Pacino’s character is named after John Milton, the author of Paradise Lost. There are many allusions to this tale, the legend of Faust, and Dante’s Inferno within the movie.
57th Street, New York
The scenes set on 57th Street were actually filmed there. The directors had the road emptied to film the scene.
It was shot at 7.30am on a Sunday morning to minimize the impact on the residents of the area.
The offices
The Manhattan Continental Club and Penta Plaza on Wall Street were used as the location for the office scenes.
An Italian and a Japanese architect were hired to create an ‘ultra-modern’ appearance to the sets.
Shopping
Theron’s character was taken shopping in SoHo at what was formerly Yohji Yamamoto’s, on 103 Grand Street.
Milton’s home
This was filmed at Fifth Avenue at 94th Street, Carnegie Hall.
Alexander Cullen’s home
Trump Tower at 725 Fifth Avenue was the setting for Alexander’s home.
They actually filmed the scene inside of Donald Trump’s penthouse apartment.
Churches
A variety of churches were used as filming locations.
The Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York is the backdrop for the reveal of Theron’s rape by Milton.
Barsoon’s funeral used the exterior of the Central Presbyterian Church on 593 Park Avenue to set the scene.
This was called St Andrew’s Catholic Church in the movie.
The Manhattan Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, on 173 East Third Street was used for Al Pacino’s scene with the holy water.
Court
The court scenes were all filmed inside a court house in New Jersey, Bergen County Court House.
Some exterior court scenes were shot at the Surrogate Court Building, on 31 Chambers Street and Centre Street in Manhattan.
Subway scenes
These were filmed in Manhattan.
They used the actual Subway station on Chambers Street and Centre Street.
Florida
The initial film shoots were done in New York and were completed by the March of 1997. In July the production moved location to Florida to complete filming.
New York set scenes were shot here, using the interior of Mrs. Howard’s business in Jacksonville.
Gainesville church
The scenes set in Gainesville churches were actually filmed true to location.
The director even managed to convince the pastor and his flock to appear as extras in the movie.
