Which movies were filmed in Massachusetts?
The magic of Hollywood is that oftentimes movies aren't filmed anywhere near where they purport to be taking place. California may be home to Hollywood, but so many of your favorite films were set against backdrops far removed from the glitterati of the West Coast.
With huge studios like Warner Bros., MGM, and RKO Pictures churning out film after film during the heyday of the silver screen, California made a name for itself as the cornerstone for all things movies. As the industry has continued to shift, however, that has begun to change.
From the need for more rural settings to a director's desire to get everything as historically accurate as possible, not to mention the attractive tax incentives offered by states outside of California, crews are increasingly enticed to look elsewhere when filming. More and more, shoots take place in the most unexpected places in a quest to entertain, and sometimes, to make film history. Have you ever wondered where the Cullen house in the "Twilight" movies actually is? (The answer is Oregon.) How about the location of where the wasteland astronauts trekked in "Planet of the Apes" from 1968? (Answer: Arizona.)
With that in mind, Stacker compiled a list of movies filmed in Massachusetts using data from Movie Locations. Additional information about each film was collected from IMDb. Some films may have been omitted due to data dissimilarities and lack of corresponding information found on IMDb.
21 (2008)
- Director: Robert Luketic
- IMDb user rating: 6.8 (262K reviews)
- Runtime: 123 minutes
- Genres: Crime, Drama, and History
- Cast: Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, and Kevin Spacey
Altered States (1980)
- Director: Ken Russell
- IMDb user rating: 6.9 (37K reviews)
- Runtime: 102 minutes
- Genres: Horror, Sci-Fi, and Thriller
- Cast: William Hurt, Blair Brown, and Bob Balaban
American Hustle (2013)
- Director: David O. Russell
- IMDb user rating: 7.2 (494K reviews)
- Runtime: 138 minutes
- Genres: Crime and Drama
- Cast: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Bradley Cooper
Amistad (1997)
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- IMDb user rating: 7.3 (81K reviews)
- Runtime: 155 minutes
- Genres: Biography, Drama, and History
- Cast: Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, and Anthony Hopkins
The Boondock Saints (1999)
- Director: Troy Duffy
- IMDb user rating: 7.7 (246K reviews)
- Runtime: 108 minutes
- Genres: Action, Crime, and Thriller
- Cast: Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, and Norman Reedus
Captains Courageous (1937)
- Director: Victor Fleming
- IMDb user rating: 7.9 (11K reviews)
- Runtime: 117 minutes
- Genres: Adventure, Drama, and Family
- Cast: Spencer Tracy, Freddie Bartholomew, and Lionel Barrymore
Charly (1968)
- Director: Ralph Nelson
- IMDb user rating: 6.9 (7.1K reviews)
- Runtime: 103 minutes
- Genres: Drama, Romance, and Sci-Fi
- Cast: Cliff Robertson, Claire Bloom, and Lilia Skala
The Cider House Rules (1999)
- Director: Lasse Hallström
- IMDb user rating: 7.4 (103K reviews)
- Runtime: 126 minutes
- Genres: Drama and Romance
- Cast: Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, and Michael Caine
The Departed (2006)
- Director: Martin Scorsese
- IMDb user rating: 8.5 (1.4M reviews)
- Runtime: 151 minutes
- Genres: Crime, Drama, and Thriller
- Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson
Field of Dreams (1989)
- Director: Phil Alden Robinson
- IMDb user rating: 7.5 (125K reviews)
- Runtime: 107 minutes
- Genres: Drama, Family, and Fantasy
- Cast: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, and Ray Liotta
The Fighter (2010)
- Director: David O. Russell
- IMDb user rating: 7.8 (382K reviews)
- Runtime: 116 minutes
- Genres: Action, Biography, and Drama
- Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams
The Firm (1993)
- Director: Sydney Pollack
- IMDb user rating: 6.8 (143K reviews)
- Runtime: 154 minutes
- Genres: Drama, Mystery, and Thriller
- Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Gene Hackman
The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)
- Director: Peter Yates
- IMDb user rating: 7.4 (12K reviews)
- Runtime: 102 minutes
- Genres: Crime and Drama
- Cast: Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, and Richard Jordan
Glory (1989)
- Director: Edward Zwick
- IMDb user rating: 7.8 (141K reviews)
- Runtime: 122 minutes
- Genres: Biography, Drama, and History
- Cast: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, and Cary Elwes
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
- Director: Ben Affleck
- IMDb user rating: 7.6 (283K reviews)
- Runtime: 114 minutes
- Genres: Crime, Drama, and Mystery
- Cast: Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, and Casey Affleck
Good Will Hunting (1997)
- Director: Gus Van Sant
- IMDb user rating: 8.3 (1M reviews)
- Runtime: 126 minutes
- Genres: Drama and Romance
- Cast: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck
Jaws (1975)
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- IMDb user rating: 8.1 (640K reviews)
