Pittsburgh is a city with a lot of history, but it’s also an important location in American pop culture. Cinema in America has to be eternally thankful to Pittsburgh for many iconic shots and settings.
Let’s have a look at four of the most famous movies you almost certainly didn’t know were shot in Pittsburgh!
1. Rocky (1976)
The Rocky series was based on the 1976 documentary film “Somebody Up There Likes Me,” which was directed by George Balanchine and was nominated for an Oscar in 1977. According to IMDb, “Rocky” was shot at the former Allegheny County Jail in Downtown Pittsburgh from July to September of 1976.
2. Pearl Harbor (2001)
The historic PPG Place arena in Downtown Pittsburgh played a major part in filming for Michael Bay’s 2001 war movie “Pearl Harbor.” The iconic structure was used as a backdrop for many scenes throughout the movie, including when some of the planes take off from Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Georgia and when they fly over the Allegheny River during one scene.
3. The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Coen brothers’ cult classic about a man whose life is turned upside down by a kidnapping and ransom plot was shot throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and in Mexico, but it includes several scenes shot in Pittsburgh. The main character, Jeff Bridges’ Dude character, plays an acoustic version of “Lump,” one of the most popular songs from their previous film The Big Lebowski (1998).
4. Back to the Future (1985)
In this classic Michael J. Fox time-travel comedy, Marty McFly travels to 1955 where he meets his parents as teenagers and has his first date with Jennifer Parker (Claudia Wells). Scenes were also shot around downtown Pittsburgh, including at Riverside Park where they play basketball against Griff Tannen — who appears as Marty’s father George in the movie — and at a few other spots around town including Heinz Hall and PPG Place.
Other movies filmed in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is a great city to film movies. From the diverse neighborhoods to the beautiful architecture, it’s a great place to shoot. Here are 10 movies that were filmed in Pittsburgh:
- The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
- No Country for Old Men (2007)
- A River Runs Through It (1992)
- Bridge of Spies (2015)
- The Peacemaker (1997)
- The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
- Magic City (1996)
- Smokey and the Bandit II (1983)
- The Hustle
- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
- Backdraft (1991)
Pittsburgh Movies and Injuries
Movie injuries are pretty common – but what’s even more common is the number of personal injury cases the city sees. Really, the law firms and attorneys there have a reputation for specializing in such cases. Pick any lawyer from any law firm there and there’s a good chance that they have had a lot of experience handling personal injury cases.
Most lawyers or a reputed independent attorney in Pittsburgh will not even cost you a lot. In fact, being a personal injury lawyer Pittsburgh has quite the reputation throughout the US!
Now all those looking for lawyers for their own needs know a fun fact! Next time you are open to a lawyer from Pennsylvania, you know exactly what to type on Google: Personal injury lawyer Pittsburgh. At Pittsburgh Injury Lawyer, we take pride in our track record in such cases.