There have been a number of films involving crime that have been set in and around Boston, Massachusetts. Fuzz; The Thomas Crown Affair; Blown Away; The Verdict; and A Civil Action all involved some sort of criminality at the center of the plot, even if the films themselves were, essentially, detective or court room dramas. No one could forget Boston’s most famous TV series, Spenser for Hire (which, unlike Cheers, was actually filmed in and around the city). However, while there have been lots of stories set in Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Queens, NY, only a small list of films have actually been set in inner city Boston neighborhoods and dealt with street level criminals as part of their central plots. With a group of lower budget offerings and a Hollywood film like Good Will Hunting in the late nineties, and now the latest spate of films to come out over the past few years, however, neighborhood Boston has become known to an international movie watching public. The following list contains 11 films, all of which could be comfortably categorized as belonging to the the crime genre; and all of which are based, in large part, in one or more of Boston’s neighborhoods. They range from smaller, low budget indies like Squeeze (1997) and Southie (1998) to big budget action extravaganzas like 2006s The Departed. 

1. The Friends of Eddy Coyle(1973). Directed by Peter Yates. Based on the book by local novelist, the late George V. Higgins. Starring Robert Mitchum; Peter Boyle; Alex Rocco. Perhaps the best critically accepted film of its kind to be located in Boston. Tells the story of small-timer Coyle (Mitchum), facing a possible prison sentence he’d like to avoid. Set and filmed all over Eastern Mass.  

2. The Brinks Job(1978). Directed by William Friedken. Starring Peter Falk; Peter Boyle; Gena Rowlands; Warren Oates. From the director of The French Connection, the film takes a look at one of the most famous heists in Massachusetts history, and a crew made of of local Boston thieves from places like Dorchester and the North End.   

3. Squeeze (1997) Directed by Robert Patton Spruill. Starring Tyrone Burton; Eddie Cutanda. Low budget indie set and filmed in Dorchester from Roxbury native Robert Patton Spruill. Tells the story of three high school age friends (one Latin; one Asian; one African American), and their attempts to survive the challenges of the inner city. 

4. Monument Ave. (1998) Directed by Ted Demme. Starring Dennis Leary; Colm Meaney; Billy Crudup; Famke Jannsen. Set in Charlestown. A story about low level criminal car thieves. Worcester native Leary was the driving force behind bringing this story to the screen.  

5. Blue Hill Ave. (1998) Directed by Craig Ross Jr.. Starring Allen Payne; Michael Talifero; William Forsythe. Rather typically plotted crime film about a group of street savvy friends. Set in Roxbury.  

6. Southie (1998) Directed by John Shea. Starring Donnie Wahlberg; John Shea; Amanda Peet; Rose Magowan. Ex New Kid Wahlberg plays a guy who has moved away from Southie, but returns when his mother gets sick. Cliches abound, but there’s some nice cinematography; a young Amanda Peet; and a number of local residents doing well in smaller parts. 

7. Lift (2001) Directed by Khari Streeter; Demane Davis. Starring Kerry Washington; Lonette McKee. Tells the story of a female shoplifter Niecy (Washington) from Roxbury.  

8. Mystic River (2003) Directed by Clint Eastwood. Starring Sean Penn; Marcia Gay Harden; Kevin Bacon; Tim Robbins; Laura Linney; Lawrence Fishburne.  A dark, baroque opera of a film. Based on the novel by Dorchester’s Dennis Lehane. Lehane and Eastwood do not name the neighborhood where Mystic River is set, but it bears a striking resemblance to South Boston. Filmed all over Boston

9. Gone Baby Gone (2007) Directed by Ben Affleck. Starring Casey Affleck; Morgan Freeman; Michelle Monaghan; Ed Harris. Based on the Kenzi/Gennaro detective novels by Dorchester’s Dennis Lehane.  A somewhat over-plotted, but promising debut from actor turned director/Cambridge native Ben Affleck. Like the books, set in Dorchester and filmed in the area.  

