Movies set in San Francisco/ Bay Area
by ironhorse_iv | created - 02 Sep 2012 | updated - 02 Sep 2012 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Zodiac (2007)
R | 157 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Between 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards
Votes: 597,579 | Gross: $33.08M
2. Moneyball (2011)
PG-13 | 133 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.
Director: Bennett Miller | Stars: Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Votes: 464,066 | Gross: $75.61M
3. San Francisco (1936)
Passed | 115 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A Barbary Coast saloonkeeper and a Nob Hill impresario are rivals for the affections of a beautiful singer, both personally and professionally, in 1906 San Francisco.
Director: W.S. Van Dyke | Stars: Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, Spencer Tracy, Jack Holt
Votes: 6,099
4. Bullitt (1968)
M/PG | 114 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A nonconformist San Francisco cop is determined to find the underworld kingpin who killed the witness under his protection.
Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Steve McQueen, Jacqueline Bisset, Robert Vaughn, Don Gordon
Votes: 75,769 | Gross: $42.30M
5. The Fan (1996)
R | 116 min | Action, Drama, Sport
An all star baseball player becomes the unhealthy focus of a down on his luck salesman.
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Robert De Niro, Wesley Snipes, Ellen Barkin, John Leguizamo
Votes: 51,368 | Gross: $18.57M
6. Pacific Heights (1990)
R | 102 min | Thriller
A couple work hard to renovate their dream house and become landlords to pay for it. Unfortunately, one of their tenants has plans of his own.
Director: John Schlesinger | Stars: Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine, Michael Keaton, Mako
Votes: 22,743 | Gross: $29.38M
7. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
PG-13 | 125 min | Comedy, Drama
After a bitter divorce, an actor disguises himself as a female housekeeper to spend time with his children held in custody by his former wife.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Robin Williams, Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Fierstein
Votes: 290,601 | Gross: $219.20M
8. Full House (1987–1995)
TV-G | 22 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A widowed sportscaster raises his three daughters with assistance from his rock and roll brother-in-law and madcap best friend.
Stars: Bob Saget, John Stamos, Dave Coulier, Candace Cameron Bure
Votes: 63,052
9. All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996)
G | 82 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
Charlie and Itchy return to Earth to find Gabriel's Horn, but along the way meet up with a young boy named David, who ran away from home.
Directors: Larry Leker, Paul Sabella | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Sheena Easton, Dom DeLuise, Ernest Borgnine
Votes: 6,657 | Gross: $8.62M
10. Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
Passed | 97 min | Drama, Mystery
A jockey has been shot dead at the race track. Famous detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora happen to be on the scene and Lt. Abrahams asks for Nick's expert help.
Director: W.S. Van Dyke | Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Barry Nelson, Donna Reed
Votes: 6,876
11. Basic Instinct (1992)
R | 127 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A violent police detective investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn
Votes: 218,863 | Gross: $117.73M
12. Sliders (1995–2000)
TV-PG | 60 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
A boy genius and his comrades travel to different parallel universes, trying to find their way back home.
Stars: Jerry O'Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, John Rhys-Davies, Cleavant Derricks
Votes: 20,372
13. Angels in America (2003)
TV-MA | 59 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Several disparate but connected individuals go through the AIDS crisis in the mid-1980s.
Stars: Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, Mary-Louise Parker
Votes: 29,757
14. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
PG-13 | 104 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The human government develops a cure for mutations, and Jean Grey becomes a darker uncontrollable persona called the Phoenix who allies with Magneto, causing escalation into an all-out battle for the X-Men.
Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen
Votes: 540,296 | Gross: $234.36M
15. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
PG-13 | 105 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A substance designed to help the brain repair itself gives advanced intelligence to a chimpanzee who leads an ape uprising.
Director: Rupert Wyatt | Stars: James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto, Karin Konoval
Votes: 557,912 | Gross: $176.76M
16. A View to a Kill (1985)
PG | 131 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
The recovery of a microchip from the body of a fellow British secret agent leads James Bond to a mad industrialist scheming to cause massive destruction.
