18 Essential Boston Movies
Our city’s rich cinematic history goes way beyond Matt Damon.
Illustration by Benjamen Purvis
Whether showcasing Southie’s street corners, Beacon Hill’s cobblestones, or Gloucester’s weathered docks, these essential entries in Boston’s cinematic canon, all of which at least partially shot in Greater Boston, don’t just use the Hub as scenery, they also capture its shifting cultural landscape, moviemaking history, and complex identity. Our picks for the 18 essential movies that made Boston matter.
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
Why it’s important: The 1960s saw the birth of a new Boston, transformed by the onset of urban renewal projects across the city. This film was one of the first to capture the beginnings of Boston’s transformation, as well as its storied past.
Where it was filmed: As Faye Dunaway’s Vicki Anderson starts to fall for Steve McQueen’s Thomas Crown, the two stroll up Beacon Hill’s Acorn Street to Crown’s home at 85 Mount Vernon Street (a freestanding mansion that looks the same today).
The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)
Why it’s important: Regarded as the most authentic Boston crime movie, this mob story set the tone for every crime film to follow. Star Robert Mitchum even met with gangster Howie Winter during filming—for research, of course.
Where it was filmed: The film shows Boston back in the day, from a hockey game at Boston Garden to a long-gone bar on the corner of Newbury Street and Mass. Ave.
Between the Lines (1977)
Why it’s important: An ensemble comedy loosely based on the now-defunct alt weekly the Boston Phoenix showcasing a so-called dirty old Boston? Essential viewing.
Where it was filmed: Copley Square and Harvard Square’s Brattle Street both make cameos—as does the erstwhile Combat Zone, which the indie newspaper’s fictional staff visited in the name of reporting.
Next Stop Wonderland (1998)
Why it’s important: “It nails the Boston mood,” one local industry pro mused about this indie rom-com made by locals about locals, which tells the story of one woman’s unlucky-in-love adventures.
Where it was filmed: Keep an eye out for the since-unchanged Burren in Somerville (where Hope Davis’s main character meets her dates) and the New England Aquarium.
Blown Away (1994)
Why it’s important: Centered on an IRA bomber targeting a Boston Police bomb squad, this thriller was the most expensive movie made in Massachusetts at the time—and injected a whopping $10 million into the local economy.
Where it was filmed: The climactic explosion scene was real and filmed on a freighter in Boston Harbor using 500 gallons of gasoline. The shattered windows and roof fires it caused on neighboring buildings? Those were real, too.
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Why it’s important: Any self-respecting Bostonian already knows.
Where it was filmed: Though the film was shot mostly in Toronto, Matt Damon and Robin Williams turned one park bench in the Public Garden into one of Boston cinema’s most memorable moments, and Southie’s L Street Tavern into a pilgrimage-worthy destination. Damon recently said he wants a statue of Williams in the Public Garden as tribute.
The Perfect Storm (2000)
Why it’s important: With groundbreaking visual effects and an A-list cast, this film was lauded for its dramatized portrayal of the fishermen of the Andrea Gail, a commercial ship that went down after leaving port in Gloucester in 1991.
Where it was filmed: Most of the movie was shot elsewhere, but exterior scenes showcase Gloucester’s coastline, harbor, Fisherman’s Memorial, and Saint Ann Church.
Mystic River (2003)
Why it’s important: Though a fictional amalgamation of Boston’s blue-collar neighborhoods, the film was considered Clint Eastwood’s best work at the time—bonus points for being produced completely in the Bay State.
Where it was filmed: The movie’s abduction scene was shot on Condor Street in Eastie, with the Tobin Bridge barely visible in the background, just beyond the corner store with the Budweiser sign—which is still there, by the way.
Fever Pitch (2005)
Why it’s important: The classic early-2000s rom-com combined a triumphant love story with real-time Red Sox triumph—the team was on the way to their first World Series win since 1918 while the movie was being filmed at Fenway Park.
Where it was filmed: The project took over Fenway for 10 live game days and overnight shoots. Cue Drew Barrymore jumping off the centerfield wall and sprinting across the field mid-game to kiss Jimmy Fallon in the stands.
