Joshua Jones97 said:I actually started this thread specifically to spark some discussion about this film. It’s scheduled to air on TV this Thursday, but for some inexplicable reason, the moderators moved the topic over to the TV Movies section, where discussing films is strictly prohibited 👎
Al Pacino film series: Cruising, an American film(18)
(CRUISING, 1980.)
HBO 2 10.24.2007. 23:35
Drama. New York City. After several bodies of gay men are discovered brutally murdered, the police realize they are hunting a serial killer. Lacking any solid leads or forensic breakthroughs, but noticing a physical pattern among the victims, Captain Edelson (Paul Sorvino) decides to take a police officer who fits the profile, Steve Burns (Al Pacino), turn him into an undercover detective to infiltrate gay social circles. Burns accepts the assignment, but without revealing the true nature of his mission to his girlfriend Nancy (Karen Allen), he moves out of their shared apartment and into a gritty building where his first neighbors happen to be gay. Burns immediately begins frequenting gay hangouts, but the killer strikes twice more before the police can even get a foothold. Finding himself backed into a corner, the detective begins to spiral into a profound identity crisis...
Filmed during the twilight of what many call "New Hollywood," the Hollywood crime drama "Cruising" remains one of the most controversial works in American cinematic history. Based on the novel by Gerald Walker, the film—written and directed by William Friedkin—stands as a monument to the sheer liberalism of 1970s American cinema, a period that would eventually give way to the conservatism of the Reagan era just a decade later. During that time, one of America's most prominent filmmakers, Friedkin, tackled homosexual themes in a way rarely seen on screen, drawing fire from both sides: conservatives were repulsed by the explicit scenes, while liberals bristled at the depiction of the gay community as a dangerous and diseased underworld. To be fair, Friedkin didn't paint the gay population in rose-colored hues, but he was equally merciless toward all his characters; if anything, rather than accusing him of homophobia, one might more accurately charge him with misanthropy. The legendary American actor Al Pacino (The Godfather, Scent of Women, Heat, Wake Up) delivers one of his most unconventional and demanding performances in "Cruising." Due to its intense violence and depictions of male intimacy that pushed the boundaries of mainstream cinema, "Cruising" faced significant battles with censors. Now, twenty-seven years after its premiere, it has seen a limited theatrical re-release and a DVD debut.
* Runtime: 98 min.
* Cast: Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Richard Cox, Don Scardino
* Screenplay: William Friedkin (based on the novel by Gerald Walker)
* Director: William Friedkin
I watched it for the first time recently. A decent start, but the second half feels quite muddled and disorganized, almost as if they were rushed into a hasty conclusion.
Watching the film for the first time, there's that one scene involving the handkerchiefs... anyone who has actually sat through this movie knows exactly what I'm talking about. Every film I watch stays with me because of a specific moment, and for this one, it's that scene. Around the same time this came out, Frankie Goes to Hollywood released the "Relax" video; to me, this whole movie feels like a 98-minute version of "Relax."