Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Prince of the City (1981)

 

A New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption, and soon realizes he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted. 

Criticized in comparison to the director's previous movie Serpico with the same topic and for its length,  Prince of the City in fact presents a much more nuanced, complex and dark study of police corruption with a large cast of characters and the length actually helps present them with depth; great performances throughout.

Halliwell*: "Punishingly long police semi-documentary on real events and apparently filmed with a political motive. Excellent acting and production detail do not prevent the enterprise from seeming like a half-speed version of Serpico." 

Maltin***: "Emotionally powerful story...Standout performances by Williams, fellow cop Orbach, weasely prosecutor Tolkan, but film's extreme length hurts overall impact; there are more details than really necessary to tell the story."


 

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