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San Francisco Movie Tours
Category: Hotels & Travel Tours Tours [Edit]
Pier 43 1/2 and Embarcadero StSan Francisco, CA 94104
Neighborhood: Embarcadero
(800) 979-3370
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 7 am - 9 pm
39 reviews for San Francisco Movie Tours
39 reviews in English
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Review from Carl F.
Austin, TX
1/31/2012
Outstanding. Our guide AJ was funny, warm and knowledgeable and driver Rowan conveyed us safely through the...wait for it....Streets of San Francisco.
Sorry. Couldn't resist.
Great tidbits about shooting famous and infamous films. During the tour we saw 90 clips from 70 different movies -- just a fraction of the 600 films and TV shows that have been located in SF.
It's funny in some parts and fascinating in others. Frank Sinatra was the first choice to play Dirty Harry, but he broke his wrist before filming began, so Clint "Do I Feel Lucky?" Eastwood filled in. We also saw an intersection featured in the film Zodiac, where the serial killer shot a cab driver. Turns out that was the real-life location of the murder as well.
The tour paid off in other ways: A quick trip to Fort Point at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge afforded us an amazing photo opp, and in our case, it inspired us to return the next morning to tour the fort.
You'll also see The Presidio, the beautiful old military fort built by the Spanish and now available for lease by residents and businesses. It's gorgeous.
If you're the least bit hungry, grab a sandwich during your stop at SF's stunning City Hall building, which has doubled for courthouses, capitols and other locations over the years. The City Hall Cafe is convenient and excellent.
It's impossible to mention everything, but I appreciated AJ's request for people to pick out their favorite movies from an exhaustive list. That wisely allowed her to concentrate on the movies most loved by tour participants, which in turn ensured customer satisfaction.
We ended up tipping AJ $20 (guides split the tips 50-50 with drivers). You by no means are obligated to tip at all, let alone that much (she was as gracious to those who said goodbye without tipping as she was to us), but we've been on enough tours to know when we're getting the good stuff, and that's precisely what San Francisco Movie Tours delivers.
Take this tour. My guess is you'll feel lucky, too. -
Review from Jocelyn P.
Walnut Creek, CA
1/17/2012 1 Check-in Here
My boyfriend and I went on this tour yesterday and we had a wonderful time. As bay area locals we were lucky to take advantage of the Yelp deal for $20 each. The tour starts at Fisherman's Wharf, but SF Movie Tours can pick you up at Union Square (stairs across from Macy's) if your hotel is in the area or you are taking BART in to the city.
Our tour guide was AJ, a lovely woman who has a vast knowledge on movies and San Francisco. She started the tour with a clip from the old movie, Birdman of Alcatraz, and pointed out from our shuttle windows where that particular clip was filmed. For the rest of the tour, the format was similar - viewing clips of movies that were filmed in SF in the early 1900s through today, and seeing the actual locations from our window. We visited neighborhoods of North Beach, Nob Hill, Alamo Square, Haight Ashbury, Presidio, Pacific Heights and more. My favorite part of the tour was driving through the elite Pacific Heights neighborhood and passing by gorgeous houses as well as Danielle Steele's compound with a peek of her car collections behind the iron gates. There are some locations where the tour allows you to get off the bus for picture opportunities and/or stretching your legs. The tour lasted for three hours and ended back at Fisherman's Wharf.
Overall, it was an enjoyable morning, and I learned new information about SF and movies. I would highly recommend this to anyone visiting SF for the first or gazillionth time. Also, AJ mentioned that they are updating their tour with a few more recent movies (hello, planet of the apes 2011), so I'm sure there will be more exciting clips added to the tour.
Enjoy!
p.s. don't forget to tip your tour guide and driver! -
Review from Kimberly S.
