New Orleans has become the next favourite destination for shooting Hollywood movies. With the rise in the stories and plotlines that revolve around this American Location, it is only a given that a list ought to be created of it all. Hence, we present a list of 20 films set in New Orleans. Give it a look…
20. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (2008)
Source: IMDb
- Director: David Fincher
- Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson
- Release date: 2008
- Available at: VUDU, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
The fascinating case of Benjamin Button was inspired by the F. Scott Fitzgerald novella “The Curious Case.” The drama follows Benjamin Button, whose life is transformed by romance with his lifelong love Daisy Fuller. While Fitzgerald’s story is shot at the Baltimore airport, the movie wouldn’t happen without the backdrop of New Orleans.
The film includes many well-known New Orleans sites, including The Nolanhouse. Its location is combined with an original tale line and excellent acting to create the finest movie. The film has won 13 Oscars, including Best Picture Award and Best Leading Actor Award for Brad Pitt.
19. Angel Heart (1987)
Source: Citizen Poulpe
- Director: Alan Parker
- Cast: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet
- Release date: 1987
- Available at: VUDU, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
In the horror film “Angels Heart,” released in 1987, the FBI finds he is searching for Johnny’s favourite. With the arrival of him, the world starts getting bloodied. The bloodiest legend surrounds this city, making horror easy for those living in the French Quarter.
Angel Heart, arguably New Orleans’ most famous horror film, captures a fantastic dark side of New Orleans through the grim pictures of the city streets. Even some New Orleans-specific gore is injected into it, as its plot focuses on murders involving drowning men in hot gumbo pots.
18. Girls’ Trip (2017)
Source: Amazon
- Director: Malcolm D. Lee
- Cast: Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith
- Release date: 2017
- Available at: VUDU, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
The 2017 Girls Travel focuses on four friends travelling to New Orleans to attend the Essence Festival. This film features an ensemble cast including Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Tiffany Hadditch and Jada Pinkett Smith, whose performances are almost identical.
It was a delight to see Tiffany Haddish’s Best Movie enjoyably capturing all the fierce romantic energy. Girls’ Trip is true for New Orleans because the Essence Festival exists and is held in New Orleans every year as a cultural holiday geared toward African Americans.
17. Green Book (2018)
Source: IMDb
- Director: Peter Farrelly
- Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini
- Release date: 2018
- Available at: VUDU, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
The Golden Globe-nominated film “Green Book” has captivated audiences across the United States. The film follows the stories of a pair of unlikely friends who travelled to New York, Memphis, Philadelphia, and, yes, Orleans.
However, the filming of “Green Book” remained far from stationary than its depictions. Despite one day of filming, it is all set in Louisiana and has a couple of stops in New Orleans, staples included. The award-winning films featured the backdrop of historic buildings and landmarks—bullets’ SportsBars.
16. A Streetcar Named Desire (1984)
Source: MUBI
- Director: John Erman
- Cast: Ann-Margret, Treat Williams, Beverly D’Angelo
- Release date: 1984
- Available at: VUDU, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Partially shot in New Orleans, it features Tennessee Williams’ classic of 1951: A Streetcar with Desire. Its classic American tale depicts this unique Southern town in many ways, including its unique facets. While not named Desire, Streetcar lines of downtown New Orleans can take you to many different neighbourhoods, attractions and restaurants.
Visit the month of March in celebration of Tennessee Williams’s upcoming book release. Give this popular “Stella!!” shout contest another try. Enjoy this marvellous adaptation.
15. Ruby Bridges (1998)
Source: MUBI
- Director: Euzhan Palcy
- Cast: Chaz Monet, Penelope Ann Miller, Michael Beach
- Release date: 1998
- Available at: VUDU, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Disney Plus
Ruby Bridges’ 1998 film is about Ruby Bridges, who became the First Grade in the United States as a black girl who attended a. Her scores permit her to attend the former All-White school in New Orleans. Ruby Bridges is one example of Louisiana’s rich heritage.
This narrative story is particularly important to black people. When she was six, Ruby Bridges became a famous Black American activist. It is an incredible film that tells the stories of the city where she began.
