. In the razor-sharp mockumentary — the first narrative feature film by an out Black lesbian — Dunye plays a version of herself working as a video store clerk and aspiring filmmaker. She searches for an unnamed and uncredited Black actor who played racist “mammy” characters during the 1930s and 1940s and her journey includes a cameo from notorious UArts professor Camille Paglia (who defends the stereotype, to hilarious effect). It was a total triumph for Dunye’s debut, and the revealing sex scene made headlines when pearl-clutching members of Congress cited it as a reason to cut the National Endowment of the Arts’ budget. — Rosa Cartagena

This Adam Sandler Netflix movie was the first big Hollywood production to shoot locally after the onset of COVID-19, and it resulted in a movie that was as Philly as Philly gets. Sandler plays a former Temple basketball player-turned-scout for the Sixers, mentoring Spanish street-ball player Bo Cruz (Juancho Hernangómez).

Recognizable city locations are all over the film, from the Loews Hotel to the Wells Fargo Center, while the Rocky-style training montage is set in Manayunk. Sandler’s character at one point sums it up, declaring that Philly has the “best sports fans in the world. Actually the worst, but that’s what makes them the best.” — Stephen Silver

This multidimensional dramedy from 2012 is part love story, part ode to the idiosyncrasies of Eagles nation, and part commentary on the reality of getting — and coping with — a mental illness diagnosis.

The film adaption of a novel by the same name from South Jersey son Matthew Quick, Silver Linings Playbook follows Bradley Cooper as Pat Solitano, a high school gym teacher who returns home to the Philly suburbs after a stint in a mental institution as he tries to reconcile with his cheater of an ex-wife.

From there, Solitano’s plan unravels as the people in his life — from Solitano’s Eagles-obsessed parents to his therapist — push him toward Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a widow who just wants a dance partner for a ballroom competition.

Shot in different locations across Upper Darby and Ridley, the film delivered Lawrence an Oscar for best actress, but the real magic is in Silver Linings Playbook’s sharp dialogue and unromanticized capture of devout Philly sports fandom, down to Solitano Sr.’s superstition that the way he stores his remotes can cost the Eagles a W. — Beatrice Forman

This Martin Scorsese classic sees Oscar-winner Robert De Niro play Irish American Frank Sheeran, a no-nonsense union truck driver who becomes a hit man in the 1950s for mobster Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci), head of the Northeastern Pennsylvania crime family. He begins “painting houses,” or taking up contracted execution jobs for the Bufalinos and members of the South Philly underworld. De Niro’s Frank is later introduced to the powerful Teamster Jimmy Hoffa, played by the incomparable Al Pacino. After becoming Hoffa’s bodyguard, Frank later struggles to face a difficult “paint job.” The 2019 film marked the ninth collaboration between De Niro and Scorsese, and the first between the director and Pacino. — Earl Hopkins

The film technically stars Steve McQueen, but the movie’s real hero is the ever larger mass of silicone and red dye as it absorbs a couple dozen Chester County residents. The Blob is part of the wave of low- budget sci-fi shockers released in the 1950s, but it is not among the finest of those offerings.

It does, however, have the distinction of being the only one set in the Philadelphia area, and the gelatinous monstrosity gets to ooze over a lot of redbrick structures that should look awfully familiar. The movie’s two leads are both interesting to watch, if in very different ways. McQueen probably didn’t even look like a teenager when he was 18, and here he’s almost 30 — lending unintended comedy to a scene where he sneaks out of his parents’ house. But it’s worth the price of admission to see the Blob’s attack on the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville. It’s not scary, per se, but it sticks with you. — Jake Blumgart

This late ‘80s rom-com is if Weird Science met Macy’s, sprinkled with some Night at the Museum high jinks. Follow a recently dumped and down-on-his-luck mannequin sculptor, Jonathan Switcher (Brat Pack star Andrew McCarthy), as he fulfills his true artistic vision of creating the most beautiful retail store dummy possible. The mannequin then to comes to life as Kim Cattrall, who falls head over heels for her creator — debatably the best possible outcome. For a love story, that opens in Ancient Egypt, involves an unlucky dude dating a plastic doll come to life, and ends with the foiling of a department store feud involving fraud and conspiracy, this movie reeks of weird ‘80s cinema. And what better setting than Philadelphia! — Henry Savage

Katharine Hepburn starred as Main Line socialite Tracy Lord in The Philadelphia Story on Broadway before buying the film rights to Philip Barry’s play inspired by Main Line socialite Helen Hope Montgomery Scott. The setting for the wickedly witty rom-com is based on the 850-acre Villanova estate Ardrossan, but the film was shot on a Hollywood sound stage. The wedding at the center of the plot makes headlines in the Philadelphia Chronicle and is covered by Spy magazine journalists Ruth Hussar and Jimmy Stewart (who won a best actor Oscar); Cary Grant charms as Hepburn’s ex-husband, scheming to get her back. In 1956, The Philadelphia Story was remade as High Society, a musical with real- life Philadelphian Grace Kelly, plus Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Louis Armstrong. — Dan DeLuca

