More than 100 years ago, the motion-picture industry decamped to California from the East Coast to work in better weather, escape the monopoly imposed by Thomas Edison, and film at lower production costs. While the industry has certainly flourished there, however, filmmakers have shot scenes in every state in the union to provide authenticity to their work. (Maybe some of them are seduced by the most beautiful natural wonder in every state.)
Despite the ever-increasing sophistication of computer-generated imagery, there is no substitute for the real thing. That’s why movie makers have gone to Monument Valley on the border of Arizona and Nevada to film such classics as “Once Upon a Time in the West,” or why Steven Spielberg chose the foreboding Devils Tower in Wyoming as the focus of the sci-fi adventure “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” (He also filmed in Alabama.)
The grittiness of the longshoreman’s life in “On the Waterfront” was captured on the real Hoboken docks. The actual Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., was the backdrop for one of the most unforgettable scenes in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” (These are the greatest movie heroes of all time.)
To determine the best movie filmed in every state, 24/7 Tempo developed an index using average ratings on IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and a combination of audience scores and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, as of March 2022. All ratings were weighted equally.
Only movies with at least 25,000 audience votes on IMDb were considered, and only films that were primarily filmed within a given state – based on the number of filming locations within a state as a percentage of all cataloged filming locations on IMDb – were considered for that state. The only exception to this rule is North Dakota, which was not the primary filming state for any film that meets our criteria, but rather was the secondary filming location for “Fargo.”
Click here to see the best movie filmed in your state
The movie industry’s quest for authenticity has not been lost on states, which see the opportunity for financial reward and job creation. In February 2022, Arizona’s state senate voted to create up to $150 million in state tax credits to lure movie and television producers to the state. Florida’s film incentive program expired six years ago, but two bills have been introduced in the Sunshine State earlier this year that could renew rebates for film companies to shift their work there. As for financial impact, the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment said in 2019 that the creative industries had accounted for more than 500,000 jobs and had an economic impact of $150 billion.
Alabama: Get Out (2017)
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (552,470 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (76,451 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (398 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Alabama: Just Mercy (2019), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Director Jordan Pelle became the first African-American to win the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for this thriller, which he also directed. Interior and exterior shots were mostly filmed in Mobile and Fairhope.
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Alaska: The Thing (1982)
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (405,129 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (132,501 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 82% (74 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Alaska: Insomnia (2002), Runaway Train (1985)
A shape-shifting alien takes the form of its victims as it tracks a group of researchers in Antarctica. A glacier in Juneau was used as a background shot. Master of horror John Carpenter called this his favorite movie.
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Arizona: Psycho (1960)
> IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (647,352 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (240,540 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (105 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Arizona: Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Rio Bravo (1959)
One of director Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest films, “Psycho” quickly became the standard for suspense films. Though mostly filmed in California, some scenes were shot in downtown Phoenix, Gila Bend, and Buckeye.
Arkansas: Sling Blade (1996)
> IMDb user rating: 8/10 (92,539 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (56,148 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (56 reviews)
> Another top-rated movie filmed in Arkansas: Mud (2012)
Billy Bob Thornton won a Best Screenplay Oscar and was nominated for Best Actor as a convicted murderer who returns to his hometown. The film was shot in the towns of Benton and Haskell.
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California: Casablanca (1942)
> IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (555,195 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (357,864 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 99% (126 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in California: Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
“Casablanca” is one of the most beloved, honored, and quoted films of all time. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, it won three – for Best Picture, Best Director (Michael Curtiz), and Best Screenplay (Julius and Philip Epstein and Howard Koch). The vast majority of the film was shot on the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank. The classic airport scene at the end of the movie was filmed at what was then called Metropolitan Airport in nearby Van Nuys.
Colorado: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
> IMDb user rating: 8.4/10 (476,535 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (209,660 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (93 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Colorado: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Badlands (1973)
The Cold War-era black comedy about nuclear annihilation was nominated for four Oscars. Some of the aerial photography was done over the Rocky Mountains.
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Connecticut: The Ice Storm (1997)
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (55,680 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (34,489 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 85% (68 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Connecticut: We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), Rachel Getting Married (2008)
Ang Lee’s well-received “The Ice Storm,” about the dissolution of a marriage in the early 1970s, was filmed at various locations in New Canaan.
