As someone from Washington it's interesting to see people focus on the central coastal region, since the state itself is *incredibly* diverse, perhaps one of the most geographically diverse for its size. It goes from the coast, to lush green rainforests, to Puget sound inner coastal region, to the cascade forests, to the mountainside valleys, plainsland, high/low desert, and back to the dryer forest, eroded scablands, and eventually to mountainous forestland again. (In fact that area that is sometimes called the wettest place in the US is just the arm on the western coast.) I've always wanted to make a movie based on the Columbia River, which, to my own admitted bias, is the most beautiful river in all the US.
Honestly as kind of an eye roller of a pick as this might sound, I actually think Lilo and Stitch would be a better pick to capture Hawaii. The way it depicts the working class underbelly that keeps America’s paradise running and puts its people at the forefront of the story is just so moving (yes, as a person of color). Watching that movie as an adult understanding the challenges facing native Hawaiians in the real world made it a much more powerful movie than I think people give it credit for.
Yeah it’s ironic that the Hawaii pick was chosen due its relevance to US history and culture. Meanwhile, the film that actually focused on native Hawaiians got sidelined as an honorable mention. This was a great list, no doubt. I’m so impressed by his many perfect selections, but he sadly disappointed me for Hawaii
Even though it was a deleted scene, I think the sequence where Lilo intentionally misdirects clueless tourists would be a better pick than anything regarding Pearl Harbor. It's a little strange to make such a focus on those living in poverty in Florida, a state so firmly culturally defined by its tourism, and then ignore that angle for the state with such a tragic history of colonialism and indigenous erasure.
Hollywood has a long history of exploiting Native Hawaiians and migrant workers in Hawaii. In _From Here to Eternity_ (1953), all the Native Hawaiians depicted in the background were actually Filipino migrant workers because real Native Hawaiians refused to participate. Watch the documentary _Cane Fire_ (2020)
Yeah that title actually confused a ton of people who know their geography. I hate having to explain over and over the film STARTS in Fargo and the vast majority of it takes place in Minnesota, mostly between St Cloud and Fargo/Moorhead.
As a lifelong Floridian who grew up in poverty in a tourist town, I'm so glad you picked The Florida Project. It really does encapsulate the experiences of so many of us here.
I hope things work out for you. In my travels of the world, I found the usa to be uniquely harsh to the less fortunate especially for a country that clearly has money the divide between the haves and have nots is inescapable. In Japan, Canada, the UK, or Europe there will be people struggling but never have I seen that struggle so obvious or so many people hostile to the idea of helping those in need. Anyways, I wasn't trying to badmouth the usa, I think it was a beautiful country filled with wonderful people, I guess to just wanted to say that there's always a way forward, and I hope you all work together to find one that involves empathy and compassion for each other.
Let me tell you, I was born in Minnesota and moved to Colorado, but all it took was one sitting watching Fargo to revive my inner Minnesota vernacular and accent.
@timnor4803 As a Gen Xer who grew up in Montana, I remember that quite a few of our neighbors had that accent. Only the older generations, though. I can't recall anyone my age talking that way. North Dakota is our next door neighbor; that's why I bring it up.
I have seen Fight Club probably 30 times in my life and I have never even thought about where exactly it was set, but I would definitely not have guessed Delaware
To parrot the above reply with greater detail, the scene where The Narrator and Tyler are walking down a street smashing cars, all of the towns they mention fight clubs popping up in are Delaware towns. The film was shot in Vancouver, because Wilmington is not the most impressive city, as far as scale goes, but if you look up Rodney Square on google maps, you’ll notice that all of the big buildings (because you can barely call any of them skyscrapers) in the area are either owned by banks or corporate law firms. The scene where The Narrator goes to a company office, only to discover a desk with a phone is pretty accurate because there are single-story buildings in Wilmington with over a hundred corporations listing it as their address. Cayman Islands of the USA, babyyyy
@@EntertainTheElk As I was watching this the first time, I was wondering where "All That Heaven Allows" was set cause it's one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen. It's also a very good study of class and social mores at a time and place where doing the proper thing apparently mattered more than following your heart's desire. Doing the research since then, I've read that it was "primarily filmed on the backlot of Universal Studios in Universal City, California. Specific locations included Circle Drive and Colonial Street on the studio’s backlot. These areas were used to represent the fictional town of Stoningham, which is likely set in Connecticut." But likely set in Connecticut and definitely set there are two different things, so sadly I can't apply that lovely film to a particular state.
As a Texan I’d have to choose No Country for Old Men, mainly because of how spot on all of the accents, dialogue, phrases, and mannerisms are and also because of the landscapes along with the story in general and the great acting of Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, and Javier Bardim
As a Chicagoan myself and while I do love the Blues Brothers (it’s one of my favorite Chicago movies) he’s right about Ferris Bueller given how the city is a character itself providing all they can do in one day! The Blues Brothers spends most of the time highlighting the city as a setting but more focus on the music seeing how we are one of the major hubs for Blues music. Plus given how John Landis and Dan Aykroyd (the director and writers) took advantage of Mayor Jane Byrne’s lift on the ban on filming in Chicago from the first Mayor Daley.
My vote is Blues Brothers for best Illinois film. Ferris Bueller for best Chicago(land) film. Adventures in Babysitting for best Chicago film with Elizabeth Shue
The thing about Silence of the Lambs that I love is the moment Hannibal Lecter realizes that he's dealing with a trainee. He's simultaneously insulted that he got assigned a trainee, and for the briefest moment even seems to feel badly for how much Clarice will likely be in over her head before snapping back to his normal pathological insanity.
Alright here we go • Alabama - To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - 3:24 • Alaska - Insomnia (2002) - 5:15 • Arizona - Raising Arizona (1987) - 7:34 • Arkansas - Minari (2020) - 9:38 • California - Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2020) - 10:54 • Colorado - South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut (1999) - 14:11 • Connecticut - The Swimmer (1968) - 16:06 • Delaware - Fight Club (1999) - 18:06 • Florida - Florida Project (2017) - 19:31 • Georgia - Gone With The Wind (1939) - 21:27 • Hawaii - From Here to Eternity (1953) - 23:35 • Idaho - Napoleon Dynamite (2003) - 25:17 • Illinois - Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) - 26:53 • Indiana - Hoosiers (1986) - 29:36 • Iowa - Field of Dreams (1989) - 31:12 • Kansas - Paper Moon (1973) - 32:40 • Kentucky - Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) - 34:35 • Louisiana - Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) - 35:46 • Maine - The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - 37:30 • Maryland - Hairspray (1988) - 39:44 • Massachusetts - The Departed (2006) - 41:08 • Michigan - 8 Mile (2002) - 42:46 • Minnesota - Fargo (1996) - 44:49 • Mississippi - In the Heat of the Night (1967) - 46:44 • Missouri - Meet Me In Saint Louis (1944) - 49:28 • Montana - A River Runs Through It (1992) - 50:55 • Nebraska - Election (1999) - 52:30 • Nevada - Ocean's Eleven (2001) - 53:51 • New Hampshire - Lolita (1962) - 55:39 • New Jersey - On The Waterfront (1954) - 57:06 • New Mexico - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966) - 58:36 • New York - Do The Right Thing (1989) - 1:00:39 • North Carolina - Blue Velvet (1986) - 1:03:22 • North Dakota - Nothing. Who cares about North Dakota - 1:04:38 • Ohio - Take Shelter (2011) - 1:05:47 • Oklahoma - Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) - 1:07:29 (I love this pick) • Oregon - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) - 1:09:35 • Pennsylvania - Rocky (1976) - 1:11:46 • Rhode Island - The Conjuring (2013) - 1:13:48 • South Carolina - The Notebook (2004) - 1:15:09 • South Dakota - Badlands (1973) - 1:16:41 • Tennessee - Nashville (1975) - 1:18:09 • Texas - Dazed and Confused (1993) - 1:19:33 • Utah - SLC Punk! (1998) - 1:22:48 • Vermont - Dead Poets Society (1989) - 1:25:02 • Virginia - The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - 1:26:23 Washington - Rambo: First Blood (1982) - 1:28:46 • West Virginia - The Night of the Hunter (1955) - 1:31:04 • Wisconsin - Bridesmaids (2011) - 1:32:34 • Wyoming - Unforgiven (1992) - 1:33:53
When you foreshadowed skipping over Forrest Gump for Alabama, I was about to get my all caps rage ready, but you made a very fine choice. To Kill A Mocking Bird is a genuine classic.
And really personifies our state. The blacks trapped by a horrific system and many whites struggling to find a way to help them. Most don't see that, but it's there.
Dazed and Confused is the best pick, more than I could’ve hoped for! It accurately depicts how I grew up- just lots of little adventures and tons of wild characters. Thank you.
