Serpico Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Villains We Love: 1970s New York
Filed under: Scenes We Love »
Villainy isn't just found in an evil plot, a straight razor, or a hockey mask. Sometimes it's a crippling state of mind and place that sucks the soul out of its heroes and heroines. It can be Purgatory, it can be hell, it can be a mental asylum, or it can be a bustling metropolis. So, I'd like to salute 1970s New York as being one of the most vicious, ruthless villains to ever wreck havoc on the silver screen.
By now you're regarding me with skepticism, outright derision, or a need to see Pinhead or Jigsaw saluted for the millionth time on a Halloween list. But think about the lurking menace behind Serpico, Taxi Driver, Fort Apache the Bronx, Cruising, Dog Day Afternoon, Klute, Mean Streets, Death Wish and dozens more. (Every once and awhile Hollywood mixed it up and set something in San Fransisco. But it always felt like a New York stand-in, didn't it?) The city's sickly decay spawned Watchmen. Without the drugs, spiraling crime rate, police corruption, and riots you wouldn't have Travis Bickle or Rorschach, who are rejected, broken, and made by what they witness on the city streets. In 1976, you wouldn't have had a charming dramedy called New York, I Love You. It probably would have been called New York: You'll Die Violently. The class and romance seen An Affair to Remember wouldn't come back until Disney dressed it up again.
Scenes We Love: Serpico
Filed under: Classics », Drama », Thrillers », Scenes We Love »
I may have disagreed with many of Esquire's "essential" manhood movies, but I heartily second their recommendation of Serpico as any sane person would. I revisited this film a few weeks ago, and it doesn't matter how many times you see it in your lifetime, it never ceases to be absolutely terrifying. It may be a biopic (and perhaps even more frightening because of it), but I think of it as The Turn of the Screw set in 1970s New York thanks to the beginning. Sidney Lumet doesn't tease you with Serpico's fate, he kicks off the film with it, and the entire movie is a long, tense, paranoid ride to get to that gunshot.
Everyone points to Dog Day Afternoon as the fiilm that really flaunts Al Pacino's skills -- and I wouldn't dare argue with that, but I don't think this performance gets enough love. Pacino is another reason I love this scene, as it quickly switches between the battered and bleeding detective, and the young, idealistic rookie who is celebrating graduation with his family ... and all to that melancholy, unconventional theme. It's all in the performance (and mostly the eyes), and not in cheesy age make-up or hammy "Oh, it's tough out here for an undercover cop" handwringing. I don't know if it's an essential man movie, but it's certainly one that should be watched more often.
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