Delaware: Dead Poets Society (1989)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (465,537 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (307,400 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 85% (59 reviews)
> Another top-rated movie filmed in Delaware: Blue Ruin (2013)
The Oscar for Best Screenplay (Tom Schulman) and three other Academy Award nominations went to “Dead Poets Society,” about an unconventional teacher bringing his students to new levels of self-expression. The movie was filmed at St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, and various other locations around Delaware.
District of Columbia: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (113,602 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (45,893 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (48 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in District of Columbia: All the President’s Men (1976), The Exorcist (1973)
One of director Frank Capra’s greatest movies is about how the cynical Washington political class recoils from the idealism of a new senator played by James Stewart. It was filmed at the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol Building.
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Florida: The Truman Show (1998)
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (1,022,630 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (584,079 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (135 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Florida: Swades (2004), Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Jim Carrey starred as a man who realizes his whole life has been a reality television show. It was filmed in Seaside and Panama City.
Georgia: Avengers: Endgame (2019)
> IMDb user rating: 8.4/10 (1,021,276 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (74,420 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (550 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Georgia: The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019), Hidden Figures (2016)
The Marvel Comics Universe offering starring Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans was filmed in Atlanta and at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayetteville.
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Hawaii: Papillon (1973)
> IMDb user rating: 8/10 (128,314 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (48,756 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (28 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Hawaii: The Descendants (2011), Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
“Papillon,” about French convicts (played by Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman) serving time on Devil’s Island, was partially filmed on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
Idaho: Kundun (1997)
> IMDb user rating: 7/10 (27,795 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (11,821 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 75% (61 reviews)
> Another top-rated movie filmed in Idaho: Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Martin Scorsese’s epic “Kundun,” about Tibet’s Dalai Lama confronting communist Chinese oppression, was nominated for four Oscars. It was filmed in Idaho, along with locations in Canada and Morocco.
Illinois: The Dark Knight (2008)
> IMDb user rating: 9.1/10 (2,508,806 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (1,831,566 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (345 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Illinois: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Director Christopher Nolan’s take on the Batman story starred Christian Bale as the caped crusader. It won two Academy Awards, including a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Heath Ledger as the manic criminal Joker. It was shot at various locations in Chicago.
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Indiana: Hoosiers (1986)
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (46,350 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (50,782 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (45 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Indiana: Rudy (1993), A League of Their Own (1992)
“Hoosiers,” starring Gene Hackman as the coach of a high school team in basketball-mad Indiana, was shot at various towns and gyms around the state.
Iowa: The Straight Story (1999)
> IMDb user rating: 8/10 (88,691 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (31,525 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (104 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Iowa: The Bridges of Madison County (1995), Field of Dreams (1989)
David Lynch directed this film based on a true story about a man (Richard Farnsworth) who makes a cross-state journey on a lawnmower to see his ill brother. West Bend, Laurens, Lansing, and Clermont are among the locations for the critically acclaimed movie.
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Kansas: Paper Moon (1973)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (46,321 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (11,424 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (42 reviews)
> Another top-rated movie filmed in Kansas: Mars Attacks! (1996)
Tatum O’Neal became the youngest actor to win a competitive Academy Award at 10 years old, playing a child swindler during the Depression. The towns of Hays, Wilson, and Gorham were among the locations where the movie was shot in Kansas.
Kentucky: Stripes (1981)
> IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (72,277 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (53,131 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88% (41 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Kentucky: The Art of Self-Defense (2019), Secretariat (2010)
“Stripes” is a comedy starring Bill Murray as a ne’er-do-well who joins the Army as a career change. Among the notable locations in Kentucky where it was filmed were Fort Knox and various parts of Louisville. The film was one of Murray’s early hits.
Louisiana: 12 Years a Slave (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (680,012 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (140,622 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (376 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Louisiana: Logan (2017), Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Director Steve McQueen’s Oscar-winning film, set in the antebellum U.S., is about a free Black man from New York who’s abducted and sold into slavery. Besides New Orleans, “12 Years a Slave” was shot at many plantation sites in Louisiana.
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Maine: In the Bedroom (2001)
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (40,051 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (20,142 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (139 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Maine: It (2017), The Man Without a Face (1993)
“In the Bedroom” is about a college-aged son who dates an older woman with two small children in a relationship complicated by her ex-husband. The film, nominated for five Academy Awards, was shot entirely in Maine, including in the towns of Camden, Belfast, Owls Head, and Rockland.
