Cruising (1980)

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers:

William Friedkin (written by)
Gerald Walker (novel)

Release Date:

15 February 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | 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 | Police | Undercover | Subculture

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)
Michael Aronin	...	Det. Davis
James Remar	...	Gregory
William Russ	...	Paul Gaines
Mike Starr	...	Patrolman Desher
Steve Inwood	...	Martino
Keith Prentice	...	Joey
Leland Starnes	...	Jack Richards
Robert Pope	...	DaVinci's Friend
Leo Burmester	...	Water Sport
Bruce Levine	...	Dancer
Charles Dunlap	...	Three Card Monte
Powers Boothe	...	Hankie Salesman
James Sutorius	...	Jack (voice)
Richard Jamieson	...	Spotter
Jimmie Ray Weeks	...	Seller (as James Ray Weeks)
David Winnie Hayes	...	Bouncer
Carmine Stippo	...	Bartender (as Carmine Stipo)
James Hayden	...	Cockpit Coke Man (scenes deleted)
Todd Winters	...	Tugboat Mate
Robert Carnegie
Sylvia Gassel		(as Sylvia Gassell)
Dennis Shea
Henry Judd Baker	...	Tough Cop
Larry Silvestri
Kevin Johnson
Lawrence Lust
Louie Grenier
Penny Gumeny
Burr DeBenning
Ray Vitte
Mike Barbera
Joseph Catucci
Robert Dugan		(as Robert Duggan)
Dan Sturkie
Linda Gary
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kirsten Baker	...	Jogger (uncredited)
Christian Daugherty	...	Hustler #2 (uncredited)
Mark Stern	...	Cockpit Patron (uncredited)
Tieg Thomas	...	Bartender (uncredited)

Directed by
William Friedkin

Writing credits
William Friedkin		(written by)
Gerald Walker		(novel)

Produced by
Burtt Harris	....	associate producer
Jerry Weintraub	....	producer

Original Music by
Jack Nitzsche

Cinematography by
James A. Contner		(director of photography) (as James Contner)

Film Editing by
Bud S. Smith		(as Bud Smith)
M. Scott Smith		(re-issue)

Casting by
Louis DiGiaimo		(as Louis Digiaimo)

Production Design by
Bruce Weintraub

Art Direction by
Edward Pisoni

Set Decoration by
Robert Drumheller

Costume Design by
Robert De Mora		(as Robert deMora)

Makeup Department
Bob Grimaldi	....	hair stylist (as Robert Grimaldi)
Robert Norin	....	special makeup effects artist
Allen Weisinger	....	makeup artist (as Allan Weisninger)

Production Management
Burtt Harris	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alan Hopkins	....	first assistant director
Robert E. Warren	....	second assistant director (as Robert Warren)

Art Department
Gene Anderson	....	assistant property master
Barry Bedig	....	property master
Stan Graham	....	scenic artist (as Stanley Graham)
Carlos Quiles Jr.	....	construction coordinator
Jimmy Raitt	....	property master (as James Raitt)
Bruno Robotti	....	scenic artist

Sound Department
Charles L. Campbell	....	supervising sound editor
Louis L. Edemann	....	sound editor
Richard C. Franklin	....	assistant sound editor (as Rick Franklin)
Athan Gigakos	....	adr mixer: Sound Shop (as Athan Gigiakos)
Robert Glass	....	sound re-recordist
Chris Jenkins	....	sound re-recordist (as Christopher Jenkins)
Robert Knudson	....	sound re-recordist
Kim H. Ornitz	....	sound mixer (as Kim Ornitz)
David Pettijohn	....	sound editor (as David A. Pettijohn)
Bruce Richardson	....	sound editor
Norman B. Schwartz	....	dialogue editor (as Norman Schwartz)
John A. Amicarella	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)
Regina Mullen	....	adr assistant (uncredited)
John Roesch	....	foley artist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Enrique Bravo	....	camera operator
Gene Engels	....	gaffer
Billy Miller	....	key grip (as William Miller)
Gary Muller	....	assistant camera
Hank Muller	....	assistant camera (as Hank Muller Jr.)
Josh Weiner	....	still photographer
Scott Rathner	....	additional second assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michael Dennison	....	wardrobe supervisor
Robert Dean Jackson	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Dean Jackson)

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Jere Huggins	....	assistant film editor
Ned Humphreys	....	assistant film editor
Larry Rovetti	....	color timer

Music Department
The Cripples	....	music performer
Willy DeVille	....	music performer
Bill Evans	....	music engineer
The Germs	....	music performer (as Germs - G.I.)
Egberto Gismonti	....	music performer
John Hiatt	....	music performer
Mutiny	....	music performer
Rough Trade	....	music performer
Madelynn von Ritz	....	music performer (as Madelynn Von Ritz)

Other crew
George Davis	....	secretary to producer
Carmine Foresta	....	location manager
Sidney Gecker	....	script supervisor
Sonny Grosso	....	technical advisor
Edward Iacobelli	....	teamster captain
Mark Johnson	....	production executive
Randy Jurgensen	....	technical advisor
Toni St. Clair Lilly	....	secretary to the director
Jennifer Ogden	....	production office coordinator
Lucille Smith	....	auditor (as Lucille Cannon)
Michael Weintraub	....	production assistant
Darryl Peck	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• CiP - Europaische Treuhand AG (in association with)
• Lorimar Film Entertainment (presented by) (as Lorimar)