@@SirBlackReeds Were they ever actually buddy-buddies? I thought they were connected by Jones being the conspiracy town crier long before Info Wars, and just about everyone in Austin had to have seen him at least once, so Linklater just kind of approached him? It's interesting too though how Jones changed the conspiracy landscape. It was probably far more acceptable to chat with someone like that back then, whenever this behavior was a novelty. Until Obama's second term, when birtherism had really rooted itself in, I would say, imo, it was more acceptable to brush up against these folks. I'm really interested in this kind of thing lol
This sounds like hyperbole, but this video is kind of incredible. It feels broad and thoughtful but also always personal without ever feeling skewed or unfair. Every choice you made could be objectionable to the denizens of fill-in-the-blank state, but your tone and thoroughness made me set aside my preferences. I just enjoyed listening to your selections and rationale; I added films to my list. I even got choked up once-can’t even really explain why. Fantastic work on this project!
A palate-cleansing Honorable Mention for your almost dystopian-like list for Michigan, is "Somewhere in Time"(1980). Mackinac Island is on full display.
You don't understand how happy I am to get a 1 1/2 hour video from you dude, it is interesting, daring, thoughtful and so fucking entertaining, you never go to the easy click bite and this is the quality type videos I always look on this platform. Your editing is great, the pacing, and this is a great way to always learn about new movies. I'm glad MUBI is sponsoring this video. Keep the hard work and greeting from Mexico city man!
Man, that was AWESOME!! I took 3 days to watch your video, as I stoped often to see the movie trailers, and I savoured every minute of it!! I'm from Brazil and I've always loved american movies for that exact quality of making the locations part of the films! Finding this list for me is a treasure, thank you so much for the hard work
@@EntertainTheElk literally couldn’t shut up about this video 😂😂😂! Still savouring it, had to show it to my son and my girlfriend, thank you once again my friend
The fact that you didn’t event mention the most Nevada movie of all time “Showgirls” is criminal. As someone who lived there for 22 years, it’s pretty spot on.
I watched this movie earlier this year and I found it disgusting, but surprisingly it's considered one of the worst movies ever, but I do find it brilliant, because it's reality. There's a line I like that is at the end of the movie, "There's someone always younger and hungrier coming down the stairs after you."
Born and raised in Nevada, lived here nearly all my life aside from military service. I still haven't seen Showgirls, I'll get around to it one of these years for laughs. I still would have picked Leaving Las Vegas or Casino for this list. Oceans 11 is kind of silly once your realize no casino vault looks like this.
Unironically, Scooby Doo and the witches ghost captures the essence of New England greatly. As a Connecticut native, whenever I drive through northern CT into Massachusetts and Rhode Island, especially small towns, I always think of that movie
As an Oregonian; my favorite films that show off the films are The Goonies, Kindergarten Cop, and Animal House. The first two films show the city of Astoria at its finest, and Animal House was filmed on the U of O campus in Eugene, showing off the various buildings and stadiums around campus. Go ducks!
Delaware was also where they filmed Dead Poet Society at St Andrews High School. This teacher I knew at high school said she was an extra in the film, and she apparently stood next to Robin Williams without even realizing it. Also, my Great-Grandfather, who ran a car lot, was going to let them borrow some old cars he had for the film, but they decided not to because he refused to let anyone else drive them except himself.
I just now started compiling a list of every film you have shown in this video, as it struck me that it would make for an interesting year-long movie-watching "challenge" - a kind of state-to-state travelogue via the medium of movies, if you will. Especially since there are many titles here that I've not yet seen. Allocating one week per state (but maybe granting California and New York a bonus week each, given the sheer volume of titles to choose from) - I've only just now got to Colorado, and am fast realising that this would be a mammoth task...
Coloradan here too. Also it’s fitting giving that The Shining wasn’t actually filmed in Colorado. All of the exterior panoramic shots were actually around the Mt. Bachelor ski resort in Oregon while all of the interior shots were at Kubrick’s studio in England.
@@rosswebster7877 The Shining what was produced for television in 1997 was filmed in Colorado at the Stanley Hotel that inspired King's original novel. For my money 1997's adaptation is a better flick than Kubrick's.
@charoleawood I wish I could agree with you, but no. Although truer to King's original novel, the 1997 version is pretty much inferior to Kubrick's version in every conceivable way.
Logan is basically a roadtrip movie so unfortunately.... no. ND served no purpose other than a backdrop to get the mutant kids across the Canadian border.
As a Washingtonian, it's hard for me to argue against _First Blood_ as the pick. However... I do think the discussion of Washington state presented here really glossed over the city of Seattle and its local culture. That said... if I were going to propose a runner-up, I think I'd pick the 1992 Cameron Crowe romcom _Singles._ It may feel a bit dated now, but the grunge scene that was so central to the movie is a pivotal piece of Seattle's modern identity. Members of Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam even make prominent appearances in the movie.
Can I just say that as a massive Film fan and someone who has their own movie based TH-cam channel, this video was excellent and very well done. Thank you for celebrating film in such a way! I actually got the chills watching this in the way you presented it.
My favorite film set in my home state of Georgia is Baby Driver. Driving around in Atlanta was so exhilarating. Gone with the Wind is the obvious choice though, excellent film
Correction, Smokey and the Bandit is a roadtrip movie it goes from Georgia to Texas and back but there's another Burt Renyolds movie that takes place in Arkansas, White Lightning from 1973
My favorite aspect of Ferris Bueller's Day Off is John Hughes' homages to the French New Wave. Swap in Paris for Chicago and a crime more severe than skipping school, and you have a Godard film.
I live 30 minutes from the setting of Minari. It felt so heartwarming to finally have Northwest Arkansas depicted in a well-known film, I feel like the area is still relatively unknown to Hollywood!! Even though there are some elements that disturb me about our past, it is interesting to see the exact world my parents grew up in :)
I think anything but Lilo and Stitch for Hawaii is a mistake. The thing most movies about Hawaii miss is the deep degree to which the culture of the island is not American. Hawaii was a sovereign nation, with its native population still living there. Most movies about Hawaii focus on white tourists. Or white residents who live in luxury on land that was, well, conquered, even as they use the culture and language of those native Hawaiians to pander to tourists. Lilo and Stitch puts the experience of native Hawaiians front and centre. The B-plot, about a US government agency trying to take Lilo away, is directly paralleled within the story itself to the original conquest of the islands, including the use of Aloha Oe, written by the last queen of Hawaii and used in reference to the loss of the islands. But the A-Plot is what really sells it. Stitch and the other aliens are outsiders trying to fit in, but Lilo and the Hawaiian characters are insiders pushed to the outside. They work jobs serving tourists for minimum wage, performing their own culture like a carnival attraction. In a deleted scene, tourists even gawk at Lilo for just being a native Hawaiian. Lilo responds to this by treating tourists the way she is treated by them-as passing attractions, observed like something from a zoo. The whole movie is about trying to find family in a place where you are treated like you don't belong. Virtually everything anyone thinks of when they think of Hawaii-from the name, to aloha, to the luau, to the grass skirts and traditional dances, as well as things adopted from the large non-white population of the island (like Hawaiian shirts, which were created by Japanese immigrants). A movie about a bunch of white people trying to represent the state would be like suggesting a beach movie represents Washington-yes, it exists there but it completely disregards what is central to the state's identity.
@@EntertainTheElk Hollywood has a long history of exploiting Native Hawaiians and migrant workers. In _From Here to Eternity_ (1953), all the Native Hawaiians depicted in the background were actually Filipino migrant workers because real Native Hawaiians refused to participate in any Hollywood productions. I recommend the documentary _Cane Fire_ (2020)
Omg here I am again, savoring this video back to back, at this point it has already a dedicated eternal open tab on my Chrome... such a masterpiece, so well put together, great edition... everytime I watch it I feel I have travelled to the United States! Thank you again for all the effort you have put into this!!
I hope this video absolutely blows up man, I can’t imagine how much time and work went into this. I’ve got the attention span of a golden retriever and usually can’t focus on one thing for more than a few minutes but I just sat here and watched the entire hour and a half and was engaged the whole time. Definitely gonna check out your podcast. 🤙
A beatiful list! You randomly showed up in my feed and I was blown away by your insights and depth. My only glaring quibble was no mention of clearly a strong candidate in Indiana of Breaking Away. It captured a real place, a real group of people, a real sports movement, and perfectly captured a real era in midwest Indiana. I can't argue with Hoosiers as the winner, but Breaking Away was every bit a true capture of the late 70s/early 80s Indiana experience as Hoosiers was to the 1950s Indiana experience. You got the other big ones of course and your whole list was a true gem. I am sharing your video everywhere and look forward to your content! How you aren't already a giant channel is clearly only a matter of time. You will be on this trajectory!