10. The Departed (2006) Directed by Martin Scorcese. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio; Matt Damon; Mark Wahlberg; Alec Baldwin; Martin Sheen; Vera Famiglia. Evidently, the rights to The James Bulger story were unavailable so Scorcese chose to take the story anyway, calling it a remake of the superior Asian flick Infernal Affairs. Set in a South Boston only a New York Italian could imagine. Screenwriter and Massachusetts native William Monaghan wrote this cartoon-like action flick. Filmed in Boston and New York. 

11. What Doesn’t Kill You(2008) Directed by Brian Goodman. Starring Mark Ruffalo; Ethan Hawke; Amanda Peet. Gritty story from South Boston native Brian Goodman. Goodman used elements from his own life experiences to tell a gripping story. Set and filmed in South Boston. 

The following list represents some of the best sports films made during the decades of 1970s & 80s. This list includes some of the best sports films ever made. Comedies like Caddyshack and Slap Shot are full of colorful characters and much quoted lines. Others, like The Bad News Bears and The Longest Yard combine elements of comedy and drama. Vision Quest, All the Right Moves, The Jericho Mile, Breaking Away, and Hoosiers are films specifically about underdogs that raise our spirits, but all of the films on the list have the idea of someone fighting the odds as part of the plot’s core. Brian’s Song and Bang the Drum Slowly are heartfelt tragedies about athletes dying young. North Dallas Forty is a cynical look at the exploitation and hypocrisy in professional sports. Fat City combines a number of these previously listed elements in its realistic portrayal of the hard world of pro boxing from the perspective of a washed-up, aging fighter. And finally, another boxing film, Raging Bull, is not only one of the finest sports films ever made, it is one of the finest period. 

Hoosiers (1986) Directed by David Anspaugh. Starring Gene Hackman; Barbara Hershey; Dennis Hopper. Set in the 50s, newly hired Indiana high school basketball coach Norman Dale (Hackman) seeks redemption in a small town as the local team makes an improbable run at a state championship. 

Vision Quest (1985) Directed by Harold Becker. Starring Matthew Modine and Linda Fiorentino. Louden Swain (Modine), Washington area high school athlete, embarks on a “vision quest” to challenge the top wrestler in the state.  

All The Right Moves (1983) Directed by Michael Chapman. Starring Tom Cruise; Lea Thompson; Craig T. Nelson. Stefan Djordjevich (Cruise) is a high school football player trying to win a scholarship to college and get out of this Pennsylvania mining town.

Raging Bull (1980) Directed by Martin Scorcese. Starring Robert Deniro; Joe Pesci. Story of real life professional fighter and champion, Jake Lamotta (Deniro), a New York pugilist known for his brawling style. 

Caddyshack (1980) Directed by Harold Ramis. Starring Chevy Chase; Bill Murray; Rodney Dangerfield; Ted Knight. A classic golf comedy full of quotable lines. 

North Dallas Forty (1979) Directed by Ted Kotcheff. Starring Nick Nolte; Mac Davis. Story of Phil Elliott (Nolte), a wide receiver for a professional sports team in Dallas who becomes disillusioned with the pro game. Based on a novel by Peter Gent, who played wide receiver for The Dallas Cowboys. 

Jericho Mile (1979) (TV) Directed by Michael Mann. Starring Peter Strauss. Inmate Larry “Rain” Murphy (Strauss) struggles with the problems of incarceration while achieving success as a competitive runner.  

Breaking Away (1979) Directed by Peter Yates. Starring Dennis Christopher; Dennis Quaid; Daniel Stern. Dave (Christopher) and his friends, the blue collar sons of “cutters” (the men who built the local quarries), try to decide what to do with their lives. Despite his father’s concern, Dave dreams of being a pro bike racer. 