Distributors

• United Artists (1980) (USA) (theatrical)
• Adams Filmi (1980) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Cineplex (1980) (UK) (theatrical)
• Neue Constantin Film (1980) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Film & Teater (1980) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• CBS / Fox Video (1984) (USA) (VHS) (For Lorimar Distribution)
• CBS/Fox Video (1984) (Belgium) (video)
• Warner Bros (2007) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Concorde Film (1980) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• CBS / Fox Video (1984) (Greece) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (198?) (Argentina) (VHS)
• MGM/CBS Home Video (1981) (USA) (video)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Production Payments  production services
• Reeltime Creative  trailer music
• Sound Shop  sound recording facilities
• Talent Payments  production services

Also Known As:

"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:

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

Filming Locations:

140 Claremont Avenue, Manhattan, New York, USA

Company:

CiP - Europaische Treuhand AG

Trivia:

In 1972, director William Friedkin - huge after The French Connection (1971) - is shooting his spiritual/psych-horror The Exorcist (1973) in downtown New York. For a scene requiring mock brain-scans of the possessed lead character, Friedkin films a real-life radiologist and his assistant, Paul Bateson. Flash ahead to 1979. Friedkin is planning an adap of Gerald Walker's novel 'Cruising', inspired by a real-life serial killer carving up leather boys in the city's underground gay-bars and dumping their body parts in the Hudson River, wrapped in black plastic bags. When he learns that his Exorcist radiologist assistant Bateson is currently awaiting trial for the post-coital slaying of gay film critic Addison Verrill, Friedkin decides to pay him a visit to do a little research into the psyche of his cruising killer. Bateson is later imprisoned for life - for the Verrill murder - but not before dropping hints while in custody that he was also the body bag killer. The latter cases remain unsolved, but there's every chance that Friedkin had not only inadvertently consulted the actual killer at the heart of Cruising while planning the film, but had also cast him in a film he made years before it.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The medical examiner discusses the serrations in the wounds of a murder victim but the killer did not use a serrated knife on him.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Stuart Richards:You made me do that.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ban the Sadist Videos! Part 2 (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Waterwheel

a feel-bad epic from a subversive misanthrope

William Friedkin is a mysterious, often mystifying film-maker. Although he rose to prominence at the same time as the rest of the so-called 'movie brat' generation of directors (Coppola, Spielberg, Scorsese, DePalma, et al.), he stands apart, even from a group as essentially disparate as this one. For one thing, his films lack the intertextual references and cinematic stylisation common to most of the other members. If he has an over-riding aesthetic, it would be the ugliness of the majority of human existence. He's not interested in prettifying his images or indulging in style-for-style's sake; which is not to say that his film's don't exhibit inventive and effective technique, just that this technique is always at the service of the story he's telling, and is often blunt and brutally effective in it's employment. All of this no doubt arises from his start in documentary film-making. Friedkin is particularly good at depicting the menace of urban environments, and the locales of a lot of his films are frightening, tangibly real places. Witness the sequences involving Karras' aged mother in 'The Exorcist', which for me are the most disturbing scenes in an often terrifying film. As we observe the elderly lady living alone in her shabby apartment in a crime-ridden neighbourhood, we realise that this is the existence that many millions of people are forced to endure, and it's oppressiveness adds immeasurably to the psychological impact of the film as a whole. We share Karras' fear and traumatising guilt that she died alone in such circumstances, and the special effects trickery of the climax is lent a genuine resonance.

Because of the stark, seemingly 'artless' force and apparent misanthropy of much of his work, a number of otherwise perceptive commentators dislike Friedkin intensely. Pauline Kael was extremely cool about 'The French Connection' and absolutely hated 'The Exorcist'. David Thompson described him as "essentially incompetent", bludgeoning the audience with blatant and obvious effects. In fact, Friedkin's best work is highly sophisticated in it's use of sound and music, and employs often visceral imagery to telling and subversive effect. However, some of his films ARE genuinely bloody awful, or at least depressingly mediocre. The very inconsistency of his work lies at the centre of the mystery that is his career. He seems to me to be a fiercely intelligent man whose art is driven by his life rather than the culture of film, and whose reportedly quixotic, often self-destructive personality in no small measure accounts for the expansive peaks and troughs of his cinematic achievements.

Friedkin has reassuring or comforting his audience way down the list of his priorities. In the case of 'Cruising', he neglected to add them at all. Because of this, 'Cruising' is a very difficult film to watch. Most film-makers, were they making a film set in such an alien and frightening environment, would go overboard on providing us with at least one protagonist we could identify with. But Friedkin takes the very opposite route and presents us entirely with characters who are abhorrent, sleazy or totally ambiguous. Indeed, ambiguity is the film's raison d'etre - we are never sure of anything, and this becomes both the pictures great strength and source of much audience frustration. It seems that unlike, say, Spielberg, who continually seeks the approbation of his audience, Friedkin actively resents his (or rather, their preconceptions and certainties), leading him to consistently challenge and upset them. This can be exciting to those who value such seditious manouveres, but dispiriting and destabilising for those that don't.

The major problem with evaluating 'Cruising' is that the film as it currently exists is seriously incomplete (apparently having been shorn of some 40 minutes of footage by the censors!). I suspect that a 'directors cut' should it ever emerge, although no doubt clarifying certain issues, would overall fail to dispel the central ambiguity that is so infuriating and troubling to the majority of the audience, and that lies at the heart of Friedkins vision. "What interests me is the very thin line between good and evil", the director once said when asked to provide a thematic overview of his work - and this is the core of 'Cruising'.

I would urge you to watch the film. It is a uniquely dark, brave piece somewhat compromised by well documented production difficulties and the censors scissors. It has a sinister, compelling momentum and wonderfully ugly, grainy textures that seep into your pores leaving you uncomfortable and unsettled. Sometimes a feel-bad movie can be as bracing as a winter morning. 'Cruising' is such an experience, and a fascinating, provocative one at that.