Thank you so much! I think my issue with Breaking Away is that I couldn't find any good footage online besides 360p that would have looked terrible. But yes I agree!
I think this video is exactly what I needed for movie recommendations. Potentially 50 of the best movies out there for me to watch. Thanks for your work covering all of these.
@@BrianRidgway-u5g The original _The Evil Dead_ doesn't take place in Michigan - it's in Tennessee. I think I've read that the reboot from 2013 does take place in Michigan though.
You are so right about Ohio. Also, 13 Going on 30 is set there too. As someone who dreams about being a screenwriter and moving out of Ohio, you nailed it.
One thing I find interesting is how slasher boom really made anyone able to create a film if they had a camera, a knife and some blood, you can make a film that represents the places were they live. It is the power of independent filmmaking in the purest way possible. I'm happy you mentioned Friday the 13th (although I think captures that best Part 2) for New Jersey, even if it wasn't the best film of New Jersey, which is probably the biggest example of that phenomenon. Also Texas Chainsaw Massacre is the best Texas movie, although it feels more like a satire on all of America. Tobe Hooper just an amazing filmmaker that does not get the credit he deserves for how talented and diverse he is as a talent.
This video looks ridiculously difficult to make! Harvesting the clips, editing, and crediting each and every movie referenced... Hats off to you Elk, very impressive!
The one thing about Fargo is that Minnesotans, in the Twin Cities at least, don't talk like they do in Fargo. Those accents would be way further north towards the boarder. You might hear a hint of the accent in some people, but it's much less noticeable than the movie. It's just common midwestern accents, not anything very prominent.
The accent is strong in Red Wing too which is southeast of the TC. That place was settled by the Swedish. The strongest accent I've heard like that though is right here in Grand Forks, ND. It's about an hour north of Fargo. What's funny about this is that people say my wife sounds like she is from here. She's from a small town about an hour west of Austin, TX. LOL It's a very Germanic town though of course. I grew up in the TC so my accent isn't that strong at all.
Thanks for this video essay, I know what I'll be doing for the next 90 minutes. John Hughes movies made me want to visit Chicago, with Ferris Bueller being a love letter to the city.
I went to college with girl that went to the high school John Hughes used as a site She's an unpaid, uncredited extra in a couple. Still look for her in background scenes when I run across them
You were an extra in one of my all time favorites! Miss watching Hackman and Hopper on the screen. That last scene, after the championship, with the soft music playing over an Indiana cornfield, then a young boy playing basketball in the gym puts a lump in my throat to this day.
I love how you didn’t just make every entry a drama film, but instead gave love to every genre of movie to represent each state, as well as gave other examples of really great films
I feel like the hunger games might have also been a good pick for us North Carolinians. District 12 (which is where Katniss is from) is sorta kinda in the north carolina, West Virginia, Tennessee area. I don’t think an absolute map of where the districts are located has been made for the books but district 12 is coal mining so if you wanted to group states together that are notably where coal mining in the U.S. originated, it would be those ones. Also I found this out recently, but the filming location for Katniss’ rundown house from the first movie and part of the town of district 12 was filmed in a small abandoned (i think) village in Hickory, North Carolina. Even though most of the rest of the movies and books don’t take place solely in district 12, the MAIN CHARACTERS are from there and later return when everything is said and done.
I love your idea here; you revealed some films I hadn’t heard of. I co-direct a movie club at a junior college where we view films with students and the community. I definitely see the settings of films as a major character in the success of the story. I find myself traveling in my free time to film locations looking for tangible element to take in. Looking forward to watching more of your videos! Thanks!
Various versions of Superman should have been mentioned during the segment on Kansas. The conservative values of the state shaped fiction’s greatest hero.
Too bad that movie makers can't go beyond the Detroit metro area to tell a story. There is much more to Michigan than the southeast corner of the state. I guess they consider the rest too boring despite the Great Lakes and the sugar sand beaches and towering dunes, the many inland lakes, the sweeping deep green forests and rolling hills, the rugged beauty of the Upper Peninsula, and the variety of mid-sized cities, quaint towns and historic villages.
Shhh... That's okay, we don't want any more out-of-staters knowing about how beautiful Michigan is and coming in and ruining it! There is already far to high of a proportion of lake houses owned by people not from here! Let them all think Detroit (and not even the pretty parts of Detroit) is all there is!
Seriously, how do you not have even 500k subscribers yet? This is really high quality stuff. Great video - you validated a lot of my picks and introduced me to many new titles, too!
A few of mine: Alaska - Togo Arizona - Three Amigos or Raising Arizona Florida - Truman Show (shot in Seaside, FL) Hawaii - Lilo and Stitch Illinois - Chi-Raq or Ferris Bueller Massachusetts - Social Network Mississippi - Oh Brother Where art Thou Nevada - Rango New Mexico - Vince Gilligan, who's work I would consider cinema Pennsylvania - Creed Virginia - Hidden Figures
Chi-raq is such an insult that doesn’t even address the issues of the violence going on in the south side of Chicago. The third barbershop movie and even Hardball does a better job!
Here’s my list: Delaware: Fight Club Pennsylvania: Rocky New Jersey: On the Waterfront Georgia: Gone with the Wind Connecticut: All About Eve Massachusetts: Good Will Hunting Maryland: The Silence of the Lambs South Carolina: The Great Santini New Hampshire: The Devil and Daniel Webster Virginia: Lincoln New York: The Godfather North Carolina: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Rhode Island: The Call of Cthulhu Vermont: Dead Poets Society Kentucky: Coal Miner’s Daughter Tennessee: The Firm Ohio: Tommy Boy Louisiana: The Green Mile Indiana: Hoosiers Mississippi: O Brother, Where Art Thou? Illinois: Young Mr. Lincoln Alabama: To Kill A Mockingbird Maine: The Shawshank Redemption Missouri: The Outlaw Josey Wales Arkansas: Thelma & Louise Michigan: Gran Torino Florida: Cool Hand Luke Texas: No Country for Old Men Iowa: The Music Man Wisconsin: Lars and the Real Girl California: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Minnesota: A Serious Man Oregon: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Kansas: Paper Moon West Virginia: Logan Lucky Nevada: The Godfather Part II Nebraska: Nebraska Colorado: South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut North Dakota: Fargo South Dakota: Deadwood: The Movie Montana: Rancho Deluxe Washington: First Blood Idaho: Napoleon Dynamite Wyoming: Unforgiven Utah: Fletch Oklahoma: True Grit (2010) New Mexico: High Noon Arizona: My Darling Clementine Alaska: Insomnia Hawaii: Lilo & Stitch
I’d probably say In the Mouth of Madness by John Carpenter for New Hampshire. We don’t have a lot of movies set here. What about Bob would be my second choice. 55:40 Wow, I forgot Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita was set here. Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll have to give it a watch.
I’d go with Fargo but it mostly takes place in Minnesota. So for a film set completely in North Dakota I’ll go with Leprechaun. As for a documentary I’d pick Welcome to Leith which was a big news story here in North Dakota.
This is such a comprehensive list of movies; I admire all the work that went into this wonderful undertaking. I’m writing down a lot of these films to be watched later. Thank you!
I'm surprised there's great story on North Dakota, considering how the state has kind of become known as a petrol state, with more of it's economy dedicated to it than Texas as a percentage of GDP. Maybe a story of someone who works on an oil rig, surrounded by a bunch of other guys. Doing hard manual labor in a town that's nothing but you and your coworkers, who you also live with and complete isolation outside of that. All for a sludge-y liquid that keeps the world running. For all the modern marvels we can brag about, the beginnings of that journey are rather quaint at best and kind of morose at worst.
But does it have anything to do with North Dakota besides ending there? It could’ve ended in either Dakota, Montana, or Wyoming as long as it is a sparsely populated area with trees.
This was incredibly well done. I kept wondering which movie you would pick but as soon as you mentioned the film for each state you picked I found myself agreeing with you wholeheartedly. Especially my home state of New Mexico. It really could be nothing else but The Good The Bad and The Ugly. I can imagine how hard this was to make but I think you pretty much nailed it and gave good context for your picks!
Thank God for your videos, I get so excited every time one comes out. You’re the most exciting film channel I watch and give the most calming, yet insightful views. The topics you cover stay fresh, and you’re not afraid to cover anything you’re thinking, like depictions of heaven and hell in film, which is a really interesting topic to go deeper into. Can’t wait to see what North Carolina’s big film Is. Thank you ELK!
