So maybe one day you were scarfing down your weekly Pat’s steak and noticed klieg lights and a police barricade. Was that … ? Isn’t that … ?
Nah, couldn’t be.
But it was. And Hollywood — as evidenced by recent J.Lo and Ben Affleck sightings — is here to stay.
Ever since Rocky jogged through the scenic Italian Market, South Philly has found its way into many feature films, made-for-TV movies and too many TV shows to mention here. This list, for the most part, notes mainstream films or indies with at least some cachet. Specific locations are mentioned wherever possible.
Rocky (1976)
Director: John G. Avildsen
Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers
The granddaddy of South Philly movies was shot mostly in Kensington, but Rocky did jog through the Italian Market. And the character’s gritty resilience is forever associated with the neighborhood. Rocky and Adrian buy a house in South Philly in Rocky II and, in Rocky V, they move back to the old neighborhood. The other movies contain snippets of Philly, but not much.
Fighting Back (1982)
Director: Lewis Teague
Stars: Tom Skerrit, Patti LuPone, Yaphet Kotto
This movie about an innocent townwatch that turns vigilante was shot in South Philly.
Clean and Sober (1988)
Director: Glenn Gordon Caron
Stars: Michael Keaton (at the top of his game here), Morgan Freeman, Kathy Baker
Keaton plays a substance-abusing real-estate hotshot who meets fellow rehab alumni Baker outside the old Colonial Theater at 11th and Moyamensing.
Money for Nothing (1993)
Director: Ram�n Men�ndez
Stars: John Cusack, Debi Mazar, Michael Madsen
When Joey Coyle’s story finally came to the big screen, it fell much the same way the $1.2 million tumbled from the armored car — hard. But the movie prominently features South Philly.
Philadelphia (1993)
Director: Jonathan Demme
Stars: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards
Hanks’ character, Andrew Beckett, had an apartment at 10th and Bainbridge. The Italian Market also makes an appearance.
Two Bits (1995)
Director: James Foley
Stars: Al Pacino, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Alec Baldwin (narrator)
South Philly shines, but the movie doesn’t. Featured were the intersection of Seventh and Wolf, St. Gabriel’s Church at 29th and Dickinson, Alcorn Elementary School at 32nd and Tasker, and the President Banquet Room at 23rd and Snyder.
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Director: Terry Gilliam
Stars: Bruce Willis, Madeline Stowe and Brad Pitt
The old Ridgway Library at Broad and Christian was used for exteriors. (That building is now the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts.)
Condition Red (1995)
Director: Mika Kaurism�ki
Stars: James Russo and Cynda Williams
An interesting little curio, to say the least. Shot for Finnish TV, it’s about a prison guard who falls in love with a female inmate. The guard lives in South Philly. Shows up on cable once in a while. Williams was married briefly to Billy Bob Thornton.
Girls Like Us (1997)
Directors: Tina DiFeliciantonio and Jane C. Wagner
Award-winning documentary focuses on four culturally diverse teenage girls in South Philly over a period of four years.
Fallen (1998)
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Stars: Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland, James Gandolfini
This supernatural thriller filmed scenes at the Italian Market and Eighth and Fitzwater.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Stars: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams
Cole Sear, the little kid who "sees dead people," lived with his mom in an apartment in Grays Ferry.
Strut (2001)
Director: Max Raab
Documentary about, what else? The Mummers.
Special Mention:
This list couldn’t end without a few miscellaneous nods, such as the Boyz II Men video Motownphilly, which prominently features Geno’s. Hack, the new TV show with David Morse, has been filming around Grays Ferry.
A terrific resource for fans of local movies and shows is The Driving Tour of Philadelphia Web site (www.gophila.com/itineraries/i_itinc1.htm), a link from the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau site.
