How Much of the Movie “The Town” is Just Shots of Boston?
The Town was directed by, written by, and stars Ben Affleck, so naturally, the movie takes every possible opportunity to remind you that it takes place in Boston. Specifically, it focuses on Charlestown, which the film famously claims is the "bank robbery capital of the world".
Watching the movie, it feels like it almost borders on a parody of other thrillers with the sheer volume of city establishing shots. This sparked a mystery I had to solve: Exactly how much of this movie is just shots of Beansville, USA?
The Investigation: Crunching the Boston Numbers
To figure this out, I took both the 125-minute theatrical version and the 153-minute alternate extended cut and imported them into Final Cut Pro, stacking them on top of each other.
My rule was simple: if you can look at a shot and know exactly where it is in Boston, it counts.
First, I stripped away the opening logos and the end credits to find the true runtime of the story itself. Here is the exact data on how much time is spent just looking at the city:
Theatrical Cut: Out of a true runtime of 118 minutes, there are 12 minutes and 44 seconds of Boston shots. That is 10.79%, which rounds up to 11% of the film.
Alternate Extended Cut: Out of a true runtime of 146 minutes, there are 15 minutes and 53 seconds of Boston shots. That is 10.88%, which also rounds up to 11%.
Even with over three extra minutes of Boston added to the extended cut, both versions of The Town are exactly 11% Boston.
The Aerial Shot Obsession
Most of the footage padding this 11% consists of aerial shots that frequently interrupt the pacing of the film. The editing pattern is relentless: you will get an aerial shot, 30 seconds of dialogue, and then immediately cut back to another aerial shot.
In one sequence, the movie shows 7 seconds of Boston, cuts to 15 seconds of an actual scene, and then gives you a quick 3-second shot of Boston just to remind you that it is now daytime. They truly used every last frame of aerial footage they had.
The Myth of Charlestown vs. Reality
The movie sets up Charlestown as the "belly of the beast" and the headquarters for bank robbers. While it was a hangout for the Irish mob over 40 years ago, modern Charlestown's dangerous reputation in the film is pretty funny when you actually visit it. Today, it is a highly sought-after neighborhood with incredibly expensive housing, brick sidewalks, and cobblestone driveways. You basically have to be a successful bank robber just to afford a one-bedroom apartment there.
Bonus Fact: The Nun Masks Are Barely In It
While scrubbing through the footage, I also timed how long the iconic nun masks were on screen. Despite being plastered all over the movie's posters, trailers, and Halloween store shelves, the nun masks are only in the movie for 1 minute and 46 seconds. That accounts for just 1.5% of the theatrical cut.
Conclusion
I don't know of any other movie that relies this heavily on establishing shots of a single city. Movies set in New York seem to hover around 5% city shots, but 11% aerial Boston footage feels like a record.
Do you think you know a movie that has even more establishing shots of a city than The Town? Let me know your guess in the comments below!
If you want to see how The Town stacks up to other movies percentage-wise, make sure to check out my previous video where I calculate the percentages for While You Were Sleeping!
