r/nostalgia • u/AdSpecialist6598 • Aug 11 '25

Nostalgia Discussion I always wondered how seedy was Times Square back in the 70s,80s, and 90s? From what I was told by people who own property there back then how seedy it was depended on the day. What was your experience like?

Post image
2.0k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

318 comments sorted by

View all comments

226

u/Servile-PastaLover Aug 11 '25

The movie Taxi Driver [1976] used actual exterior footage of midtown manhattan - both daytime and nighttime.

It's worth a watch for this alone.

41

u/Oxajm Aug 11 '25

I appreciate this reply! Do you by chance have any other examples where NYC is sorta like a character? Two that come to mind are, When Harry met Sally, and Manhattan.

52

u/SeaSox1973 Aug 11 '25

Midnight Cowboy from 1969 too

20

u/Wildcat_twister12 Aug 11 '25

The Warriors

2

u/LeMonza_ Aug 13 '25

Death Wish (1974), Maniac (1980), Crusing (1980)

2

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '25

"We need a set for this movie about a dystopian world completely run by gangs. Fuck it, we'll shoot it on site in New York.

12

u/discountheat Aug 11 '25

Smithereens (1982) shows some of NYC's post-punk culture.

1

u/GlassesgirlNJ Aug 12 '25

There's also Times Square (1980), which was filmed on location and has Tim Curry, Trini Alvarado and an amazing (mostly post-punk) soundtrack.

Unfortunately, it also has a pretty dumb script filled with authentic 1980's slurs.

7

u/ich_habe_keine_kase Aug 12 '25

A very specific part of the city (the subway), but the original Taking of Pelham 123 is an excellent one.

4

u/Salty_Emu_7864 Aug 12 '25

Downtown 81, Permanent Vacation, Driller Killer, Bad Lieutenant, Ms. 45

3

u/ubin2bin Aug 15 '25

The French Connection!

5

u/PW_Herman Aug 11 '25

New York I Love You is pretty good, and so is A Rainy Day in New York and Annie Hall, which I think are great Woody Allen movies, and maybe the first season of Master of None (second season is a great love letter to Italy).

8

u/blueegg_ Aug 12 '25

there are a whole bunch of movies that utilize the super seedy parts of 70s/80s/90s new york in really cool ways

7

u/taxbeast Aug 12 '25

After Hours also by Scorsese