While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness and redemption.
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A timid and mute seamstress goes insane after being attacked and raped twice in one day, in which she takes to the streets of New York City after dark and randomly shoots men with a .45 caliber pistol.
A New York philosophy grad student turns into a vampire after getting bitten by one, and then tries to come to terms with her new lifestyle and frequent craving for human blood.
Director:
Abel Ferrara
Stars:
Lili Taylor,
Christopher Walken,
Annabella Sciorra
Maas and Hosaka are two large Corporations in the future world. They are fighting to get control over the best minds of the world. The best is Hiroshi and at the moment he is working for ... See full summary »
Director:
Abel Ferrara
Stars:
Christopher Walken,
Willem Dafoe,
Asia Argento
In the 30's, in New York, the coffin of the leftist gangster Johnny Tempio is brought to the house of his older brother Ray for the wake of family and friends. Ray is a cold gangster that ... See full summary »
Director:
Abel Ferrara
Stars:
Christopher Walken,
Chris Penn,
Annabella Sciorra
A modern day Romeo & Juliet story is told in New York when an Italian boy and a Chinese girl become lovers, causing a tragic conflict between ethnic gangs.
Director:
Abel Ferrara
Stars:
James Russo,
Richard Panebianco,
Sari Chang
A New York City film director, working on his latest movie in Los Angeles, begins to reflect the actions in his movie and real-life, especially when he begins an affair with the lead actress.
A police Lieutenant goes about his daily tasks of investigating homicides, but is more interested in pursuing his vices. He has accumulated a massive debt betting on baseball, and he keeps doubling to try to recover. His bookies are beginning to get agitated. The Lieutenant does copious amounts of drugs, cavorts with prostitutes, and uses his status to take advantage of teenage girls. While investigating a nun's rape, he begins to reflect on his lifestyle.Written by
Ed Sutton <esutton@mindspring.com>
Abel Ferrara said a scene that epitomized the movie for him, even though he never got around to filming it, was one where the Lieutenant robs an electronics store, leaves, then gets a call about a robbery at the electronics store. He responds in an official capacity (they don't recognize him), takes a statement, walks out, and throws the statement in the garbage. "And that to me is the Bad Lieutenant, you know?" Ferrara said. See more »
Goofs
Just as the lieutenant is leading the boys into the train station near the end of the film, a cab driver (obviously not a paid extra) is seen waving to the camera. See more »
Quotes
[crying to a hallucination of Jesus Christ]
The Lieutenant:
I'm sorry, Lord. I've done so many bad things.
See more »
SIGNIFYING RAPPER
(uncredited)
Written by Schooly-D (as Jesse Bonds Weaver, Jr.)
Performed by Schooly-D (as Schoolly D)
Courtesy of Jive Records / Zomba See more »
'Bad Lieutenant' is not an easy film to watch. The lead character on the surface has no redeeming virtues - he's corrupt, he's sexually and morally deviant, he is really and truly on the slide. A nun's rape is supposed to awaken his conscience in some way and affect him so deeply that he almost gets to be a decent citizen, but for the bleak and empty ending.
All this would be so much hogwash if it wasn't for the stunning lead performance of Harvey Keitel, certainly taking his acting talent right to the edge to give us a nothing-held-back portrait of his character. There are several scenes of great power (and one or two which are deeply repellent); certainly this isn't a film you can easily forget when you've seen it.
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'Bad Lieutenant' is not an easy film to watch. The lead character on the surface has no redeeming virtues - he's corrupt, he's sexually and morally deviant, he is really and truly on the slide. A nun's rape is supposed to awaken his conscience in some way and affect him so deeply that he almost gets to be a decent citizen, but for the bleak and empty ending.
All this would be so much hogwash if it wasn't for the stunning lead performance of Harvey Keitel, certainly taking his acting talent right to the edge to give us a nothing-held-back portrait of his character. There are several scenes of great power (and one or two which are deeply repellent); certainly this isn't a film you can easily forget when you've seen it.