14. 12 Years Of Slavery (2013)
Source: MUBI
- Director: Steve McQueen
- Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch
- Release date: 2013
- Available at: VUDU, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, HBO max
Steve McQueen’s 2013 film 12-year-old Slave follows a free black man kidnapped in the antebellum plantation of Louisiana. Twelve Years enslaved person was filmed on several different plantations in New Orleans and demonstrated an important historical context.
Magnolia Plantation was a shooting location historically and is the most similar to the plantation where actual Southup was working, bringing an added dimension and authenticity for a biopic that swept the Oscars 2014.
13. Beasts Of the Southern Wild (2012)
Source: Letterboxd
- Director: Benh Zeitlin
- Cast: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly
- Release date: 2012
- Available at: VUDU, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
The film by Benh Zeitlin, “Beets of Southern Wild,” takes audiences on an amazing journey with a six-week-old girl called Hushpuppy who sets out to locate her missing mother after her father’s health and the environmental conditions are threatened.
Scenes involving the land from which Hushpuppy came were shot in Isle de Jean Charles just outside The Big Easy. In an interview, he said New Orleans cultures were part of the concept of the place.
12. Tightrope (1984)
Source: IMDb
- Director: Richard Tuggle
- Cast: Clint Eastwood, Geneviève Bujold, Dan Hedaya
- Release date: 1984
- Available at: VUDU, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Tightrope tells a neo-noir movie about a man in New Orleans who is trying to find a serial murderer in the case where the suspect starts the murder.
The true history of crime in New Orleans is heavy and, therefore, the perfect setting for this deadly-themed tale. Richard Tuggle’s film is psychologically interesting that shows the audience as a dark murderer forces Detective Block to confront a darker side.
11. The Big Easy (1986)
Source: MUBI
- Director: Jim McBride
- Cast: Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, Ned Beatty
- Release date: 1986
- Available at: VUDU, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Part a romantic romance and part a drama, Jim McBride’s The Great Easy examines the pending gang war that will ensue if he’s convicted.
Drama and love are two incredibly important parts of the city, and the compelling story can also quite well capture it well above its name alone. Antoine’s is a renowned French restaurant known as one of the oldest restaurants in the USA.
You need to watch to know how the romance goes!
10. Now You See Me (2013)
Source: Letterboxd
- Director: Louis Leterrier
- Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson
- Release date: 2013
- Available at: Amazon Prime, Apple TV
The film was shot in three major metropolitan cities worldwide, making New Orleans an interesting choice. The Master Magicians in Now You See Me come to the popular Cafe de Monde to cause trouble near Jackson Square.
Take care of all your mess and get the best coffee and cake while you are there. Paul Broussard. Column. Hotel exteriors or terraces. And who knows, if you are lucky, you may even see the upcoming shooting for the second part of the movie. Till then, w recommend you watch the movie.
9. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
Source: MUBI
- Director: Neil Jordan
- Cast: Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas
- Release date: 1994
- Available at: VUDU
Interviews with the Vampire is a horror gothic horror movie from the 1800s. In addition to shots in the French Quarter, the film also includes parts of the east of New Orleans on Oak Alley plantations. Explore a 25-acre estate in Vacherie, LA. Smith Essences Fest.
The movie has been a hit, be it due to Tom Cruise’s acting or a result of the plot.
8. NCIS: New Orleans (2014 – 2021)
Source: Amazon
- Director: Mark Harmon
- Cast: Scott Bakula, Vanessa Ferlito, Rob Kerkovich, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, CCH Pounder
- Release date: 2014 – 2021
- Available at: VUDU, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
The NCIS New Orleans crew travels all over the city, giving New Orleans its unique look in their films. If you have seen white columns and large green oak trees in this exhibition, it is at Dillard University in Gentilly, New Orleans.
You may go to Bleu Devil’s Clothing or help a college student-operated art exhibit, sporting event or concert. Sheryl Gerbers Oak Alley plantation.
7. Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans (2008)
Source: Justdial
- Director: Dawn Logsdon
- Cast: Lolis Eric Elie
- Release date: 2008
- Available at: VUDU, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Tremel is a drama series that explores the cultural history and makings of the oldest black American community in America – Treme. The series also includes visits to several neighbourhood landmarks, like Congo Square, Louis Armstrong Park and the Backstreet Cultural Museum.
