50 Films About Amsterdam
Many films are made in Paris, New York, Rome, Tokio. But Amsterdam is also, on a smaller scale, famous in cinema. There are even Love Boat and Tatort episodes about Amsterdam... This list is a personal choice. I choose less known films rather than known movies, though some (Ocean's 12) had to be included. I judged by how relevant and original the city is portrayed in the movies. Not all of the Amsterdam films are included (you can search on filming locations on IMDb if you want that). Some of these are really good, though plenty are mediocre, unfortunately.
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- DirectorJacques TatiStarsJacques TatiMarcel FravalHonoré BostelMr. Hulot drives a recreational vehicle from Paris to Amsterdam in his usual comical, disastrous style.
- DirectorFrans WeiszStarsRijk de GooyerJon BlumingAnny de LangeBurglar and master safe-cracker Glimmie is asked to find a young woman called Fanny by her rich stepfather Van Borsen. However, Glimmie remains suspicious of the man and decides that Fanny has to be protected by him and his pal De Bonk. He is soon proved correct and winds up a scapegoat in Van Borsen's scheme. After his release from prison, Glimmie plans his revenge with some help from a young cleaning girl called Slofje.
- DirectorRoeland KerboschStarsHaring ArieHagse GerrieParijse LeenDocumentary about the Amsterdam red light district as seen through the eyes of local 'Haring Arie'.
- DirectorGiovanni KorporaalStarsMaxim HamelJohan KaartJan BlaaserCriminal Bert Oliemans, just released from prison, has a problem. Both the victim, the police and a rival gang want to know where he hid the jewels prior to his arrest.
- DirectorFrans WeiszStarsRijk de GooyerJennifer WillemsJon BlumingRick, who runs a pinball arcade, lets a room to Penny, a young teacher and karate fan. Penny gets to know Lilly, a singer who has just been hired with her friend Ed to act in a film. But Lilly soon discovers that the movie they are involved in is nothing else but a dirty one. In disgust, she runs away from the set. Shortly afterward, the owner of the film studio is found murdered.
- DirectorDerek WilliamsStarsSean ScullyJacques VerbruggeSandra SpurrTim (Sean Scully) comes over to Amsterdam to visit his penfriend Piet (Jacques Verbrugge). An Englishman operating as a tourist guide is a diamond-smuggler and the boys along with Piet's sister Annike (Sandra Spurr), foil his plans in a boat chase.
- DirectorLuciano EmmerStarsLino VenturaMagali NoëlMarina VladyItalians migrate to Holland to make money in coal mining. After their first work accident, two friends make different future plans: one spends money on a weekend holiday; the other determines to return to Italy soon.
- DirectorMichael McCarthyStarsPeter FinchEva BartokTony BrittonWhen Germany invades Holland in 1940, a British intelligence officer and two Dutch diamond merchants go to Amsterdam to persuade the Dutch diamond merchants to evacuate their diamond supplies to England.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsYella RottländerRüdiger VoglerLisa KreuzerA German journalist is saddled with a nine-year-old girl after encountering her mother at a New York airport.
- DirectorDick MaasStarsHuub StapelMonique van de VenSerge-Henri ValckeA hard-boiled police detective sets out to capture a gruesome serial killer terrorizing the canals of Amsterdam.
- DirectorWim VerstappenStarsRijk de GooyerRutger HauerWilleke van AmmelrooyWhen a hanged man is found, the question is whether it is suicide or murder. Possible suspects are available; the world of drugs and a suspicious sect.
- DirectorArthur DreifussStarsLinda ChristianBob De LangeEric SchneiderPainter Peter Hartman is arrested at the scene of a murder. He soon turns out to have ties to the victim's young widow. As Inspector Stroomer begins to unravel the mystery, two very different sides of the story are presented to him. Now it is up to Stroomer to find enough photographic evidence to make out which version is the truth.
- DirectorEddy TerstallStarsMarc van UchelenArthur De BoerDaan EkkelA story about a bunch of 20-somethings in Amsterdam and their love-life, as told from 2 perspectives.
- DirectorGeoffrey ReeveStarsSven-Bertil TaubeBarbara ParkinsAlexander KnoxFollowing a triple professional hit a U.S. agent arrives in Amsterdam to investigate a heroin smuggling ring. He finds a city rife with drugs and a police force unable or unwilling to do much about it. With his incognito female fellow agent the American is soon stirring things up.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsRonnie BiermanSylvia de LeurPiet RömerIn Amsterdam, two prostitutes make a choice between love and work.
