Prince of the City (1981)

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

Robert Daley (book)
Jay Presson Allen (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 August 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

A cop is turning. Nobody's safe.

Plot:

A New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption. However, he soon discovers that he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Corruption | Reference To John Wayne | Perjury | Vulgarity

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Treat Williams	...	Daniel Ciello
Jerry Orbach	...	Gus Levy
Richard Foronjy	...	Joe Marinaro
Don Billett	...	Bill Mayo
Kenny Marino	...	Dom Bando
Carmine Caridi	...	Gino Mascone
Tony Page	...	Raf Alvarez
Norman Parker	...	Rick Cappalino
Paul Roebling	...	Brooks Paige
Bob Balaban	...	Santimassino
James Tolkan	...	District Attorney Polito
Steve Inwood	...	Mario Vincente
Lindsay Crouse	...	Carla Ciello
Matthew Laurance	...	Ronnie Ciello
Tony Turco	...	Socks Ciello

Runtime:

167 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Canada:14+ | Argentina:18 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1982) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Canada:A

Filming Locations:

La Isla Restaurant - 1439 Myrtle Avenue, Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Robert De Niro was set to star at one point when De Palma was involved.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the start of the film when Dan is pushing his brother Ronnie around, there's a large crack on the wall (probably from a previous shot). After he pushes Ronnie near the wall, another large crack appears but Ronnie is never shown hitting the wall.

Quotes:

Rick Cappalino: Are you threatening me?
Daniel Ciello: Absolutely

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Inside 'Serpico' (2002) (V)

Soundtrack:

Love Will Keep Us Together

move over Raging Bull, Godfather, Goodfellas, On the Waterfront, you've got company

You know the gag, "Behind the tinsel and glitter of Hollywood, there's a lot more tinsel and glitter." Well behind the filth and corruption of the so called "War On Drugs", there's a lot more filth and corruption. When I was a young and naive budding trumpet player, I idolized a trumpet player by the name of Red Rodney. He played with Charley Parker. That's like starting for the Yankees. Like Parker he became addicted to heroin. To me he was royalty. The drug life for him was one of incarceration and constant police surveillance. One day he said a common occurance during an arrest was for the police to take and keep any money he had, and take AND SELL THE DRUGS THEY CONFISCATED! After seeing this movie do you have any doubts? I saw Sidney Lumet give a talk about his career. After the talk was over, I went up and asked him how could the Ciello character even dream about talking to the Feds, knowing that his entire operation was mired in illegal hanky panky. Lumet says he asked Bob Leucci, the real life Danny Ciello, and he told Lumet to this day he still can't truly explain it. Where did Treat Williams, a competant actor up till this movie summon the greatness he reaches. The disintegration from a cocky cop who thinks he owns New York City, to a weasel who causes suicide and ruin for his closest buddies and their families is heartbreaking. The virtuoso cast and Williams probably said after seeing the film, "How the hell can we top this?" You want to know something? THEY NEVER HAVE! An American classic, not to be missed!