Dive into film noir—dark plots, dim lights, and dangerous cities, including Chicago Film Noir: Hollywood's Darkest Timeline Dive into film noir—dark plots, dim lights, and dangerous cities, including Chicago All Talks About Skip the monsters and ghosts—Hollywood’s real dark side is film noir. Translated as “black cinema,” film noir brims with gritty plots, seedy characters, and shadowy cities—including Chicago. In this hour-long talk, Dr. Kelli Marshall guides you through noir's French origins, cultural influences, aesthetics, and recurring character types. Along the way, you’ll revisit classics like Double Indemnity and Murder, My Sweet and discover lesser-known gems such as Undertow —all part of America’s darkest, most psychologically unsettling era of filmmaking. Request Talk

Every Wednesday, join us in guessing the Chicago-based movie or television show from one screenshot. Visit our archive to play the ones you missed! One-Shot Wednesday On Wednesdays, guess the Chicago-based movie or television show from one screenshot. The Beast The Beast is an A&E crime drama series starring Patrick Swayze and Travis Fimmel. The series, which ran for only one season, featured Swayze's final acting performance before his death in 2009. Much of the pilot takes place in and around Chicago, including this shot on Lake Michigan with the skyline in the distance. Welcome to One-Shot Wednesday! Think you’re a Chicago screen buff? On Wednesdays, we post one still from a movie or TV show filmed or set in the Windy City. Your mission? Guess the title! You've already seen this week’s image above. If you're feeling nostalgic, explore the full archive of past challenges to keep the fun rolling. Psst: you're on screenshot: 84 Access Archive

Discover Chicago's many connections to the classic children's story "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" Chicago and The Wizard of Oz Discover Chicago's many connections to the classic children's story "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" All Talks About Although set in Kansas, The Wizard of Oz has significant ties to Chicago. In this talk, Kelli guides audiences beyond the Emerald City and into real-world locations where Oz took shape. Through HD video footage, historic photographs, and expert commentary, participants: “Travel” to a Chicago-area park honoring Oz characters Stand outside the site where L. Frank Baum wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Explore theatrical spaces where Oz first captured American audiences Designed for curious adult learners, this interactive hour blends literary, stage, and film history with public art and architecture. Attendees leave with a deeper understanding of how a Midwestern city helped launch one of the most enduring stories in American popular culture, and why Oz’s journey from page to stage to screen still matters today. Request Talk

Every Wednesday, join us in guessing the Chicago-based movie or television show from one screenshot. Visit our archive to play the ones you missed! One-Shot Wednesday On Wednesdays, guess the Chicago-based movie or television show from one screenshot. Miracle on 34th Street Miracle on 34th Street (1994) is a Christmas movie co-written by John Hughes. It is about a young girl who, with the help of a man claiming to be Santa Claus, restores belief in the magic of Christmas for a skeptical lawyer and others in New York City. Today's #OneShotWed shows the exterior of Chicago's James R. Thompson Center, purchased by Google in 2023. In the movie, the building functions as Shoppers' Express, a toy store. While John Hughes did not direct Miracle on 34th Street , he was influential on the look and lighting, American Cinematographer reports: "Hughes wanted to be able to turn the color off of his TV and have the film look like the original — have it look like a 1940s black-and-white movie.” Have you watched this version in black and white? Welcome to One-Shot Wednesday! Think you’re a Chicago screen buff? On Wednesdays, we post one still from a movie or TV show filmed or set in the Windy City. Your mission? Guess the title! You've already seen this week’s image above. If you're feeling nostalgic, explore the full archive of past challenges to keep the fun rolling. Psst: you're on screenshot: 84 Access Archive