Illinois and new york know how it is, but as a Michigander, it is hard to come to terms with how people will see your state as that once city, and it is funny how how specifically in Michigan it's mentioned that it is a state divided, but didn't mention the divide between Detroit and the rest of the state. didn't even mention Escanaba in da moonlight
Omggg yesss all people know from my state is Chicago!! And I live closer to St Louis than I do to Chicago! I seriously have only been to Chicago once when I was like 2
@@cat_kitten_123 The Informant takes place in the Decatur and Springfield areas and is based on a true story. You wouldn't think that a movie about price fixing by Archer Daniels Midland would actually be funny and engaging but it is.
I have seen lists of the best film in each state before, but this is so much more interesting. Covering so many films and analyzing the way the states are portrayed makes this a great video essay. Well done.
North Dakota deserves better films. A Teddy Roosevelt biopic about the badlands, or maybe a more contemporary setting about all the wild stories of the Bakken oil boom.
I love the Blues Brothers in terms of story and showcasing Chicago as a film city since it’s the first film to be produced since Mayor Jane Byrne lifted the ban on filming in the city from the first Mayor Daley! But the focus was more towards the music despite seeing sights like the old Maxwell St before UIC took over. Daley Plaza and city hall during the climax. And the various neighborhoods and suburbs around like Cicero and Park Ridge. But the city feels like a character in Ferris Bueller more than in The Blues Brothers because of all that the city provided that the characters can do in one day!
On the Waterfront was my late grandfather's favorite movie, as he grew up in a very similar way to the main char in the same city, and it truly spoke to him.
I'd love for you to do this list again, *BUT* each movie has to be _both_ set in _and_ filmed in their state. Oh, and Deborah Kerr's name, rhymes with "star."
I've lived in Idaho all my life but I never watched Napoleon Dynamite until a couple years ago. But when I watched it every single shot of that movie, especially the wide shots, screamed Idaho. It felt like home. I couldn't put my finger on it but everything down to the tiny details spoke to me with familiarity
I KNEW it’d be 8 Mile for Michigan just like how I knew ‘Lose Yourself’ would be played for us by the DJ at the DNC… What can I say, we’re MUCH prouder of Em than we are are Kid Rock.
CHAPTER LIST!
Intro: 0:00
Alabama: 3:24
Alaska: 5:15
Arizona: 7:34
Arkansas: 9:28
California: 10:54
Colorado: 14:11
Connecticut: 16:06
Delaware: 18:06
Florida: 19:31
Georgia: 21:27
Hawaii: 23:35
Idaho: 25:17
Illinois: 26:53
Indiana: 29:36
Iowa: 31:12
Kansas: 32:40
Kentucky: 34:35
Louisiana: 35:46
Maine: 37:30
Maryland: 39:44
Massachusetts: 41:08
Michigan: 42:46
Minnesota: 44:49
Mississippi: 46:44
Missouri: 49:28
Montana: 50:55
Nebraska: 52:30
Nevada: 53:51
New Hampshire: 55:39
New Jersey: 57:06
New Mexico: 58:36
New York: 1:00:39
North Carolina: 1:03:22
North Dakota: 1:04:38
Ohio: 1:05:47
Oklahoma: 1:07:29
Oregon: 1:09:35
Pennsylvania: 1:11:46
Rhode Island: 1:13:48
South Carolina: 1:15:09
South Dakota: 1:16:41
Tennessee: 1:18:09
Texas: 1:19:33
Utah: 1:22:48
Vermont: 1:25:02
Virginia: 1:26:23
Washington: 1:28:46
West Virginia: 1:31:04
Wisconsin: 1:32:34
Wyoming: 1:33:53
Outro: 1:35:14
If you post this in the video description then the video will create chapters - much easier for a video of this size and for those watching on the tv
Oh good call!
Just did this and it worked! Never realized that's how you do it. Ha. 7 years in and I'm still learning stuff!
As someone from Washington it's interesting to see people focus on the central coastal region, since the state itself is *incredibly* diverse, perhaps one of the most geographically diverse for its size. It goes from the coast, to lush green rainforests, to Puget sound inner coastal region, to the cascade forests, to the mountainside valleys, plainsland, high/low desert, and back to the dryer forest, eroded scablands, and eventually to mountainous forestland again.
(In fact that area that is sometimes called the wettest place in the US is just the arm on the western coast.)
I've always wanted to make a movie based on the Columbia River, which, to my own admitted bias, is the most beautiful river in all the US.
@@EntertainTheElk well TH-cam is always changing so it makes dollars and sense
Honestly as kind of an eye roller of a pick as this might sound, I actually think Lilo and Stitch would be a better pick to capture Hawaii. The way it depicts the working class underbelly that keeps America’s paradise running and puts its people at the forefront of the story is just so moving (yes, as a person of color). Watching that movie as an adult understanding the challenges facing native Hawaiians in the real world made it a much more powerful movie than I think people give it credit for.
As a Pacific Island native, I was thinking this the entire Hawaii segment.
Yeah it’s ironic that the Hawaii pick was chosen due its relevance to US history and culture. Meanwhile, the film that actually focused on native Hawaiians got sidelined as an honorable mention.
This was a great list, no doubt. I’m so impressed by his many perfect selections, but he sadly disappointed me for Hawaii
Even though it was a deleted scene, I think the sequence where Lilo intentionally misdirects clueless tourists would be a better pick than anything regarding Pearl Harbor. It's a little strange to make such a focus on those living in poverty in Florida, a state so firmly culturally defined by its tourism, and then ignore that angle for the state with such a tragic history of colonialism and indigenous erasure.
Hollywood has a long history of exploiting Native Hawaiians and migrant workers in Hawaii. In _From Here to Eternity_ (1953), all the Native Hawaiians depicted in the background were actually Filipino migrant workers because real Native Hawaiians refused to participate. Watch the documentary _Cane Fire_ (2020)
Are you Hawaiin?
I like how the North Dakota didn't get a movie, however, instead Minnesota took a movie named after a city from North Dakota.
Haha yeah! Adding insult to injury.
Doesn’t the original “A Star is Born” begin in North Dakota. I haven’t seen it but thats what I see on the plot synopsis.
"Do better North Dakota" - Regards, South Dakota
Yeah that title actually confused a ton of people who know their geography. I hate having to explain over and over the film STARTS in Fargo and the vast majority of it takes place in Minnesota, mostly between St Cloud and Fargo/Moorhead.
"Brainerd" would be a terrible movie title.
Ordered base on state admittance to the Union
Delaware: 18:06
Pennsylvania: 1:11:46
New Jersey: 57:06
Georgia: 21:27
Connecticut: 16:06
Massachusetts: 41:08
Maryland: 39:44
South Carolina: 1:15:09
New Hampshire: 55:39
Virginia: 1:26:23
New York: 1:00:39
North Carolina: 1:03:22
Rhode Island: 1:13:48
Vermont: 1:25:02
Kentucky: 34:35
Tennessee: 1:18:09
Ohio: 1:05:47
Louisiana: 35:46
Indiana: 29:36
Mississippi: 46:44
Illinois: 26:53
Alabama: 3:24
Maine: 37:30
Missouri: 49:28
Arkansas: 9:28
Michigan: 42:46
Florida: 19:31
Texas: 1:19:33
Iowa: 31:12
Wisconsin: 1:32:34
California: 10:54
Minnesota: 44:49
Oregon: 1:09:35
Kansas: 32:40
West Virginia: 1:31:04
Nevada: 53:51
Nebraska: 52:30
Colorado: 14:11
North Dakota: 1:04:38
South Dakota: 1:16:41
Montana: 50:55
Washington: 1:28:46
Idaho: 25:17
Wyoming: 1:33:53
Utah: 1:22:48
Oklahoma: 1:07:29
New Mexico: 58:36
Arizona: 7:34
Alaska: 5:15
Hawaii: 23:35
Haha. Thanks for this!
Bless you for this
What an american thing to list...
MURICA'!
Delaware mentioned
This both pleases and upsets my OCD at the same time.
As a lifelong Floridian who grew up in poverty in a tourist town, I'm so glad you picked The Florida Project. It really does encapsulate the experiences of so many of us here.
Thank you! So glad you liked the video and Florida selection.
I hope things work out for you. In my travels of the world, I found the usa to be uniquely harsh to the less fortunate especially for a country that clearly has money the divide between the haves and have nots is inescapable. In Japan, Canada, the UK, or Europe there will be people struggling but never have I seen that struggle so obvious or so many people hostile to the idea of helping those in need.
Anyways, I wasn't trying to badmouth the usa, I think it was a beautiful country filled with wonderful people, I guess to just wanted to say that there's always a way forward, and I hope you all work together to find one that involves empathy and compassion for each other.
watching this video while waking up in the back of my car in a Publix parking lot, very much feel The Florida Project for this state
What about Scarface??? 😢😢😢
As a middle class Floridian I’ve never heard of this film.