Sylvester Stallone admitted it himself: The Rocky franchise made a mistake killing off Apollo Creed in Rocky IV. Still, the champ died so that Adonis Creed could rise. Spin-offs rarely capture the same energy as the original, but Creed infused a fresh, new life into Rocky’s legacy. Ryan Coogler didn’t just represent the city authentically, he also ensured Black Philadelphians could see themselves on screen through the underdog boxer played by an unrelenting Michael B. Jordan. He overcomes enormous obstacles with coaching from Unc, a.k.a. the Italian Stallion, who becomes his Mickey and his chosen family. Getting snubbed at the Oscars only cemented its Philly-ness. Thankfully, Creed IV is in the works. — Rosa Cartagena

A fake-mustachioed Bruce Willis disguised in a stoner wig, Brad Pitt’s best supporting-actor role (besides Fight Club’s Tyler Durden), and one of the most climactic slow-mo run scenes in film history — 12 Monkeys is a ‘90s sci-fi darling that happens to use Philly as a partial backdrop to the postapocalyptic thriller. Directed by Monty Python legend Terry Gilliam, the movie begins with James Cole (Willis) incarcerated in an underground facility beneath Philadelphia in 2035. This is where most of humanity lives now after a deadly man-made virus wiped out the majority of Earth’s population 40 years earlier. Cole is sent back in time to find the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, the clandestine group theorized to have released the virus and to help create a cure. In a post-pandemic world, this movie will hit close to home. — Henry Savage

John Travolta is gathering sounds for use in a slasher flick on Lincoln Drive when he records a deadly car accident he suspects is a political assassination. Friends Central grad Brian De Palma’s movie is a retake on Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 Blowup with Travolta’s sound man standing in for David Hemmings’ fashion photographer. Nancy Allen, Dennis Franz, and an evil John Lithgow costar in a still-timely Hitchcockian thriller about the manipulation of reality and justifiable paranoia. Philly stars in a big way, with Reading Terminal, 30th Street Station, and Penn’s Landing location shots and a car chase with Travolta driving his Jeep through the City Hall courtyard. — Dan DeLuca

The court drama tearjerker that earned Tom Hanks his first Oscar remains essential viewing for its portrayal of the scorn and stigma people with AIDS faced in the ‘80s and ‘90s. It broke ground as one of the earliest mainstream films about the epidemic, focusing on Hanks’ character Andrew Beckett, a lawyer fired after his bosses saw lesions on his face. Denzel Washington’s Joe Miller, an unapologetic homophobe, represents Beckett in a wrongful termination suit against the firm and the two forge an unlikely friendship. Director Jonathan Demme filmed all over the city, from Penn’s Fine Arts Library to the actual offices of a local firm, but the warmest scene is at Beckett’s childhood home in Lower Merion, where his family says they’ll stand by him no matter what. — Rosa Cartagena

Timeless, terrifying, and touching, The Sixth Sense still leaves me in goose bumps and makes me ugly cry quite like no other film can. It’s a fantastic Philly movie not just because it was set and filmed here and written and directed by Chester County resident M. Night Shyamalan, but because it’s one of the greatest ghost stories and psychological thrillers ever told. In contrast to the film’s dark subject matter, Philly looks beautiful through Shyamalan’s lens, from an overhead shot of St. Albans Place to the Swann Memorial Fountain. Nods to Acme, the Eagles, and Peco pop up, and while the actors don’t use Philly accents, they do feel genuinely Philly, especially when Bruce Willis’ character calls someone a “cheesed—.” He also suggests displaying a citation he received from the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office in his bathroom. — Stephanie Farr

“In Philadelphia, it’s worth 50 bucks.” So says Bo Diddley’s pawnbroker to Dan Aykroyd’s down-and-out rich guy trying to selling him a $7,000 watch. That’s one of many memorable lines in John Landis’ slapstick comedy about class and race that retells Mark Twain’s nature vs. nurture Prince and the Pauper parable. As Eddie Murphy goes from begging on Rittenhouse Square to hobnobbing at the Union League with conniving commodities brokers played by Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche, Trading Places leans into its Philly backdrop, from Delancey Street and the Italian Market to City Hall and the Clothespin. The movie is dated — Aykroyd briefly wears blackface, homophobic and racist slurs are heard, and Jamie Lee Curtis plays a cliched hooker with a heart of gold. But it’s a Philly comic classic and a revenge fantasy that makes it points about privilege stick. — Dan DeLuca

Like we needed a poll for this! Rocky is inescapable. On Dec. 3, 47 years to the day the fictional, hoagie-mouthed palooka first charmed his way into our city’s soul, Sylvester Stallone helped open a Rocky shop next to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The occasion marked Philly’s first-ever “Rocky Day.” But it doesn’t require the well-worn wisdom of ringside announcer Bill Baldwin to understand why Rocky is the best Philly movie ever. The simple and perfect truth that fuels the rooted heart of Rocky is one that burns inside every Philadelphian: Underestimate us and our superhuman ability to withstand ridiculously absurd barrages of punches and you’ll end up hobbled and humbled at the final bell (and eventually defeated in a less superior sequel). Yo, everyone! Happy Rocky Day! Which, here in Philly, is every day. — Mike Newall

Now that you’ve gone through the list, head over to our very fun game to test your Philly film location knowledge.