A New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption, and soon realises he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted.
At the end of a long and hot summer day, members of one family gather in a large house. Everyone has something painful and offensive to say, and their silence is even worse.
Director:
Sidney Lumet
Stars:
Katharine Hepburn,
Ralph Richardson,
Jason Robards
When dirty cop Mike shoots a man and plants a gun on him, rookie assistant DA Al gets the case. Something in the Q&A of Mike isn't right. Bodies pile up as Al tries to solve the case.
NYPD officer, Daniel Ciello's involved in some questionable police practices. He's approached by IAB, and in exchange for him potentially being let off he's instructed to begin looking at the inner workings of police corruption. Danny agrees as long as he doesn't have to turn on his partners but he soon learns he cannot trust anyone. He must decide whose side he's on and who's on his.Written by
Josh Pasnak <chainsaw@intouch.bc.ca>
Screenwriter Jay Presson Allen gave the book to Sidney Lumet telling him that the material would make a very interesting movie. She also told Sidney Lumet to read the book quickly. See more »
Goofs
When Barnes is picking up the Ciello family at their home, Barnes puts his hat - a brown fedora - on Ciello's young child's head. In the next shot, when Barnes takes his hat back from the child, it is not the fedora he had just put on the child but instead is a dark hunting hat with a long baseball cap like bill and no brim. See more »
Quotes
Daniel Ciello:
You bastards, it's, it's you guys who run the whole fucking thing! You run it! Starting with assistant DA's who plea bargain murder one down to a misdemeanor. Or lawyers wearing 400 dollar suits who come up to cops in hallways and say, "Hey pal, listen, this case doesn't mean shit. Here's 50 dollars. Here's a hundred dollars. Five hundred dollars. Fifteen thousand dollars. Fifteen thousand dollars! Fuck, I mean, we know how you guys become judges. You pay 50 thousand and zap you're wearing ...
[...] See more »
Alternate Versions
The film originally premiered on TV in a version broadcast over 4 hours (running no longer than 196 minutes), including previously unseen material which had been cut from the 167-minute theatrical release. Among the restored scenes is one that makes more sense of the DiBenadetto Case (the character Ciello's first rat-job). See more »
this "cop-rats on cops" story was probably meant to impress in 1976. But it didn't age well. We are left with the clichés, a dragging, heavy script that is plain factual, and terrible acting.
Treat Williams is ridiculous. He over-acts like those actors from the mute cinema era. but more than that, literally CRY like a child, his face full of tears, every over scene in a movie that last 2h40!!
Result: He is very annoying, and you end up feeling embarrassed that this guy can get lead roles. 10 minutes into the movie, you can't stand him anymore and wish you never see him act ever again.
The direction of Sydney Lumet is clean and professional as usual. But the script is so full of clichés, so heavy and demonstrative! Nothing gets to you: the characters, the story, the whole movie drags endlessly. It has absolutely no invention, no craftiness. It is plain flat.
A below average cop movie that wants to be big, 2h40 minutes of plain "cop rats on cops story". No twists in the plot. Mediocre dialog. Bad actors... And Treat Williams cries and makes "hurt" faces as to tell you : look, something is happening!
Not even nice vintage shots of the New York of the time. Avoid it.
10 of 21 people found this review helpful.
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this "cop-rats on cops" story was probably meant to impress in 1976. But it didn't age well. We are left with the clichés, a dragging, heavy script that is plain factual, and terrible acting.
Treat Williams is ridiculous. He over-acts like those actors from the mute cinema era. but more than that, literally CRY like a child, his face full of tears, every over scene in a movie that last 2h40!!
Result: He is very annoying, and you end up feeling embarrassed that this guy can get lead roles. 10 minutes into the movie, you can't stand him anymore and wish you never see him act ever again.
The direction of Sydney Lumet is clean and professional as usual. But the script is so full of clichés, so heavy and demonstrative! Nothing gets to you: the characters, the story, the whole movie drags endlessly. It has absolutely no invention, no craftiness. It is plain flat.
A below average cop movie that wants to be big, 2h40 minutes of plain "cop rats on cops story". No twists in the plot. Mediocre dialog. Bad actors... And Treat Williams cries and makes "hurt" faces as to tell you : look, something is happening!
Not even nice vintage shots of the New York of the time. Avoid it.