Fear City (1984)

Director:

Abel Ferrara

Writer:

Nicholas St. John (writer)

Release Date:

18 July 1984 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

No showgirl is safe on the streets of... Fear City

Plot:

Strippers in Manhattan are being stalked and murdered by a psycho. A hard-nosed police detective and a conflicted ex-boxer-turned-private-eye, hired by the strip club owners, set out to find him before he strikes again.

Plot Keywords:

Stripper | Police | Strip Club | New York | Drugs

Cast

Tom Berenger	...	Matt Rossi
Billy Dee Williams	...	Al Wheeler
Jack Scalia	...	Nicky Parzeno
Melanie Griffith	...	Loretta
Rossano Brazzi	...	Carmine
Rae Dawn Chong	...	Leila
Joe Santos	...	Frank
Michael V. Gazzo	...	Mike
Jan Murray	...	Goldstein
Janet Julian	...	Ruby
Daniel Faraldo	...	Sanchez
Maria Conchita Alonso	...	Silver (as Maria Conchita)
Ola Ray	...	Honey
John Foster	...	Pazzo
Emilia Crow	...	Bibi (as Emilia Lesniak)

Also Known As:

Border
Ripper

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Netherlands:16 | UK:18 (rated version) | Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Italy:VM18 | Norway:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The film was drastically reedited before it's release because of the MPAA's ratings board strict guidelines on graphic violence, language and nudity at that point in time. Which are noticeable due to the film's many jump cuts in handful of scenes specifically most of the attacks on the strippers by the unnamed killer for example. Ultimately it caused Twentieth Century-Fox to sell of the film to an independent distributor for a theatrical release.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Short Film About the Long Career of Abel Ferrara (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

New York Doll

Not a Bad film

Good film that doesn't get the same amount of respect as other Ferrara movies. Fear City(1984) is a precusor to Spike Lee's Summer of Sam(1999). The character Matt Rossei is the typical Ferrara person who is guilt ridden and is continously searching for the pain relieving rewards of redemption. Influenced heavily by Maniac(1980), New York Ripper(1982), and The Godfather(1972). Like most of Abel Ferrara's films, Fear City(1984) was horribly cut to prevent it from getting an X rating. The opening attack is reminscent of the first attack of Thana in Ms. 45(1981). Melenie Griffith has never before or since looked and acted with an erotic and sexy quality like she does in Fear City(1984).