Maryland: Philomena (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (98,702 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (52,469 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (200 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Maryland: Hairspray (2007), The Barbarian Invasions (2003)
“Philomena” tells the true story of an Irish woman and a British journalist on a journey to find the son taken from her decades earlier by Catholic nuns after she had the baby out of wedlock. Though much of the Oscar-nominated movie was shot in the United Kingdom, it was also partly filmed in Poolesville and Potomac in Maryland.
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Massachusetts: Good Will Hunting (1997)
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (927,601 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (365,185 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (82 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Massachusetts: Spotlight (2015), The Departed (2006)
Oscars went to Robin Williams (Best Actor) and Ben Affleck and Matt Damon (Best Screenplay) for this story about a troubled genius janitor who gets counseling from a psychologist. Much of the film was shot around Boston and Cambridge.
Michigan: Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
> IMDb user rating: 8/10 (64,937 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (12,426 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (50 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Michigan: Deadpool (2016), Vishwaroopam (2013)
The courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Murder” was nominated for seven Academy Awards and directed by Otto Preminger. It was shot primarily in the towns of Marquette, Big Bay, and Ishpeming.
Minnesota: Fargo (1996)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (658,619 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (234,613 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (102 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Minnesota: A Simple Plan (1998), Beautiful Girls (1996)
“Fargo” is about intertwining stories of murder and greed that involve the people in the town of Fargo, North Dakota. Oscars went to Frances McDormand for Best Actress and to Ethan and Joel Coen for best screenplay. Minneapolis, Edina, and St. Louis Park were among the Minnesota stand-ins for the Peace Garden State.
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Mississippi: Mississippi Burning (1988)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (97,825 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (39,519 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84% (25 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Mississippi: The Help (2011), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
The Oscar-winning story about the FBI investigation of the murder of voting-rights activists in Mississippi in the 1960s starred Gene Hackman, Frances McDormand, and Willem Dafoe. Vicksburg, Jackson, and Lafayette served as some of the shooting locations.
Missouri: Up in the Air (2009)
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (330,357 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (228,562 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (288 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Missouri: You’re Next (2011), Winter’s Bone (2010)
“Up in the Air” is about a man (George Clooney) whose lifestyle of traveling around the country and firing people is altered by a love interest. Besides Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, other locations in St. Louis as well as the town of Affton were used.
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Montana: The Shining (1980)
> IMDb user rating: 8.4/10 (974,016 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (482,629 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 85% (97 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Montana: A River Runs Through It (1992), Little Big Man (1970)
Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” gets as much attention for its filming locations as it does for its sinister story about a man slowly losing his mind in a snowbound hotel. Among the shooting locations were Going-to-the-Sun Road and Saint Mary Lake at Glacier National Park and Boulder – though the exteriors of the hotel in which the action took place is in Mount Hood, Oregon.
Nebraska: Nebraska (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (116,714 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 83% (44,851 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (251 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Nebraska: About Schmidt (2002), Election (1999)
In “Nebraska,” Bruce Dern plays a boozy older father who journeys to Nebraska from Montana with his son to claim a million-dollar sweepstakes prize. The six-time Oscar nominated movie was shot in Lincoln, Hooper, Norfolk, and other Nebraska locations.
Nevada: Casino (1995)
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (501,200 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (285,429 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (68 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Nevada: Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
Martin Scorsese’s film about the mob’s hold on Las Vegas starred Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. Bally’s and the Riviera Hotel & Casino were among the Las Vegas sites used in the movie.
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New Hampshire: On Golden Pond (1981)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (30,631 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (20,591 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (43 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in New Hampshire: In Your Eyes (2014), Heist (2001)
Mark Rydell’s film about aging parents who try to reconcile differences with their children won three Oscars, including Academy Awards for Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn. It was shot at Squam Lake and Lake Winnipausakee.
New Jersey: On the Waterfront (1954)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (151,475 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (52,278 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 99% (105 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in New Jersey: The Wrestler (2008), Zelig (1983)
Elia Kazan’s gritty story about the mob influence over the docks in Hoboken, New Jersey, collected eight Oscars, including what are considered the top five awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando), Best Actress (Eva Marie Saint), Best Director (Kazan), and Best Screenplay (Budd Schulberg). Among the Hoboken locations where it was filmed were the churches of St. Peter and St. Paul and Our Lady of Grace, as well as the iconic railroad station.