Millbrae, CA
12/27/2011 Purchased a Yelp Deal
This was great! Used a Living Social coupon and a SF native and myself went up for the morning. 3 hrs for $21?! can't beat it! They took us all over the city, had a couple photo stops (including Mrs. Doubtfire's house and the Painted Ladies) We went under the GG Bridge and through parts of the city I never new existed ~ They showed movie clips and gave great trivia the whole time! If you have always wondered where they filmed Bullit or Dirty Harry - get on board!
Our guide, Wiely, was awesome! Very funny, friendly and knowledgeable. I am looking forward to having guests in town again so I have an excuse to go!
Tour bus is small, so you are right there in the action the whole time! no straining to hear or see the screen or tour guide. -
Review from Samantha G.
San Francisco, CA
1/16/2012
I knew nothing about this before we took family from out of town on this tour--and we all loved it!! AJ was a funny and knowledgeable and friendly guide, and she had everything timed perfectly with our excellent driver Brian for a day of fun! It would be a great way for an out-of-towner without much time to see different neighborhoods and landmarks, but it was also really excellent for a native or long-term resident. You get to see the sights you don't usually take the time to enjoy, but you know what they are, so you can also enjoy all the film clips they're playing and the information they're giving, about actors, directors, behind-the-scenes trivia, and San Francisco history. I'm glad to see reading the reviews of fellow yelpers that there are sometimes deals for it, because I don't think we'll wait for the excuse of visitors to do it again!
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Review from Nam D.
San Francisco, CA
12/4/2011 Purchased a Yelp Deal
Got a awesome yelp deal and went for my birthday. We pretty much took over half of the small bus with 11 of my friends and family. Nice that grandma could come, b/c you didn't have to move much if you didn't want to.
PROS:
Wiley was an enthusiastic puppy and loved talking about movies and it was adorable that he would get so excited when he would get small parts in movies that were filmed in SF. Very knowledgeable. I liked how they had recent movies: X-Men, Mrs. Doubtfire, Full House, Indiana Jones, the Rock, Twins. I never knew so many movies were filmed in SF. Yay James Bond! They gave us more than just a movie tour I felt like. Did a bit extra stuff, like showing Chris Columbus' (Harry Potter director) house, Jimi Hendrix's house, etc. They picked up our entire party in Union Square (closer to BART) so we didn't have to go to Fisherman's Wharf. Liked how they coordinated the movies filming on the bus with the site we were driving through-nicely timed! Had bathroom break in the middle at Alamo square.
CONS: I didn't know a lot of the old movies they showed, but it was still interesting to see old SF in the movies. Went to Alamo square, but didn't actually go to the Full House house (which is another mile away).
Would recommend. Fun thing to do, even though I live here in San Francisco. I appreciated the town even more! -
Review from Jeff R.
Austin, TX
1/4/2012 1 Check-in Here
AH-MAZING! Everybody said a 3 hour tour was too short. I couldn't imagine agreeing with that statement before I went but it's totally true. It's a fantastic way to see the city and get a photo in front of some famous movie spots. Family friendly if that maters to you. Wylie is hilarious. Tip them well. It's much deserved.
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Review from Angie J.
San Jose, CA
9/15/2011
My 13 year old daughter and I took this tour in early August. We both enjoyed it, a little surprised she liked it so much considering she is younger and probably wouldn't relate to many of the movies. I was wrong. AJ, our tour guide, was awesome! She made sure to point out some of the "younger" movies such as Princess Diaries and Full House. They also show clips of the movies to bring you into the moment as the driver, Bryan, times it perfectly to where AJ is in her description of the movie/video preview. He knew all of the places to slow down for photo opps.
Being my first time driving in San Fran, I quickly learned it was going to be a challenge. Not only because of the steep hills but it is also CROWDED and other drivers just don't care. So Bryan's driving was exceptional, it wasn't jerky, no sudden stops. I was a little concerned because my daughter can get car sick, so it would've miserable to be on a 3.5 hour tour.