Every Wednesday, join us in guessing the Chicago-based movie or television show from one screenshot. Visit our archive to play the ones you missed! One-Shot Wednesday On Wednesdays, guess the Chicago-based movie or television show from one screenshot. My Next Guest with David Letterman and John Mulaney This screenshot is from My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman , a Netflix series featuring in-depth interviews with various guests, including Barack Obama, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Malala Yousafzai. It premiered on January 12, 2018. In this episode from April 2024, David Letterman heads to Chicago to interview comedian John Mulaney. The conversation covers various aspects of Mulaney's life and career, including his experiences in comedy, his time on Saturday Night Live , and his personal struggles, such as his journey through addiction and recovery. This portion of the 45-minute episode takes place inside a classroom at Mulaney's former Chicago high school, St. Ignatius College Prep (1076 Roosevelt Rd). Through astute questions from current students, we get a look into Mulaney's creative process, his inspirations, and his views on the current state of comedy, including "cancel culture ." Below, watch a clip of Letterman and Mulaney talking in the hallway of St. Ignatius. Welcome to One-Shot Wednesday! Think you’re a Chicago screen buff? On Wednesdays, we post one still from a movie or TV show filmed or set in the Windy City. Your mission? Guess the title! You've already seen this week’s image above. If you're feeling nostalgic, explore the full archive of past challenges to keep the fun rolling. Psst: you're on screenshot: 84 Access Archive

On this 90-minute guided walking tour inside the Art Institute of Chicago, get up close with art featured in the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" The Art of Ferris Bueller On this 90-minute guided walking tour inside the Art Institute of Chicago, get up close with art featured in the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" Read Reviews Book Public Tour Book Private Tour About 1.5 hrs 1 mi. 8 guests $39.99 On this 90-minute guided walking tour inside the Art Institute of Chicago, get up close with art featured in the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" Calling art enthusiasts and Ferris Bueller fans! Get ready to step into the iconic world of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on our popular 90-minute walking tour, aptly named The Art of Ferris Bueller . Led by a passionate PhD guide , this immersive experience will take you through multiple galleries of the Art Institute of Chicago, where a memorable portion of the 1980s teen comedy unfolds. As you enter the Modern Wing, the adventure begins. Marvel at the same masterpieces that Ferris, Sloane, and Cameron admired during their legendary day off. Your guide, armed with a wealth of knowledge and a flair for storytelling, will regale you with little-known anecdotes and behind-the-scenes facts that will deepen your appreciation for both the art and the movie. As with all of our Chicago Movie Tours' guided tours, your experience here will be enhanced with clips, photos, soundbites, and screenshots. On The Art of Ferris Bueller , you'll traverse three floors of the museum, covering a distance of about 1 mile. Along the way, you'll discover 16 carefully selected pieces of art, each with its own unique connection to the characters, director, and storyline of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off . Ever wondered why Cameron fixated on that Seurat painting? Prepare to have your curiosity satisfied! Ideal for Gen-X—and all ages, of course!—this immersive experience promises to reignite your love for Ferris Bueller's Day Off while deepening your appreciation for the treasures housed within the Art Institute of Chicago. So, grab your tickets for The Art of Ferris Bueller , gather your friends, and get ready for a journey through art, cinema, and nostalgia that you won't soon forget! NOTE: Admission to the Art Institute of Chicago is not included in the public walking tour. Learn more in FAQs . Movies/TV Highlighted Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) If you're interested in exploring more than one film with us, check out our full list of guided walking tours. Public Tour Dates Saturday Sep 26, 2026 11:30 AM Buy Tickets Saturday Oct 10, 2026 11:30 AM Buy Tickets Sunday Oct 25, 2026 11:30 AM Buy Tickets Show More Dates Private Tours Book this tour as a private or group tour! The private tour price listed below is a flat fee for up to 8 guests. If you have more than 8 in your party, please contact us to see if we can accommodate you. NOTE: The Art Institute of Chicago closes Tuesdays, so we cannot run this tour on that day. Book Private $399 Tour Specifics Start/End Points The tour starts in the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago, Griffin Court, by the staircase/chairs. Please arrive about 10 min. before the tour begins. NOTE: This is NOT the Michigan Ave. entrance with the lions. Museum Admission Admission to the Art Institute of Chicago is NOT included in our public walking tour (learn more in FAQs ). For ticket prices, please refer to the museum's ticketing chart . Waivers Guests must initial a digital general waiver of liability with Chicago Movie Tours when they book. Guardians must sign waivers for children under the age of 18. Low Attendance To ensure we can provide a fun, engaging, and economically feasible public tour, we typically need a minimum of 4 guests. Head over to Tour Terms and Conditions for more on this policy, including reasons behind it and your refund options if, in the rare instance, a tour is cancelled due to low attendance. Parking/Transportation By Car : The Millennium Garages are located underground, below the parks adjacent to the museum. Public Transit : The Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, and Purple 'L' train lines all stop above ground at Adams/Wabash, one block west of the museum. The Red and Blue lines stop underground at Monroe, just a few blocks away. Accessibility Elevators are located throughout the museum for access to all levels. What to Bring Checkrooms are free for all visitors. Bags and backpacks larger than 13 x 17 x 4 inches are not allowed in the galleries and must be checked. If you plan to check bags, please arrive early as there may be a line. Water bottles are allowed, but they must be stowed in a bag when guests are in spaces that house art. Restrooms Restrooms are located throughout the museum on each level. Children Guests ages 10 and up can attend. Photography/Video Non-flash photography is permitted in all permanent galleries. All documentation, video, and photography must be for personal, noncommercial use only. Lighting units, light shades, tripods, microphones and amplifiers, external power sources, carts, and other extraneous equipment are not allowed. More on the AIC's filming policies . Cancellations and Refunds You may cancel or amend your reservation 48 hours or more before the tour departs. Read more Tour Terms and Conditions . What's Included Immersive experience exploring Ferris Bueller's Day Off inside the Art Institute of Chicago Solid overview of the world-famous museum (three floors, covering about 1 mile) Tour guide commentary from a passionate PhD in film Small groups to enhance engagement and foster a more personalized experience Visual and audio media to enhance your museum experience Little-known anecdotes, stories, and theories about the 1986 teen comedy Plenty of Instagram opportunities Mini (Ferris-themed) goodie bag! Reviews Nick The Art of Ferris Bueller average rating is 5 out of 5 A wonderful mix of art and film. We hit the major scenes in the movie and recreated a few. A fun and informative time. September 13, 2026 Lloyd The Art of Ferris Bueller average rating is 5 out of 5 Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and take this tour once in a while, you could miss it… Absolutely brilliant tour, very interesting, informative and fun with lots of Easter eggs along the way. Kelli is excellent, we would have happily stayed for a couple more hours! Can’t recommend highly enough. August 3, 2026 Ryan The Art of Ferris Bueller average rating is 5 out of 5 Kelli was super engaging and a knowledgeable storyteller. We had a private Ferris Bueller tour and I’d recommend her tours for anyone. Her tour was the highlight of our trip. August 1, 2026 Load More Reviews

