I think of this movie as something of a portrait. It paints a picture of life in the 41st Precinct of the NYPD, in the centre of a run down 40 block neighbourhood in the South Bronx, full of drug addicts and prostitutes and pimps and various and sundry other undesirable elements, mixed together with poverty and racial prejudice. In that sense it paints a pretty good picture, although I have to concede that I've never been in the South Bronx, and certainly not in 1981, when this movie was made, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of the portrait, but the movie has a gritty, hard edged realistic feel to it that certainly pulls the viewer in. Saying that this is a portrait, however, points also to the inherent weakness of the movie: it lacks a consistent narrative structure; there really isn't any particular "story" being told. To the extent that there's a plot holding this together it revolves around the killing of two rookie cops, and the desire of the police to track down the killer. That lacks suspense for the viewer, though, because we know from the beginning who the murderer is. It's not a secret. There are other "stories" - but again they have a "portrait" feel to them. There are stories of corrupt cops, the story of Murphy's girlfriend, the killing of the kid who got thrown off the top of the building, the story of Captain Connolly trying to establish some order as the 41st's new commander. The movie sometimes seemed jumpy; it lacked flow.
What it did have were good performances from Paul Newman as Murphy and Edward Asner as Connolly, and memorable performances as well from Rachel Ticotin as Murphy's girlfriend Isabella, and Pam Grier as the cop killing prostitute. I remember seeing this movie many years ago when it first was released, and enjoying it very much, and then only recently coming across it again quite by accident (even though I had looked for it from time to time) in a bargain DVD bin at Wal-Mart! It must have done something right to hold my interest for so long, and the strong performances and realistic feel really more than make up for the lack of a consistent storyline. 7/10
What it did have were good performances from Paul Newman as Murphy and Edward Asner as Connolly, and memorable performances as well from Rachel Ticotin as Murphy's girlfriend Isabella, and Pam Grier as the cop killing prostitute. I remember seeing this movie many years ago when it first was released, and enjoying it very much, and then only recently coming across it again quite by accident (even though I had looked for it from time to time) in a bargain DVD bin at Wal-Mart! It must have done something right to hold my interest for so long, and the strong performances and realistic feel really more than make up for the lack of a consistent storyline. 7/10