AJ handed out a list of movies so we could see where/what we were going to see. My daughter made notes by the movies she wanted to see. One of my favorites was Mrs. Doubtfire. Sometimes kids at this age think those movies are "old" or "outdated". This was a great way to introduce some great classics and spark some interest. She also walked away with a new found fascination for Alcatraz. We will be doing a tour there soon.
COST: The cost of the tour was reasonable considering it lasted so long, $47 for adult and $37 for child. Bryan picked us up on Nob Hill in front of the Fairmont Hotel. Absolutely beautiful hotel that Sid and I walked through since we were early.
PARKING: We were able to park across the street kiddie corner for $7, all day pass. They drop you off down by Fishermans Wharf. We ate lunch down there and walked around and looked at the fun shops and side street entertainment. Plan on hailing a cab to get back to the hotel, it is too far to walk. I think the cost for the cab was $8.
I highly suggest taking this tour. Make sure you bring water, a snack and a sweatshirt (just in case). They do stop for bathroom breaks and give you the opportunity to stop for coffee at City Hall...which was absolutely beautiful. We were able to see a wedding take place. AJ and Bryan worked perfectly as a team and we all walked away with fun facts about different movies we can all relate to. -
Review from QUENCY K.
San Francisco, CA
10/5/2011 Purchased a Yelp Deal
Our tour guide was very knowledgable about films so it was fun to hear her talk. However the tour was too long (supposed to be 3 hrs but it went for 3.5 hrs that day) and did not finish on time so we were late for our plan next. I would recommend if it were a shorter tour for 2 hours.
oh and if you are going to wait for them at Union Square, their sign is super small, only letter size. -
Review from Julie B.
Campbell, CA
7/6/2011
From 'The Birds' to 'The Rock,' 'Dirty Harry' to 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' San Francisco has been a popular filming location pretty much since movies were invented. SF Movie Tours took us all over the city, pointing out settings both obvious (the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz) and more obscure (houses where movie characters lived). The entire time, we were treated to a stream of movie and TV clips set in the very locations we were passing.
If a movie was even partially filmed in SF, chances are it was on the tour. The hilly streets Steve McQueen sped down in "Bullitt"? Check. The building that went up in "The Towering Inferno"? Check. The homes featured in "Vertigo," "Mrs. Doubtfire," and "Full House"? Check, check, and check.
We also saw some houses that were put to other uses for filming. A home in the Pacific Heights neighborhood became the front of the high school in "The Princess Diaries". (Fun Fact: the movie "Pacific Heights" was actually filmed in SF's Protrero Hill neighborhood.) The Spreckels mansion - the most expensive private home in the city, now owned by novelist Danielle Steele - was the nightclub Frank Sinatra opened in "Pal Joey".
We got a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the filming process, too - like how to simulate a cable-car crash, and why you should always ask the city's permission before sending cars racing down a 100-year-old set of stairs.
There were even sights not in movies, but related to them: the apartment where Dashiell Hammett wrote "The Maltese Falcon;" the home of director Chris Columbus; and my favorite part of the tour - the Industrial Light and Magic special effects studios George Lucas opened in SF's Presidio. (No time to go inside, but oh, well.)
The tour is three hours, with photo stops in the following places: City Hall ("Milk"); the "Painted Ladies" Victorian Row of homes ("Full House," various films, and 9 out of 10 SF postcards); Steiner Street ("Mrs. Doubtfire"); ILM (get your photo taken in front of the Yoda statue!); and Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge ("Vertigo", "Bicentennial Man," and far too many others to list). City Hall and Fort Point have restrooms, and City Hall has a snack bar (cash only).
This tour covers films from the silent era up to today, and with new movies filming there all the time - two are shooting there currently - they will never run out of fresh material. For a fun trip that allows you to go, "Oh YES, I remember seeing that!", the SF Movie Tour is highly recommended! -
Review from Richard T.
San Jose, CA
7/19/2011
Our tourguide's name was Wiley and he was really funny. I read somewhere that a guide talked about himself and his own auditions the whole tour, but it must not have been Wiley because he was busy cracking jokes and sharing interesting facts about San Francisco film and the city itself.