Let me tell you, I was born in Minnesota and moved to Colorado, but all it took was one sitting watching Fargo to revive my inner Minnesota vernacular and accent.
Ha that's awesome.
The accent was very little North Dakota.... much more Southern Minnesota
I was born in PA and grew up in MN. Strangely I do not have the accent but I can fake the accent any time, usually for lulz.
Oh yah? Oh yah!
@timnor4803 As a Gen Xer who grew up in Montana, I remember that quite a few of our neighbors had that accent. Only the older generations, though. I can't recall anyone my age talking that way. North Dakota is our next door neighbor; that's why I bring it up.
I have seen Fight Club probably 30 times in my life and I have never even thought about where exactly it was set, but I would definitely not have guessed Delaware
I think it's barely Delaware. Or maybe in spirit. It was a stretch, but I went with it. ha
@@EntertainTheElk in the movie they named places that are clearly in delaware so i doubt it was a stretch, moreso it just wasnt said outright
To parrot the above reply with greater detail, the scene where The Narrator and Tyler are walking down a street smashing cars, all of the towns they mention fight clubs popping up in are Delaware towns. The film was shot in Vancouver, because Wilmington is not the most impressive city, as far as scale goes, but if you look up Rodney Square on google maps, you’ll notice that all of the big buildings (because you can barely call any of them skyscrapers) in the area are either owned by banks or corporate law firms. The scene where The Narrator goes to a company office, only to discover a desk with a phone is pretty accurate because there are single-story buildings in Wilmington with over a hundred corporations listing it as their address. Cayman Islands of the USA, babyyyy
Definitely Delaware
@@EntertainTheElk As I was watching this the first time, I was wondering where "All That Heaven Allows" was set cause it's one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen. It's also a very good study of class and social mores at a time and place where doing the proper thing apparently mattered more than following your heart's desire. Doing the research since then, I've read that it was "primarily filmed on the backlot of Universal Studios in Universal City, California. Specific locations included Circle Drive and Colonial Street on the studio’s backlot. These areas were used to represent the fictional town of Stoningham, which is likely set in Connecticut." But likely set in Connecticut and definitely set there are two different things, so sadly I can't apply that lovely film to a particular state.
As a Texan I’d have to choose No Country for Old Men, mainly because of how spot on all of the accents, dialogue, phrases, and mannerisms are and also because of the landscapes along with the story in general and the great acting of Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, and Javier Bardim
My favorite film of the 2000s. Saw it in the theater and was absolutely blown away.
I would have thought The Blues Brothers would have been a lock for Illinois.
As a Chicagoan myself and while I do love the Blues Brothers (it’s one of my favorite Chicago movies) he’s right about Ferris Bueller given how the city is a character itself providing all they can do in one day! The Blues Brothers spends most of the time highlighting the city as a setting but more focus on the music seeing how we are one of the major hubs for Blues music. Plus given how John Landis and Dan Aykroyd (the director and writers) took advantage of Mayor Jane Byrne’s lift on the ban on filming in Chicago from the first Mayor Daley.
I know, right? What an uncouth snob.
My vote is Blues Brothers for best Illinois film. Ferris Bueller for best Chicago(land) film. Adventures in Babysitting for best Chicago film with Elizabeth Shue
The thing about Silence of the Lambs that I love is the moment Hannibal Lecter realizes that he's dealing with a trainee. He's simultaneously insulted that he got assigned a trainee, and for the briefest moment even seems to feel badly for how much Clarice will likely be in over her head before snapping back to his normal pathological insanity.
Alright here we go
• Alabama - To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - 3:24
• Alaska - Insomnia (2002) - 5:15
• Arizona - Raising Arizona (1987) - 7:34
• Arkansas - Minari (2020) - 9:38
• California - Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2020) - 10:54
• Colorado - South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut (1999) - 14:11
• Connecticut - The Swimmer (1968) - 16:06
• Delaware - Fight Club (1999) - 18:06
• Florida - Florida Project (2017) - 19:31
• Georgia - Gone With The Wind (1939) - 21:27
• Hawaii - From Here to Eternity (1953) - 23:35
• Idaho - Napoleon Dynamite (2003) - 25:17
• Illinois - Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) - 26:53
• Indiana - Hoosiers (1986) - 29:36
• Iowa - Field of Dreams (1989) - 31:12
• Kansas - Paper Moon (1973) - 32:40
• Kentucky - Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) - 34:35
• Louisiana - Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) - 35:46
• Maine - The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - 37:30
• Maryland - Hairspray (1988) - 39:44
• Massachusetts - The Departed (2006) - 41:08
• Michigan - 8 Mile (2002) - 42:46
• Minnesota - Fargo (1996) - 44:49
• Mississippi - In the Heat of the Night (1967) - 46:44
• Missouri - Meet Me In Saint Louis (1944) - 49:28
• Montana - A River Runs Through It (1992) - 50:55
• Nebraska - Election (1999) - 52:30
• Nevada - Ocean's Eleven (2001) - 53:51
• New Hampshire - Lolita (1962) - 55:39
• New Jersey - On The Waterfront (1954) - 57:06
• New Mexico - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966) - 58:36
• New York - Do The Right Thing (1989) - 1:00:39
• North Carolina - Blue Velvet (1986) - 1:03:22
• North Dakota - Nothing. Who cares about North Dakota - 1:04:38
• Ohio - Take Shelter (2011) - 1:05:47
• Oklahoma - Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) - 1:07:29 (I love this pick)
• Oregon - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) - 1:09:35
• Pennsylvania - Rocky (1976) - 1:11:46
• Rhode Island - The Conjuring (2013) - 1:13:48
• South Carolina - The Notebook (2004) - 1:15:09
• South Dakota - Badlands (1973) - 1:16:41
• Tennessee - Nashville (1975) - 1:18:09
• Texas - Dazed and Confused (1993) - 1:19:33
• Utah - SLC Punk! (1998) - 1:22:48
• Vermont - Dead Poets Society (1989) - 1:25:02
• Virginia - The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - 1:26:23
Washington - Rambo: First Blood (1982) - 1:28:46
• West Virginia - The Night of the Hunter (1955) - 1:31:04
• Wisconsin - Bridesmaids (2011) - 1:32:34
• Wyoming - Unforgiven (1992) - 1:33:53
🤘🤘🤘
Goran Rušinović cares about North Dakota.
Ty
When you foreshadowed skipping over Forrest Gump for Alabama, I was about to get my all caps rage ready, but you made a very fine choice. To Kill A Mocking Bird is a genuine classic.
And really personifies our state. The blacks trapped by a horrific system and many whites struggling to find a way to help them. Most don't see that, but it's there.
Sweet. Great, Really enjoyed it. Thanks for outro message too. Looks like you just got down from the mountain with a lemonade
Dazed and Confused is the best pick, more than I could’ve hoped for! It accurately depicts how I grew up- just lots of little adventures and tons of wild characters. Thank you.
Awesome! Glad we agree.
So many movies, and I was thinking Bernie.
Fun fact: Alex Jones, an ex-buddy of Linklater's, is easily "Keep Austin Weird" personified.
@@SirBlackReeds Were they ever actually buddy-buddies? I thought they were connected by Jones being the conspiracy town crier long before Info Wars, and just about everyone in Austin had to have seen him at least once, so Linklater just kind of approached him? It's interesting too though how Jones changed the conspiracy landscape. It was probably far more acceptable to chat with someone like that back then, whenever this behavior was a novelty. Until Obama's second term, when birtherism had really rooted itself in, I would say, imo, it was more acceptable to brush up against these folks. I'm really interested in this kind of thing lol
This is the content that CineFix stopped providing and I’m grateful that Elk brought it back
Ha I'm trying! Definitely love CineFix's old top ten lists.
@@EntertainTheElk Yes, it definitely reminded me of CineFix's approach to their lists but on a much more ambitious scale.
This sounds like hyperbole, but this video is kind of incredible. It feels broad and thoughtful but also always personal without ever feeling skewed or unfair. Every choice you made could be objectionable to the denizens of fill-in-the-blank state, but your tone and thoroughness made me set aside my preferences. I just enjoyed listening to your selections and rationale; I added films to my list. I even got choked up once-can’t even really explain why. Fantastic work on this project!
Wow thank you so much. That means a lot.
It was skewed and unfair to North Dakota.
I can’t even imagine how hard it must have been picking music for this video. It’s a different song every state plus others.
Oh believe me when I say it was a pain in the ass.
A palate-cleansing Honorable Mention for your almost dystopian-like list for Michigan, is "Somewhere in Time"(1980). Mackinac Island is on full display.
Absolutely. And the only time a car was ever driven on the island.
Let’s not forget that most Christmas movies are set in Chicago. Idkw but it makes me proud to be a Chicagoland native.
