Between the Golden Gate and Alcatraz, these films shot in San Francisco
As early as 1897, the San Francisco Bay Area was the subject of numerous shots, taken by American operators in search of images. These shots already synthesize what makes the appeal of these coastal and urban landscapes teeming with life, minus the Golden Gate and Alcatraz. These two iconic monuments of the region, both completed during the 1930s, are instantly immortalized by the seventh art. For example, the majestic bridge inaugurated in 1937 already appears in The Maltese Falcon (1941), one of the classics of film noir with Humphrey Bogart. Thereafter, the Golden Gate appears very regularly in movies and television. Filmmakers even take a malicious pleasure in destroying it with superheroes (Superman, 1978, X-Men: The Final Confrontation, 2006), legendary monsters (Godzilla, 2014, Pacific Rim, 2013 or The Monster Comes from the Sea, a classic monster movie from 1955), or even rains of objects and various creatures in Sharknado V, 2017, San Andreas, 2015 or Terminator: Genisys in 2015 also. Besides these joyful destructions, the Golden Gate also appears in Dangerously Yours (1985), the fourteenth episode of the James Bond saga, in Eye for an Eye (1981) with Chuck Norris, in Star Trek in 1986 and 2009, or in many animated films such as Soul (2020), The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021) and The New Heroes (2014), where the city has become a hybrid city between East and West named San Fransokyo. But the most beautiful shots of the steel giant and his adopted city are surely found in Vertigo (1958), one of Alfred Hitchcock's multiple masterpieces. A film shot in the four corners of the city, with James Stewart and Kim Novak in the main roles. Between the skyscrapers and along the iconic San Francisco apartments, you will recognize among others, the Palace of Fine Arts, the Conservatory of Flowers
, the Legion of Honor and several hotels and cafes like the Fairmont Hotel, built in 1909. If you want to see all the film locations, allow for a short day and take a vehicle (or have a guide) to follow in the footsteps of the great horror master.Alcatraz has been the star of several feature films, including Point Blank (1967), Escape from Alcatraz (1979) with Clint Eastwood, or The Rock (1996) with Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris. A breathtaking action film by Michael Bay, one of the masters of the art of the Hollywood blockbuster
. Apart from these mythical places, the city of San Francisco is also the setting for cult films such as Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), with Robin Williams, Dirty Harry (1971), The Towering Inferno (1974) with Steve McQueen, The Search for Happiness (2006), or the very recent Matrix Resurrections (2021), and more anecdotal works such as George of the Jungle (1997), Ant-Man (2014) or Sonic (2020).On the series side
On the small screen, San Francisco appears in the Doris Day Show (1968-69), when the protagonist decides to try her luck again in a big city, as rural life did not work out for her. Later, the sitcom Full House (1987-1995) set its story in the city, even though it was mostly shot in a studio. A series of international renown broadcast in France in the late 1990s, which has notably revealed the twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. In the early 2000s, San Francisco was once again featured in Monk (2002-2009), a highly successful crime drama based on the character of Adrian Monk, a private detective with mental illness, which won multiple Emmy awards. Take a stroll along the Embarcadero to get a taste of this tender yet scary atmosphere. More recently, the series Silicon Valley (2014-2019) and The Good Doctor
(2017-) each put the city on camera, though the latter is primarily filmed at St. Bonaventure Hospital in San Jose, a few miles south. On the platforms, the Netflix series Sense8 (2015-2018) and The OA (2016-2019) both made stops in San Francisco. In The OA, it's the Nob Hill neighborhood as well as the beautiful stairs of the sixteenth avenue that you can discover, while Sense8 takes you to the alleys of Dolores Park, to the top of Twin PeaksTwinPeakand to the Castro Theater, one of the most beautiful cinemas in the city and which celebrates in 2022 its hundredth anniversary. A perfect stop to end your wanderings and settle in for a good movie.Being a Cinephile in San Francisco
With 103 screens in 35 cinemas, the city will turn the heads of any film lover. Smaller exhibitors share the audience with larger 4D and IMAX complexes, while offering a varied selection of national and international cinema. Indulge in the comfort of the Foreign Cinema, with its oysters and food menu that perfectly match their programming, or marvel at the lavish facades of the Balboa, Presidio or Century, before diving into their dark rooms. The mild summer weather also allows for many outdoor screenings, of which the Dolores Park is probably the most popular. If you're lucky, or have the foresight, head to the San Francisco International Film Festival in early May, the oldest film festival in the United States, founded in 1957. As for theaters, you will find these films in the Castro, Vogue, Roxie and Victoria theaters which are dressed each year in the event's colors. Finally, the journey of any good movie lover in San Francisco would not be complete without a stop at the city's two film museums: the Walt Disney Family Museum located in the Presidio and dedicated to the life and work of Walt Disney, and the San Francisco Film Museum. Also keep an eye out for the SFMOMA's programming and temporary exhibitions, as this museum is also one of the top places for the seventh art, in this city that is a paradise for film lovers of all genres, from all walks of life and for all audiences.