The tour was three hours, but it was fun and felt much shorter. I learned a lot during the tour and went to/inside places I've never been (I spent my whole life in the Bay Area).
Bring a jacket because the tour takes you to different parts of the City and some parts are colder/windier than others. -
Review from Julia Z.
4/25/2011 ROTD 10/19/2011
This is a really fun tour to take if you love San Francisco and/or movies. I definitely saw areas I've never been to or noticed before. Making reservations was easy and can be done online or over the phone. The pick up location is near the big Fisherman's Wharf sign by Pier 43 1/2 next to the Red and White Fleet booth.
We started out our morning by meeting the shuttle at 10:30am. Our tour guide was Paul and you could tell he genuinely wanted us to have a great time. You get a sheet listing 60 movies in 14 different neighborhoods. I didn't think we were actually going to go through all 70 scenes but we did! Paul was very descriptive in telling us the set up of the movies since it's unlikely anyone had seen all of them. He also pointed out exact lamp posts, buildings, signs, etc. which I appreciated because I love details.
It was about an hour in before making our first stop at "The Painted Ladies" on postcard row. This is where they filmed the opening scene of Full House! Paul came out of the shuttle too and offered to take pictures for everyone. We also had stops at Inspiration Point (simply for the amazing view), at Golden Gate bridge where they filmed Vertigo and the Mrs. Doubtfire house.
The highlight for me was seeing Chris Columbus' house who is the director of Harry Potter and Home Alone! Seeing the building used for the high school in The Princess Diaries was cool too. I give it four stars because they skip the Mission and Castro where two amazing movies were filmed, La Mission and Milk, and certainly many others. Overall, this was a very enjoyable three hours that I was sad to see it end. I highly recommend this tour for visitors and locals. It's well worth it.Listed in: Yelp Reviews of the Day!
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Review from Kelly C.
San Francisco, CA
10/4/2011 Purchased a Yelp Deal
I bought the Yelp deal and had an absolute blast. I would pay full price to go again. I enjoy being a tourist when the family is in town and I will put this tour on the "you see most of the city in one day tour" list.
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Review from Joy T.
Foster City, CA
8/26/2011
What a fabulous tour! The time flew by, we're a lot smarter about films AND San Francisco, plus we have a bunch of new old films in our Netflix queue.
Our "smart, friendly tour guide" was just that. He was extremely knowledgeable - well beyond the average film buff - and he made the trip comfortable and fun.
The driver was great, too. The driver would pause the bus, and the tour guide would pause the video - at the same location. How cool is that?
5 big, bright stars! -
Review from Angela K.
4/5/2011 Purchased a Yelp Deal
What a great way to explore the beautiful city of SF!! Being from the bay area I don't get to really explore the city until a visitor is in town and I get to play tourist for the day.
Perfect timing b/c a friend came to visit and Yelp had a deal for this tour for only $22 per person! What a steal - it included a 3 hr bus tour of SF with tour guide Wylie and a complete DVD of scenes filmed in SF broken down by the districts/areas of SF. Honestly, such a great deal b/c everyone knows parking and driving in SF is insane and I know I would of spent more than $22 for just parking fees alone for all the stops we did on this tour.
Made it even better that we scored 80 degree weather in SF. The tour takes you all around, and stops at major landmarks for great photo ops including SF City Hall, the painted ladies, and Fort Mason - so you get some great images of the Golden Gate Bridge.
My suggestion is that there was a bit too much video clips to watch - because sometimes I was so caught up with the DVD, I wasn't looking outside to really enjoy the beautifulness of SF. But the DVD was very informative in addition to the commentary by our Tour Guide.
Tips: if you want to take Bart - they offer pick up at Union Square, but they drop you off after the Tour at Fisherman's Wharf. -
Review from Lola C.
