Blue Steel (1990)

A female rookie in the police force must engage in a cat-and-mouse game with a pistol-wielding psychopath who becomes obsessed with her.

Director:

Kathryn Bigelow

Writers:

Kathryn Bigelow, Eric Red

Stars:

Jamie Lee Curtis, Ron Silver, Clancy Brown

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Megan Turner
Ron Silver	...	Eugene Hunt
Clancy Brown	...	Nick Mann
Elizabeth Peña	...	Tracy Perez (as Elizabeth Pena)
Louise Fletcher	...	Shirley Turner
Philip Bosco	...	Frank Turner
Kevin Dunn	...	Asst. Chief Stanley Hoyt
Richard Jenkins	...	Attorney Mel Dawson
Markus Flanagan	...	Husband (as Markus Flannagan)
Mary Mara	...	Wife
Skipp Lynch	...	Instructor
Mike Hodge	...	Police Commissioner
Mike Starr	...	Superintendant
Chris Walker	...	Officer Jeff Travers
Tom Sizemore	...	Wool Cap

Storyline

On her first day on the job, NYPD officer Megan Turner, the lone officer on the scene, shoots and kills the perpetrator of a supermarket hold-up. Since no gun was found on the perpetrator's person or at the scene and none of the witnesses could corroborate Megan's story definitively that the perpetrator was indeed wielding a gun, she is suspended from active duty. She is quickly albeit temporarily reinstated to the position of homicide detective because the spent shell casing from the bullet used in a subsequent murder had her name carved on it. This murder ends up being only the first in a series. Working on the case with fellow homicide detective Nick Mann, Megan initially has no idea who in her life could be the murderer. In short order, the murderer does show himself to her. He is commodities trader Eugene Hunt who she met immediately following her suspension and who she has since dated. He also implies to her that he was in the supermarket at the time of the hold-up and that he ...

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Plot Keywords:

f rated | rape | new york city | neo noir | supermarket | 

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Taglines:

A psychological action thriller as cold as... Blue Steel!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 March 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Acero azul

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$8,220,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lightning Pictures,Precision Films,Mack-Taylor Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Wilhelm von Homburg was considered to play Eugene Hunt but was unavailable to be reached after Ghostbusters 2 in which he played Vigo the carpathian.

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Goofs

When Megan and Eugene are in the helicopter flying over the city, the red rotating beacon light is flashing in the passenger compartment where they are sitting. The red rotating beacons are located on the top and bottom of the fuselage of all aircraft and cannot be seen from the passenger compartment.

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Quotes

Nick Mann: Y'know what I love about this city? You can throw a stick up in the air and it'll land on a taxi or an ambulance.

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Connections

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

User Reviews

Well-produced film had promise, but end results are shameful...

Eager rookie cop Jamie Lee Curtis has just graduated from the police academy and now walks down the street in her uniform with a satisfied smile on her face. These early moments in "Blue Steel" are incredibly bracing, giving Curtis some of the best moments she's ever had as an actress. The background information on her character (who lived in an abusive household) is unconvincing and sketchy, but one wants to like this movie so much that it can pass. What doesn't pass is Ron Silver's embarrassingly written and acted role as a stocks trader-turned-psychopath who becomes obsessed with Curtis after he watches her blow away a supermarket gunman. Silver, who later "chances" to meet Jamie Lee and romances her, is cruelly exposed by this lame-duck script and by director Kathryn Bigelow's anything-for-a-jolt handling. The picture is exceptionally well-made and had a great deal going for it initially, but slowly its potential leaks out, until there's nothing left on the screen but idiocy. *1/2 from ****