From a cell, a man (Clive Owen) tells us he has planned the perfect bank robbery; he invites us to watch. An efficient gang enters a Manhattan bank, locks the doors, and takes hostages. They work deliberately, without haste. Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) is assigned to negotiate. The bank's president has something to protect in a safe deposit box, so he brings in Madeleine White (Jodie Foster), a high-powered fixer. With an army of police surrounding the bank, the thief, the cop, and the plutocrat's fixer enter high-stakes negotiations. Why are the robbers asking for a plane - they know they won't get one. Why aren't they in more of a hurry? If the job's perfect, why is the thieves' leader in a cell?

West 10th Street and Surf Avenue, Coney Island, New York.

Columbia Heights (btw Orange Street and Cranberry Street) Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Bridge, Lower East Side, Manhattan.

Rivington Street (btw Clinton Street and Attorney Street) Manhattan.

William Street (btw Beaver Street and Exchange Place) Manhattan.

otsoNY Comments: The above-ground bank scenes were filmed inside a real bank, while the underground sequences were shot on a purpose-built set in Brooklyn, New York. During location scouting, filmmakers discovered a former Wall Street bank at 20 Exchange Place, which had since closed and been repurposed as a cigar bar. The building ultimately doubled as the fictional Manhattan Trust Bank branch where the heist takes place. The building has since been transformed into the restaurant.

(Interior Bank) 20 Exchange Place (btw Beaver Street and Hanover Street) Manhattan.

(Exterior Bank) 20 Exchange Place (btw Beaver Street and Hanover Street) Manhattan.

otsoNY Comments: The City of New York Department of Sanitation Manhattan Borough Repair Shop on West 26th Street stands in for the fictional 11th Precinct Police Department.

West 26th Street (btw NY-9A and 11th Avenue) Manhattan.

otsoNY Comments: The Manhattan Trust bank was set in a former Wall Street bank that had been closed and later repurposed as a cigar bar. The film-makers were responsible for a major undertaking, charged with restoring the former bank to its 1920s grandeur and architectural integrity. Extensive renovations were done to make the first floor look like an old-fashioned institution of money and power and it is where the robbers first hold their hostages. The Entrance used in the film is located on the East side of the building near the corner of Beaver and Hanover.

Exchange Place (btw Beaver Street and Hanover Street) Manhattan.

Collectors Suite, U.S. Custom House, 1 Bowling Green and Broadway, Manhattan.

Madeleine's Office, 150 Nassau Street and Spruce Street, Manhattan.

Battery Park, Manhattan.

Cafe Bravo, 76 Beaver Street and Hanover Street, Manhattan.

otsoNY Comments: Although the Appellate Court Building is featured, the scene that follows were actually filmed inside the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House.

Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, 1 Bowling Green and Broadway, Manhattan.

Rector Street (btw Broadway and Trinity Place) Manhattan.

otsoNY Comments: The Four Seasons Restaurant was a New American cuisine restaurant in the Midtown Manhattan neighbourhood of New York City from 1959 to 2019. The Four Seasons operated within the Seagram Building at 99 East 52nd Street for most of its existence, although it relocated to 42 East 49th Street in its final year of operation.

The Four Seasons Restaurant, 99 East 52nd Street & Park Avenue, Manhattan.