Bad Lieutenant (1992)

While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness.

Director:

Abel Ferrara

Writers:

Victor Argo, Paul Calderon,

Stars:

Harvey Keitel, Victor Argo, Paul Calderon

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harvey Keitel	...	The Lieutenant
Victor Argo	...	Beat Cop
Paul Calderon	...	Cop #1 (as Paul Calderone)
Leonard L. Thomas	...	Cop #2 (as Leonard Thomas)
Robin Burrows	...	Ariane
Frankie Thorn	...	The Nun
Victoria Bastel	...	Bowtay
Paul Hipp	...	Jesus
Brian McElroy	...	Lieutenant's Son (#1)
Frankie Acciarito	...	Lieutenant's Son (#2)
Peggy Gormley	...	Lieutenant's Wife
Stella Keitel	...	Lieutenant's Daughter
Dana Dee	...	Lieutenant's Baby Girl
Anthony Ruggiero	...	Lite
Vincent Laresca	...	J.C.

Storyline

A police Lieutenant goes about his daily tasks of investigating homicides, but is more interested in pursuing his vices. He has accumulated a massive debt betting on baseball, and he keeps doubling to try to recover. His bookies are beginning to get agitated. The Lieutenant does copious amounts of drugs, cavorts with prostitutes, and uses his status to take advantage of teenage girls. While investigating a nun's rape, he begins to reflect on his lifestyle.

---

Plot Keywords:

drugs | lieutenant | nun | police | gambling | 

---

Taglines:

Gambler. Thief. Junkie. Killer. Cop.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated NC-17 for sexual violence, strong sexual situations & dialogue, graphic drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

20 November 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

A mocskos zsaru

Filming Locations:

Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$2,000,022 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bad Lt. Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 91 min (R-rated)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'Harvey Keitel''s character's real name is unknown - he is only credited as 'LT' and referred to as 'Lieutenant'.

---

Goofs

Just as the lieutenant is leading the boys into the train station near the end of the film, a cab driver (obviously not a paid extra) is seen waving to the camera.

---

Quotes

The Lieutenant: If you think you're not getting on that bus, man, you're dead wrong. Now get on that fucking bus, 'cause your life ain't worth shit in this town!

---

Connections

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

---

Soundtracks

"PLEDGING MY LOVE"
Written by Don D. Robey (as Robey) / Fats Washington (as Washington)
(P) 1954 Music Corporation of America, Inc.
Performed by Johnny Ace
Used by permission of MCA Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Dark and unforgiving.

Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant is one of the darkest films I have ever seen. I don't mean dark in the way that it was shot, but in the subject matter of the film. The movie is about a cop who is probably the lowest scumball in the history of modern cinema and how he tries to find redemption in solving the case of a nun who is raped inside a Catholic church. The film is very graphic and terribly depressing but that doesn't make it a bad film. It is well written, well edited by Anthony Redman, well shot by Ken Kelsch and very well directed by Abel Ferrara. The cast is pretty insignificant when you consider the whole film is about Harvey Keitel's character. Keitel is the complete center of this movie and he holds it together. His performance is one of the best in recent movie history and this film is worth watching just to see how far Keitel will go for his art.