Films Made in Liverpool Locations

Films Made in Liverpool Locations

Anyone who has spent any time in Liverpool will know all about how picturesque the city is. Gone are the days when even the city centre was rundown and not great to look at.

Instead, years’ worth of investment into the region has brought Liverpool’s historic areas back to life whilst also introducing countless new parts of the city.

The fact that the docks still exist in much the same way that they did when they were first built, at least from the outside, along with other areas of historical importance, mean that it is a great place to go for filmmakers hoping to add a degree of verisimilitude to what they’re making.

Why is Liverpool a Good Shooting Location?

In recent years, Liverpool has become something of a hotspot for film and television. Whilst some of the things shot in the city are filmed here because they’re set here, there are countless other things that have used Liverpool as a location for entirely different reasons.

Obviously, the fact that the city has so many historic settings is a big part of the reason why film crews turn to Merseyside for their work, but that isn’t the only reason why the cameras are rolling on our streets. Instead, the hard work of the Liverpool Film Office has helped make it a destination for anyone hoping to film on location.

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Yes, the fact that buildings can easily stand in for New York obviously helps, but production companies often look for different reasons to film in one location over another and the fact that the streets of Liverpool can fit in for so many other places is only the tip of the iceberg.

Only London is filmed in more often than Liverpool, thanks in no small part to the financial advantages that are given over to companies looking to film here. Then there is the existence of The Depot, which is a purpose-built space for filming that means that companies can combine real-life locations with indoor sets.

There is a difference between the likes of Brookside and The 51st State, which were shot almost entirely in Liverpool, and films that use the city for one or two scenes in a movie. Even so, there is a huge list of offerings that have turned up to Liverpool in order to do at least some filming.

It is also important to note that the list is ever-growing, thanks to the fact that films and TV shows are recorded in the city on a seemingly constant basis. With that in mind, this list is far from exhaustive, but it gives you a sense of just how many things have been filmed, at least in part, in Liverpool:

Production Year
The Arrest of Goudie 1901
A Day in Liverpool 1929
Penny Paradise 1938
Waterfront 1949
The Magnet 1950
Violent Playground 1958
Morning in the Streets 1959
I Thank a Fool 1962
Ferry ‘Cross the Mersey 1965
The Reckoning 1969
Gumshoe 1971
Occupy! 1976
Chariots of Fire 1981
Yentl 1983
Letter to Brezhnev 1985
No Surrender 1985
Business as Usual 1987
Coast to Coast 1987
Distant Voices, Still Lives 1988
The Dressmaker 1988
The Fruit Machine 1988
The Hunt for Red October 1989
Shirley Valentine 1989
Blond Fist 1991
Hear My Song 1991
Let Him Have It 1991
The Long Day Closes 1992
In the Name of the Father 1993
Backbeat 1994
Blood on the Dole 1994
Dark Summer 1994
Priest 1994
An Awfully Big Adventure 1995
Rich Deceiver 1995
Downtime 1997
Under the Skin 1997
Three Businessmen 1998
Going Off Big Time 2000
Liam 2000
The 51st State 2001
My Kingdom 2001
The Parole Officer 2001
Shooters 2001
Al’s Lads 2002
Revengers Tragedy 2002
Virgin of Liverpool 2002
Holy Cross 2003
Alfie 2004
Digital Reaper 2004
Millions 2004
Dead Man’s Cards 2006
Longford 2006
Across the Universe 2007
Of Time and the City 2008
The Crew 2008
Three and Out 2008
Awaydays 2009
Charlie Noades R.I.P. 2009
Nowhere Boy 2009
Salvage 2009
Sherlock Holmes 2009
Under the Mud 2009
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2010
Kicks 2010
Route Irish 2010
Captain America: The First Avenger 2011
Jack Ryan 2012
Fast & Furious 6 2013
71 2014
Creed 2015
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2016
Florence Foster Jenkins 2016
Genius 2016
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool 2017
Tolkien 2017
Official Secrets 2018
Yesterday 2018
The Batman 2020
The Almond and the Seahorse 2021
Dalíland 2021
Midas Man 2021
Munich: Edge of War 2021
Bolan’s Shoes 2023
Fountains of Youth 2024
Perduto 2024
Heads of State 2025
Clayface 2026

When you consider the fact that close to 250 films and TV shows were shot in Liverpool in 2021 alone, it is easy to see how the list here isn’t even close to scratching the surface of what the city has to offer in terms of a filming location.

It seems like every other day that people can head out into the city and discover all sorts of shenanigans going on thanks to something being filmed somewhere. Given how much money it brings into the local economy, long may that continue.