San Francisco, CA
4/5/2011 Purchased a Yelp Deal
I took my girlfriend on this tour for her birthday because she enjoys watching movies and has seen many of the films that were shot in SF. The tour shows movie clips which were filmed over the course of 90 years, and it's interesting to see how the city has changed (or stayed the same) over time.
Dan, our tour guide, was very knowledgeable about the films and pointed out "goofs," the use of "creative geography," and various other facts that most people would not know or did not catch while watching the film. Not only did he talk about films, but he threw in a little history of SF here and there as we rode along from site to site.
I didn't know this tour company existed until a 50% off Yelp deal came along. It's a great concept as well as a fun tour, and it's a great way to see SF from a different perspective. -
Review from silvia m.
4/7/2011 Purchased a Yelp Deal
Great, great tour! It was funny and really good.
I'd recommend it to anyone who visits San Francisco.
I took the tour with my son few days ago.
Dan the guide was kind, professional and enthusiastic.
I'll do it again with my husband! -
Review from Jocelyn W.
Daly City, CA
9/13/2009
Today is my birthday. My husband asked me what I wanted to do today, and I said, "Let's take that movie tour we've been wanting to go on!" It was easy--order & print tickets online, wait at the pickup stop and off you go.
We recently went on a movie tour when we were in Hawaii, but nothing compares to this movie tour in our home town. The husband and I (well, more him..) are big movie buffs, and LOVE watching anything that's filmed in the city (Streets of San Francisco, The Presidio, Princess Diaries).
While waiting for the tour, I dropped my camera and it stopped working. I was SO DISAPPOINTED in myself. But thankfully, my trusty camera phone was still working, so I made due with that.
Beth, our tour guide, and Brian, our driver, was fantastic. She had plenty of movie trivia about San Francisco--so much that the husband and I want to watch (and re-watch) the movies that were shown on this tour. And in all my life in living in San Francisco, I have never been by Fort Point, underneath the GG Bridge. We stopped by there as part of the movie tour and it was breath taking.
The only minuses were not being able to sit with my husband (although they had no control over that...it was a full house on that bus). -
Review from Timothy M.
Rockford, IL
10/19/2010
Just finished the tour. Had Dan and Bryan and it was great! Highly recommend it.
The tour goes around the city, showing you spots in San Francisco that movies made famous. From 'the birdman of alcatraz', to 'so I married an ax murderer', we saw a ton of sites, and learned quite a bit about the city, and the movies. A great time! Would do it again, next time I am in the city... -
Review from Niki P.
Los Angeles, CA
6/29/2010
I decided to take this tour during my recent visit based on the reviews of others on here.
I was not disappointed. This tour was a HUGE highlight to our trip. The movie clips were fun, our tour guide was awesome. Definitely a must! -
Review from Heather H.
Sacramento, CA
7/7/2011
This is the best way to tour. An awesome view of the city through the windows and the screen (and some walking around along the way). Tour and guide were great, very accommodating and friendly. It was so cool to see the video clips and then look over to see the same San Francisco houses and landmarks. We also saw parts of the city we had not been to that we will visit again. A great way to familiarize yourself with the city, the 3 hours went by like nothing! We would highly recommend this tour to others visiting the city.
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Review from Annie M.
Lyndhurst, NJ
3/27/2008
Excellent way to see San Francisco. They have fabulous trivia and wonderful clips, I just hope they update their movies soon to add some of the more current ones.
It was fun for all! They make stops at Washington Square park for pictures, and under the golden gate bridge at Fort Mason as well as outside the Mrs. Doubtfire house.
Definately suggest it for locals and tourists alike! -
Review from Michael R.
Vancouver, WA
5/17/2010
There are two things that I enjoy in life; good movies and annual trips to my favorite city, San Francisco. I was excited when I accidentally discovered San Francisco's Movie tours and this morning, I took the muni bus down to fisherman's wharf and Pier 43 1/2 to catch the 10:30 tour.
I arrived 20 minutes early and started waiting for the tour bus. It started raining. I stood there in the rain until 10:45 and the tour bus never showed up. I asked the employees at the Red and White Fleet window and they they said that the tour bus was there most of the time at 10:20AM.
