We can’t name ‘em all, but here are some of Chicago’s greatest films

Curious City

WBEZ Chicago

Investigation, Chicago, Radio, Arts, Society & Culture, Public, Education, Curious, City

4.6 • 661 Ratings

🗓️ 22 January 2026

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

From high-speed chases to preposterous parades, Chicago dazzles on the silver screen. Last episode, we attempted to uncover the best movie ever filmed in Chicago. What we found was that it was impossible to name a definitive best, let alone name every movie that deserves recognition. Today, we dive deeper into movies that resonate with Chicagoans with two film critics: Marya E. Gates, author of Cinema Her Way: Visionary Female Directors in Their Own Words and Robert Daniels, associate editor of RogerEbert.com. They argue that the city doesn’t just look good on screen, it also helps tell stories that are reflective of its residents. Gates and Daniels talk about Chicago movies that highlight crime and political tropes (like “The Untouchables,” “Medium Cool,” and “Call Northside 777”), movies that bend space and time to navigate through Chicago’s geography (like “The Fugitive” and “Blues Brothers”), and movies that follow teenagers as they romp around the city (like “Cooley High” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”). Plus, they’ve got recommendations for Chicago movies that may have flown under your radar.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Curious City is supported by the Poetry Foundation, with a reminder that Chicago is the pulse of poetry.
0:07.6	Visit the Poetry Foundation on the corner of Superior and Dearborn to explore their library of 40,000 books.
0:14.0	Attend public events and view Frenta La Vida facing life, a striking multidisciplinary art exhibition by Chicago artist Victoria Martinez.
0:23.1	Learn more at poetry foundation.org.
0:26.9	How does AI even work? Where does creativity come from?
0:32.2	What's the secret to living longer?
0:34.5	Ted Radio Hour explores the biggest questions with some of the world's greatest thinkers.
0:39.5	They will surprise, challenge, and even change you. Listen to NPR's Ted Radio Hour, wherever you get
0:45.5	your podcasts.
0:48.6	WBEZ's nonprofit spotlight is supported by UChicago Medicine, providing expert primary and urgent
0:54.0	care with locations throughout Chicagoland, providing expert primary and urgent care with
0:54.5	locations throughout Chicagoland. Their walk-in urgent care locations offer a variety of services
0:59.4	for adults and kids seven days a week. No appointment needed. And for the visits that can wait a day
1:05.0	or two, flexible hours and online scheduling make it possible to find a primary care provider
1:10.1	partner. Learn more at
1:11.5	us Chicagoland.org. I'm Lisa Lobb, is host of the rundown podcast, and I'm here to make your daily
1:18.1	news habit a little easier and quicker. In less than 10 minutes, we run through Chicago's top headlines
1:24.2	so you can pick out what piques your interest and explore it later on WBEZ.
1:29.3	And you can get a taste of what else is going on around Chicago.
1:33.3	Listen every weekday wherever you get your podcasts.
1:40.3	What's up Chicago?
1:42.3	I'm Erin Allen and this is Curious City.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from WBEZ Chicago, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of WBEZ Chicago and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.