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2. Gangs of New York Of all of the masterpieces by Martin Scorsese that could have arguably made this list, the one with the clearest shot is - no surprise - the one with New York in its very title.

As I’m sure you know, this movie tells about a conflict in Lower Manhattan, 100 years before the conflicts that roiled the west side in my previous entry on this list. It is interesting, of course, that the movies have that in common, and how struggles of this sort - between different racial, religious, and economic backgrounds - define a city. Scorsese’s entry into the list is thus not only a stunning drama about human psychology (as all his movies are), it is a movie about human struggles as old as time, and as enduring.

In addition, of all the movies I could have picked, this is one of the few that tells a story of a much older New York, a much different one than we see today. But what is brilliant about this movie as a movie about New York is that it weaves that past and subtly tells us how it influences the present. In geography, in socioeconomic structure, and in feeling. The movie is thus heightened in its awareness of the historical lessons it provides.

This movie was infamously shut out after receiving 10 Oscar nominations - I guess the New York crowd of the Academy is not as strong as some may think, at least not as strong as the L.A. crowd. No matter. Oscar recognition or no, Gangs of New York is entertaining, dark, difficult to watch yet compelling, impeccably acted, and a superb movie about New York itself.

1. Manhattan

But the top spot in a list about movies about New York has to go to the master of New York, one of the kings of the city, Woody Allen. Several of his movies, from Manhattan Murder Mystery to Annie Hall and Hannah and Her Sisters could have been included, as they all explore an aspect of New York City that is as much a part of its fabric as its landmarks: the somewhat offbeat individuals who inhabit her. But Manhattan is an ode, pure and simple.

From the opening sequence, where Allen pans through the glittering night of several boroughs, covers Yankee Stadium, and explains his view on the allure of the city, to the misty, iconic shots on the East River parks, the bridges, and the benches, the movie is one long New York City orgasmofest. In between the paeans and the innuendos, the flattery and the bombastic crescendos about life in Manhattan, there is a somewhat loose plot about love, anxiety, and success for an underclass of New York denizens: writers, artists, and others who believe in free love and inspired feelings.

I suppose those do form a part of one slice of the City, a microcosm if you will of at least certain individuals’ experience. But, regardless of whether Manhattan or other Allen films portray fair, complete, or accurate depictions of what life in New York is like for the majority of the citizens (or the average citizen), one thing is undeniable: his representations are sincere and heartfelt. His experience, no doubt, is shared by some, and constitutes a complex, multilayered relationship between the self and the other citizens of the city.

Few movies are even made that are meant simply as a celebration of a city (although Allen has tried it with some European cities - unsuccessfully, I might add) but when Woody Allen sets his mind to it, he hits it out of the park if it comes to New York.

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