Cinematic Walking Tour Takes Viewers Through Movies Filmed at Princeton

For his cinematic walking tour of Princeton, Yassine Ait Ali, a fifth-year graduate student in the Department of French and Italian, is taking attendees on a journey through decades of film history and picturesque Princeton spaces that have served as movie settings.

The first tour, held on April 17, started at FitzRandolph Gate and ended nearly two hours later at the Princeton Public Library, from which many of the films can be borrowed. Interested readers can sign up for future tours through EventBrite, scheduled to be held on May 10, 18, and 29.

Below, PAW highlights a few of the featured films.

Last Embrace

The 1979 film about an FBI agent starring Roy Scheider and Janet Margolin showcases several recognizable spots on Princeton’s campus, such as Rockefeller College, Blair Hall, and Alexander Hall. One scene at the Graduate College includes a cacophonous shootout inside the carillon of Cleveland Tower.

A Beautiful Mind

The 2001 classic “made Princeton very well-known in cinema,” according to Ait Ali. The story follows real-life mathematician John Nash *50, played by Russell Crowe, who battled schizophrenia during a brilliant career that eventually earned him a Nobel Prize. One of the opening scenes takes place at Mathey College, and on the tour, Ait Ali shares reports of Crowe’s interactions with students.

Oppenheimer

The 2023 movie about the development of the first nuclear weapons (an Oscar winner for Best Picture) created a stir on campus when actor Matt Damon and director Christopher Nolan were spotted filming at East Pyne Hall, the location of many of the University’s language departments. Ait Ali said the main entrances of the building were closed that day, so he was forced to find another way inside.

Ait Ali is the organizer of the Princeton French Film Festival, held for the third time in April, and the tour is also part of the Being Human Festival, which ran through April 28. The project is supported by the Princeton Public Library and the University’s Program for Community Engaged Scholarship.