Pan and Slam

By Jason F. Koenigsberg

San Francisco, The City by the Bay is home to some of the greatest movies of all time. Smaller in comparison to New York, Chicago, and LA but its natural beauty near the water and architectural marvels with roads and buildings built on steep hills make it a unique city and provide for some distinguished and unforgettable moments in cinema. San Francisco is the home and birthplace for some very famous motion picture icons like Clint Eastwood, Robin Williams, and Danny Glover, all of whom made at least one major movie in their native city. So now let us take a look back and see the best movies that Fog City has to offer. But before we get to the top ten San Francisco Movies, here are some honorable mentions.

The Presidio (1988) directed by Peter Hyams

A fairly run of the mill action flick from the 80’s that really serves as a great showcase for the city and its titular former army post, probably the most beautiful military base in the nation. The plot is nothing special but Sean Connery certainly makes the most of it and seems to be having fun bossing around Mark Harmon and taking down some bad guys plus an early role for Meg Ryan when she was still an up and coming actress. The Presidio was Connery’s first film after winning his Oscar but he would return to the actual presidio in an even better movie further down on the list.

Milk (2008) directed by Gus Van Sant

From Sean Connery to Sean Penn. This Gus Van Sant directed film won Sean Penn his second Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to win an election for public office. The movie shows Castro Street in the 1970s and accurately depicts the life and struggles of Harvey Milk as an activist and civil rights leader who spent his who life and tragically short political career fighting for homosexual equality. He was a man way ahead of his time and the movie does justice to his legacy and his city with much of it being filmed on location in San Francisco.

Metro (1997) directed by Thomas Carter

One of the lesser known and often forgotten Eddie Murphy movies contains some of the best cinematography of San Francisco that rivals any of the other movies on this list. Metro was unceremoniously released in January of 1997 to mediocre reviews and box office likely due to the fact the studio did not know how to advertise it. This is probably Eddie Murphy’s darkest role, it is definitely one of his most serious and dramatic performances as a hostage negotiator going up against a criminal terrorizing him throughout the whole city. Metro makes great sue of its location shooting and has some splendid action sequences and chase scenes that are only topped by some of the other movies on this list if you scroll down. This was the movie Eddie Murphy probably wanted the third Beverly Hills Cop to be. Those expecting to see Axel Foley in San Francisco were probably let down. Instead Metro was the closest Eddie Murphy would get to Clint Eastwood’s Harry Callahan.

Dr. Dolittle (1998) directed by Betty Thomas

Even though audiences may not have responded well to Metro, Eddie Murphy must have liked filming in the Bay Area since his next movie was an updated remake of Dr. Dolittle and he chose to film it in and around San Francisco. The results were much more positive at the box office this time around Murphy was delightful as a callous physician who comes around to accepting that he can talk to animals and it improves his relationship with his family. After this family comedies slowly became the norm for Eddie Murphy who at the time had young kids of his own. Obviously Dr. Dolittle did not have the grand action set pieces and stunt sequences of some of the more famous San Francisco movies but it did showcase the city as a beautiful and picturesque location as well as making use of the gorgeous forests and parks that surround the city.

Inside Out (2015) directed by Pete Docter

Possibly one of the best Pixar movies of all time, the only main reason Inside Out is not higher up on the list is because other than a few early scenes it hardly takes place in San Francisco. Most of it is inside the main characters head as her emotions fight to comprehend and make the best of her situation after the parents moved their family from Minnesota to San Francisco. The few scenes they do animate that showcase the city do so in a negative but accurate light and lead to one of the funniest lines in the movie involving broccoli on pizza, “That’s it San Francisco! You’ve ruined pizza! First the Hawaiians, now you!”

Desperate Measures (1998) directed by Barbet Schroeder

Probably the most forgotten San Francisco movie that deserves more attention. It was another late 90’s action flick unceremoniously dumped by the studio in January and flopped along with many other movies in the massive wave of success that Titanic (1997) rode to the box office as the number one movie for months. It is another action movie with a significant chase sequence about a cop (Andy Garcia) trying to get a bone marrow transplant for his dying son and coincidentally the only match is a psychopathic serial killer played menacingly well by Michael Keaton. Desperate Measures was shot in San Francisco and Pittsburgh (Keaton’s hometown) doubled as the Northern California city. This movie should have been granted a better reception and with Michael Keaton having a resurgence in his career for the past decade people really should go back and rediscover some of his under appreciated works and Desperate Measures would be a fine place to start.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) directed by Rupert Wyatt

