Directed by:
William FriedkinScreenplay:
William FriedkinCinematography:
James A. ContnerComposer:
Jack NitzscheCast:
Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Richard Cox, Don Scardino, Joe Spinell, Jay Acovone, Barton Heyman, Ed O'Neill, James Remar, Mike Starr, Leo Burmester (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
New York City detective Steve Burns Al Pacino receives orders from Captain Edelson Paul Sorvino to solve a series of brutal murders in the gay community. Steve scours the gay bars that caters to same-sex sadomasochism in a desperate attempt to solve the crime. As he infiltrates the scene, he slowly comes loose from the moorings of his own reality, and an innocent victim is tortured by the cops in an effort to exact a confession. The story is based on actual murders that took place between 1962 and 1979. The film gained considerable publicity because of the controversial subject matter while censor argued between an X and R rating for the feature. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Videos (1)
Reviews (2)
Cruising is a very strange film. I've seen William Friedkin's The Boys in the Band, from a decade earlier, and it didn’t impress me much. On the one hand, there is the nice and authentic atmosphere of an underworld of gay clubs, but on the other hand, there are many deaf spots and (at least for me) a WTF ending (I really didn't fully understand the ending). I certainly don't want trash this film, but then again, I won't sing any odes to it. In short, a very bold film for its time (actually, somewhere even for today), where the pros and cons balance each other in such a way that it gives a completely average impression.
()
On one hand, a perfect crime movie, on the other a homophobic, insight into the sleaziness of the gay community of 1980. Some scenes are a little too much (even though it could probably have been even worse), Friedkin is simply a very good director for these sequences not to affect the viewer, but for god’s sake, why did he decide to make something like this? Cruising was clearly a challenge for Pacino and he accepted it with a tenacity of his very own. Thanks to the very well handled ending, my lasting impression of this movie is I suppose positive, but never again. I can’t do this.
()
Gallery (94)
Photo © United Artists
![Cruising - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/159/691/159691259_7d03ab.jpg)
Ads