Behold the Mile High City with its more than 300 hundred days of sunshine, a downtown that can do gritty or gleaming, and a beckoning backdrop of foothills that give way to the Rockies. When it comes to the big or small screen, Denver gives good face — whether the town’s an extra glimpsed in passing or a central character. Here are some of Denver's screen credits from movies and TV shows.

Movies Filmed in Denver

"Come See Me in the Good Light"

Spot the Paramount Theatre in the incandescent, Oscar-nominated documentary “Come See Me in the Good Light” (2025), which tells the story of Colorado’s then poet laureate Andrea Gibson and their wife, Megan Falley, as they face a terminal cancer diagnosis. Late in the film, we get to enter the greenroom of the famed Art Deco venue and then see what it’s like to look up from the stage at a sold-out, adoring house.
 

"Jazz Town"

From director Ben Makinen comes "JazzTown" (2021), a 92-minute documentary made entirely by one person. Makinen uses cinema to "tell a universal story of the musicians’ struggle to remain relevant in a brutal marketplace that leaves many artists living in poverty while only a few are able to breathe the rarified air of great success." The film features interviews with, and performances by Grammy winner Dianne Reeves, Ron Miles, Charles Burrell, Freddy Rodriguez Sr. and U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, plus appearances by more than 50 Colorado musicians.  Like the royalty he was, Burrell walks through the well-wishers and fans at Dazzle, the city’s famed jazz club.
 

"The Glenn Miller Story"

In "The Glenn Miller Story" (1954), Jimmy Stewart stars as the legendary big bandleader. Because Miller hailed from Fort Morgan, Colorado, the production filmed several scenes at locations in Colorado, including the Historic Elitch Theatre. Lowry Air Force Base and a gas station on Colfax Avenue.
 

"Every Which Way but Loose"

In "Every Which Way but Loose" (1978), Clint Eastwood and Clyde the orangutan wander around Colfax Avenue (during its tawdrier years). There’s the neon sign for Sid King's Crazy Horse Bar, the legendary strip-club. And isn’t that the Zanza Bar? The honky-tonk in Aurora drew national acts and had a sign that stated: “It’s Later Than You Think. Enjoy Yourself.” Both establishments are gone, but the celebrated roadway that Playboy magazine purportedly dubbed “the longest, wickedest street in America” remains rife with great signage and still has its moments.
 

"In the Line of Fire"

And Eastwood must have liked Denver. Headlining the action film "In the Line of Fire" (1993), his grizzled secret service agent protects the president at a rally at Civic Center Park . “The Mule” (2018), which Eastwood directed and starred in, was also filmed in Colorado.
 

"Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead"

In the Tarantino-tinged "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead" (1995), a motley crew roams the titular city. Among the riff raff doing a mobster’s bidding: Andy Garcia (albeit reluctantly), Treat Williams, Christopher Lloyd, Christopher Walken and Steve Buscemi in the cast. Notable locations include Denver Union Station and the Bluebird Theater.
 

"Resurrecting the Champ"

“Resurrecting the Champ” (2007) Josh Hartnett plays an ambitious if frustrated sports reporter at the fictional Denver Times who thinks he’s found his ticket to the big leagues when he learns the unhoused, former boxer he meets outside the Denver might be a famed pugilist. In addition to namechecking the Broncos and the Nuggets, the movie has the journalist cruise by the very handsome Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies.
 

"Our Souls at Night"

Having debuted in the same movie in 1960, Robert Redford and Jane Fonda reunite in Netflix's "Our Souls at Night" (2017), this time in Colorado. Their fifth and final film includes scenes at the Brown Palace Hotel & Spa in Denver. Florence, CO, is used as the fictional town of Holt in the adaptation of Coloradan Kent Haruf’s final novel.
 

"Die Hard 2: Die Harder"

Bruce Willis reprises his role as John McClane in "Die Hard 2: Die Harder" (1990), featuring the since-shuttered Stapleton International Airport (now a multi-level, game-filled brewpub bar with tours of the Control Tower called FlyteCo) standing in for Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. Inclement weather and a plane load of baddies threaten another Christmas for John and Holly (Bonnie Bedelia).
 

"Blades of Glory"

Figure-skating farce "Blades of Glory" (2007), starring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder, used Ball Arena as a venue for some of the movie's ridiculous competitions on ice.
 