Slap Shot (1977) Directed by George Roy Hill. Starring Paul Newman; Strother Martin. Reggie Dunlop (Newman) is an aging hockey player/coach tied to a floundering Buffalo based minor league team. Brought us the magic of the Hanson Brothers.   

The Bad News Bears (1976) Directed by Michael Ritchie. Starring Walter Matthau; Tatum O’Neal. Story about Morris Buttermaker (Matthau), a washed up ex-baseball player who coaches a California little league team of misfits. 

The Longest Yard (1974) Directed by Robert Aldrich. Starring Burt Reynolds; Eddie Albert. Former pro football player Paul Crew (Reynolds), incarcerated in State prison, leads a team of cons in a game against the guards.

Bang The Drum Slowly (1973) (TV) Directed by John D. Hancock. Starring Robert Deniro; Michael Moriarty. Seriously ill New York Yankee catcher Bruce Pearson (Deniro) relies on his friendship with fellow player Henry Wiggin (Moriarty).  

Fat City (1972) Directed by John Huston. Starring Stacy Keach; Jeff Bridges. An aging, alcoholic fighter from California (Keach) navigates through the seedy world of professional boxing while mentoring young protege Ernie (Jeff Bridges).  

Brian’s Song (1971) (TV) Directed by Buzz Kulik. Starring James Caan; Billy Dee Williams. True story of friendship between two young Chicago Bears football players, future hall-of-famer Gale Sayers (Williams) and Brian Piccolo (Caan), who contracts a fatal illness.

                               The following list includes a selection of ten outstanding French crime films made from 1954-1966. Jean-Pierre Melville would continue to make films of this ilk, including several more classics (Le Samourai (1967); Le Cercle Rogue (1970); and Un Flic(1971)), but this period from mid-fifties to mid-sixties produced a number of gems from a selection of France’s top directors (Melville; Claude Sautet; Francois Truffuat; Jean-Luc Godard; Robert Bresson, and Jacques Becker). Outstanding work from actors like Jean Gabin; Lino Ventura; and Jean-Paul Belmondo, who all managed to combine a certain on-screen cool with the necessary gravitas to be convincing as hardened criminals; and writers, such as Jose Giovanni, who spent eight years in prison, and was responsible for some of the best screenplays of the period, contributed to a number of quality efforts. The French Crime Wave was of course related to, and perhaps even a sub set of, the French New Wave, which brought emerging directors like Truffuat and Godard to national fame and accord and influenced filmmakers the world over. The crime films included in this list stand up as some the best of the genre in the history of cinema.   

1. Bob Le Flambuer (Bob the Gambler)(1955). Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. Starring Roger Duschene.

2. Pickpocket(1959). Directed by Robert Bresson. Starring Martin LaSalle. 

3. A Bout de Souffle (Breathless)(1960). Directed by Jean-Luc Godard. Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo; Jean Seberg.

4. Le Trou (The Hole) (1960). Directed by Jacques Becker. Starring Marc Michel.

5. Classes Tous Risques (The Big Risk)(1960). Directed by Claude Sautet. Starring Lino ventura; Jean-Paul Belmondo. 

6. Le Deuxieme Souffle (Second Wind)(1966). Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. Starring Lino Ventura.

7. Band ‘a Parte (Band of Outsiders)(1964). Directed by Jean-Luc Godard. Starring Anna Karina.

8. Tirez Sur la Pianiste (Shoot the Piano Player)(1960). Directed by Francois Truffuat. Starring Charles Aznavour.

9. Le Doulos (The Finger Man) (1962). Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo; Serge Reggiani 

10. Touchez Pas au Grisibi (Don’t Touch the Loot)(1954) Directed by Jacques Becker. Starring Jean Gabin; Lino Ventura; Jeanne Moreau

The following list represents some of the most beautiful and alluring actresses of the past 40 years. All of these actresses essentially enjoyed a solid portion of their careers in the 60’s through to the present (all were born after 1933 and all but one are still living), thusly, many wonderful and beautiful actresses from previous periods were not included . Models who dabble in film, and those with few film credits (including actresses mainly known for TV work) or whose work is only in obscure foreign films were not included, although several younger actresses with newer careers are on the list. An attempt was made to create a list that represented world cinema as opposed to simply choosing American born actresses. 

