Bailey, Jason. Fun City Cinema: New York City and the Movies that Made It. Abrams Books, 2022. 

In Fun City Cinema, Jason Bailey argues that the films made in New York City are invariably shaped by the character of the city itself and reflect the history, tensions and achievements of New York and New Yorkers within their own narratives- whether they intended to or not. He also demonstrates how New York City based films have shaped public opinion about the city- especially for those viewers who have never visited. Bailey surveys one hundred years of film, beginning in 1920, and moves quickly through descriptions of the major and minor films made in all five boroughs in chronological order.

Each chapter focuses on a particular decade and features one or two major films that he feels defines its era. Each chapter also includes descriptions and lists of the dozens of other New York based films made that decade including not just blockbusters and major features, but also dozens of indie films and hard-to-find art films. Each visually stunning chapter contains copious still shots, behind-the-scenes photographs, and film posters. 

Beginning in 1920, Bailey examines the history of the American film industry noting how changing financial and political conditions in Hollywood directly influenced many studios’ decisions to work in New York City, even though it was often much more difficult to film there because most scenes had to be shot on location rather than on set. Over the next hundred years, the New York based film industry ebbed and flowed as ever changing political and economic realities and problems either invited or excluded filmmakers from New York. Bailey seems to be particularly interested in New York City’s mayoral politics and the ways that city mayors affected both the city’s culture and the film industry focusing especially on John Lindsey and Ed Koch. 

His deepest dives are into Midnight Cowboy (1969), Taxi Driver (1975) and Wall Street (1987), films that define the ugly, gritty horror of New York City during each decade. His chapter on Taxi Driver, for example, compellingly illustrates the monumental impact that city conditions in the summer of 1975 had on the film. He argues that Scorsese deliberately highlighted and used that summer’s garbage strike, extreme heat wave, rolling brownouts and political conflict to ratchet up the tension among his characters and to create an atmosphere of stress and agitation that would have been difficult to replicate on a sound stage. New York City’s natural seediness lent the film a high degree of authenticity and unease that perfectly matched the anxiety of the characters and storyline. Viewers can almost smell the weeks-old piles of rotting garbage lined up on city streets. 

Despite his focus on the roughest and bleakest films, Bailey’s book is an unapologetically loving guided tour through New York cinematic history. He has tried to create an authoritative list of the hundreds of movies filmed on New York’s streets and in its crumbling buildings. (Bailey skims over Woody Allen’s career making little comment about his impact on the film industry.) This book will inspire readers to seek out new movies and to watch old favorites with a new appreciation. Bailey clearly loves New York and movies about New York and provides such depth of detail and context about so many of the films he includes. 

Fun City Cinema appeals to both a general and an academic audience and would be a great gift for anyone. The book could be used in any course on New York City history or New York City film studies.