Next time you visit Crescent City for a unique musical experience, look no further than Bullets Sports Bar. Enjoy cheap cocktails, and live music & it is lucky for a celebrity musician to frequent the lounge. Paul Broussard. Red dresses. And binge this movie, meanwhile.
6. American Horror Story (2011)
Source: IMDb
- Director: Ryan Murphy
- Cast: Dylan McDermott, Connie Britton, Taissa Farmiga, Jessica Lange, Evan Peters
- Release date: 2011
- Available at: VUDU, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
The American Horror Stories cast toured the city to complete the three-part season: Coven. 13 episodes were featured across 13 episodes of FX horror. Fans flock to the Buckner house at Jackson Avenue, where they can take selfies, and this historic building served as a place to stage the Miss Robichaux Academy.
The next time you’re in town, head Uptown and grab breakfast at the famous Camellia restaurant, right off the streetcar lines. Afterwards, you may go downtown for a visit to the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum.
5. Deja Vu (2006)
Source: Empire Online
- Director: Tony Scott
- Cast: Denzel Washington, Val Kilmer, Jim Caviezel
- Release date: 2006
- Available at: VUDU, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Deja Vu is a big-screen movie set in New Orleans and is loosely based on a storyline having double jeopardy written all over it. After a ferry explosion, every second line feels like an electric mist over the city. The easy rider dies on the wild side of the story.
The real-life acting makes the movie an essence fest among the Orleans films. It’s as if in King Creole, Elvis Presley dive bars with some spotted cat through the Columns Hotel. It may not be a true story with Julia Roberts and Jamie Foxx, but the filming locations make it worthy of Academy Awards.
Filmed in New Orleans, the movie shows how our protagonist becomes a real-life hero after the ferry attack and tries to save his beloved in the story using his superpowers.
4. When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006)
Source: MUBI
- Director: Spike Lee
- Cast: Harry Belafonte, Terence Blanchard, George W. Bush
- Release date: 2006
- Available at: VUDU, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Unlike movies like Big Easy Rider, this movie belongs more to the genre of Mardi Gras. The film won two academy awards, and the star cast of this documentary was spot on. The movie shows a post-Katrina New Orleans, particularly Bourbon Street and the French Quarter, getting hit by Hurricane Katrina.
There remains no Blanche Dubois, only a city that struggles to regain itself like a Cincinnati kid in the crescent city. Filmed in New Orleans, the movie shows how quickly a pretty baby can turn into a goon of the Big Easy under drastic situations.
3. The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans (2009)
Source: MUBI
- Director: Werner Herzog
- Cast: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer
- Release date: 2009
- Available at: Peacock
The crescent city and Nicolas Cage in it. It’s what Tommy Lee Jones may just kill to have. This movie is set in New Orleans. Thriller, in terms of the nature of the movie, is bound to keep your attention fixated on the screen.
Nicolas Cage is the detective who uses his skills to figure out the killer of five immigrants. But to his demise, he sees all his tactics fail. If worse, all his moves that had proven to be expectational till now start being ineffective and backfiring.
How do you think Cage solves this case? You better binge it to find out the answer.
2. The Toast of New Orleans (1950)
Source: MUBI
- Director: Norman Taurog
- Cast: Kathryn Grayson, Mario Lanza, David Niven
- Release date: 1950
- Available at: VUDU, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Do you not love a story with a rags-to-riches theme? Oh, we adore those. And if it is based in New Orleans, we can take it for sure that it will be a hit. The same goes for this classic movie.
Here, we see a very simple and regular fisherman climbing the stairs of social order and becoming the town’s heartthrob.
Oh, how we adore this classic.
1. The Pelican Brief (1993)
Source: Film Affinity
- Director: Alan J. Pakula
- Cast: Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington
- Release date: 1993
- Available at: VUDU, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Julia Roberts stars in this movie. If you are a fan of suspense and thriller mixed with law, this is just the film for you. The story begins when our protagonist writes a legal brief on a state case based on her opinion.
Soon we see her thesis is correct. But it has downsides. The mafia involved in the crime starts threatening her. We don’t know what might happen if this doesn’t sound attractive to you!
This list covers a variety of best films set in New Orleans. If that is what you are rooting for, this list will be your knight in shining armour. Whatever your preference of genre, our list got it all covered. Happy binging!