Home alone right?
@@dguy0386 Not a Christmas movie, but a horror movie about a murderous kid.
Choosing the correct film for California couldn't have been easy, and yet you nailed it with literally the only correct answer. Bravo!
Repo Man, Point Blank, Buckaroo Banzai - all in the LA River Aqueduct.
Surprised not even a mention of Mulholland Drive.
@@rpg7287 Mulholland Dr. That movie is a true trip. Give me some dr*gz now while I am about to watch it.
Never been there, but California’s tough. My own opinion:
Old California: There Will Be Blood
Modern California: Sideways
You don't understand how happy I am to get a 1 1/2 hour video from you dude, it is interesting, daring, thoughtful and so fucking entertaining, you never go to the easy click bite and this is the quality type videos I always look on this platform.
Your editing is great, the pacing, and this is a great way to always learn about new movies. I'm glad MUBI is sponsoring this video.
Keep the hard work and greeting from Mexico city man!
Thank you so much! That really means a lot. Hello Mexico City from Los Angeles!
With Oregon I think Stand By Me is one of the best. It was one of the first movies that showed what life was like for my parents.
Man, that was AWESOME!! I took 3 days to watch your video, as I stoped often to see the movie trailers, and I savoured every minute of it!! I'm from Brazil and I've always loved american movies for that exact quality of making the locations part of the films! Finding this list for me is a treasure, thank you so much for the hard work
Wow wow wow. That means so much. So glad that you got to savor the video and learn about some other new films.
@@EntertainTheElk literally couldn’t shut up about this video 😂😂😂! Still savouring it, had to show it to my son and my girlfriend, thank you once again my friend
The fact that you didn’t event mention the most Nevada movie of all time “Showgirls” is criminal. As someone who lived there for 22 years, it’s pretty spot on.
I watched this movie earlier this year and I found it disgusting, but surprisingly it's considered one of the worst movies ever, but I do find it brilliant, because it's reality. There's a line I like that is at the end of the movie, "There's someone always younger and hungrier coming down the stairs after you."
Born and raised in Nevada, lived here nearly all my life aside from military service. I still haven't seen Showgirls, I'll get around to it one of these years for laughs. I still would have picked Leaving Las Vegas or Casino for this list. Oceans 11 is kind of silly once your realize no casino vault looks like this.
Unironically, Scooby Doo and the witches ghost captures the essence of New England greatly. As a Connecticut native, whenever I drive through northern CT into Massachusetts and Rhode Island, especially small towns, I always think of that movie
The fact that Jaws was never even mentioned for Massachusetts is crazy
A note about Colorado, the outside of the Shining was actually mostly filmed in Oregon.
That’s right, I believe the iconic “Here’s Johnny” scene was filmed at Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood, Oregon
An hour and Thirty seven minute video from Entertain The Elk will make for a great afternoon.
Yes yes yes! Enjoy :)
As an Oregonian; my favorite films that show off the films are The Goonies, Kindergarten Cop, and Animal House. The first two films show the city of Astoria at its finest, and Animal House was filmed on the U of O campus in Eugene, showing off the various buildings and stadiums around campus. Go ducks!
Delaware was also where they filmed Dead Poet Society at St Andrews High School. This teacher I knew at high school said she was an extra in the film, and she apparently stood next to Robin Williams without even realizing it. Also, my Great-Grandfather, who ran a car lot, was going to let them borrow some old cars he had for the film, but they decided not to because he refused to let anyone else drive them except himself.
I just now started compiling a list of every film you have shown in this video, as it struck me that it would make for an interesting year-long movie-watching "challenge" - a kind of state-to-state travelogue via the medium of movies, if you will. Especially since there are many titles here that I've not yet seen. Allocating one week per state (but maybe granting California and New York a bonus week each, given the sheer volume of titles to choose from) - I've only just now got to Colorado, and am fast realising that this would be a mammoth task...
This is so cool! Keep me updated!
As a Coloradan I personally think that a South Park is a more obvious choice than the shining but that’s okay
Glad we can agree!
Coloradan here too. Also it’s fitting giving that The Shining wasn’t actually filmed in Colorado. All of the exterior panoramic shots were actually around the Mt. Bachelor ski resort in Oregon while all of the interior shots were at Kubrick’s studio in England.
@@rosswebster7877
The Shining what was produced for television in 1997 was filmed in Colorado at the Stanley Hotel that inspired King's original novel.
For my money 1997's adaptation is a better flick than Kubrick's.
@@charoleawood I wish I could agree with you.
@charoleawood I wish I could agree with you, but no. Although truer to King's original novel, the 1997 version is pretty much inferior to Kubrick's version in every conceivable way.
For North Dakota you could have chosen Logan! The whole movie isn’t set in ND but the goal of the movie is to get there and the ending is set there
Logan is basically a roadtrip movie so unfortunately.... no. ND served no purpose other than a backdrop to get the mutant kids across the Canadian border.
@@thepaintingbanjo8894 What about Buick Riviera?
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off for my state. I expected it as such. There’s even a pub in downtown Chicago dedicated to the film.
Illinois ✊
Thanks!
Thank you so much!!
As a Washingtonian, it's hard for me to argue against _First Blood_ as the pick. However... I do think the discussion of Washington state presented here really glossed over the city of Seattle and its local culture. That said... if I were going to propose a runner-up, I think I'd pick the 1992 Cameron Crowe romcom _Singles._ It may feel a bit dated now, but the grunge scene that was so central to the movie is a pivotal piece of Seattle's modern identity. Members of Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam even make prominent appearances in the movie.
Singles is a 10/10 flick!
I can't not mention the filming location of Hope in First Blood is actually in British Columbia
Yeah I feel like First Blood could easily be Oregon, where as Singles definitely should be on this list.
Can I just say that as a massive Film fan and someone who has their own movie based TH-cam channel, this video was excellent and very well done. Thank you for celebrating film in such a way! I actually got the chills watching this in the way you presented it.
My favorite film set in my home state of Georgia is Baby Driver. Driving around in Atlanta was so exhilarating. Gone with the Wind is the obvious choice though, excellent film
Baby Driver is so good.
Correction, Smokey and the Bandit is a roadtrip movie it goes from Georgia to Texas and back but there's another Burt Renyolds movie that takes place in Arkansas, White Lightning from 1973
"Weird things happen in the cold".
That explains my mother's heart.
Hahaha
I clapped and loved that the Florida project was you chose...so many great movies but definitely the best for that state
My favorite aspect of Ferris Bueller's Day Off is John Hughes' homages to the French New Wave. Swap in Paris for Chicago and a crime more severe than skipping school, and you have a Godard film.
New generation will never know how amazing Hughes was for Chicago. 80s was our heyday in film. We have tv now with Chicago series, the bear etc.
It kinda felt like every state had a variation on "crazy things happen here and this film really captures that madness". Maybe that's just me lol
I live 30 minutes from the setting of Minari. It felt so heartwarming to finally have Northwest Arkansas depicted in a well-known film, I feel like the area is still relatively unknown to Hollywood!! Even though there are some elements that disturb me about our past, it is interesting to see the exact world my parents grew up in :)
I think anything but Lilo and Stitch for Hawaii is a mistake.
The thing most movies about Hawaii miss is the deep degree to which the culture of the island is not American. Hawaii was a sovereign nation, with its native population still living there.
Most movies about Hawaii focus on white tourists. Or white residents who live in luxury on land that was, well, conquered, even as they use the culture and language of those native Hawaiians to pander to tourists. Lilo and Stitch puts the experience of native Hawaiians front and centre. The B-plot, about a US government agency trying to take Lilo away, is directly paralleled within the story itself to the original conquest of the islands, including the use of Aloha Oe, written by the last queen of Hawaii and used in reference to the loss of the islands.
But the A-Plot is what really sells it. Stitch and the other aliens are outsiders trying to fit in, but Lilo and the Hawaiian characters are insiders pushed to the outside. They work jobs serving tourists for minimum wage, performing their own culture like a carnival attraction. In a deleted scene, tourists even gawk at Lilo for just being a native Hawaiian. Lilo responds to this by treating tourists the way she is treated by them-as passing attractions, observed like something from a zoo. The whole movie is about trying to find family in a place where you are treated like you don't belong.
Virtually everything anyone thinks of when they think of Hawaii-from the name, to aloha, to the luau, to the grass skirts and traditional dances, as well as things adopted from the large non-white population of the island (like Hawaiian shirts, which were created by Japanese immigrants). A movie about a bunch of white people trying to represent the state would be like suggesting a beach movie represents Washington-yes, it exists there but it completely disregards what is central to the state's identity.
I love this perspective!