Director: John Glen | Stars: Roger Moore, Christopher Walken, Tanya Roberts, Grace Jones
Votes: 104,817 | Gross: $50.33M
17. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
PG | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
To save Earth from an alien probe, Admiral James T. Kirk and his fugitive crew go back in time to San Francisco in 1986 to retrieve the only beings who can communicate with it: humpback whales.
Director: Leonard Nimoy | Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan
Votes: 91,417 | Gross: $109.71M
18. The Social Network (2010)
PG-13 | 120 min | Biography, Drama
As Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, he is sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea and by the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara
Votes: 757,811 | Gross: $96.96M
19. Bicentennial Man (1999)
PG | 132 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
An android endeavors to become human as he gradually acquires emotions.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Robin Williams, Embeth Davidtz, Sam Neill, Oliver Platt
Votes: 124,580 | Gross: $58.22M
20. The Streets of San Francisco (1972–1977)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A veteran cop with more than twenty years of experience is teamed with a young Inspector to solve crimes in San Francisco, California.
Stars: Karl Malden, Michael Douglas, Reuben Collins, Richard Hatch
Votes: 6,887
21. Human Target (2010–2011)
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
A unique bodyguard protects his clients by secretly infiltrating their lives in order to draw out and eliminate threats.
Stars: Mark Valley, Chi McBride, Jackie Earle Haley, Indira Varma
Votes: 18,770
22. Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
Not Rated | 147 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A surly convicted murderer held in permanent isolation redeems himself when he becomes a renowned bird expert.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden, Thelma Ritter, Neville Brand
Votes: 19,280
23. Contagion (2011)
PG-13 | 106 min | Drama, Thriller
Healthcare professionals, government officials and everyday people find themselves in the midst of a pandemic as the CDC works to find a cure.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow
Votes: 315,744 | Gross: $75.66M
24. The Core (2003)
PG-13 | 135 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The only way to save Earth from catastrophe is to drill down to the core and set it spinning again.
Director: Jon Amiel | Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Bruce Greenwood
Votes: 107,239 | Gross: $31.19M
25. Dirty Harry (1971)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When a man calling himself "the Scorpio Killer" menaces San Francisco, tough-as-nails Police Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to track down the crazed psychopath.
Directors: Don Siegel, Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Andrew Robinson, Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni
Votes: 168,140 | Gross: $35.90M
26. Alcatraz (2012)
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
In 1963, all the prisoners and guards mysteriously disappear from Alcatraz. In the present day, they resurface and a secret agency are tasked with re-capturing them.
Stars: Sarah Jones, Jorge Garcia, Jonny Coyne, Parminder Nagra
Votes: 40,272
27. Hereafter (2010)
PG-13 | 129 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
An American construction worker, a French journalist and a London school boy set out on a spiritual journey after death touches their lives in different ways.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Matt Damon, Cécile de France, Bryce Dallas Howard, Thierry Neuvic
Votes: 95,446 | Gross: $32.75M
28. Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco (1996)
G | 88 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
When adventurous pets Chance, Shadow, and Sassy are accidentally separated from their vacationing humans, they're left to fend for themselves on the mean streets of San Francisco, searching for the "golden bridge" that will take them home.
Director: David R. Ellis | Stars: Michael J. Fox, Sally Field, Ralph Waite, Al Michaels
Votes: 16,208 | Gross: $49.14M
29. Milk (I) (2008)
R | 128 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna
Votes: 179,778 | Gross: $31.84M
30. Old San Francisco (1927)
Passed | 88 min | Drama, History, Romance
In San Francisco, a villainous land owner with underworld connections seeks to steal the property of an old Spanish family.
