StudioCanal
The city of New Orleans, Louisiana, often known by its nickname ‘The Big Easy’, has been a favourite film location across the years. With its authentic Creole architecture, multicultural history and unique old-world character it’s the perfect backdrop for filmmakers.
To celebrate the release of the New Orleans-set neo-noir classic Angel Heart we’ve selected a few of our favourite films set in ‘The Big Easy’.
THE BIG EASY, 1986
In The Big Easy the underbelly of New Orleans is on display in this steamy detective story starring Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin. Quaid plays local vice cop Remy McSwain investigating a murder that may have involved corrupt cops. Special Prosecutor for the D.A. Anne Osborne (Barkin) is sent to investigate alleged police corruption but when she meets McSwain they embark on an affair as steamy as the bayou climate.
The Big Easy is a wonderfully authentic portrait of the city featuring well known locations complete with a brilliant Cajun-influenced soundtrack from New Orleans artists such as The Dixie Cups, Professor Longhair and Aaron Neville.
JEZEBEL, 1938
In one of her most renowned roles, Bette Davis played a spoilt southern belle in 1850s New Orleans in William Wyler’s Jezebel alongside Henry Fonda. Julie (Davis) is engaged to successful banker Preston Dillard (Fonda) but (after one too many Mint Juleps perhaps) she pushes him away with her arrogant and contrary ways. When Preston eventually returns and Julie attempts to win him back, she discovers that it may be too late.
RUNAWAY JURY, 2003
Legal thriller Runaway Jury is based on the novel by John Grisham and stars Rachel Weisz, John Cusack, Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman. After a workplace shooting in New Orleans, a trial against the gun manufacturers pits old-time Southern lawyer Wendell Rohr (Hoffman) against shady jury consultant Rankin Fitch (Hackman) who uses illegal means to stack the jury. Nicholas Easter (Cusack) is a man with a hidden agenda and during jury selection he manages to outsmart Fitch and get himself in the jury room. On the outside, Marlee (Weisz) convinces Fitch that the jury can be swayed any way she chooses for the right price and a high stakes game of cat-and-mouse begins.
LIVE AND LET DIE, 1973
Live and Let Die makes the list largely because of one iconic scene… the jazz funeral. A tradition that emerged from the combination of European and African cultural influences and Louisiana’s colonial past, funerals were celebrated with a celebratory musical parade to please the spirits who protect the dead.
In Live and Let Die a harlem drug lord known as Mr Big plans to distribute two tons of heroin for free to put rival drug barons out of business. Mr Big is revealed to be the alter ego of Dr. Kananga a corrupt Caribbean dictator, who rules San Monique, a fictional island where opium poppies are secretly farmed. Bond (Roger Moore) is investigating the deaths of three British agents, leading him to Kananga, and is soon trapped in a world of gangsters and voodoo as he fights to put a stop to the drug baron’s scheme.
ANGEL HEART, 1987
Alan Parker’s Angel Heart starring Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Charlotte Rampling and Lisa Bonet revels in the dark and mysterious character of New Orleans in this dark detective thriller. Harry Angel (Rourke) is a private investigator hired by Louis Cyphre (De Niro) to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite. Angel’s investigation takes him to New Orleans, where he becomes embroiled in a series of brutal murders and devil worship.
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