Fort Apache the Bronx (1981)

From the sight of a police officer this movie depicts the life in New York's infamous South Bronx. In the center is "Fort Apache", as the officers call their police station, which really ... See full summary »

Director:

Daniel Petrie

Writers:

Heywood Gould, Thomas Mulhearn (suggested by the experiences of),

Stars:

Paul Newman, Edward Asner, Ken Wahl

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Newman	...	Murphy
Edward Asner	...	Connolly
Ken Wahl	...	Corelli
Danny Aiello	...	Morgan
Rachel Ticotin	...	Isabella
Pam Grier	...	Charlotte
Kathleen Beller	...	Theresa
Tito Goya	...	Jumper / Detective
Miguel Pinero	...	Hernando
Jaime Tirelli	...	Jose
Lance Guecia	...	Track Star (as Lance William Guecia)
Rony Clanton	...	Pimp (as Ronnie Clanton)
Clifford David	...	Dacey
Sully Boyar	...	Dugan
Michael Higgins	...	Heffernan

Storyline

From the sight of a police officer this movie depicts the life in New York's infamous South Bronx. In the center is "Fort Apache", as the officers call their police station, which really seems like an outpost in enemy's country. The story follows officer Murphy, who seems to be a tuff cynic, but in truth he's a moralist with a sense for justice.

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Plot Keywords:

police | police station | drug addiction | stabbing | policeman | 

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Taglines:

15 minutes from Manhattan there's a place where even the cops fear to tread. [UK Theatrical]

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 February 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Apacseröd Bronxban

Filming Locations:

Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$29,200,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Producers Circle, Time-Life Television Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The experiences of Real life former NYPD Detectives Thomas Mulhearn and Pete Tessitore served as inspiration for the original screenplay. It is reported that Paul Newman spent some time with Mr. Mulhearn, getting into character for Officer Murphy. Thomas and Pete, along with other ex-cops helped add to the authenticity of the experiences documented in "Fort Apache the Bronx".

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Goofs

In the last scene, you can see the (non-extra) locals being held back in the background to give the illusion of a deserted area.

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Quotes

Murphy: [Murphy and Isabella are playing the game of you-tell-me-about-me while on their first date. Murphy starts telling Isabella about herself] Poor family, you're the oldest. You've got a lot of brothers and sisters. You got a brother in the joint. Your mother's sick. You got a scholarship to nursing school and you did real good, but you can't get a job anywhere but here. How'm I doin'?
Isabella: I don't know yet.
Murphy: [continuing] Smoke a little reefer, fool around a little bit, you wanna get married but the ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Indie Sex: Censored (2007)

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Soundtracks

"The Blue Side"
Written by David Lasley (uncredited) and Allee Willis (uncredited)
Performed by Crystal Gayle
Courtesy of CBS Records
(P) 1979 CBS Records

User Reviews

Under-rated

I'm surprised at all the negative reviews of this movie. yes, it's dark and depressing and certainly 'un-even', but I was glued to the screen. New York is the most fascinating city I've ever visited. Beautiful, cosmopolitan, fantastically wealthy and it sure never sleeps. But there's a dark side to "the big apple" and I honestly think this film captures that perfectly. It shows the poverty and despair of all those who haven't managed to live the dream and the siege mentality of the guys trying to maintain law and order. It's an utterly believable picture of day-to-day police work in a huge city. Much better than Cagney & Lacey & Kojak. Paul Newman plays a veteran patrol officer who's been on the streets too long and finds it hard to take anything seriously any more, until. You'll have to watch the movie to find out what lights his fire again. Ken Wahl (convincingly) plays his much younger partner and Ed Asner is superb as their hard-nosed Captain, struggling to be a cop, manager, politician, budget-holder and father-figure all at once. In fact, I would say Asner deserved an Oscar nomination. It was easily his best role. Fort Apache truly shows the real nature of a war against crime. Cops are under-funded and battling daily against impossible odds. All they have is each other. On the DOWN side, this movie does have 2 major flaws. First, it is horribly jolty and un-even. There's no plot at all and (to me) it felt throughout like a 'pilot' for a police soap opera that never made it to series. And second, the romance between Paul Newman and Rachel Ticotin is frankly ridiculous. They're both excellent actors and I'm one of the many millions who envy Newman his good looks, but, Ticotin is THIRTY THREE years younger than Newman. He could (almost) be her Grandfather! Fort Apache is a good movie though and I would say it paved the way for many current shows (such as Law & Order) which show law enforcement, warts and all. It's well worth seeing.