But it was not there today as I cursed under my breath, standing in the rain. What a waste of my valuable time. What a disappointment!
Think twice before taking this tour. These people cannot be depended upon and in my opinion are unreliable.
Michael
Vancouver, WAComment from Bryan R. of San Francisco Movie Tours 8/29/2011
I am sorry that this situation unfolded like it did. We… More » -
Review from Gavin C.
6/17/2009
This was my first visit to San Francisco and like visiting any large city you can get a little disorientated upon first acquaintance. So I did a little research and decided to make an advanced booking with the San Francisco Movie Tours company - the idea is that you are driven around in a bus and taken to a number of filming location whilst your tour guide narrates and plays the corresponding movies scenes on an LCD TV screen set at the front of the coach.
You'll visit such places as City Hall, the Golden Gate Bridge and follow many of the routes made famous by the film 'Bullet'. We even managed a quick visit to the George Lucas studios, which was a nice little extra. I've always wanted to see where so many great movie scenes were shot (Dirty Harry, Bullet, Vertigo, Mr Doubtfire, etc) and I thought it would be a good way to see San Francisco on my first day in the city. However, it wasn't just good, it was absolutely thrilling and I would highly recommend this intriguing tour to anyone visiting this wonderful city. Whether you're a big movie fan or not, you'll love it! -
Review from Ashley B.
San Francisco, CA
6/5/2011 Purchased a Yelp Deal
Great tour for anyone who likes movies or even if you just want a good thorough tour of the city. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgable and really tried to involve us. You see the sites of over 60 movies and she tells you interesting tidbits about the making of the movies and other factoids. I took my Mom today and we had such a fabulous time. Highly recommend it! The bus is small so it's intimate. I got a yelp deal and very happy I did!
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Review from Alan J.
1/21/2011
Not only is this a movie tour but you get a city tour thrown in too. The tour starts off in and around fisherman's wharf and takes a couple of hours wandering around the city. The movie clips were great because although I had seen most of the movies a lot of them I never realized were shot in San Francisco. It was really interesting to see the landmarks (some of which I had never found and have been to SF a lot as I have been here most of my life) from a different perspective. The tour guide (Paul maybe?) was pretty good but he was a little long in the tooth (old) and did forget some stars names (or put the wrong stars in the movie) Alzheimers maybe? But he was good enough to where you could follow along and he was pleasant and not overpowering. Very good time and money well spent. If you want a tour this one is it, even if your from the area, you'll see places you never would otherwise.
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Review from Boots B.
San Francisco, CA
3/24/2010
Two things I like: living in San Francisco and watching movies. Watching movies that are filmed in The City? Bonus! Taking a tour of filming locations for those movies? Double bonus!
The entire staff was very helpful and accommodating - from the phone to the driver to the tour guide - getting us booked last minute and then waiting an extra 5 so we could run up to Union Square to be picked up.
You'll see The Princess Diaries school, the Mrs. Doubtfire house, the building where the interview in Interview With The Vampire took place, the alley where Sam Spade was offed (complete with plaque to commemorate the event), the Dean Witter office from Pursuit of Happyness and the Golden Gate Bridge. Yeah I live here and knew all the spots already, but it was really fun to see the film clips and then look out the window and realize that you are right there.
It was a great time. I really want to do it again. -
Review from Lynn B.
Napa, CA
12/5/2010
For being a newer tour, I must say, the San Francisco Movie Tour is quite the impressive experience, and I'd recommend it to anyone who ventures to San Francisco. Our noble guide, Dan was very entertaining, and he welcomed interaction with our little group. I was absolutely impressed by the fun, professionalism, and all around enjoyment I experienced on this venture. Being a new service, the company is thriving on word of mouth, so I really hope that people everywhere take this tour when visiting San Francisco. It was really neat to see the movie scenes and then look out the window and see the real life locations.
