Blue Steel (1990)

A 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:

new york city | neo noir | police | female cop | chase | 

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Taglines:

A Point Blank Thriller

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite the lack of financial success, the performances of Jamie Lee Curtis and Ron Silver received acclaim.

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Goofs

When the detectives find the suspect digging around in the park dirt for his buried gun they stake out the park by sitting in their car rather than calling in a metal detector to find the gun.

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Quotes

Eugene Hunt: I want you to see it... the light... then nothing.
Nick Mann: Up yours you fucking freak.

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Connections

Referenced in Micmacs (2009)

User Reviews

Underrated 90's Gem.

When rookie cop Megan Turner (Jamie Lee Curtis) kills a convenience store robber, she does not notice when psychopathic commodities trader Eugene Hunt (Ron Silver) takes the dead man's gun. With no weapon at the crime scene, the police hold Turner accountable for killing an unarmed man. Meanwhile, Hunt uses the stolen weapon to go on a killing spree. Turner teams up with detective Nick Mann (Clancy Brown) to clear her name and catch the killer. An unexpected romance complicates matters.

The plot is a little of "Fatal Attraction," a little of "Jagged Edge" and a little of "Wall Street." It works because it's so audacious in combining elements that don't seem to belong together. Blue Steel captures a certain moment in the 1990s when the psychosexual thriller reigned supreme, with a blending of sensuality and menace. It's a fairly run-of-the-mill premise thats reinforced by Bigelow's disruption of narrative conventions, preserving the psycho-sexual ambiguities throughout, Bigelow's seductively stylish, wildy fetishistic thriller is proof that a woman can enter a traditionally male world and, like Megan, beat men at their own game. Jamie Lee Curtis makes Megan so appealing and real that the film holds together even when it has no reason to.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 March 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blue Steel

Filming Locations:

Le Boeuf a la Mode, 539 East 81st St, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,895,744, 18 March 1990

Gross USA:

$8,217,997

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,217,997

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