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New Mexico: Ace in the Hole (1951)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (34,994 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (6,226 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (38 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in New Mexico: Hell or High Water (2016), No Country for Old Men (2007)
A reporter played by Kirk Douglas exploits the desperate situation of a man trapped in a cave to restart his career in “Ace in the Hole.” Directed by master of cynicism Billy Wilder, the movie was shot in the New Mexico desert, Laguna Pueblo, and Albuquerque.
New York: The Godfather (1972)
> IMDb user rating: 9.2/10 (1,758,030 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 98% (734,706 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (140 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in New York: Goodfellas (1990), The Godfather: Part II (1974)
“The Godfather,” about the internecine war among organized-crime families over control of the emerging drug trade, won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando), and Best Screenplay (Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo). Among the New York locations were in Staten Island, Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, and several sites in the Bronx.
North Carolina: Evil Dead II (1987)
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (158,512 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (148,566 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (61 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in North Carolina: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
Sam Raimi wrote and directed this demented and sometimes hilarious bloodbath about people holed up in a cabin battling the undead. It was filmed in Wilmington and Wadesboro.
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North Dakota: Fargo (1996)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (658,619 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (234,613 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (102 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in North Dakota: None
“Fargo,” a film about greed and murder amid the unforgiving winter of the upper American plains, was shot partly in Fargo, Grand Forks, Bathgate, and Grafton, though it was also filmed in Minnesota.
Ohio: The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
> IMDb user rating: 9.3/10 (2,554,263 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 98% (887,352 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (81 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Ohio: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), The Avengers (2012)
“The Shawshank Redemption,” about a man wrongly accused of murder who escapes prison and starts a new life in Mexico, was not a hit when it was released but has come to be regarded as one of the greatest films of the prison genre. The seven-time Oscar-nominated movie was shot at the Mansfield Reformatory, Malabar Farm State Park, Ashland, Butler, and other Ohio locations.
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Oklahoma: Rumble Fish (1983)
> IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (33,883 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80% (23,482 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 74% (35 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Oklahoma: The Frighteners (1996), The Outsiders (1983)
There’s plenty of star power in “Rumble Fish,” with Mickey Rourke, Matt Dillon, Laurence Fishburne, and Diane Lane. The film is about a street punk trying to live up to his older brother’s thuggish reputation. Tulsa served as the location for various street scenes in the film.
Oregon: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
> IMDb user rating: 8.7/10 (975,363 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 96% (279,983 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (83 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Oregon: Stand By Me (1986), The General (1926)
In 1976, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” became the first film in 41 years to sweep the five major Academy Award categories. It gave Jack Nicholson the first of his three Oscars, this one for his role as a rebellious inmate in a psychiatric institution. The movie was shot at Oregon State Mental Hospital in Salem and also at Depoe Bay.
Pennsylvania: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
> IMDb user rating: 8.6/10 (1,371,318 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (847,515 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (104 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Pennsylvania: Dawn of the Dead (1978), Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The so-called big five Oscars went to “The Silence of the Lambs,” including Best Actor for Anthony Hopkins as the jailed cannibal killer whose help is sought by the FBI to catch a killer. Jodie Foster won for Best Actress, Jonathan Demme for Best Director, Ted Tally for Best Screenplay – and it won for Best Picture. It was filmed at various sites in Pittsburgh, among other locations in Pennsylvania.
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Rhode Island: Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (341,128 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (139,918 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (266 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Rhode Island: Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (2009), Amistad (1997)
Wes Anderson directed this kooky comedy about two 12-year-olds who fall in love and run away into the wilderness, and turn the town they’re from upside down in the process. It was filmed at Fort Wetherill State Park in Jamestown, Newport, and Narragansett Bay.
South Carolina: Full Metal Jacket (1987)
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (717,444 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (324,806 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (83 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in South Carolina: The Big Chill (1983), Cold Mountain (2003)
Director Stanley Kubrick was unsparing in his vision of the dehumanizing impact of the Vietnam War in “Full Metal Jacket.” Parris Island, the site of a major Marine camp, was one of the locations used for the movie.
