Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

A freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills.

Director:

Martin Brest

Writers:

Daniel Petrie Jr. (screenplay by), Danilo Bach (story by)

Stars:

Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eddie Murphy	...	Axel Foley
Judge Reinhold	...	Det. Billy Rosewood
John Ashton	...	Sgt. Taggart
Lisa Eilbacher	...	Jenny Summers
Ronny Cox	...	Lt. Bogomil
Steven Berkoff	...	Victor Maitland
James Russo	...	Mikey Tandino
Jonathan Banks	...	Zack
Stephen Elliott	...	Chief Hubbard
Gilbert R. Hill	...	Inspector Todd
Art Kimbro	...	Det. Foster
Joel Bailey	...	Det. McCabe
Bronson Pinchot	...	Serge
Paul Reiser	...	Jeffrey
Michael Champion	...	Casey

Storyline

After the murder of his childhood friend in front of his eyes, the slick Detroit detective, Axel Foley, heads to sunny Beverly Hills, on a one-man mission to ferret out the killer and bring him to justice. Before long, Axel and his unorthodox methods unearth the lucrative drug operation of the powerful local crime kingpin, Victor Maitland; however, Foley, too, will find himself in deep trouble, as Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil wants him out of town. Now, Axel will have to team up with Detectives, John Taggart, and Billy Rosewood, to shed light on the thick conspiracy, and finish what he has started. Will Foley's total disregard for proper procedure bear fruit?

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Plot Keywords:

thrown through a window | death of friend | police brutality | murder | drugs | 

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Taglines:

He's been chased, thrown through a window, and arrested. Eddie Murphy is a Detroit cop on vacation in Beverly Hills.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the highest grossing R-rated film in the US until The Matrix Reloaded (2003) eclipsed it 19 years later. If inflation were taken into account, it would be the third most attended R-rated film after The Exorcist (1973) and The Godfather (1972).

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Goofs

In the movie poster, Axel leans on the Mercedes while holding a 1911-style .45-cal. automatic. However, he uses a Browning 9mm throughout the film.

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Quotes

Detective Rosewood: Everything he said about Maitland is right. Now he's kidnapped a woman and he's got her in this house.
Sergeant Taggart: Well, let's go in there and get her.
Axel Foley: What the fuck do you think I'm trying to do here?
Sergeant Taggart: You're not doing anything!

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Crazy Credits

Scott Murphy's character of Det. Owensby is misspelled as Det. Owenby in the credits.

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Alternate Versions

2020 Blu-ray remaster includes two new unreleased deleted scenes as bonus features - Axel questions a Detroit mobster he's friendly with following Mikey's killing, and footage of his packing and preparing for the trip to Beverly Hills. These scenes were likely cut for pacing reasons.

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Connections

Referenced in Danger Zone: The Making of 'Top Gun' (2004)

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Soundtracks

Neutron Dance
Written by Allee Willis & Danny Sembello
Performed by The Pointer Sisters
Produced by Richard Perry
Courtesy of Planet Records

User Reviews

Axel Foley: Eddie Murphy's best role

Beverly Hills Cop was a big hit in the 1980's. The film was loved by many action fans, as well as comedy fans and movie buffs at the time. It is still being admired by many people as one of the funniest cop movies ever made.

The thing I love about this movie is that Eddie Murphy was perfectly cast as the Axel Foley character. Originally, Sylvester Stallone was considered for the role. Thank God he wasn't! Eddie Murphy was perfect for the role, because he can be a clever cop, and can at the same time be very funny! Another great thing about Beverly Hills Cop is its smashing soundtrack. There are some great hit songs from the 1980's featured in the soundtrack, as well as an excellent musical score which can be heard throughout the movie (to me, the musical score is the Beverly Hills Cop "theme song").

Perhaps the only downside of Beverly Hills Cop is that it can be pretty slow in certain scenes. Hardcore action fans would probably be disappointed by this. But let's face it: Beverly Hills Cop is not an all-out mindless action movie. It is actually a clever comedy with elements of action present within.

To conclude, Beverly Hills Cop is arguably Eddie Murphy's best film since he fits the Axel Foley character perfectly. There are many funny scenes featuring Eddie Murphy that will have people laughing (even the action scenes can be cleverly funny)!

P.S: Look out for cameos by Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot, and Damon Wayans!

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 December 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beverly Drive

Filming Locations:

2720 Grand River Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,214,805, 9 December 1984

Gross USA:

$234,760,478

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$316,360,478

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Eddie Murphy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1