Arka Mukhopadhyay
The bittersweet 2013 comedy-drama ‘Blue Jasmine’ is one of the most nuanced and expressive films from the oeuvre of director-auteur Woody Allen. The narrative depicts a turbulent life while following a wealthy Manhattan socialite who finds it hard to adjust to the small apartment of her working-class sister in San Francisco. Apart from a seamless character portrayal perfected by the acting prowess of Cate Blanchett, the movie attempts to bridge the East-West divide, chronicling Manhattan to San Francisco. Now, you may be wondering whether the movie was filmed in these two cities, so let us spill the beans.
Blue Jasmine Filming Locations
‘Blue Jasmine’ was filmed in various locations in California and New York, especially in San Francisco, Marin County, New York City, and Long Island. A few portions were further recorded in Mumbai, a city on India’s west coast. Principal photography took place between August 2, 2012, and September 19, 2012. Javier Aguirresarobe (‘The Road‘) handled the cinematography, while Santo Loquasto (‘Bullets Over Broadway’) took care of the production design. Let us now take you to the specific locations where the movie was lensed.
San Francisco, California
The scenes set in San Francisco were actually shot on location in various parts of San Francisco, an upscale metropolis in northern California. The sequence where Ginger and Al are walking along the beach was filmed at Ocean Beach, a popular beach on the city’s west coast. The jewelry store scenes with Dwight and Jasmine were recorded at Shreve & Co., a jewelry store located at 150 Post Street. Moreover, from the party scene in the movie, you can identify the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, a one-mile-wide strait connecting San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean.
In a sequence, Jasmine and her nephews visit a pizzeria; it was taped at Gaspare’s Pizza House & Italian Restaurant, located at 5546 Geary Avenue, between 19th and 20th Avenues. The bar scene with Jasmine and the dentist was captured at Zam Zam, a cocktail bar at 1633 Haight Street in the city. Another primary sequence was filmed at South Van Ness Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets in the Mission District of San Francisco. In addition, the final scene was lensed in the South Park suburbs, and a vital sequence was captured in the Pacific Heights neighborhood.
Another sequence was taped at the intersection of California & Grant in the San Francisco neighborhood of Chinatown. In the movie, Ginger and Al have to stay at a motel in a curious turn of events, and this sequence was filmed in Motel Capri, situated at 2015 Greenwich Street. Besides that, the team visited the Marina District to shoot some sequences, and the dentist’s office sequences were recorded in San Francisco’s West Portal district. Augie’s house is also situated in the city, at 48th Avenue & Rivera Street in the Sunset District of San Francisco.
Production commenced around 20th and Lexington Streets and 20th and Capp Streets, while some filming went underway in New Central Café at 301 South Van Ness Avenue. Ginger’s apartment is also situated nearby, at 305 South Van Ness Avenue. On the other hand, a building located at 24th & Florida Streets stands in for Ginger’s workplace. The streetcar sequence was taped at 11th Street and extended to Market Street. Furthermore, we glance at a 1947 Philadelphia streetcar in the scene, which was lensed at the San Francisco Muni F Line.
Marin County, California
The party house where Jasmine meets Dwight is located at Britton Avenue in Belvedere, an incorporated city within the San Francisco Bay region in Marin County. Dwight’s villa is situated in Paradise Cay, also known as County Service Area No. 29, in Marin County. The crew also visited the surrounding town of Tiburon, as well as an antique furniture shop in Larkspur, another city located in the same county, 3 miles south of San Rafael.
New York City, New York
The production team recorded many scenes in New York City, the iconic east coast metropolis famous for its pizza and round-the-clock culture. A prominent filming location in the city is Blanc De Chine, a former clothing store at 673 5th Avenue and East 53rd Street. The selfie scenes were lensed in South Street Seaport (also known as The Seaport), a historic shopping center located at 19 Fulton Street in Manhattan. The early jewelry store scenes were shot at Mauboussin Jewelry, at 714 Madison Avenue, in downtown New York City.
The crew further captured scenes on West Broadway between Leonard & Beach Streets in Manhattan. They traveled all across the Manhattan streets, 24 White Street and 6th Avenue, Park Avenue and East 54th Street, White Street between Franklin Place & West Broadway, South Street (between John Street & Beekman Street), and Walker Street between Broadway & 6th Avenue. Additional filming went underway on Church Street between White & Walker Streets, East 53rd Street between 5th & Madison Avenues, 55th Street & 5th Avenue, and 6th Avenue between Franklin & White Streets in Manhattan.
Long Island, New York
In their sprawling filming journey, the production team headed to Long Island, a teeming island in southeastern New York State. Hal’s secret villa is located in the village of Quogue in Suffolk County. Situated on the South Shore of Long Island, the serene community houses a population of 600.
Mumbai, India
Pivotal portions of ‘Blue Jasmine’ were lensed in Mumbai, a coastal metropolis in the Indian subcontinent. The cast and crew set up camp in Dahanukar Wadi in the Kandivali West suburbs, where they filmed scenes at 390 Pushp Heritage Apartments. Mumbai is the nucleus of the Indian film and TV industry, popularly termed Bollywood. Several hit movies like ‘Tenet‘ and ‘Slumdog Millionaire‘ were shot in the populous city.
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