New York Through The Camera

Kurt Russell wanted to escape from it, Christopher Walken wanted to be king of it and Robert De Niro thought it was so good he named it twice.

New York. The Big Apple. It's the sort of place film-makers let speak for itself when they've run out of inspiration for their own scripts.

If a film's flagging then all that is needed is a slow tracking shot of the million lights of Manhattan reflected in the black waters of the East River.

Extra player

That's the lazy option.

Directors like Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola and Brian De Palma have all treated the city as an extra player, bringing that special something only New York can offer.

Research reveals that more than 350 movies have contained the city's name in their titles, ranging from plain old New York (three entries) to 1899's Pilot Boats in New York Harbour.

Celluloid gangsters

According to these, you can get lost in it, cross it, find luck in it, go under it, sleep in it, say adios to it and find yourself alone in it. In 1994, you could even go naked in it.

Hollywood's favourite location bar none, the first starring role it had was as the backdrop to King Kong's fall as he gripped Fay Wray atop the Empire State Building in 1933.

Since then, celluloid gangsters have fought it out in Little Italy, financiers have closed deals in Wall Street, lovers have taken trap rides through Central Park and many a relationship has been sealed on top of the Empire State.

Man-made canyons

Michael Douglas and Glenn Close chowed down at Mr Chows in Fatal Attraction while Meg Ryan reached an impressive fake orgasm in Katz's Deli in When Harry Met Sally.

Did you know that the secret entrance to the Men In Black's HQ was Battery Park (where boats leave for the Statue of Liberty) or that St Patrick's Cathedral was the apt location for The Exorcist II?

Who could forget Godzilla thundering up Fifth Avenue, her tail knocking large chunks out of the MetLife building, or Spider-Man swinging down the man-made canyons of lower Manhattan?

Cliched aerial shot

Check out the titles: Wall Street, Manhattan, Miracle On 34th Street, 42nd Street and even the specific Breakfast At Tiffany's to realise what esteem the city is held in.

Chances are you'll have seen a Big Apple landmark in one out of the five most recent films you've seen - even if it's that cliched aerial shot of the beloved city.

Martin Scorsese's eagerly awaited Gangs Of New York lifts the lid on the vicious warfare between established immigrants and those fresh off the boat.

'Spirit of the city'

For almost a century, a succession of brutal bands ensured life was cheap from the dark alleys of Hell's Kitchen to the grim Five Points, where the movie is set.

"It's a template for what's going on today," says Scorsese. "It's the spirit of the city - the struggle to be alive and ultimately the struggle to be free.

"This is the big experiment of this country and a lot of it happens in New York," adds the Raging Bull director, whose cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Liam Neeson.

Famous son

Another director who revels in the emotional pull of the city - and is probably its most famous son as far as the movies are concerned - is Woody Allen.

The quintessential Allen movie is Annie Hall, the bitter-sweet romance between Alvy (Allen) and Annie (Diane Keaton).

They cavort around an idyllic Manhattan, embracing in roof-top gardens, making fun of passers-by in Central Park and proclaiming their love on a twilight pier over the East River.

Special film body

Hannah And Her Sisters is another typical New York story, with Allen's architect taking Carrie Fisher on a tour of his favourite city buildings.

As much as film-makers like New York City, New York City likes film-makers - with a special government body set up to promote and organise location shooting.

The Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting is the place to go if you want to shoot a scene on the Staten Island Ferry, or clear Fifth Avenue for a car chase (as Bruce Willis did in Die Hard With A Vengeance).

Making waves

Film is big business in the city. More than 100,000 New Yorkers work on location in film and TV, while anothe 40,000 professionals make Broadway the thriving theatreland it is.

And it's not just the big movies that make waves. The locally shot Tadpole, Sister Helen and Manito all picked up awards at the Sundance Film Festival.

Current projects include Mike Newell's Mona Lisa Smile and Frank Oz's upcoming The Stepford Wives, with Nicole Kidman pencilled in.

However, you'd search in vain to find New York locations for Gangs Of New York. It was entirely shot at Rome's Cinecitta Studios.

Tim Evans