New Jersey is the birthplace of the film industry. In the late 1880s and early 1890s, Thomas Edison and his team invented the kinetograph (a motion the picture camera) and the kinetoscope (precursor to the film projector) in West Orange, NJ. Edison built the world’s first film production studio, “The Black Maria,” on the premises of his laboratory.
Before Hollywood, in the early 1890s, Fort Lee, NJ, was the silent film capital of the world. As many as 17 significant studios are located here, including Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox. Fort Lee’s forests, farms, waterfalls, and hills were perfect for capturing diverse landscapes. Best of all, NY/NJ metro area talent was readily available.
And it’s impossible to talk about the movie industry in New Jersey without talking about the Atlantic City filming. Many of the films produced in Atlantic City are recorded at casinos since that’s something they’re famous for. If you want to know more about the casino industry, take the opportunity to place your bets online at the best sites in Atlantic City, the specialist site OLBG.com shows the best places.
1. Atlantic City
The first movie is obvious and very interesting. Atlantic City is a film by Louis Malle. He also directed the great Goodbye Boys (1987), featuring the director’s quirks combined with a magnificent cast, with Burt Lancaster (Oscar nominee) and Susan Sarandon (Thelma’s eternal Louise & Louise, also nominated for an Oscar) and a story that mixes gangsterism, drugs, and nostalgia.
Burt Lancaster plays a retired gangster who makes a living taking care of an older woman in exchange for trifles and managing an illegal game. Suddenly, his life changes drastically due to the arrival of a post-Woodstock hippie (Robert Joy) who invites him to help him sell cocaine. However, the trafficker hides primal information: cocaine was owned by the Mafia.
2. Bounty Hunter
In the film, an ex-cop, Milo (Gerard Butler), is tasked with hunting down his ex-wife, Nicole (Jennifer Aniston), who failed to appear at trial (an issue involving a police officer). It seems like an excellent opportunity for him: in addition to receiving a fee for the service, he will have the luxury of seeing his ex-wife arrested. But some problems arise in all this racket, especially since she, a journalist, is about to discover some truths.
The problem is that Nicole is investigating a suicide that may not have been precisely a suicide, which puts her in the crosshairs of a dangerous outlaw (Peter Greene). As Milo manages to capture her, he gets into trouble with his ex. Meanwhile, the bookie’s henchmen go after Milo to beat him until he pays what he owes.
3. Ocean’s Eleven
One of the most cult films of the ’60s, Ocean’s Eleven (1960), marked an era, mainly for the team of stars it managed to gather. They were directed by Lewis Milestone (1895-1980). In the cast, members of the Rat Pack group, friends Frank Sinatra (1915-1998), Dean Martin (1917-1995), and Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990), simply the biggest stars of the time.
Eleven Men and a Secret, the 2001 adaptation, was already born victorious. In this direction, the brand Soderbergh, grand champion of the Oscars 2001 with Traffic and Erin Brockovich, would guarantee the film’s quality and repercussion. In the casting, Clooney’s plan was already starting to work. Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle, and Julia Roberts complete the list. Supported by eccentric entrepreneur Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the Bellagio, Mirage, and MGM Grand boast the world’s most complete and complex security system.
4. The Godfather Part Iii
In its opening minutes, The Godfather III already sets the narrative’s tone as it guides us through the melancholy, abandonment, and silence that have taken over the Corleone estate in Lake Tahoe. This was a clear contrast with the first scenes of the trilogy’s second film when the place was the scene of parties and celebrations. And, of course, home to a family that, until then, was united and complete.
Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), who, after the death of his father Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), did barbarities to prove his worth as head of the family, now presents himself as a man seeking redemption. This fact alone indicates that the film needs to distance itself from its predecessors. Mike has always been a very different Don from Vito, but here he finds in his father the reference he needs to reconnect with his children and ex-wife Kay (Diane Keaton).
Not to mention trying to make the family business legitimate and being tormented by the death of his brother Fredo. After all, cruel as he might be, Vito Corleone would never kill a member of his own family. The narrative rhyme present in the final scene is nothing short of magnificent, as it perfectly illustrates the difference between the two Dons.
5. Pavarotti
In the opening scene of this documentary, directed by Ron Howard, Luciano Pavarotti is on one of his tours in an unusual place: the Amazon. The homemade camera accompanies him to a massive theater in the middle of the forest – a place where another famous tenor, Enrico Caruso, once sang.
The theater appears as an oasis to Pavarotti, who asks for the location to be opened. He takes the stage and, with charisma, sings for some people present there. The scene brings all the strength contained in his voice. Soon after, more homely footage is shown with his second wife Nicoletta Mantovani, asking the following question: “How do you want people to remember you as Pavarotti, the man?”.