- Runtime: 124 minutes
- Genres: Adventure, Mystery, and Thriller
- Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss
Jaws 2 (1978)
- Director: Jeannot Szwarc
- IMDb user rating: 5.8 (83K reviews)
- Runtime: 116 minutes
- Genres: Adventure, Horror, and Thriller
- Cast: Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, and Murray Hamilton
Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
- Director: Joseph Sargent
- IMDb user rating: 3.0 (49K reviews)
- Runtime: 89 minutes
- Genres: Adventure, Horror, and Thriller
- Cast: Lorraine Gary, Lance Guest, and Mario Van Peebles
Knight and Day (2010)
- Director: James Mangold
- IMDb user rating: 6.3 (206K reviews)
- Runtime: 109 minutes
- Genres: Action, Adventure, and Comedy
- Cast: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, and Peter Sarsgaard
The Last Detail (1973)
- Director: Hal Ashby
- IMDb user rating: 7.5 (27K reviews)
- Runtime: 104 minutes
- Genres: Comedy and Drama
- Cast: Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid, and Otis Young
Legally Blonde (2001)
- Director: Robert Luketic
- IMDb user rating: 6.4 (236K reviews)
- Runtime: 96 minutes
- Genres: Comedy and Romance
- Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, and Selma Blair
Little Women (1994)
- Director: Gillian Armstrong
- IMDb user rating: 7.3 (62K reviews)
- Runtime: 115 minutes
- Genres: Drama, Family, and Romance
- Cast: Susan Sarandon, Winona Ryder, and Kirsten Dunst
Love Story (1970)
- Director: Arthur Hiller
- IMDb user rating: 6.9 (36K reviews)
- Runtime: 100 minutes
- Genres: Drama and Romance
- Cast: Ali MacGraw, Ryan O'Neal, and John Marley
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
- Director: Kenneth Lonergan
- IMDb user rating: 7.8 (300K reviews)
- Runtime: 137 minutes
- Genres: Drama
- Cast: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, and Kyle Chandler
Mystic River (2003)
- Director: Clint Eastwood
- IMDb user rating: 7.9 (473K reviews)
- Runtime: 138 minutes
- Genres: Crime, Drama, and Mystery
- Cast: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon
Old School (2003)
- Director: Todd Phillips
- IMDb user rating: 7.0 (239K reviews)
- Runtime: 88 minutes
- Genres: Comedy
- Cast: Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and Will Ferrell
The Perfect Storm (2000)
- Director: Wolfgang Petersen
- IMDb user rating: 6.5 (175K reviews)
- Runtime: 130 minutes
- Genres: Action, Adventure, and Drama
- Cast: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and John C. Reilly
The River Wild (1994)
- Director: Curtis Hanson
- IMDb user rating: 6.5 (49K reviews)
- Runtime: 111 minutes
- Genres: Adventure, Crime, and Thriller
- Cast: Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, and David Strathairn
Road Trip (2000)
- Director: Todd Phillips
- IMDb user rating: 6.5 (175K reviews)
- Runtime: 93 minutes
- Genres: Comedy
- Cast: Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott, and Amy Smart
Sabrina (1995)
- Director: Sydney Pollack
- IMDb user rating: 6.3 (43K reviews)
- Runtime: 127 minutes
- Genres: Comedy, Drama, and Romance
- Cast: Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond, and Greg Kinnear
Shutter Island (2010)
- Director: Martin Scorsese
- IMDb user rating: 8.2 (1.4M reviews)
- Runtime: 138 minutes
- Genres: Mystery and Thriller
- Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Mortimer, and Mark Ruffalo
Ted (2012)
- Director: Seth MacFarlane
- IMDb user rating: 6.9 (639K reviews)
- Runtime: 106 minutes
- Genres: Comedy
- Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, and Seth MacFarlane
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
- Director: Norman Jewison
- IMDb user rating: 6.9 (27K reviews)
- Runtime: 102 minutes
- Genres: Crime, Drama, and Romance
- Cast: Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, and Paul Burke
The Town (2010)
- Director: Ben Affleck
- IMDb user rating: 7.5 (407K reviews)
- Runtime: 125 minutes
- Genres: Crime, Drama, and Thriller
- Cast: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, and Jon Hamm
Transformers (2007)
- Director: Michael Bay
- IMDb user rating: 7.0 (663K reviews)
- Runtime: 144 minutes
- Genres: Action, Adventure, and Sci-Fi
- Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, and Josh Duhamel
The Verdict (1982)
- Director: Sidney Lumet
- IMDb user rating: 7.7 (44K reviews)
- Runtime: 129 minutes
- Genres: Drama
- Cast: Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, and Jack Warden
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
- Director: Mike Nichols
- IMDb user rating: 8.0 (78K reviews)
- Runtime: 131 minutes
- Genres: Drama
- Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and George Segal
The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
- Director: George Miller
- IMDb user rating: 6.5 (75K reviews)
- Runtime: 118 minutes
- Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, and Horror
- Cast: Jack Nicholson, Cher, and Susan Sarandon
This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Olivia Monahan, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 48 states.