Get introduced to cinematography to experience movies on a new level How Do Movies Guide Your Eyes? Get introduced to cinematography to experience movies on a new level All Talks About When you watch a movie, the images before you may seem like objective views of the world. But they are not. In fact, those images are purposefully constructed and then put onscreen—to guide your eyes where the director wants them to go. Sneaky, right? This hour-long program introduces you to the basics of cinematography, including speed of motion, perspective relationships, focal length, depth of field, and framing. After all, once you recognize how cinematography works, you can experience and understand movies on a new level. Request Talk

Uncover the histories of three movie theaters in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood Chicago Movie Houses: Hidden Histories and Lost Glamour Uncover the histories of three movie theaters in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood All Talks About Step behind the curtain and uncover the remarkable—and sometimes shadowy—stories of three movie theaters that once lit up one Chicago neighborhood. In this hour-long talk, you’ll discover: A theater whose unusual ownership and transformations reflect a century of change. A cinema with nine lives, each more surprising than the last. A movie house where glamour mingled with a darker side of show business. Along the way, you’ll explore HD video of these theaters’ exteriors—or what remains of them—and gain a new appreciation for the golden age of moviegoing and secrets left behind. Request Talk

Every Wednesday, join us in guessing the Chicago-based movie or television show from one screenshot. Visit our archive to play the ones you missed! One-Shot Wednesday On Wednesdays, guess the Chicago-based movie or television show from one screenshot. Hoodlum Hoodlum is a 1997 gangster film starring Laurence Fishburne, Cicely Tyson, Tim Roth, and Andy Garcia. It chronicles the rise of an African American mob boss (Fishburne) during the Prohibition era, as he clashes with rival Italian-American gangs for control of the illegal numbers racket. Hoodlum takes place in 1930s Harlem. But it was shot extensively in Chicago—in part, because it wanted to take advantage of the city's late 19th- and early 20th-century architecture. In this #OneShotWed, an Italian gangster (Mike Starr) positions himself outside an elevator in the Brewster Building (c. 1896) to surprise and then rough-up one of his Black rivals. Venture inside the Brewster Building in this story from ABC7 Chicago. The 1988 horror movie Child's Play was also filmed in this unique residential building . Welcome to One-Shot Wednesday! Think you’re a Chicago screen buff? On Wednesdays, we post one still from a movie or TV show filmed or set in the Windy City. Your mission? Guess the title! You've already seen this week’s image above. If you're feeling nostalgic, explore the full archive of past challenges to keep the fun rolling. Psst: you're on screenshot: 84 Access Archive

