Blue City (1986)

Returning to the small Florida town where he grew up, Billy Turner (Nelson) learns that his father has been killed. With little help from the police, Billy will take matters into his own ... See full summary »

Director:

Michelle Manning

Writers:

Ross Macdonald (novel), Lukas Heller (screenplay)

Stars:

Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, David Caruso

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Judd Nelson	...	Billy Turner
Ally Sheedy	...	Annie Rayford
David Caruso	...	Joey Rayford
Paul Winfield	...	Chief Luther Reynolds
Scott Wilson	...	Perry Kerch
Anita Morris	...	Malvina Kerch-Turner
Luis Contreras	...	Lieutenant Ortiz
Julie Carmen	...	Debbie Torres
Allan Graf	...	Graf
Hank Stone	...	Hank (as Hank Woessner)
Tommy 'Tiny' Lister	...	Tiny (as Tommy Lister Jr.)
Rex Ryon	...	Rex
Felix Nelson	...	Caretaker
Willard E. Pugh	...	Leroy
Sam Whipple	...	Jailer

Storyline

Returning to the small Florida town where he grew up, Billy Turner (Nelson) learns that his father has been killed. With little help from the police, Billy will take matters into his own hands and go up against a ruthless local mob boss in a desperate search to find the killer.

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Plot Keywords:

police | florida | motorcycle cop | casino | two on a motorcycle | 

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Taglines:

It's below Miami and above the law.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 May 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ciudad corrompida

Filming Locations:

San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,748,096, 4 May 1986

Gross USA:

$6,947,787

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Michelle Manning once said of this film in late 1986 to the Los Angeles Times: "I was out there pretty much on my own. In retrospect, I do think the critics were more tough on me than they had to be. I'm not a war criminal. I don't think many directors' first films are perfect. Maybe the timing wasn't right. There was a lot of 'brat-pack' backlash".

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Connections

Referenced in Psych: Zero to Murder in Sixty Seconds (2007)

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Soundtracks

Love Theme from The Godfather
Music by Nino Rota

User Reviews

"I either confuse people or p!ss them off."

Other than some noteworthy names attached to the project (Judd Nelson, David Caruso, Ally Sheedy, Paul Winfield, Scott Wilson and filmmaker Walter Hill), "Blue City" is a by-the-numbers, but unscrupulous dramatic thriller that involves a lot of bruising beat-ups and heated confrontations as it has Judd Nelson as a real rebellious young drifter returning back to his home town to find out his well-regarded father was murdered and the police had done little about it because of the lack of evidence. So with the help of a friend or two he takes it upon himself to stir up a ruckus with the local heavies to hopefully to find his father's killer. Nelson's disruptively brooding character spends most of the time instigating conflicts and getting into tit for tat situations by waging a criminal war to get some point across. Questionable methods indeed, but it provides constant brutality and a furiously nippy edge over the use of growing suspense and mystery. Nearly every character involved with the exception of Ally Sheedy is quite nasty or have shades… even our supposed heroes. As for Sheedy's character, she felt nothing more than a padded distraction in the usual love interest angle and in the end could have been rubbed out. There are some good performances. Scott Wilson provided some sparks in his villainous local mob role with Tommy 'Tiny' Lister as one of his henchman. A stoic Paul Winfield is solid and Anita Morris brings a nervous energy. Walter Hill's co-written screenplay is uneven (some things making little sense) and foreseeable in its plot twists (where it seems like easy come, easy go), but the script keeps the dialogues blunt and simple. The choice of setting is ideal with some scenic Florida shots, as the humidity goes down well with the tension that's boiling over between the parties involved. Director Michelle Manning handling is rather tight, but pretty cut and dry. Ry Cooder provides the upbeat music score that embellishes the environment and ordeals, although it can be rigid and overwrought. Reasonably mindless fodder