TOP 40 Beautiful Cinema Actresses of the Past 40 Years

1. Brigette Bardot. Born 1934 in Paris, France. Credits include And God Created Woman (1956); A Very Private Affair (1962); Contempt (1963); Viva Maria (1965); Masculine-Feminine (1966). She became a top model at fifteen (appearing in Elle), and an actress soon after that. Married Roger Vadim at 18. She appeared in Vadim’s And God Created Woman(1956). The marriage (her first of four) ended the next year. She worked with Jean-Luc Godard in Contempt and Masculine and Feminineand Louis Malle in A Very Private Affair. Bardot became something of a phenomena in France, and in the U.S. Dubbed the “sex kitten,” she was for years hounded by the paparazzi. Never comfortable with the intense media scrutiny, this may have contributed to her retiring from acting in 1973 at age 39. 

2. Claudia Cardinale. Born Claude Josephine Rose Cardinale in Tunis, Tunisia in 1938. Discovered at a beauty pageant at age 17. Had a child that same year. Grew up speaking French. Her first Italian film at age 18 had to be dubbed by an Italian-speaking actress. Has been with the same man since 1975. Has had over 100 film and television roles. Best known for Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958); Rocco and His Brothers (1960); Girl With a Suitcase (1961); 8 1/2 (1963); The Pink Panther (1963); The Leapord (1963); The Professionals (1966); Once upon a Time in the West (1968). 

3. Sophia Loren. Born Sofia Villani Scicolone (illegitimately) in Rome, Italy in 1934 (her father refused to acknowledge her). Grew up in poverty in Pozzuoli outside of Naples. Was a contestant in the Miss Italia contest of 1950. Became an actress that same year. Met her future mate, film producer Carlo Ponti, at age 16 (he was 22 years her senior and married at the time). Their union would cause major controversy in Italy. They were together until his death in 2007 and have two children. Credits include Gold of Naples (1954); Houseboat (1958) with Cary Grant; Two Women (1960), for which she won the Academy Award; El Cid (1961); Yesterday Today and Tomorrow (1963); and Marriage Italian Style (1964), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award.  Sophia Loren continues to act. 

4. Raquel Welch. Born Jo Raquel Tejada in 1940 in Chicago, Illinois, but moved to San Diego, California at age 2. Of Irish American and Bolivian descent. Married 4 times. Mother of actress Tahnee Welch (Cocoon). Credits include Bedazzled (1967); Last of Sheila (1973); Mother, Jugs, and Speed (1976); Tortilla Soup (1991). Singer and dancer with Broadway credits. Still acting. 

5. Monica Belluci. Born 1964 in Umbria, Italy. Married to French actor Vincent Cassel. Credits include L’Apartment (1996); Malena (2000); Irreversible (2002); Passion of the Christ (2004).  

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1. Munich (USA)

2. Brokeback Mountain (USA)

3. Capote (USA)

4. Syriana (USA)

5. The Beat That My Heart Skipped (FR)

6. 2046 (CHI/HK/FR)

7. The Sea Inside (SP)

8. Good Night, Good Luck (USA)

9. Head-On (GE)

10. Murderball (USA) (doc)

11. The Squid and the Whale (USA)

12. Paradise Now (ISR/FR/GE)

13. Look at Me (FR) 

14. The Three Burials of Mequiades Estrada (USA/FR)

15. The Constant Gardner (USA)

16. Man Push Cart (USA)

17. Junebug (USA)

18. The New World (USA)

19. Best of Youth (IT)

20. Pride and Prejudice (UK/USA) 

21. Memory of A Killer (FR)

22. Kings and Queen (FR)

23. Cache (FR/GE)

24. A History of Violence (USA)

25. Grizzly Man (USA/CA)

26. Me You and Everyone We know (USA)

27. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (USA) (doc) 