It's about the state though, not the islands. Its why Shakespeare is seen as more English than Britons fighting the Romans
@@EntertainTheElk Hollywood has a long history of exploiting Native Hawaiians and migrant workers. In _From Here to Eternity_ (1953), all the Native Hawaiians depicted in the background were actually Filipino migrant workers because real Native Hawaiians refused to participate in any Hollywood productions. I recommend the documentary _Cane Fire_ (2020)
@@adamcraig1468 The "state" IS "the islands". Knowing your state's history is part of appreciating it.
Omg here I am again, savoring this video back to back, at this point it has already a dedicated eternal open tab on my Chrome... such a masterpiece, so well put together, great edition... everytime I watch it I feel I have travelled to the United States! Thank you again for all the effort you have put into this!!
I was thinking that you'd mention Blues Brothers for Illinois. Interesting nevertheless...
I hope this video absolutely blows up man, I can’t imagine how much time and work went into this. I’ve got the attention span of a golden retriever and usually can’t focus on one thing for more than a few minutes but I just sat here and watched the entire hour and a half and was engaged the whole time. Definitely gonna check out your podcast. 🤙
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the video and I hope you enjoy the podcast. :)
A beatiful list! You randomly showed up in my feed and I was blown away by your insights and depth. My only glaring quibble was no mention of clearly a strong candidate in Indiana of Breaking Away. It captured a real place, a real group of people, a real sports movement, and perfectly captured a real era in midwest Indiana. I can't argue with Hoosiers as the winner, but Breaking Away was every bit a true capture of the late 70s/early 80s Indiana experience as Hoosiers was to the 1950s Indiana experience. You got the other big ones of course and your whole list was a true gem.
I am sharing your video everywhere and look forward to your content! How you aren't already a giant channel is clearly only a matter of time. You will be on this trajectory!
Thank you so much! I think my issue with Breaking Away is that I couldn't find any good footage online besides 360p that would have looked terrible. But yes I agree!
Breaking Away was the first title listed for Indiana. I like it more than Hoosiers too.
I think this video is exactly what I needed for movie recommendations. Potentially 50 of the best movies out there for me to watch. Thanks for your work covering all of these.
Glad you liked it!
As a Michigander I would have chosen "Escanaba in da Moonlight" because its not about Detroit.
Haven't even heard of that. Thanks for the addition!
Anatomy of a Murder too, probably the most famous film about the UP. Can’t complain about the choice though.
No way. I would say Grand Torino with Eastwood. Or The Evil Dead - Raimi and scary Michigan woods!
@@BrianRidgway-u5g The original _The Evil Dead_ doesn't take place in Michigan - it's in Tennessee. I think I've read that the reboot from 2013 does take place in Michigan though.
Eh, Escanaba worked much better as a play than a movie. I think 8 Mile is a good choice, though I probably would have gone with Anatomy of a Murder.
You are so right about Ohio. Also, 13 Going on 30 is set there too.
As someone who dreams about being a screenwriter and moving out of Ohio, you nailed it.
I would’ve chosen ready player one
One thing I find interesting is how slasher boom really made anyone able to create a film if they had a camera, a knife and some blood, you can make a film that represents the places were they live. It is the power of independent filmmaking in the purest way possible. I'm happy you mentioned Friday the 13th (although I think captures that best Part 2) for New Jersey, even if it wasn't the best film of New Jersey, which is probably the biggest example of that phenomenon.
Also Texas Chainsaw Massacre is the best Texas movie, although it feels more like a satire on all of America. Tobe Hooper just an amazing filmmaker that does not get the credit he deserves for how talented and diverse he is as a talent.
You're totally right. The rise of independent filmmaking opened up other worlds that weren't highlighted as much in the studio system.
This video looks ridiculously difficult to make! Harvesting the clips, editing, and crediting each and every movie referenced... Hats off to you Elk, very impressive!
WOW! I'm only at Delaware and I am blown away! Gonna take my time and enjoy this one, very well done my friends.
I love it. Space it out and enjoy it. :)
I don’t think anyone will truly understand Texas without living here. Every city is so diverse, there almost states in itself.
I was thinking Bernie for how it represents it's people out in East Texas.
The one thing about Fargo is that Minnesotans, in the Twin Cities at least, don't talk like they do in Fargo. Those accents would be way further north towards the boarder. You might hear a hint of the accent in some people, but it's much less noticeable than the movie. It's just common midwestern accents, not anything very prominent.
The accent is strong in Red Wing too which is southeast of the TC. That place was settled by the Swedish. The strongest accent I've heard like that though is right here in Grand Forks, ND. It's about an hour north of Fargo. What's funny about this is that people say my wife sounds like she is from here. She's from a small town about an hour west of Austin, TX. LOL It's a very Germanic town though of course. I grew up in the TC so my accent isn't that strong at all.
I love how much this feels like a super long Cinefix list. In fact, this might be my new favorite of yours.😊
Thank you! Yeah Cinefix was a big influence in the making of this video. So glad you liked it.
“Fargo” was actually filmed in my hometown! Brainerd, MN
Thanks for this video essay, I know what I'll be doing for the next 90 minutes. John Hughes movies made me want to visit Chicago, with Ferris Bueller being a love letter to the city.
Heck yeah! Hope you enjoy it. I think you'll like my pick for Illinois! :)
I went to college with girl that went to the high school John Hughes used as a site
She's an unpaid, uncredited extra in a couple. Still look for her in background scenes when I run across them
Good job, (for the most part). I'm a Wyomingite and I couldn't agree more with your pick for "Unforgiven."
As a teenager I was an extra in "Hoosiers." What an excellent experience! Much of it was filmed in Montgomery County, where I grew up.
You were an extra in one of my all time favorites!
Miss watching Hackman and Hopper on the screen.
That last scene, after the championship, with the soft music playing over an Indiana cornfield, then a young boy playing basketball in the gym puts a lump in my throat to this day.
I love how you didn’t just make every entry a drama film, but instead gave love to every genre of movie to represent each state, as well as gave other examples of really great films
As someone from Oklahoma, I really think he should've picked The Outsiders, or Where The Red Fern Grows
The outsiders is in my opinion, on of the best book to movie adaptations ever.
At an hour and 5 mins in, I was not expecting a tribute to the mighty RUSH - great work, I'm hooked. ⭐
Haha. Love me some Rush.
I feel like the hunger games might have also been a good pick for us North Carolinians. District 12 (which is where Katniss is from) is sorta kinda in the north carolina, West Virginia, Tennessee area. I don’t think an absolute map of where the districts are located has been made for the books but district 12 is coal mining so if you wanted to group states together that are notably where coal mining in the U.S. originated, it would be those ones. Also I found this out recently, but the filming location for Katniss’ rundown house from the first movie and part of the town of district 12 was filmed in a small abandoned (i think) village in Hickory, North Carolina. Even though most of the rest of the movies and books don’t take place solely in district 12, the MAIN CHARACTERS are from there and later return when everything is said and done.
I love your idea here; you revealed some films I hadn’t heard of. I co-direct a movie club at a junior college where we view films with students and the community. I definitely see the settings of films as a major character in the success of the story. I find myself traveling in my free time to film locations looking for tangible element to take in. Looking forward to watching more of your videos! Thanks!
Various versions of Superman should have been mentioned during the segment on Kansas. The conservative values of the state shaped fiction’s greatest hero.
Damn this is a big oversight by me.
And also Capt. Kirk being raised in Iowa.
I really enjoyed this. The variety of movies mentioned and picked was so good.
Thanks! So glad you enjoyed it.
Nia Dacosta’s Little Woods could’ve been the stand in for North Dakota. It directly deals with the Canadian border and the access to health care.
Thumbs up! I haven't seen the movie, but I support North Dakota getting some kind of representation here!
Wow, thank you so much for your extensive research and the creation of this video!! This was a great watch
Too bad that movie makers can't go beyond the Detroit metro area to tell a story. There is much more to Michigan than the southeast corner of the state. I guess they consider the rest too boring despite the Great Lakes and the sugar sand beaches and towering dunes, the many inland lakes, the sweeping deep green forests and rolling hills, the rugged beauty of the Upper Peninsula, and the variety of mid-sized cities, quaint towns and historic villages.
Shhh... That's okay, we don't want any more out-of-staters knowing about how beautiful Michigan is and coming in and ruining it! There is already far to high of a proportion of lake houses owned by people not from here!
Let them all think Detroit (and not even the pretty parts of Detroit) is all there is!
You'll always have American Pie.
Seriously, how do you not have even 500k subscribers yet? This is really high quality stuff. Great video - you validated a lot of my picks and introduced me to many new titles, too!
Thank you so much! Yeah, subscribers have been slow going, but just happy that people keep watching and enjoying the channel. :)
Soooo
50 states in documentaries next? 😂
Nice one, quite a few i didn't know before
Phew. So daunting. But maybe one day!!
