How has American cinema engaged with the rapid transformation of American cities and urban culture since the 1960s? And what role have films and film industries played in shaping and mediating cultural and economic change in the ‘postindustrial’ city? This interdisciplinary collection argues that cinema and cities have become increasingly intertwined in the era of urban branding, cultural industries, and ‘creative cities’. Spanning four decades of US urban history, from decline and crisis in the 1970s and 1980s to neoliberal restructuring, galloping globalization and accelerated gentrification in the 1990s and beyond, the book considers the complex, evolving relationship between moving image cultures and the urban environment in key cinematic cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Detroit. Across twelve chapters, the contributors address these questions via textual and industrial perspectives, analyzing questions of narrative, aesthetics, and genre as well as contexts of production, exhibition and reception. Drawing together critical concepts from film and urban studies, the chapters view contemporary cinema through the political and social geographies of class, race, gender, and sexuality. From Hollywood blockbusters to independent cinema, romantic comedy to science fiction, key films discussed include Frances Ha, Fruitvale Station, Desperately Seeking Susan, The King of New York, Inception, Doctor Strange, Only Lovers Left Alive and The Friends of Eddie Coyle.