However, it isn't all just the movie clips that make this a fun experience. Dan, the tour guide, was so enthusiastic talking about these locations and the corresponding films; you could really tell just how big a movie fan he is, which was great. The tour lasted a good few hours and was very reasonably priced. I highly recommend this to anyone who is just visiting the city or who already lives here and might not have known about all the movies that were filmed here. -
Review from Josh P.
Portland, OR
8/4/2010
We recently took the tour as a last minute booking, as movie buffs this sounded entertaining and interesting. The tour bus picked us up at Union Square, near our hotel, and we headed to another hotel to pick up a few more folks.
In short -- the tour route, the bus, the video clips, the sights, the scenes -- all wonderful.
Our tour guide? Not so much.
Were it not for the experience with the tour guide, this would easily be a 5 star review. Knock off 3 stars for the real star of the tour (in his mind), MARCUS.
Marcus, we all very quickly came to know, is an aspiring actor who had done some minor acting work in the area.
Marcus was very proud of this. And Marcus couldn't keep from telling us all about it. A lot. Marcus. Marcus. Marcus.
Marcus couldn't stay focused on the tour for very long without finding some way of directing the focus of the conversation back to himself. Again and again. Over and over.
Marcus violated the very first rule of being a good tour guide -- the tour is not about the guide, it's about the guest. They paid, the tour is for their benefit and to support their experience. Only talk about yourself if asked, and even then only sparingly.
The experience should have better been called "The Marcus Tour" because it was all about Marcus -- his experience auditioning. His minor acting work in a commercial and a short film. Who he chose to photograph his "head shots". What it's like to audition. What he does for part-time work which makes it great for him to go to auditions. What he wears to an audition. Endless information about Marcus.
Needless to say, this was distracting and annoying after a while. For a 3 hour tour, having to continually hear about Marcus was more than annoying. If this info had been mentioned in passing, I would have thought it cool and interesting to have a movie tour lead by an actual actor. But that he droned on about it quickly become annoying.
In short, what we got was "The San Francisco Aspiring Actor Tour".
Yet somehow, despite "The Marcus Show", we managed to pull the tour out of the jaws of tedium by tuning out Marcus and enjoying the clips and the sights.
Call ahead -- if Marcus is leading the tour, DON'T GO!Comment from Bryan R. of San Francisco Movie Tours 8/29/2011
Thanks very much for your feedback here. I did not… More » -
Review from Kelly R.
New York, NY
9/20/2009
I recently had visitors in town, and they wanted to take a tour. The regular tours are so boring, and I happened to come across the Movie Tour. Being the movie buff I am, I suggested it and they thought it was a great idea.
The tour shows you all parts of the city (even more than the regular psuedo cable car tour). There is even a DVD player on board and the tour guide shows you the clips of the movie scenes filmed in SF, while you are driving by or near the place they were filmed. It was awesome!
I think we saw scenes from approximately 70+ movies. And we were able to hop out and take pics at great spots such as: city hall, golden gate bridge, the painted ladies, etc.
Highly recommend this tour for locals and tourists!
(Just be prepared to sit for a good portion of 3-3.5 hours) -
Review from Mary F.
Frederick, MD
9/8/2011
The tour bus picked us up in Union Square which was really nice so we didn't have to pay Wharf parking. Wiley was our awesome tour guide who was informative, entertaining, and was more than happy to be the bus photographer. We saw almost the entire city in just three hours. There are a few stops where you can grab some food, photos, and the bathroom which is great. Not only do you get to see movie spots, but other landmarks as well as city facts. We drove by "the Greatful Dead's" house, and stopped at city hall where they were having wedding ceremonies (they average something like one every two minutes or something like that). Wiley is also an actor so he showed us a clip from a series he did in Canada about the escape from Alcatraz at the end of the tour and he also offered us some advice about living in Northern California vs Southern (we are looking to re-locate from the east coast soon). It's really hard not to get caught up in the clips, but to take in the city as well. The driver does a good job in stopping at certain places just as the clip is showing the same area which is very cool to compare.
