Famous Times Square Film Scenes
Beyond specific movies mentioned in the archives, Times Square has been a popular filming location and subject in cinema. Here are some of the most memorable uses of Times Square in film:
King Kong (1933 / 2005)
Both the original and Peter Jackson's remake feature scenes of the giant ape in Times Square, though the actual filming locations varied.
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Depicted Times Square during its seedier period, with Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman navigating the gritty streets. Filmed on Location
Shaft (1971)
Opens with Richard Roundtree striding through a gritty Times Square in a knee-length leather coat while Isaac Hayes' Oscar-winning theme pumps on the soundtrack. One of cinema's great entrances. Filmed on Location
Report to the Commissioner (1975)
A crackling foot chase tears through 46th Street and into midtown in one of the era's most genuinely dangerous-looking action sequences. NYC is the real star — the Times Square of this film no longer exists. Filmed on Location
Fame (1980)
Featured performers dancing joyously through the traffic of Times Square, showcasing artistic expression against urban decay. Filmed on Location
Escape from New York (1981)
John Carpenter's dystopian vision of Manhattan as a maximum-security prison. The film drew directly from the fear and decay of the real Times Square at the time.
Crocodile Dundee (1986)
Mick Dundee loose in Manhattan — his wide-eyed encounter with Times Square and midtown became one of the defining fish-out-of-water comedies of the 1980s. Filmed on Location
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
Jason Voorhees finally arrives in Times Square — filmed on location with real pedestrians watching from the sidewalk. Kane Hodder as Jason turned and pointed at one fan between takes. She fainted. Filmed on Location
Last Action Hero (1993)
The RKO Twin on 42nd Street hosts the in-film premiere of "Jack Slater IV," with a giant inflatable Arnie looming over the sidewalk. Production shut down Times Square for seven straight nights to shoot it. Filmed on Location
Deep Impact (1998)
A massive tidal wave obliterates Times Square in one of the decade's most spectacular disaster sequences, using the location's iconic skyline for maximum visual impact.
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Tom Cruise runs through a surreally empty Times Square — the area was actually shut down for three hours on a Sunday morning to capture the scene without CGI. Filmed on Location
Spider-Man (2002-2021)
Multiple films in the franchise feature action sequences in Times Square, using its vertical spaces and busy streets for dynamic scenes. Filmed on Location
I Am Legend (2007)
Will Smith hunts deer through a completely overgrown, post-apocalyptic Times Square. The production shut down real blocks of Midtown to shoot it — an eerie contrast to the Square's usual chaos. Filmed on Location
New York City, In the Air
Not every great New York film plants its flag in Times Square — but some capture the city's spirit so completely that they belong in any conversation about this era. These films don't have notable Times Square scenes, but they're essential documents of what New York felt, smelled, and sounded like at a particular moment in time.
- Serpico (1973) — Sidney Lumet and Al Pacino's portrait of a whistleblower cop navigating a corrupt NYPD. Filmed on the real streets of the city during one of its most turbulent periods.
- Dog Day Afternoon (1975) — A sweltering Brooklyn bank robbery that spins into media circus. Lumet again, drawing raw, sweaty, desperate New York out of every frame.
- Hair (1979) — Miloš Forman's adaptation of the Broadway musical, shot on location across New York including Central Park. A time capsule of the counterculture colliding with a city on the edge.
- The Warriors (1979) — A cult classic about New York City gangs navigating the urban landscape at night. Filmed on location in various parts of the city, capturing the gritty atmosphere of the era.
- Bright Lights, Big City (1988) — Michael J. Fox in the late-night club scene and neon excess of 1980s Manhattan. Captures the neighborhood's sleazy last gasp before the cleanup, even if Times Square isn't the specific address.
- 13 Going on 30 (2004) — Jennifer Garner passes through a gleaming, post-Giuliani Times Square, but the Square is more backdrop than subject here.
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) — Spectacular CGI destruction through Midtown, but the Times Square connection is more visual shorthand than actual location work.
- The Fate of the Furious (2017) — The hacked-car sequence is set in Times Square, though much of it was shot elsewhere. Fun chaos, loose geography.