This deserves to become a seminal youtube classic.
Thank you! :)
A few of mine:
Alaska - Togo
Arizona - Three Amigos or Raising Arizona
Florida - Truman Show (shot in Seaside, FL)
Hawaii - Lilo and Stitch
Illinois - Chi-Raq or Ferris Bueller
Massachusetts - Social Network
Mississippi - Oh Brother Where art Thou
Nevada - Rango
New Mexico - Vince Gilligan, who's work I would consider cinema
Pennsylvania - Creed
Virginia - Hidden Figures
Chi-raq is such an insult that doesn’t even address the issues of the violence going on in the south side of Chicago. The third barbershop movie and even Hardball does a better job!
Love the list!
Arizona; you’ve gotta go with Tombstone! Raising Arizona a strong contender, though.
Raising Arizona 👍🏼
Fun fact: Hidden Figures is actually set at the Langley AFB, located in Hampton, Virginia, about three hours away from DC!
Here’s my list:
Delaware: Fight Club
Pennsylvania: Rocky
New Jersey: On the Waterfront
Georgia: Gone with the Wind
Connecticut: All About Eve
Massachusetts: Good Will Hunting
Maryland: The Silence of the Lambs
South Carolina: The Great Santini
New Hampshire: The Devil and Daniel Webster
Virginia: Lincoln
New York: The Godfather
North Carolina: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Rhode Island: The Call of Cthulhu
Vermont: Dead Poets Society
Kentucky: Coal Miner’s Daughter
Tennessee: The Firm
Ohio: Tommy Boy
Louisiana: The Green Mile
Indiana: Hoosiers
Mississippi: O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Illinois: Young Mr. Lincoln
Alabama: To Kill A Mockingbird
Maine: The Shawshank Redemption
Missouri: The Outlaw Josey Wales
Arkansas: Thelma & Louise
Michigan: Gran Torino
Florida: Cool Hand Luke
Texas: No Country for Old Men
Iowa: The Music Man
Wisconsin: Lars and the Real Girl
California: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Minnesota: A Serious Man
Oregon: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Kansas: Paper Moon
West Virginia: Logan Lucky
Nevada: The Godfather Part II
Nebraska: Nebraska
Colorado: South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
North Dakota: Fargo
South Dakota: Deadwood: The Movie
Montana: Rancho Deluxe
Washington: First Blood
Idaho: Napoleon Dynamite
Wyoming: Unforgiven
Utah: Fletch
Oklahoma: True Grit (2010)
New Mexico: High Noon
Arizona: My Darling Clementine
Alaska: Insomnia
Hawaii: Lilo & Stitch
Great list! You and I have a lot of overlap. Great minds!
Agreed. Green Mile should have won Louisana
Stephen King and Frank Darabont get their flowers for Maine.
@@EntertainTheElk Valid
Is there not a better film for California?
When you got to Colorado I jokingly said "the South Park movie" and then you actually did it i think that's deserving of a subscription
What's the best movie from your state? And let me know if I missed any!
I guess mine would be Ferris Bueller
Great minds think alike.
PA's should've been Slap Shot or Deer Hunter instead of Rocky. They're MUCH more representative of the state as a whole.
I’d probably say In the Mouth of Madness by John Carpenter for New Hampshire. We don’t have a lot of movies set here.
What about Bob would be my second choice.
55:40 Wow, I forgot Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita was set here. Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll have to give it a watch.
I’d go with Fargo but it mostly takes place in Minnesota. So for a film set completely in North Dakota I’ll go with Leprechaun. As for a documentary I’d pick Welcome to Leith which was a big news story here in North Dakota.
This is such a comprehensive list of movies; I admire all the work that went into this wonderful undertaking. I’m writing down a lot of these films to be watched later. Thank you!
Yay! Glad you liked it.
I'm surprised there's great story on North Dakota, considering how the state has kind of become known as a petrol state, with more of it's economy dedicated to it than Texas as a percentage of GDP. Maybe a story of someone who works on an oil rig, surrounded by a bunch of other guys. Doing hard manual labor in a town that's nothing but you and your coworkers, who you also live with and complete isolation outside of that. All for a sludge-y liquid that keeps the world running. For all the modern marvels we can brag about, the beginnings of that journey are rather quaint at best and kind of morose at worst.
What an immense achievement this was! congrats man! This was a fantastic video. Dare I say one of your finest?!?
Thank you so much! It took me so so long to make. Really glad you enjoyed it.
for north dakota you couldve picked logan
not entirely set there, but its phenomenal ending is!
That's a cool idea. Though the roadtrip movies are hard to pin down.
But does it have anything to do with North Dakota besides ending there? It could’ve ended in either Dakota, Montana, or Wyoming as long as it is a sparsely populated area with trees.
This was incredibly well done. I kept wondering which movie you would pick but as soon as you mentioned the film for each state you picked I found myself agreeing with you wholeheartedly. Especially my home state of New Mexico. It really could be nothing else but The Good The Bad and The Ugly. I can imagine how hard this was to make but I think you pretty much nailed it and gave good context for your picks!
I live in Wyoming, and I called "unforgiven", as the best Wyoming movie, and you agreed. One of my favorite movies.
Clint’s best 1990s film.
@@patrickc3419 for sure
It was either that or the extended version of Heaven's Gate
Thank God for your videos, I get so excited every time one comes out. You’re the most exciting film channel I watch and give the most calming, yet insightful views. The topics you cover stay fresh, and you’re not afraid to cover anything you’re thinking, like depictions of heaven and hell in film, which is a really interesting topic to go deeper into. Can’t wait to see what North Carolina’s big film
Is. Thank you ELK!
Wow wow wow. Thank you so much for your kind words. It really does mean a lot. :)
Illinois and new york know how it is, but as a Michigander, it is hard to come to terms with how people will see your state as that once city, and it is funny how how specifically in Michigan it's mentioned that it is a state divided, but didn't mention the divide between Detroit and the rest of the state. didn't even mention Escanaba in da moonlight
Omggg yesss all people know from my state is Chicago!! And I live closer to St Louis than I do to Chicago! I seriously have only been to Chicago once when I was like 2
@@cat_kitten_123 The Informant takes place in the Decatur and Springfield areas and is based on a true story. You wouldn't think that a movie about price fixing by Archer Daniels Midland would actually be funny and engaging but it is.
Honestly this is one of the best videos I've ever watched on TH-cam, will definitely plan to watch every top pick!
Wow thanks!
This is your best concept and maybe your greatest video to date.
Wow thank you thank you! I'm really proud of it so it means a lot to hear kind words like that.
I have seen lists of the best film in each state before, but this is so much more interesting. Covering so many films and analyzing the way the states are portrayed makes this a great video essay. Well done.
Thank you so much!
North Dakota deserves better films. A Teddy Roosevelt biopic about the badlands, or maybe a more contemporary setting about all the wild stories of the Bakken oil boom.
Minnesota- Baby thief.
Again another absolute love letter to cinema from someone who not only has a keen eye but can provide clear insights into why the greats are. Bravo.
Wow thank you! Really appreciate that.
I agree with your pick for Illinois... That said for you not to at least mention "The Blues Brothers" is a travesty.
I love the Blues Brothers in terms of story and showcasing Chicago as a film city since it’s the first film to be produced since Mayor Jane Byrne lifted the ban on filming in the city from the first Mayor Daley! But the focus was more towards the music despite seeing sights like the old Maxwell St before UIC took over. Daley Plaza and city hall during the climax. And the various neighborhoods and suburbs around like Cicero and Park Ridge. But the city feels like a character in Ferris Bueller more than in The Blues Brothers because of all that the city provided that the characters can do in one day!
On the Waterfront was my late grandfather's favorite movie, as he grew up in a very similar way to the main char in the same city, and it truly spoke to him.
I'd love for you to do this list again, *BUT* each movie has to be _both_ set in _and_ filmed in their state.
Oh, and Deborah Kerr's name, rhymes with "star."
I've lived in Idaho all my life but I never watched Napoleon Dynamite until a couple years ago. But when I watched it every single shot of that movie, especially the wide shots, screamed Idaho. It felt like home. I couldn't put my finger on it but everything down to the tiny details spoke to me with familiarity
You picking 8 mile somehow made me love your channel even more than I already do. I genuinely think that movie masterfully used the setting
Thanks! It was close between that and Virgin Suicides. But I just had to go with 8 Mile.
This is a really great video.I really like your pick for NJ and FL. Keep making these videos.
I KNEW it’d be 8 Mile for Michigan just like how I knew ‘Lose Yourself’ would be played for us by the DJ at the DNC… What can I say, we’re MUCH prouder of Em than we are are Kid Rock.