So much FUN! -
Review from Chris B.
Austin, TX
11/15/2010
The tour was absolutely fantastic. Probably the best city tour I've been on in any city. The film aspects make it a lot of fun and you get to see a lot of the great sights of San Francisco. I couldn't recommend this tour any more highly.
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Review from Kat L.
Littleton, CO
10/11/2010
This was the best city tour ever! I would highly recommend even for non-movie buffs! You get to see all the regular San Francisco attractions, so you won't be missing anything that you would see on a regular tour, but this tour included a lot of trivia and facts about the city and many famous movies that you wouldn't get from any other tour. It was definitely the highlight of the trip for me!
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Review from Carolyn T.
San Francisco, CA
3/10/2007
Being an avid movie fan who cannot be beat when it comes to obscure trivia, I was extremely impressed with the format and presentation -- while driving around in a large van, an improv actor shows clips from movies at various locations while pointing out the actual locations and also providing inside, little-known info about the movie and/or location. For 3 1/2 hours, I was enthralled and excited to see places like where Jimmy Stewart jumped after Kim Novak in Vertigo, or where Jeff Bridges stood on a building edge in Fearless, or the house from Mrs. Doubtfire. In all, they showed several hundred clips from over 60 movies. We stopped several times to wander around so the 3 1/2 hours went by very quickly.
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Review from Jason M.
Alexandria, VA
10/1/2010
Awesome. Again, one of the best tours I have ever purchased anywhere. The tours makes several stops along the way, so make sure you bring your camera. It is a great way to see a lot of SF in a short amount of time. The staff was great, very friendly and knowledgeable. I would highly recommend purchasing tickets for this tour, and doing so in advance online.
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Review from Sue L.
Oakland, CA
9/8/2010
Everything, from start to finish, was perfect. When I called to ask a few questions, someone answered the phone right away and was warm, enthusiastic and informative.
The morning of, we were running just a little late and I called our tour guide, Dan, and he was completely great about it (turns out we weren't late but he handled it well either way.) The tour was super cool--well orchestrated with lots of not only film in but info about San Francisco.
I would strongly recommend this as a great thing to do when you come to San Francisco or, if you're from here, it's a really fun thing to do with out-of-towners.
Not sure if it matters, but I would strongly recommend seeing if you can get Dan as your guide--we all really enjoyed him. -
Review from J J.
San Francisco, CA
4/20/2011 Purchased a Yelp Deal
Really fun! Even for a local. Maybe even more so for a local because you find the hidden gems in the neighborhoods you already know so well. Our tour guide Dan was awesome and so was our driver Dean. Really, really enjoyed it. The only thing I'd suggest is that they update with some newer more recent movies and shows. So fun! I totally recommend. Also, I was a little worried that 3 hours would be long, but it flew by! I was totally engrossed by the clips and Dan's tidbits and the fun photo opp stops!
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Review from Jill W.
Palo Alto, CA
9/6/2009
Not three hours since I took this tour, I feel compelled to write a review. Our tour guide was Beth and our driver was Brian - they did an amazing job of navigating the city and keeping 20+ people engaged for 3.5 hours. The tour was excellent and a great way to see the city! I will be taking this tour again when my mom comes to visit next year. A SOLID 5 star rating and well worth the money!
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Review from maritza r.
San Francisco, CA
9/8/2011
great tour! friendly, fun and most of all full of laughs!! left a great tip to show my appreciation
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Review from Karen O.
San Francisco, CA
9/24/2007 1 photo
A great tour of SF movie locations and SF in general. Take it from a local, who rarely goes on tours, this is a worthwhile and loving tour of great SF locales used in movies. A fantastic part of the tour is placing the tour van in the exact location as cars from movie clips shown to simulate the movies. The friendly and informative tour guide easily keeps the tour entertaining. Highly recommended to any movie buff or anyone interested in a lovely tour of the city.
