Lots of movies were shot in Arizona, but these are the 5 best. Here's where to watch them
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The first argument you have when you make a best-of list is with yourself.
It’s agonizing.
After that, it’s kind of fun.
The arguing with everyone else, that is. And this is a list worth arguing about.
A surprising number of good movies have been made in Arizona. And with the return of tax credits it stands to reason there might be more.
But what are the best movies that have been made in the state?
This is personal preference, of course, in the sense that my personal preference is correct and those of people who disagree are not.
This list has changed about 500 times since I started working on it. It’s cruel. It’s insane. But, as the sports cliche goes, it is what it is.
These are my five favorite movies made in Arizona. Read ’em and weep.
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‘Midnight Run’ (1988)
Robert De Niro plays a bounty hunter escorting the annoying Charles Grodin, a mob accountant, across the country. This is a great, underrated movie, an all-time favorite, with a supporting cast that includes John Ashton, Yaphet Kotto, Dennis Farina and Joe Pantoliano. It was filmed in several Arizona locations, including Flagstaff, Globe, Williams, Casa Grande and more.
How to watch: Stream on Netflix.
‘Raising Arizona’ (1987)
Duh. Nicolas Cage’s recidivist criminal tries to go straight after marrying cop Holly Hunter. Things do not go as planned in the Coen brothers’ whackiest film (and one of their best). It includes one of the great movie comedy lines from John Goodman, who has broken out of prison: “We felt that the institution no longer had anything to offer us.” Arizona filming locations include Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe and Florence.
How to watch: Stream on Hulu.
‘Nomadland’ (2020)
Chloé Zhao's brutally honest look at the effects of a crumbling economy on the American West was an Oscars magnet, rightly so — best picture, best director and best actress, the latter for a deserving Frances McDormand. Quartzsite is a central location, a home base for a group of nomads who wander from one job to the next. A ruggedly beautiful movie.
How to watch: Stream on Hulu.
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‘Psycho’ (1960)
A bit of a cheat, as only the opening establishing shots were filmed in Phoenix (and Alfred Hitchcock didn’t shoot it). But Arizona sets the grim tone for a woman (Janet Leigh) who embezzles money and winds up in the Bates Motel. “We all go a little mad sometimes,” Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) says. “Haven’t you?” Maybe stay out of the shower.
How to watch: Rent on Apple TV+, YouTube, Prime Video.
‘Near Dark’ (1987)
In the great American vampire movie, directed by none other than future Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow, Adrian Pasdar winds up running around with a gang of vampires, one of whom is the late, great Bill Paxton as a truly unhinged bloodsucker. It’s scary and violent and gross and all that, but it’s also a meditation on small-town America. Or something. Mostly it’s just good. Arizona locations include Coolidge and Eloy.
How to watch: Stream on Shudder.
Honorable mentions
These great flicks almost made the cut: “Everything Must Go” (2010), “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” (1974), "Used Cars" (1980), “The Grifters” (1990), “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006), “Three Kings” (1999), “Starman” (1984).
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Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: The best movies filmed in Arizona run the gamut from horror to comedy
