Skyscrapers in Film - Real Skyscrapers

Real Skyscrapers

This is a list of actual skyscrapers that have a noticeable role as themselves in films, sorted by chronological building order. (See also: list of skyscrapers.)

• Empire State Building (New York City 1931) - famously climbed by the giant ape King Kong in the eponymous movie (1933). Destroyed by an alien ship in Independence Day (1996). The Empire State Building is also seen in James and the Giant Peach. The Empire State Building's observation deck features prominently in Sleepless in Seattle. Stars in the movie Empire (1964 film), where it is seen in a continuous eight hour, five minute shot of the building at night.

• World Trade Center (New York City 1973) - Used prominently in the 1973 film version of Godspell during the song "All For the Best." Climbed by King Kong in the 1976 remake of King Kong. Exploded and collapsed after being hit by a fragment of the Meteor (1979). Used as a makeshift runway by Snake Plissken in Escape from New York (1981). In the film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) Kevin Mcallister stops at the building while sightseeing. The towers are also seen in various scenes of the smash hit movie 'Die Hard With A Vengeance' Severely damaged by meteor shower in Armageddon (1998) and severely damaged by an ocean wave (from comet impact) in Deep Impact. Leaped onto from a failing helicopter in Read or Die (May 2001). The roof of the World Trade Center was also the original scene of the final climax in the film Men in Black II (2002), but after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the producers chose to reshoot the scene with an "ordinary" roof in New York City. In Steven Spielberg's movie Munich (2005), there is a scene in the last minutes of the film where two men are walking with the New York City skyline in the background. Because the scene takes place before the World Trade Center fell, a digital version of the World Trade Center was added to the New York skyline. In the 2006 film World Trade Center, the World Trade Center is seen, but is animated (or created with pictures from the time before 9/11). The building was the setting of 2008's Academy Award-winning documentary, Man on Wire, about tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring 1974 walk between the towers.

• Chrysler Building (New York City 1930) - lair of the winged serpent Quetzalcoatl in Q (1982), prominently featured in The Caveman's Valentine, accidentally destroyed by U.S. military forces in Godzilla (1998); destroyed by a meteorite in Armageddon (1998); flown through by the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007).

• MetLife Building (New York City 1963) - featured in its original guise as the Pan Am Building in the opening scenes of Only When I Larf (1968), and the helipad is also used in the characters' escape; destroyed first by Godzilla when he walked through the building leaving a massive gap in it in the film Godzilla (1998). It was later destroyed in Knowing (2009) when a solar flare anhilates all of earth.

• Capitol Records Building (Los Angeles 1956) - A distinctive Hollywood landmark, frequently destroyed in blockbuster films including Earthquake, Independence Day, and The Day After Tomorrow.

• Sunset Vine Tower (Los Angeles 1966) - Damaged by fire in 2001, the tower was recently remodeled and converted into condominiums. The Sunset Vine Tower was prominently featured in 1974'sEarthquake, earning it the affectionate moniker "The Earthquake Tower" by Angelinos.

• Tour Montparnasse (Paris 1973) - taken over by terrorists in the French Die Hard parody La Tour Montparnasse Infernale (2001). The title is a spoof on The Towering Inferno (see "Glass Tower" in next section).

• Two International Finance Centre (Hong Kong 2003) - featured in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) & in The Dark Knight (2008).

• Petronas Twin Towers (Kuala Lumpur 1998) - setting of a spectacular heist in the film Entrapment (1999).

• Taipei 101 (Taipei 2004) - while not yet featured in a major international film as of 2004, in local productions it is fast becoming an Eiffel Tower-like cliché that the view from every Taipei apartment includes Taipei 101.

• Terminal Tower Cleveland-Was featured in Major League, The Fortune Cookie 1966, Proximity, and The Deer Hunter 1978, also a Christmas Story 1983. The Terminal was featured in Antwone Fisher story.

• BP Tower Cleveland-Was featured and shot for the 2004 movie Oh in Ohio with Parker Posey, Posey's character had her office based in the BP Tower. In the scene you could also see the Key Tower and Cleveland Browns Stadium in the background.

• U.S. Bank Tower (Los Angeles 1990) - the first building destroyed by the alien ships in the film Independence Day (1996); in the The Day After Tomorrow by a Category F-5 Tornado (2004) and in 2012 (2009) the city including the U.S. Bank Tower gets destroyed due to Magnitude 10+ earthquakes.

• Rialto Tower (Melbourne 1986) - featured in Ghost Rider (2007). The Ghost Rider is seen riding vertically up the tower to elude the authorities.

• Sydney Tower (Sydney 1981) - destroyed by the monster Zilla in the Japanese film Godzilla: Final Wars. Also destroyed by meteors in the Hallmark film Supernova, which was released in 2005.

• Burj Khalifa (Dubai 2010) - location of a part of the movie Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. In the movie, Tom Cruises character, Ethan Hunt, climbs 11 stories up on the outside in order to access the building's server.

• Woolworth Building (New York City 1913) - The Woolworth Building was one of the buildings near the mysterious explosion and the first structure to be destroyed by the creature in the 2008 film Cloverfield. The main characters were among the dozens of people present when it collapsed.