28. Downfall (GE)

29.  The World (CHI)

30. Hustle and Flow (USA)

31. Walk The Line (USA)

32. March of the Penguins (USA/FR) (doc)  

33. Nine Lives (USA)

34. Millions (BRIT)

35. Oldboy (S KOR)

36. In Her Shoes (USA)

37. Last Days (USA)

38. North Country (USA)

39. Nobody Knows (JAP)

40. Wild Parrots of Telgraph Hill (USA) (doc)

1. The Death of Dr. Lazerescu (ROM)

2. L’Enfant (FR)

3. Three Times (TAIW)

4. Half Nelson (USA)

5. Children of Men (BRIT/USA)

6. Flags of Our Fathers/Letters from Iwo Jima (USA)

7. Volver (SP)

8. United 93 (BRIT/FR/USA)

9. The Queen (BRIT)

10. A Scanner Darkly (USA)

11. Borat (USA)

12. Road to Guantanamo (BRIT)

13. Sherrybaby (USA)

14. Tristam Shandy (BRIT)

15. Pan’s Labyrinth (MEX/SPAN/USA)

16. The Science of Sleep (USA)

17. The Good Shephard (USA)

18. Apocalypto (USA)

19. Babel (USA)

20. Infamous (USA)

21. The Ground Truth (doc) (USA)

22. Jesus Camp (doc) (USA)

23.  An Inconvenient Truth (doc) (USA)

24. Tsotsi (AFR/FR)

25. Bubble (USA)

26. The Heart of the Game (doc) (USA)

27. Clean (FR)

28. Little Children (USA) 

29. Why We Fight? (USA)

30. Old Joy (USA)

31. Dave Chapelle’s Block Party (doc) (USA)

32. 49 and Up (doc) (BRIT)

33. Fast Food Nation (USA)

34. Marie Antoinette (USA)

35. Iraq in Fragments (doc) (USA)

36. The Notorious Betty Page (USA)

37. Mutual Appreciation (USA)

38. Who Killed the Electric Car? (doc) (USA)

39. Friends With Money (USA)

40. Stranger Than Fiction (USA)

1. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (ROM)

2. No Country for Old Men (USA)

3. Juno (USA)

4. No End in Sight (doc) (USA)

5. The Savages (USA)

6. The Assassination of Jesse James (USA)

7. Away From Her (CAN) 

8. Into The Wild (USA)

9. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (FR)

10. Syndromes and a Century (THAI)

11. Once (IRE)

12. The Lives of Others (GE)

13. There Will Be Blood (USA)

14. Margot at The Wedding (USA)

15. La Vie en Rose (FR)

16. A Mighty Heart (USA)

17. The Zodiac (USA)

18. Eastern Promises (CAN)

19. Crazy Love (doc) (USA)

20. Starting Out the Evening (USA)

21. In the Valley of Ellah (USA)

22. 12:08 East of Bucharest (HUNG)

23. Charlie Wilson’s War (USA)

24. The Kite Runner

25. Things We Lost in the Fire (USA)

26. Lars and the Real Girl (USA)

27. Knocked Up (USA)

28. Superbad (USA)

29. 2 Days in Paris (FR)

30. Control (BRIT)

31. Waitress (USA)

32. Lust, Caution (CHI)

33. Edge of Heaven (GE)

34. Michael Clayton (USA)

35. Black Book (GE/BEL/NETH)

36. Bourne Ultimatum (USA)

37. Rescue Dawn (USA)

38. Atonement (BRIT/FR)

39. Terror’s Advocate (FR) (doc)

40. Snow Angels (USA)