All of the recent Planet of the Apes movies took place in and around San Francisco but it was only the one that re-started the franchise that actually had the ability to make the most of its San Francisco location. Rise of the Planet of the Apes rejuvenated a franchise that most did not even realize needed to be brought back but once it did it added so much to the dormant beloved Apes series it is hard to imagine these movies not being part of the legacy. Rise of the Planet of the Apes showcases state of the art motion capture special effects, solid performances and makes great use of its San Francisco setting especially the end with the apes taking over the Golden Gate Bridge. It is a memorable moment in the Apes saga and Bay Area cinema.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) directed by Philip Kaufman

This was the toughest film to omit from the top ten. One of the best sci-fi thriller remakes of all time is also one of the best San Francisco movies of all time and features one of the late great Donald Sutherland’s finest performances. The 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers works as a remake or as a continuation of the 1956 original if one prefers to view it through that lens and it culminates with one of the best final scenes in any motion picture. Plus it does display San Francisco for its architectural and aesthetic beauty albeit with an eerie tone and a sense of darkness and dread throughout that few other movies capture shot in this city. It makes the most of its scenery and all of the elements work making it a great movie that makes it hard to justify some of the titles ranked higher.

So without any further ado, here are the Top Ten San Francisco based Movies…

10. A View to a Kill (1985) directed by John Glen

James Bond heads to San Francisco to take on a diabolical computer magnate with plans to dominate Silicon Valley by killing millions and wiping out his competition. A View to a Kill is a topical film for Roger Moore’s final outing as 007 and it is also one of the campiest Bond films with Christopher Walken as a Nazi experiment of a test tube baby grown up and trying to take over the world. In typical Bond fashion he globe trots throughout the picture. He jumps a few continents, has a great fight and chase sequence through Paris starting off in the Eiffel Tower. By the end of the film James Bond finds himself inexplicably on a blimp trying to hold onto a rope for dear life over San Francisco and then there is a great fight and explosion between Bond and the main villain on top of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was not necessary to film in San Francisco but that added relevance to the mostly preposterous plot and the movie made the most of the scenes in the city.

9. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) directed by Leonard Nimoy

The Star Trek franchise has always had a connection to San Francisco. It was featured in the original 1979 motion picture, mentioned in various TV programs but it was front and center and a major part of the setting in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home where the original crew has to travel back in time to the present day 1980’s San Francisco. Kirk and his crew go back in time to the twentieth century to save Earth from an alien probe and need to bring with them the only creatures that can communicate with it, humpback whales. This movie is silly, fun, and the most crowd pleasing of the Star Trek movies. It was meant for the masses and it succeeded as well as showcasing San Francisco in a matter of fact fashion as the crew wandered around the city in an unlikely fish out of water story.

8. 48 Hrs. (1982) directed by Walter Hill

Eddie Murphy’s first feature film role and is often considered one of his best. 48 Hrs. is revered as one of the best action-comedy movies from the 80’s and is credited for kick-starting the buddy cop sub-genre which would become extremely popular for the rest of the decade with mis-matched cop partners being forced to work together, often being different races. This movie set the tone and set the bar very high for a lot of the imitators that would follow, the most notable and successful of which was Lethal Weapon (1987). 48 Hrs. deals with race, labels, and has a raw grittiness that most other buddy cop action pictures would lack. It has Asian actors in small roles back when they were seldom in Hollywood movies, long takes, brutal villains, a jazzy score, and makes great matter of fact use of the streets of San Francisco.

7. Vertigo (1958) directed by Alfred Hitchcock

People often consider this Hitchcock’s best film and the best, or certainly darkest performance from the legendary James Stewart. Vertigo flopped on its initial release and ended the partnership between Hitch and Jimmy Stewart but years later is has been reappraised and rightfully so as one of the best films of all time and one of the most influential psychological thrillers about a detective and his fear of heights but also his intense obsession with a woman he believes tried to commit suicide but soon discovers the case is not all that he sees. A masterwork of manipulation of both the characters and the audience, Vertigo uses San Francisco and the parks and woods in the surrounding areas to tell a haunting, personal, and unforgettable mystery that shook audiences half a century ago and still just as unsettling and powerful today.

6. Zodiac (2007) directed by David Fincher

After the description of the movie above, how could anyone possibly put another thriller above it? Well how about one that is based on a true story? A true story of a real life serial killer who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area back in the late 1960s and 1970s who was never really caught? This is one difficult and incredibly compelling San Francisco based motion picture that could not have worked in any other city. David Fincher used real dialogue from the detectives reports and newspaper clipping, as well as actual notes the Zodiac killer left as clues to taunt the police and reports. His two hour and forty minute exploration of these murders made Zodiac one of his most mature and complex works and one of the best and most unique serial killer movies of all time.