Every Wednesday, join us in guessing the Chicago-based movie or television show from one screenshot. Visit our archive to play the ones you missed! One-Shot Wednesday On Wednesdays, guess the Chicago-based movie or television show from one screenshot. Prison Break This long shot, filmed at a low angle, comes from the second episode of the TV series Prison Break (2005-2009). Two women, a lawyer (Veronica) and a witness to a murder (Leticia), meet covertly near Crown Fountain in Chicago’s Millennium Park . The meeting does not last long, however. The witness is convinced she was followed and runs away. Her hunch is correct: later in the episode, she is kidnapped and killed. Prison Break follows Michael Scofield, a structural engineer, and his brother Lincoln Burrows, who has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit (hence the lawyer/witness meeting above). To save Lincoln, Michael deliberately gets himself incarcerated, using a plan hidden in his full-body tattoo. Yes, a full-body tattoo . (The show is better than it sounds!) Much of Prison Break ’s first season is filmed in and around Chicago. Scenes depicting Fox River State Penitentiary, the fictional prison where Michael and Lincoln are sentenced, take place in Old Joliet Prison in Joliet, IL, where Chicago Movie Tours also gives walking tours . Prison Break ’s first two episodes aired August 29, 2005, and were watched by roughly 10.5 million viewers in the U.S. While on air, the series continued to draw viewers here and around the globe. And when it began streaming on Netflix in 2024, the show raced to the #1 spot, now discovered by a new audience. Welcome to One-Shot Wednesday! Think you’re a Chicago screen buff? On Wednesdays, we post one still from a movie or TV show filmed or set in the Windy City. Your mission? Guess the title! You've already seen this week’s image above. If you're feeling nostalgic, explore the full archive of past challenges to keep the fun rolling. Psst: you're on screenshot: 84 Access Archive

Celebrate Illinois' Oscar winners, scandalous moments, and "Oscar bait" as you countdown to this year's Academy Awards Countdown to the Oscars: Illinois Winners, Scandalous Moments, and Oscar Bait Celebrate Illinois' Oscar winners, scandalous moments, and "Oscar bait" as you countdown to this year's Academy Awards All Talks About This program aims to prepare you for Hollywood's biggest night—the Oscars! In our hour-long talk, we'll shine the spotlight on Illinois' rich history of Academy Award success, celebrating winners from Chicago and beyond. We'll also dish on some of the most unforgettable and scandalous moments in Oscar history that had everyone talking. Plus, you'll learn all about the term Oscar bait —what it is, why it (sometimes) works, and how it shapes the race for the gold. Grab your popcorn, settle in, and join us for an entertaining and insightful countdown to the Oscars! Request Talk

Explore the lives of three stars via massive murals in Chicago  Chicago Murals and Movie Stars Explore the lives of three stars via massive murals in Chicago All Talks About With the help of original HD video, this talk takes guests to massive murals in three different Chicago neighborhoods. The first mural is devoted to Dolly Parton : singer, songwriter, actress, LGBTQ+ icon, and philanthropist. While there, we'll chat briefly about Parton's 1992 romantic comedy Straight Talk , filmed here in Chicago. The second mural celebrates Robin Williams , born in Chicago in 1951. Once we "arrive," we'll take a moment to analyze the artwork in terms of size, color, and subject before heading to the actor-comedian's childhood home. The third mural depicts film producer Quincy Jones , who survived a "rough and scary" childhood in Chicago. We'll also visit Jones' childhood home in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood. NOTE: Due to the violent nature of Jones' backstory, this segment of the program may not be appropriate for children. Request Talk