- DirectorAlex BennoRichard OswaldStarsAaf BouberJopie KoopmanJohan ElsensohnA greengrocer's shady dealings with a well-to-do margarine smuggler require that she interferes with her daughter's romance with a sailor.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsSean ConneryJill St. JohnCharles GrayA diamond smuggling investigation leads James Bond to Las Vegas where he uncovers an evil plot involving a rich business tycoon.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsMonique van de VenRutger HauerTonny HuurdemanAn aimless young artist learns to face his responsibilities when a former lover develops a terminal illness.
- DirectorRobert Jan WestdijkStarsKim van KootenRomijn ConenHugo MetsersMartijn is obsessed with his younger sister Daantje and visits her to make a documentary about her. He manages to invade Daantje's life with his video camera, but soon unresolved issues from a distant past come to the surface.
- DirectorLuigi ComenciniNanni LoyLuigi MagniStarsNino ManfrediStefania SandrelliAlberto SordiThree sexy and comedic episodes.
- DirectorMaarten TreurnietStarsRutger HauerReinout Scholten van AschatGijs NaberA bold, amateur kidnapping goes wildly awry in this fictionalized account of beer magnate Alfred Heineken's 1983 abduction, which would go on to become one of The Netherlands' most infamous crimes.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsCarice van HoutenSebastian KochThom HoffmanIn the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.
- DirectorJosh BooneStarsShailene WoodleyAnsel ElgortNat WolffHazel and Gus are teenagers who meet at a cancer support group and fall in love. They both share the same acerbic wit and a love of books, especially "An Imperial Affliction", so they embark on a journey to visit an author in Amsterdam.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsGeorge ClooneyBrad PittJulia RobertsDaniel Ocean recruits one more team member so he can pull off three major European heists in this sequel to Ocean's Eleven (2001).
- DirectorSergio GriecoStarsRoger BrowneAida PowerUmberto RahoAn ex-con and thief must allude the authorities and the criminal underworld as he attempts to locate a stash of jewelry stolen by the Nazis.
- DirectorJean van de VeldeStarsCas JansenRicky KooleThomas AcdaBased on a book about an infamous real scandal in the Dutch crime scene, the film aims at exposing the horrors caused by corruption on both sides of the law. A rookie policeman is coerced into obtaining secret information from a childhood friend turned gangster. The childhood friend turns informant. But his revelations are hardly the most important "leaks" in the story. In fact, the new relationship between old friends goes all wrong, and the young policeman becomes increasingly involved in a deadly web of lies, crimes, treason, and revenge, all seemingly out of control.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsMonica VittiTerence StampDirk BogardeStylish ex-con Modesty Blaise and her partner Willie Garvin are tasked by the British Secret Service with preventing her rival Gabriel from stealing diamonds that are to be delivered to her adoptive father, a Sheikh.
- DirectorOsvaldo CiviraniStarsFranco FranchiCiccio IngrassiaLuciano PigozziFranco and Ciccio, two journalists, are sent to Amsterdam to investigate a mysterious murder. After having managed to infiltrate the libertine circles of the city, the two take a compromising photo that will get them into trouble.
- DirectorGeorge SchoutenStarsPeter FaberCarla HardyDerek de LintHans meets the lively typist Eva at work and they marry after a short while. And then their lives change as she develops agoraphobia.
- DirectorSandy WhitelawStarsHiram KellerTina AumontKlaus KinskiA doctor trying to develop a serum to lengthen life tries his formula out on the unsuspecting residents of an old-age home.
- DirectorEddy TerstallStarsTom JansenJohnny de MolEsmarel GasmanVox Populi is a black comedy about an experienced politician suffering from a midlife crisis. When he comes into contact with the common-man's logic of his new in-laws, this has a far-reaching effect on both his political and his personal life.
- DirectorRobert Ellis MillerStarsTimothy DaltonAnthony EdwardsJanet McTeerTwo terminally ill patients in a hospital yearn for relief from their predicament. With little or no friends, they form an uneasy alliance and plot an escape for one last wild time.
- DirectorSamuel MeyeringStarsRijk de GooyerCox HabbemaPleuni TouwProfessional gambler Rufus convinces an ex-girlfriend to help him pull one over on a corrupt casino owner.
- DirectorMatthew VaughnStarsDaniel CraigSienna MillerMichael GambonA successful cocaine dealer gets two tough assignments from his boss on the eve of his planned early retirement.
