Staten Island Ferry - The Ferry in Film, Television, and Literature

The Ferry in Film, Television, and Literature

The ferry appears regularly in television shows about New York City such as Sex and the City and in the opening credits of both Late Night and Late Show with David Letterman. It has been featured prominently in several movies, including the opening credits of the 1988 movie Working Girl. In 2003, the ferry was the subject of the documentary Ferry Tales, which followed the conversations of women in the powder room during the morning commute. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. There was also an original one-act play from "Scenes from the Staten Island Ferry" produced by Sundog Theatre, an Island company that produces new works and provides arts education for schools.

• "The Dark Knight" (2008) featured replicas of the Spirit of America ferries renamed the "Gotham City Ferry", the city where the movie takes place.
• "The Groomsmen" (2006) Paulie Ed Burns reconnects with his fiancee on the Staten Island Ferry.
• William Bilowit's acclaimed 1974 6-minute short Aria da Capo depicts two teenage girls chasing a young man from one end of the ferry to the other.
• Zombi 2 (1979) opens with the Staten Island Ferry almost crashing into the sailboat that brings the zombie plague to New York.
• I Love Lucy episode titled Staten Island Ferry (season 5, 1956)
• In "Semi-Detached", an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, a radio DJ (played by Fisher Stevens) commits suicide by jumping off the deck of the ferry.
• The Law & Order episode "The Dead Wives Club" also takes place on the ferry
• The ferry is featured prominently in the opening segment of A Walk Around Staten Island with David Hartman and Barry Lewis.