Time travel isn't yet possible, but Michael Bernstein and Craig Bryan have brought us one step closer with their amazing app, SCENEPAST, which allows the user to see what movie and television scenes look like now and 20 to 60-plus years ago—all without ever leaving the house. With a handy lever, app users can travel through time and space, searching by location, newest additions, spots near them. The app shows how the areas from your favorite movies have changed and developed through time; there's also a “watch now” option that lets you download the movie or show straight from iTunes.
SCENEPAST has a library of more than 700 pinpointed film and television locations to explore. Bernstein and Bryan combed through over 20,000 hours of footage to find locations and are constantly adding more. Check out these great examples from classic movies.
1. Karate Kid (1984 and Today)
19233 Saticoy St, Reseda, CA, 91335
Not even the cars have really changed.
2. Vertigo (1958 and Today)
Eddy Street & Gough Street, San Francisco, CA 94109
As you can see, St. Paul's Lutheran Church is no longer there; it burned down in a fire in 1995.
3. The Big Lebowski (1997 and Today)
8017 West 3rd, Los Angeles, CA 90048
What used to be a taco shop is now a gas station.
4. Serpico (1973 and Today)
183 Grand, New York, NY 10002
John Jovino and his giant handgun are still there!
5. Shaft (1971 and Today)
113 MacDougal Street, New York, NY 10012
Both Minetta Tavern and Cafe Wha? are still there, but they've gotten a little swankier.
6. The French Connection (1971 and Today)
188 Grand Street, New York, NY 10013
Another case where not much about this New York block has changed.
7. Taxi Driver (1975 and Today)
620 8th Ave, New York, NY 10018
Today, the New York Times building—with a burger restaurant called Schnipper's Quality Kitchen in the bottom—stands in the bar's place.
8. Hannah and Her Sisters (1985 and Today)
43 Greene Street, New York, NY 10013
Wipe off the graffiti, and you almost wouldn't be able to tell 1985 from the current day.
9. Ghostbusters (1984 and Today)
129 Mulberry Street, New York, NY 10012
When Ghostbusters filmed there, the restaurant was called Umberto's. In 1972, a prominent Mafia figure, "Crazy Joey" Gallo, was murdered in the restaurant. Now it is a restaurant called De Gennaro. (Umberto's moved to its current spot, two blocks north of its original site, in 1996.)
You can explore more places by downloading the app here.