The Departed (2006)
Why it’s important: One of Boston’s most iconic films, the Irish-mobster-meets-corrupt-cop storyline will go down in history. Some debatable Boston accents, as well as home-team talent from Damon and Wahlberg, are the cherry on top.
Where it was filmed: Most of the film was shot in New York, but notable scenes include Damon’s pensive post-police-training moment in front of the State House and Martin Sheen’s plummet from a roof off Farnsworth Street.
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Why it’s important: One of the first films to take advantage of the state’s film tax credit, the Dorchester-set smash hit combined the work of local talents Ben Affleck and Dennis Lehane for the first time.
Where it was filmed: Affleck was determined to show Boston’s gritty side, which he accomplished with Dot residents as extras at a handful of local bars. More-scenic locales also make appearances, including a funeral at Mount Auburn Cemetery and a botched ransom handoff at Quincy Quarries.
The Social Network (2010)
Why it’s important: The beginnings of the Metaverse started in Boston’s backyard, so a film about Facebook’s inception, based on the book by hometown author Ben Mezrich, can’t be overlooked.
Where it was filmed: Harvard refused to allow the film to be shot on campus, so the crew got creative. For an early scene of Jesse Eisenberg running through Harvard Square, director David Fincher hired a clandestine mime (yes, a mime) to enter the campus and light some of the archways in the background.
The Town (2010)
Why it’s important: This bank-heist film may be a distinctly Charlestown movie, but it ranks at the top of the public consciousness when it comes to Boston movies period.
Where it was filmed: There are the robberies: filmed in Harvard Square, Salem Street in the North End, and, of course, Fenway. But the film’s biggest location-related get was going “behind the wall” in the visitation rooms at MCI-Cedar Junction state prison in Walpole.
The Fighter (2010)
Why it’s important: Beyond the iconic comeback story of local boxing legend Micky Ward, it features a gritty, hardened Lowell with an authentic feel thanks to locally cast extras and second-tier actors.
Where it was filmed: Speaking of authentic, Wahlberg and Christian Bale shot training scenes at Ward’s real-life Lowell stomping grounds, Ramalho’s West End Gym.
Black Mass (2015)
Why it’s important: This star-studded Whitey Bulger biographical drama put Boston’s most notorious crime story on the big screen.
Where it was filmed: The film turned locales across the state into 1970s Boston, including Lynn and Ashmont Hill as stand-ins for Southie and Revere for Miami, Florida. For the crew’s local Teamsters, seeing Johnny Depp as Bulger on the same streets where it all happened “was like a ghost coming back,” the film’s director, Scott Cooper, said.
Spotlight (2015)
Why it’s important: The story of the Boston Globe Spotlight team’s uncovering of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston won best picture. (For the record, we picked this before we joined the family.)
Where it was filmed: Like many features, the bulk of this film was shot in Toronto. The Boston scenes are mostly exterior, scene-setting shots, from the Old State House to the BPL. But you’ll also see Rachel McAdams meeting a victim inside the South End Buttery.
Coda (2021)
Why it’s important: It’s one of the state’s biggest indie successes: Not only does it remain Sundance’s highest-priced acquisition ever (bought for $25 million by Apple), but it also took home three Academy Awards, including best picture.
Where it was filmed: Director and Cambridge native Sian Heder described the film as a “love letter to Gloucester” and filmed the project almost entirely on the North Shore—from Gloucester’s fish pier and high school to Pratty’s C.A.V. bar.
American Fiction (2023)
Why it’s important: This 2024 best picture nominee portrays a more diverse Boston, a more Black Boston, than has been traditionally reflected on screen—an intentional choice by director Cord Jefferson.
Where it was filmed: Locations run the gamut from a 19th-century West Roxbury Victorian home to Brookline Booksmith and the beaches of Scituate.
Photo illustration by Comrade
Hollywood Comes to Boston
- Movies in Boston: A Brief, But Essential History
- How a State Tax Credit Fostered the Boston-Movie Boom
- The Five Best Indie Theaters in Greater Boston
- Five Great Boston-Area Film Festivals
- How Oscar-Winning Film Producer Nina Fialkow Picks Projects
A version of this story was first published in the print edition of the December 2024/January 2025 issue with the headline, “Behind the Lens.”
