The 10 Best Movies Based In Manchester, Ranked (According to IMDb)

With most movies being based in Los Angeles or New York, it’s hard to find a movie based anywhere else in the US, never mind overseas. But if movie buffs dig a little deeper, they’ll find some great cultural classics.

Though Manchester has often been used to masquerade as New York for Hollywood movies, as it’s much cheaper to shoot there, there has never been a Hollywood movie that’s actually based in the rainy city. However, whether it’s a biographical drama about the city’s rich musical history or a Steve Coogan driven comedy, there have been many great British funded movies set in Manchester.

10 The Parole Officer (6.1)

With a London parole officer relocating to Manchester, Steve Coogan’s first feature movie is a fun outing as he gets caught up in a string of crimes with ex-cons whose probations he should be overseeing.

The movie doesn’t quite make it into Coogan’s 10 best movies, as it received a mixed reception upon release, and the studio even used negative reviews of the movie to promote it, as one critic’ review, calling it a “bag of s***e,” was scrawled across the poster.

9 East Is East (6.9)

Being based on the play of the same name, East is East follows a Muslim who has been living in the UK since 1937 and his relationship with his wife and seven children.

The father and his children clash at every instance as he is a traditional Pakistani and the children see themselves as British, often rejecting Pakistani values. The film received positive reviews, was nominated for several awards, and it even received a sequel, 2010’s West Is West.

8 Velvet Goldmine (7.0)

With the title being a reference to the David Bowie song of the same name, it’s no secret that Velvet Goldmine is one of the many music-related movies based in Manchester.

The movie is based in the 1970s during the glam rock phase that Britain was going through and it was even nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. Velvet Goldmine stars Ewan McGregor, though it doesn’t quite reach the heights of his best roles.

7 Looking For Eric (7.2)

Directed by the celebrated British director Ken Loach, who often makes movies about the working class, Looking For Eric is no different, despite being about a retired footballer.

Though the movie uses less social realism, which is what Loach is known for, it is one of his better films and one of the best movies about soccer. However, Roger Ebert hilariously said of the film that, “Steve Evets uses a Manchester accent so thick that many of the English themselves might not be able to understand it.”

6 24 Hour Party People (7.3)

Though people might not be too familiar with Manchester, the one thing everyone knows about the city is the music that came out of it in the 80s and 90s.

24 Hour Party People, another Coogan driven movie, is a biopic that follows the popular music scene in the city, especially those bands related to the infamous Factory Records. The movie covers everything from the punk era all the way through to rave culture, also known as the Madchester scene.

5 Raining Stones (7.4)

Being the second movie directed by Ken Loach on the list, though it isn’t a well-known movie, it received universal acclaim upon release and is one of the few movies to hold a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Raining Stones follows a man who can’t afford a first Communion dress for his daughter and makes increasingly worse choices in order to get the cash. The movie won the Jury Prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.

4 28 Days Later (7.6)

Though the movie isn’t entirely set in Manchester, the city plays a prominent role in the zombie movie, which is easily the most well-known picture of the lot. 28 Days Later is one of Danny Boyle’s best movies and easily one of the most terrifying zombie movies of the 21st century.

The zombie flick is even credited as reinvigorating the genre, as it’s more character-driven than any zombie movie that came before it, and it’s one of the movies that’ll make you fear big cities.

3 Control (7.7)

Control, yet another biographical movie, follows the life of Ian Curtis, who was the lead singer of Joy Division in the 70s and later committed suicide. The movie is based on Curtis’ wife’s biography, Touching From A Distance, and she also co-produced the movie.

The band New Order, which is the band that members of Joy Division formed after Curtis’ death, even provided music for the soundtrack, and it led to one of the best musical biopics there is.

2 The Rochdale Pioneers (7.7)

Being released in 2012, The Rochdale Pioneers is one of the newest movies based in Manchester. The movie is a biopic based in 1844 that depicts a group of working-class civilians who band together to open their own shop.

Creating one of the first co-operatives, they decided to sell quality products, which came after they were sickened by poor quality products that other stores sold. The principles that the pioneers created and lived by are still used in co-operatives worldwide today.

1 Naked (7.8)

Naked was made by another celebrated British director and a Cannes favorite, Mike Leigh, the director of the more famous Secrets & Lies. This 1993 cult classic is a black comedy that first saw the director gain recognition.

The movie follows a conspiracy theorist as he flees Manchester after he constantly relapses into sexual violence, and it went on to win several awards at Cannes, including best director.