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South Dakota: Dances with Wolves (1990)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (256,317 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (213,825 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (76 reviews)
> Another top-rated movie filmed in South Dakota: Nomadland (2020)
“Dances with Wolves” starred Kevin Costner as a U.S. soldier in the American West who is cast out by his peers because he befriends Native Americans. The film won an Academy Award for Best Picture and Costner grabbed a gold statue for Best Director, among the seven Oscars that honored the film. It was shot in the Badlands and the Black Hills.
Tennessee: The Green Mile (1999)
> IMDb user rating: 8.6/10 (1,242,455 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (814,203 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (137 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Tennessee: October Sky (1999), Mystery Train (1989)
The mysterious gift of a man on death row affects prison guards in “The Green Mile.” It was directed by Frank Darabont, who also helmed the acclaimed “The Shawshank Redemption,” and it was nominated for four Oscars. It was filmed at Tennessee State Penitentiary in Nashville, and at Shelbyville, College Grove, and Buffalo Valley, among other Tennessee locations.
Texas: The Last Picture Show (1971)
> IMDb user rating: 8/10 (46,995 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (14,202 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (59 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Texas: Dazed and Confused (1993), Paris, Texas (1984)
“The Last Picture Show,” directed by Peter Boganovich, tells the story of teens trapped in a dying Texas town. Oscars went to Ben Johnson (Best Supporting Actor) and Cloris Leachman (Best Supporting Actress). Texas locations included Archer City, Holliday, and Olney.
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Utah: The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (48,095 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (16,064 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (31 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Utah: Wind River (2017), Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
Sean Connery and Michael Caine played two former British soldiers in 19th-century India who plan to become kings of the remote country of Kafiristan. Director John Huston chose Glen Canyon in Utah as a stand-in for the fictional Asian land.
Vermont: Beetlejuice (1988)
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (287,847 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (917,435 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 85% (62 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Vermont: What Lies Beneath (2000), The Trouble with Harry (1955)
In Tim Burton’s comedy “Beetlejuice,” a dead couple haunt their former house to try and drive away its current inhabitants, but are charmed by the newcomers’ daughter – the only one who can see them. Michael Keaton played the manic title character. The movie was shot at various locations in East Corinth.
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Virginia: Lincoln (2012)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (256,515 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (245,983 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (285 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Virginia: Loving (2016), What About Bob? (1991)
Based on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln,” this biopic offered a tour de force performance by Daniel Day-Lewis as the nation’s 16th president, earning him his third Best Actor Oscar. The film was shot at the State Capitol and the executive mansion in Richmond, and at Powhatan.
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Washington: Captain Fantastic (2016)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (211,733 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (22,538 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (229 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Washington: Dancer in the Dark (2000), WarGames (1983)
Viggo Mortensen played a father of six raising his children in the Pacific Northwest forest who’s forced to bring his kids into society because of the death of their mother. The comedy/drama, written and directed by Matt Ross, was shot at Deception Pass State Park. Snohomish, and Sultan.
West Virginia: Super 8 (2011)
> IMDb user rating: 7/10 (349,487 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (135,459 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 81% (296 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in West Virginia: The Glass Castle (2017), We Are Marshall (2006)
Kids shooting a movie at a train station witness an accident that leads to unexplained and terrifying phenomena. Produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by J.J. Abrams, the film was shot at Wheeling Ohio County Airport, Weirton, and Follansbee.
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Wisconsin: Major League (1989)
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (67,440 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (91,258 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (40 reviews)
> Another top-rated movie filmed in Wisconsin: The Last Kiss (2006)
This is a raucous comedy starring Tom Berenger and Charlie Sheen as players on the Cleveland Indians, whose owner has assembled a team intended to lose in order to lower attendance and allow him to move it to Miami. It was filmed at Milwaukee County Stadium and other sites around Milwaukee.
Wyoming: Rocky IV (1985)
> IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (199,768 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 76% (325,834 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 43% (53 reviews)
> Other top-rated movies filmed in Wyoming: None
The third sequel in the Rocky saga has a Cold War theme, as Rocky Balboa seeks revenge against a massive fighter from the Soviet Union who killed his friend Apollo Creed in the ring. Rocky’s training scenes take place in Jackson Hole, including Cody Peak, and in Grand Teton National Park.
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