Director: Alan Crosland | Stars: Dolores Costello, Josef Swickard, Anders Randolf, Charles Emmett Mack
Votes: 410
31. Colma: The Musical (2006)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
Best pals Rodel, Billy, and Maribel live in Colma. After graduating from high school the trio is having too much fun doing nothing or crashing college parties. But newfound revelations and romances force them to assess what to hold onto.
Director: Richard Wong | Stars: Jake Moreno, H.P. Mendoza, L.A. Renigen, Sigrid Sutter
Votes: 492 | Gross: $0.13M
32. The Room (2003)
R | 99 min | Drama
In San Francisco, an amiable banker's seemingly perfect life is turned upside down when his deceitful fiancée embarks on an affair with his best friend.
Director: Tommy Wiseau | Stars: Tommy Wiseau, Juliette Danielle, Greg Sestero, Philip Haldiman
Votes: 94,925 | Gross: $0.22M
33. The Rock (1996)
R | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, John Spencer
Votes: 357,866 | Gross: $134.07M
34. Murder in the First (1995)
R | 122 min | Drama, Thriller
An eager and idealistic young attorney defends an Alcatraz prisoner accused of murdering a fellow inmate. The extenuating circumstances: his client had just spent over three years in solitary confinement.
Director: Marc Rocco | Stars: Christian Slater, Kevin Bacon, Gary Oldman, Embeth Davidtz
Votes: 30,625 | Gross: $17.38M
35. Star Trek (2009)
PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.
Director: J.J. Abrams | Stars: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Leonard Nimoy
Votes: 620,003 | Gross: $257.73M
36. Trauma (2009–2010)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama
Follows a small group of flight paramedics on the job and in their lives outside of work.
Stars: Derek Luke, Anastasia Griffith, Aimee Garcia, Kevin Rankin
Votes: 2,735
37. The Presidio (1988)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Mystery
A San Francisco civilian police detective is forced to work on a series of murders with his former enemy commanding officer while dating his daughter.
Director: Peter Hyams | Stars: Sean Connery, Mark Harmon, Meg Ryan, Jack Warden
Votes: 19,978 | Gross: $20.04M
38. Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
PG | 94 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A woman transformed into a giant after she is struck by a meteorite on her wedding day becomes part of a team of monsters sent in by the U.S. government to defeat an alien mastermind trying to take over Earth.
Directors: Rob Letterman, Conrad Vernon | Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert, Seth Rogen
Votes: 175,904 | Gross: $198.35M
39. Hulk (2003)
PG-13 | 138 min | Action, Sci-Fi
Bruce Banner, a genetics researcher with a tragic past, suffers an accident that causes him to transform into a raging green monster when he gets angry.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas
Votes: 278,444 | Gross: $132.18M
40. Sideways (2004)
R | 127 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment embark on a week-long road trip through California's wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle.
Director: Alexander Payne | Stars: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh
Votes: 204,110 | Gross: $71.50M
41. The Joy Luck Club (1993)
R | 139 min | Drama
The life histories of four East Asian women and their daughters reflect and guide each other.
Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao, Kieu Chinh, Tsai Chin
Votes: 18,221 | Gross: $32.86M
42. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
PG-13 | 117 min | Biography, Drama
A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career
Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Will Smith, Thandiwe Newton, Jaden Smith, Brian Howe
Votes: 560,117 | Gross: $163.57M
43. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Approved | 80 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan
Votes: 54,691
44. 48 Hrs. (1982)
R | 96 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him in order to track down a killer.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole, Frank McRae
Votes: 85,164 | Gross: $78.87M
45. Vertigo (1958)
PG | 128 min | Mystery, Romance, Thriller
A former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore
Votes: 426,464 | Gross: $3.20M
46. The Game (1997)
R | 129 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
After a wealthy San Francisco banker is given an opportunity to participate in a mysterious game, his life is turned upside down as he begins to question if it might really be a concealed conspiracy to destroy him.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Michael Douglas, Deborah Kara Unger, Sean Penn, James Rebhorn
Votes: 428,734 | Gross: $48.32M
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