Chicago has a long history of being the film location for hit movies. In fact, more than 200 well known movies have filmed in Chicago! The most notable director to use Chicago as a filming location was John Hughes (a native of Chicago), who wrote and directed some of the best grossing movies of the 1980’s including one of our favorites National Lampoon’s Vacation.
Since Chicago has such a rich filming history, we have put together a list of what we think are the top 5 Chicago movie scenes!
Warning: This blog post may contain some spoilers.
# 5: The Color of Money
This Martin Scorsese film stars Paul Newman and Tom Cruise. The Color of Money is about a pool hustler in Chicago’s west side and his protege. There is one scene that stood out to moviegoers, and that was the infamous White Cadillac scene!
# 4: Planes, Trains & Automobiles
https://youtu.be/pPJzNNpUFsU
The ending scene of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is one of the most heartfelt scenes in the movie, and it takes place, and filmed, in Chicago! The ending scene begins with a beautiful skyline and you see Steve Martin and John Candy standing on the L platform. In this scene, we see Neil (Steve Martin) find out the truth about Del (John Candy) and how he is homeless. This scene was a bombshell when it came out, as many were expecting the film to be a lighter comedy like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which came out a year before.
# 3: The Dark Knight
Since Gotham City is fictional, this movie was filmed in both New York and Chicago to mix up the architecture. The opening scene of the movie where The Joker and his henchmen rob the bank, was filmed in Chicago. If you look closely, you can see some familiar buildings!
# 2: The Blues Brothers
This classic comedy has many scenes filmed in Chicago. One of the best scenes from this movie is the scene where John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd are being chased by the Chicago PD. As they are being chased, they name off a few familiar those in Chicago might be familiar with.
#1: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
This movie gets our #1 pick for the greatest movie scene filmed in Chicago. For those who have not seen Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, it is about three high school students who ditch school and spend the day in Chicago. There are many great scenes of Chicago in this movie, but the Twist and Shout scene was one of the most notable.
There have been so many great movies filmed in Chicago that it can be tough to pinpoint the best scenes. Other notable films filmed in Chicago would be The Untouchables, Rookie of the Year, High Fidelity, and Risky Business. But with over 200 films made here, there ought to be more great scenes that we just haven’t seen yet!
