When landscapes you’ve seen for a lifetime change, it affects you; you feel misplaced. The skyscape of New York City, a perfect example, was forever altered that September morning in 2001. For me, the space between the two World Trade towers was a metaphorical gate to America, two monolithic Oracles through which America was accessible to the world. When they fell that morning, my myth of the New York skyline was shattered. I haven’t been able to replace it. I don’t know if I ever will.
Whenever I see a pre-9/11 film showcasing that majestic and world-recognized New York skyline, I am always caught off guard. My breath is stripped from me as if I had been punched in the gut. This is the power that place has over us. Thank God these towers were captured in film.
The landscape of New Orleans will change as well, it’s face, but hopefully not its soul. And like New York, writers and film-makers have tried to capture the multi-faceted spirit of the Big Easy and its unique landscapes and waterways of the bayou. I started compiling a list of films that were set or actually filmed in New Orleans. I discovered that Roger Ebert and his editor Jim Emerson had compiled a list that highlights some of the great films showcasing the city. Consider the following:
"The Big Easy" (Jim McBride, 1987).
"Storyville" (Mark Frost, 1992).
"Pretty Baby" (Louis Malle, 1978).
"Eve’s Bayou" (Kasi Lemmons, 1997).
"Down By Law" (Jim Jarmusch, 1986).
"Blaze" (Ron Shelton, 1989).
"Cat People" (Paul Schrader, 1982).
"Obsession" (Brian De Palma, 1976).
"Johnny Handsome" (Walter Hill, 1989).
"A Love Song for Bobby Long" (Shainee Gabel, 2005).
"Angel Heart" (Alan Parker, 1987).
Some other New Orleans titles: "A Streetcar Named Desire," "Panic in the Streets," "The Tarnished Angels," "Interview with the Vampire," "Dead Man Walking," "Wild at Heart," "Tightrope," "JFK," and "Tune in Tomorrow"
Click here to read some of Ebert’s notes on each film showcasing the director’s name.
Here is a list of other films I discovered with ties to New Orleans, some noteworthy, some not so worthwhile:
Miller’s Crossing (Joel Coen, 1990)
The Pelican Brief (Alan J. Pakula, 1993)
Runaway Jury (Gary Fleder, 2003)
The Client (Joel Schumacher, 1994)
Ray (Taylor Hackford, 2004)
Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)
Five Easy Pieces (Bob Rafelson, 1970)
The Skeleton Key (Iain Softley, 2005)
Crazy in Alabama (Antonio Banderas, 1999)
Double Jeopardy (Bruce Beresford, 1999)
Dracula 2000 (Patrick Lussier, 2000)
The Dukes of Hazard (Jay Chandrasekhar, 2005)
Exit to Eden (Garry Marshall, 1994)
Fantastic Four (Tim Story, 2005)
The Haunted Mansion (Rob Minkoff, 2003)
Judas Kiss (Sebastian Gutierrez, 1998)
Live and Let Die (Guy Hamilton, 1973)
Lolita (Adrian Lyne, 1997)
Mr 3000 (Charles Stone III, 2004)
No Mercy (Richard Pearce, 1986)
Undercover Blues (Herbert Ross, 1993)
Upcoming films with ties to New Orleans: All the King’s Men (Steven Zaillian, 2005), starring Jude Law, Sean Penn, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, Kate Winslet, and Patricia Clarkson; and the horror flick Venom (Jim Gillespie, 2005), about a pack of teenagers run for their lives through the swamps of Louisiana, as they are chased by Mr. Jangles, a man possessed by 13 evil souls who is relentless in his pursuit of new victims.
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