Cruising (1980)

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers:

William Friedkin (written by)
Gerald Walker (novel)

Release Date:

8 February 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Al Pacino is Cruising for a killer.

Plot:

A police detective goes undercover in the sleazy and underground gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is murdering numerous gay men with S&M tactics.

Plot Keywords:

Gay | S&M | Undercover | Police | Cruising

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Al Pacino	...	Steve Burns
Paul Sorvino	...	Capt. Edelson
Karen Allen	...	Nancy
Richard Cox	...	Stuart Richards
Don Scardino	...	Ted Bailey
Joe Spinell	...	Patrolman DiSimone
Jay Acovone	...	Skip Lee
Randy Jurgensen	...	Det. Lefransky
Barton Heyman	...	Dr. Rifkin
Gene Davis	...	DaVinci
Arnaldo Santana	...	Loren Lukas
Larry Atlas	...	Eric Rossman
Allan Miller	...	Chief of Detectives
Sonny Grosso	...	Det. Blasio
Ed O'Neill	...	Det. Schreiber (as Edward O'Neil)

Also Known As:

Cruising (West Germany)
William Friedkin's Cruising (USA) (closing credits title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Finland:(Banned) (uncut) (1980-2000) | Finland:(Banned) (cut) (1981-2000) | UK:18 (cut) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2007) | West Germany:18 (f) (original rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | France:-16 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Portugal:M/18

Filming Locations:

Badlands - 338 West Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

CiP - Europaische Treuhand AG

Trivia:

James A. Contner originally wanted to shoot the film in black and white, as he felt it would fit the look of the S/M world.

Goofs:

Continuity: Steve Burns is in a patrol car with his fellow detectives and points out a suspect. He tells them that the man's name is Skip, but does not know his surname. But in the previous scene the barman tells Burns the suspect's name is Skip Lea.

Quotes:

Stuart Richards: Who's here? I'm here. We're here.

Movie Connections:

References Golden Boys of the S.S. (1976)

Soundtrack:

Heat Of The Moment

Controversial Document of Its Time

Viewed today, "Cruising" still elicits intense responses from both Gay and straight viewers alike. Mainstream Gays lament, as many protestors of the film at the time of its release, that it shows a homophobic image of Gay life, depecting them as sex-obsessed. Straights are put off by the frank look at the Gay sex "cruising" culture.

Interesting, however, some of the people involved in the Leather/SM subculture at the time this film was made have praised it for its accuracy of this particular lifestyle -- a pre-AIDS lifestyle concentrated on quick sex that was (and still is) pursued by a segment of the Gay community.

The film does not pretend to depict Gays as a whole. It is just a drama about a police investigation that uses the scene as a background and catalyst for an exploration into how one cop is affected by his work.

Not the greatest film ever made, but certainly a good springboard for discussion about the Gay community's politics, when one fully examines the controversy surrounding the film and the continued debate over public sex and body image in the community.

The strengths of "Cruising" are its use of locales and documentary-style cinematography, as well as the interesting performance from Paccino. In the end, it is hampered as a drama by problems with the narrative structure of the piece that seems to fizzle out in the last act, leading to an intriguing, but inconclusive, finish.