5. The Conversation (1974) directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Movie-wise this and Vertigo are arguably the two best films on this list. San Francisco-wise other than its spectacular opening shot Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation probably could have taken place in just about any city but it takes place in San Francisco so it deserves to be mentioned in the conversation of best San Francisco movies. Sandwiched in between when Coppola made The Godfather‘s I and II and released the same year as the second film, The Conversation seemed destined to be overlooked. It did surprise win the Palme d’Or at Cannes but despite rave reviews audiences stayed away and smaller movies from Francis Ford Coppola would get put on the back burner. This is a smaller film and even though it may not have the critical or cultural impact of his other movies from the 1970s, The Conversation is one of the greatest political and paranoia thrillers of all time. It also contains one of Gene Hackman’s best performances and can early turn from a then mostly unknown Harrison Ford.

4. Bullitt (1968) directed by Peter Yates

Do you want action? Do you want excitement? Do you want San Francisco presented to you at a breakneck speed? Then buckle up in a 1968 Mustang GT and get ready for the King of Cool Steve McQueen to race through the city in Bullitt, one of the best movies to showcase the unusual and creative road designs in and around San Francisco. There is a plot involving a Senator and the mob but none of that really matters. Bullitt is about action, testosterone and getting things done with actions, not words. Plus it features one of the best car chases of all time and is synonymous for the amazing stunt work that still holds up today. CGI can never replace the iron and steel on display in the real cars from Bullitt one of the best Steve McQueen action movies and one of his most iconic cop roles and it would not have been the same if it were filmed in any other city.

3. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) directed by Chris Columbus

This is the first movie that I saw where I noticed San Francisco and that it was a unique city on film. The buildings, the streets, the hills. Other than the exterior shots of the house in the ABC sitcom Full House, I had never seen anything like the setting in Mrs. Doubtfire and I learned the distinctive aesthetics of San Francisco. This movie is a silly comedy with a message about families and divorce and it handles the comedy and the heavy scenes perfectly. But Mrs. Doubtfire also takes the time to set up each scene and by doing so makes the city of San Francisco a character as well just like Ghostbusters did with New York and The Big Lebowski did with Los Angeles. None of these comedies needed to call attention as much as they did to the city they were taking place in yet by doing so they made their movie and their city stand out from other movies. When I told friends I was considering writing this article about movies that take place in San Francisco the one title everyone seemed to mention was Mrs. Doubtfire and that is why it should rank so high. It obviously did for other people that saw it at a young age as I did and embedded San Francisco in their head.

2. Dirty Harry (1971) directed by Don Siegel

A few movies back I mentioned David Fincher’s Zodiac. Well Zodiac mentions Dirty Harry because not only was the original Dirty Harry inspired by the Zodiac killer as the police were investigating and the murders were happening but they also show Jake Gyllenhaal go to a cinema to see Dirty Harry. What Bullitt did for cars Dirty Harry did for guns making his .44 Magnum the weapon associated with Clint Eastwood. This is a tough, brutal, nihilistic and ruthless movie about crime and what some think should be done to deter criminals from walking the streets. After seeing the killer in this movie (named Scorpio instead of Zodiac) you might agree with Harry Callahan’s sentiment stating “Well I’m all broken up about that man’s rights”. Dirty Harry not only put San Francisco on the map as an important city, a beautiful location to shoot movies input it also honored their hand working police force. Plus, this is the movie that changed Clint Eastwood’s career trajectory from mainly being known as a star of westerns to playing cops and he would portray them for the next thirty plus years on film and establish himself as one of Hollywoods most iconic and enduring tough guys. Dirty Harry helped make Clint a hero for the ages.

1. The Rock (1996) directed by Michael Bay

The best San Francisco movie of all time is Michael Bay’s The Rock. It knowingly took elements from Dirty Harry, Bullitt, especially with that car chase, and 48 Hrs. with the buddy cop/unlikely duo that have to work together to stop the bad guys and save lives aspect along with Clint Eastwood’s Escape from Alcatraz (1979) and combined them into a greatest hits of San Francisco on film into one of the best action movies of the 90s. It is one of Sean Connery’s best performances and the performance that changed Nicolas Cage’s career and turned him into an A-list action star in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. It also features Ed Harris in one of his best roles where he creates a complex villain which was not seen very often in studio action fare. With spectacular car chases, phenomenal stunts, a rousing score, memorable dialogue, superb editing, and outstanding cinematography The Rock is a high octane action thrill ride that showcases San Francisco as much as any other film on this list and is one of t he most satisfying summer blockbusters of all time.