"About Schmidt"

"About Schmidt" (2002) sees Jack Nicholson's retiree piloting his Winnebago down Colfax, although Omaha largely stood in for Denver for the scenes at Kathy Bates’ (who played another familiar Denverite) character's Capitol Hill house, hot tub and all.
 

"Vanishing Point"

The road movie, cult classic "Vanishing Point" (1971) features protagonist Kowalski cruising West Colfax Avenue in an iconic 1970 Dodge Challenger. Fueled by uppers for his cross-country delivery of said muscle car, Kowalski scores some Benzedrine before heading west to San Francisco. A trip along the storied — if changing — roadway is still cool but preferably without Kowalski’s shopping list.
 

"Over the Edge"

"Over the Edge" (1979) chronicles a teenage uprising in a fictional Denver suburb where there's nothing to do called New Granada, deftly portrayed by Aurora. The movie is remembered as a chronicle of teen angst and as Matt Dillon's film debut.
 

"Ladybugs"

Rodney Dangerfield plays a shifty Denver businessman who coaches a girls' soccer team in "Ladybugs" (1992), filmed on location in the city. Dangerfield's character cheats by dressing a boy in drag as a ringer; the movie was a critical and financial dud.
 

"Waterworld"

Speaking of bombs, in the cinematic calamity "Waterworld" (1995), Kevin Costner and Jean Tripplehorn dive to a digitally re-created Denver where you see the unmistakable shape of Wells Fargo Center, aka "The Cash Register Building” deep below the surface of the water.
 

"A Remarkable Life"

Not quite remarkable, the romantic drama “A Remarkable Life” (2016) offers a believable Denver for its characters to navigate. A man (Chris Bruno) finds his wife (Daphne Zuniga) in bed with another woman and must rebuild his life, while learning to be a good dad to his neurodivergent son. A free-spirited rocker named Chelsea helps him. In this light drama with heavy themes, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, the Broadway shopping corridor along with the former thrift store Buffalo Exchange gets some screen time. And Golden’s renowned Buffalo Rose bar-restaurant music venue stands for a Denver music venue.
 

"Silver City"

In “Silver City” (2004), a hapless but privileged gubernatorial candidate stands on the steps of City Hall bungling press questions in John Sayles’s political satire. Across the expanse of Civic Center Park stands the stately Capitol building. Boy do the flower beds of the park beckon. When Union Station and the Oxford Hotel get their brief moments onscreen, they also shine.
 

"Dear Eleanor"

In quite the twist, the 1960s-set drama “Dear Eleanor” (2016) — about two teenaged girls who head across the U.S. in search of former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt — uses Denver’s Paramount Theatre to stand-in for a New York City theater.
 

"Imagine That"

An Eddie Murphy vehicle, the kid-friendly comedy “Imagine That” (2009) finds the comedian’s overworked, high-end financial advisor Evan dancing on the Little Raven plaza beneath Denver’s Millennium Bridge to please his young daughter. While it’s hard to tell, the Brown Palace Hotel & Spa was turned into the suite offices used by the company Evan works for.
 

TV Shows Filmed in Denver

"Dynasty"

"Dynasty" (1981-89) showcases the lifestyles of the rich and famous Carrington and Colby families from their Denver home base. Numerous Denver high-rises are featured in the prime-time soap's opening credits, but the show was shot primarily in Los Angeles.
 

"Mork & Mindy"

Likewise, the opening of the hit sitcom "Mork & Mindy" (1978-1982) features Robin Williams' titular Orkan hatching from an egg after landing on Earth, followed by a montage shot largely in Boulder: Mork and Mindy flying a kite, the Flatirons nearby; driving into town; walking on Pearl Street and going to their Victorian home on Pine Street. The interiors, however, were shot in California.
 

"South Park"

Fans of "South Park" (1997-present) have seen Cartman and company wreak havoc most famously at the Casa Bonita restaurant in Lakewood, but the show has featured an animated version of Denver International Airport, the City & County Building, and numerous other real and fictional locations in the city.
 

"Perry Mason"

Many of the "Perry Mason" TV movies in the 1980s and 1990s and early episodes of Dick Van Dyke's "Diagnosis: Murder" were shot on sound stages in the old Bonfils Theatre Complex (now home to the Tattered Cover Book Store) on East Colfax Avenue and other locations in Denver. Denver stood in for Los Angeles in "Perry Mason," but "Diagnosis: Murder" was set in Denver for a few episodes until the show abruptly relocated its characters to L.A. for the third season.