Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
Over the years, Buffalo has become a destination for filmmaking. With the announcement of a $50 million-plus film and television production complex coming to Buffalo's West Side, let's look back at some films shot in the Buffalo area.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"Niagara" (1953) - This noir, shot in color, featured Marilyn Monroe in her first major dramatic role. Joseph Cotton, Jean Peters and Max Showalter also starred in this hit, which was one of the biggest of the year for 20th Century Fox.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"The Last Embrace" (1979) - Jonathan Demme's Neo-noir features an emotionally charged climax at the falls, where Roy Scheider's Harry Hannan tries in vain to save the life of a devious femme fatale played by Janet Margolin.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"Hide in Plain Sight" (1980) - This James Caan-directed thriller was inspired by reports by Buffalo Evening News reporter Lee Coppola. While filming, The Buffalo Club earned the ire of Caan when they initially denied him permission to film there.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"Superman 2" (1980) - What would this list be without a superhero movie? Superman's time at the falls is short, but the iconic scene where Superman saves a young boy from falling to his certain death in the churning cataract will always be remembered.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"Best Friends" (1982) - Director Norman Jewison brought stars Burt Reynolds, Goldie Hawn and Jessica Tandy to Buffalo to film in the city's Central Park area and in Niagara Falls for this romantic comedy about a pair of screenwriters traveling the country to break the news of their impromptu marriage to their families.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"The Natural" (1984) - What else can be said about "The Natural" that hasn't been said already? News critic Jeff Simon may have said it best when he wrote in 2016 that the beloved baseball drama "makes Buffalo look like a fairytale set in the '30s and ends with a stupendous scene of pyrotechnics that, in effect, wound up saying goodbye to War Memorial Stadium."
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"Buffalo '66" (1998) - Buffalo-born Vincent Gallo made his feature-length directorial debut with this dark comedy about a disgruntled convict out for revenge against the NFL star indirectly responsible for landing him in prison. The film's world premiere was held at the North Park Theatre in 1998.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"Manna from Heaven" (2002) - A cavalcade of stars came to Buffalo to shoot this film directed by sisters Gabrielle and Maria Burton, including Shirley Jones, Cloris Leachman, Louise Fletcher and Buffalo native Wendie Malick. This tale of a Buffalo neighborhood mysteriously showered with $20 bills won awards at four film festivals.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"The Savages" (2007) - This 2007 indie darling starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney as a pair of distant siblings coming together to care for their estranged father as he slips further into dementia features scenes shot along Delaware Avenue, the Niagara Thruway near the Peace Bridge, and in various neighborhoods on the West Side, among other locations.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"Sharknado 2" (2014) - The producers of this second installment in the popular Syfy franchise used the Buffalo area as a stand-in for various New York City locations, most notably, the Lockport Caves, which starred at the system of tunnels under New York's Central Park.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"The American Side" (2016) - This noir - starring Eden native Greg Stuhr and featuring such stars as Matthew Broderick, Janeane Garofalo and Stephen McKinley Henderson - featured scenes shot at the Butler Mansion, the Buffalo Club and the Cave of the Winds.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows" (2016) - This installment in the popular superhero franchise featured a wild chase, complete with vehicle explosions, along the Kensington Expressway.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"Marshall" (2017) - A bevy of Buffalo's storied buildings - such as City Hall, the Central Terminal, the Buffalo Club and the Statler - feature prominently in this biographical drama about Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court justice. Star Josh Gad was so taken with the city that he tweeted about it a year after filming, writing "#Buffalo was a lovely, lovely city with even lovelier people who live and work in it. Had a fantastic time filming Marshall Movie there."
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"The First Purge" (2018) - The fourth installment of the popular "Purge" horror franchise used Buffalo as a stand-in for Staten Island, filming scenes near the General Mills plant, at the Marine Drive Apartments, Perry Projects and inside Seneca One tower, among other locations.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"Crown Vic" (2019) - This thriller about a harrowing night in the life of a rookie LAPD officer was filmed in Buffalo during summer 2018, with various locations in the theatre district and downtown appearing in the movie.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"The True Adventures of Wolfboy" (2019) - The Buffalo skyline and Woodlawn beach feature prominently in this film - starring John Turturro, Chris Messina, Chloe Sevigny and Jaeden Martell - about a boy suffering from hypertrichosis (a condition in which hair can grow abnormally all over the body) on an adventure to discover his origins.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"A Quiet Place II" (2020) - Director and co-writer John Krasinski chose the Buffalo area as the shooting location for the follow-up to his 2018 horror hit. Crews filmed in Akron, Olcott, North Tonawanda and, most notably, the Grand Island Bridge during the summer and fall.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"Nightmare Alley" (2021) - Director Guillermo del Toro, stars Bradley Cooper and Rooney Mara (pictured) and a big production team descended upon Buffalo for four days of shooting in the city at such locations as City Hall and the Statler.
Through the years: Buffalo's Hollywood moments
"Cold Brook" (2019) - Cheektowaga-raised veteran character actor William Fichtner shot his directorial debut in Western New York in 2017, filming at the Aurora Theatre in East Aurora, the Buffalo History Museum and the Colonel Ward Pumping Station.
Earlier this year, Covid-19 shut down virtually all shooting, everywhere. But it didn’t stop a deal that was being brokered behind the scenes for a $50 million film and television studio on Buffalo’s West Side.
Once complete, it will give Buffalo Film Works more than 120,000 square feet of stage and related space, plus 60,000 square feet of flex space for movie, TV and commercial production.