- DirectorDusan MakavejevStarsCarole LaurePierre ClémentiAnna PrucnalAfter winning the "most virgin" contest, Miss Canada is married to a rich milk tycoon. But she quickly flees the marriage to experience the world around her, full of sweetness and anarchy.
- DirectorFrans WeiszStarsPaolo GraziosiKitty CourboisAstrid WeymanA successful young writer is in search of his true destiny. Is it the life with his wife and typewriter in Amsterdam or the offers to go to the dreamworld of the Italian filmtown Cinecitt which is luring him. Trying to find this out he goes into retreat in the house of a befriended gay couple in the south of France.
- DirectorBen VerbongStarsPeter TuinmanMonique van de VenAdrian BrineWolff, a truck driver, loses his boss' money by gambling so he tries to sell his truck to pay for passage to New York.
- DirectorJoyce BernalStarsRobin PadillaMichael De MesaAlden RichardsA senator is forced to go on the run after killing a judge and fights to clear his name.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsMonique van de VenRutger HauerAndrea DomburgThe young girl Keetje moves to Amsterdam in 1881 with her impoverished family, and is led into prostitution in order to survive. In the process she sees the corrupting influence of money.
- DirectorWim VerstappenStarsRamses ShaffyKitty CourboisMichael YorkMascha and Marina are the two women who love the successful writer Frank Jansen (Ramses Shaffy) and between whom he can not make a choice. Mascha (Shireen Strooker) translates Frank's books into English, Marina (Kitty Courbois) runs a boutique and keeps Frank's flat in order. When the two women return from a trip to London, Frank's life is gaining momentum; the unexpected arrival of the English knowledge Peter (Michael York) gets the knot out of a carefree triangular relationship.
- DirectorGuido PietersStarsDanny de MunkWilleke van AmmelrooyHerman van VeenA poor 11-year-old schoolboy with a heart of gold grows up in 1930s Amsterdam.
- DirectorClaude LelouchStarsYves MontandCandice BergenAnnie GirardotThe bitter relationships between a journalist and his women.
- DirectorJaap SpeyerStarsHeintje DavidsJohan KaartAnnie Van DuynShortly after the end of World War II, Amsterdam is coping with a lack of living quarters. Market vendor Heintje Davids gets a tip from her sister that a couple of rooms are available in the Van Laar residence on the stately Apollolaan. Although the master of the house is quite amused by the common Heintje, his wife most certainly is not. Their son, however takes an immediate liking to Heintjes daughter Daisy, despite the objections of their combined parents
- DirectorJosé Antonio de la LomaStarsThomas HunterGila von WeitershausenWalter BarnesTony Carrera is just about to end his crime career and turn into a laid-back life with a future millionaire wife and a career as Formula 1 driver. But then he is being forced to do a final job.
- DirectorKo KoedijkStarsJohn Kraaijkamp Sr.Rijk de GooyerHetty BlokJohnny Kraaykamp is released from jail. His pal Rijk de Gooyer comes up with a plan to rent themselves out as handymen, especially since Johnny is able to fix anything with just one slap of his hands. After getting a loan and a phone-number from auntie Toetje (who runs a thinly disguised brothel in Amsterdam) the pair of them set to work. Things get complicated when a developer named Koster wants to buy out Toetje in order to build a parking garage just as the 'Geen Paniek' business is starting to boom.
- DirectorHerbert CurielStarsWilleke van AmmelrooyRutger HauerRiet HeniusWell to do business man Pierre (Rutger Hauer) falls for the unpredictable and free-spirited Toni (Willeke van Ammelrooy). They begin a relationship, despite the fact that she's living with another man, who is the father of her child.
- DirectorAdrienne SolserStarsAdrienne SolserJan NooyBeppie Nooy Sr.Fishmonger Bet is fat, crazy and rude.
- DirectorRonny YuStarsRussell WongSteven Vincent LeighLisa SchrageIn Amsterdam - in the time before the legalisation of some drugs and the following growth of competition on the market - takes place a war between the Italian and Chinese mafia because of the control of the heroin market.
- DirectorTommy ChongStarsCheech MarinTommy ChongHans Man in 't VeldCheech and Chong fly to the marijuana capital of the world, Amsterdam, for a film festival where they take Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds' place in a limo, suite, press conference and performance. They throw in some sketches as well.
- DirectorRino Di SilvestroStarsAnn-Gisel GlassSebastiano SommaTony SerranoA young street girl from Amsterdam seeks a new life away from prostitution.