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"Serpico" (1973), Directed by Sidney Lumet, Produced by Dino De Laurentiis, and Starring Al Pacino


DaveO

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Serpico, made in 1973 is one of my favorite movies of all time.  Intensity, morals, costume changes, Pacino's range of emotions, NYC, cops, danger, motorcycles, dogs, funky apartments, you name it.

Serpico has been on my radar since I was a child, but I still haven't seen it. The trailer doesn't move me (in fact, the thing I noticed the most was how short Al Pacino looks) - is there anything else you can say that might entice me to committing a couple of hours to this admittedly iconic film? My takeaway from the trailer is that the guy looks like a skank, but is in reality an honest cop, fighting a corrupt system - is this a correct synopsis?

Why is this one of your favorite movies? I'm not saying this to promote conversation; rather because I might want to watch it and I'm asking to be convinced.

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.....and so I will.   After posting this I read Porcupine's description of a film and among other things marveled at how much more articulate, informative, and inviting her description was than the one I wrote.

I could respond....trust me.....watch it.   But that doesn't do it justice.

.....and so I will provide a richer description of this epic performance

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SPOILER ALERT

In early 1971, Frank Serpico, a New York City Undercover Cop was shot in the face by one of the people being pursued during an attempted drug bust made with fellow cops.  The fellow cops did not call in the shooting.  It was called in by a neighbor.  Frank Serpico, a long term NY cop had refused to join in the widespread corruption in the police force and starting in 1967 had attempted to report it to authorities.   He was rebuffed numerous times.

Ultimately his fellow cops turned on him.  As a result of all these long term efforts, NYC initiated a widespread investigation of the NYC police force and ultimately made major changes in a force rife from top to bottom with corruption.

Serpico, the movie, made in 1973, starring the young Al Pacino, newly famous from his first starring role as Michael Corleone in the Godfather plays real life NYC cop Frank Serpico in this epic film.

It is the story of the lone "honest man" struggling in a dishonest world.  The story documents Serpico's experience in the police force from new rookie, to uniformed cop to undercover narcotics cop focusing on his years in the late 1960's and early 1970's.

Pacino does a marvelous job portraying both the intensity for which he is famous, the struggles of a cop trying first to just not be involved in the rampant corruption, the problems he faced in doing so as he aroused suspicions from fellow cops, his decision to report these problems, the struggles he faced during this period, his emotional struggles while coping.  His character ranges from quiet to raging, from mild to intense.

Its all highlighted by the period and the place;  The hippie culture of the late 60's and early 70's, NYC and Greenwich Village, and the unique environment among the police.

Pacino is magnetic, enthralling, and epic in this role.  On top of that the period piece is fun to watch as Pacino's many undercover disguises are simply magnificent.

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I'm purposely not reading your above post until I'm finished watching (which could be today, or sometime this week). I'm eight minutes into the film, and I'm noticing "Godfather-esque" things about it - yet, I looked, and neither De Laurentiis nor Lumet had anything to do with The Godfather (although I believe this film came out just a year afterwards). It's not just the presence of Pacino, so I can't really explain it - maybe De Laurentiis simply can't escape his Sicilian roots, or maybe the juggernaut that was The Godfather could not be ignored in such a film. Anyway, just a quick comment to let you know that whatever you wrote above will not be wasted - I've decided to watch the movie. Thanks!

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@Don:   Well I hope you enjoy it.  It does have similarity with the Godfather and it should.  After all they are both filmed around NY, they both star people of Italian descent with references to that upbringing/culture, they both deal with crime, and the time periods overlap.  BTW:  that trailer did nothing for me either.

On a side note.  I grew up in Northern NJ, roughly along the time period that the real Frank Serpico was a cop.  We lived in a house right around the corner from a real live Mafia big shot.  He was later indicted and found guilty of some crimes.  His father had been a big time gangster around the time of Al Capone with this story describing him and his house.  I recall around one Christmas a guy from our town who was both a high school classmate of my older brother and the biggest strongest bruiser on the football team, along with being a regional star in that sport,  was going around the neighborhood selling Christmas trees.   He knocked on the door of that house.  The grandfather answered with a shotgun.  The big bruiser spun, turned and ran, and he came around the corner, more or less to our house to get my brother.  Man, was he scared...and I don't blame him.

It was not a gentle environment.   ;)

Also, the comments on that article referenced above are fascinating.  A lot of people connected to the old man, Ritchie the boot, and his estate.  As a kid, I too snuck up to that estate, only to view it from afar, never to go inside.

Further edit:

Now I'm enthused.  The above referenced article led me to this fairly recently published book,  In the Godfather Garden which was written about the infamous father of our neighbor, Richie, "the boot" Boiardo.  From what I've read it seems Richie the boot, had to have been in his 70's visiting his son's house, brandishing a shotgun and scaring the wits out of the biggest strongest high school football player in my little town on and around Christmas one night in the 1960's.

It appears that Richie's lavish life style might have been part of the inspiration for the book the Godfather, and might also have been inspiration for the TV series The Soprano's.  Ritchie had a huge estate, enjoyed puttering around in his garden like the "GodFather" and reportedly ran the mafia in Newark NJ, covering the territory made famous by The Soprano's.  Ritchie escaped capture and the authorities and lived to the ripe old age of 93 free from prison, finally dying of natural causes.

I was about 8 years old when my parents moved to a house around the corner from Ritchie's son, Tony Boy.  I briefly recall playing with his eldest son, who I believe was a year or two younger than me.  Then his situation changed and I never recall seeing or playing with him in the neighborhood. My closest neighborhood friend was both a classmate and lived in a house that backed up to the Boiardo house.  I bet I played basketball, some kind of sport in the backyard, or was indoors playing pingpong hundreds of times...and yet I never recall seeing the Boiardo kids.  

I do recall my father getting in a slight car accident with Tony Boy, who promptly paid for all damages with cash so an insurance or police call never arose.   I think my father was grateful for the payment and for not having to pursue this through any further means.

Now none of this has anything to do with Serpico although it does touch on that Godfather reference you sensed in the movie, Don.  I think I'll have to purchase and read In the Godfather's Garden so as to learn all about my former neighbor.  It does appear that Ritchie the boot was a restaurateur back in the 1930's.  I'll bet that restaurant had dynamite Italian food.   ;)

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@Don:   Well I hope you enjoy it.  It does have similarity with the Godfather and it should.  After all they are both filmed around NY, they both star people of Italian descent with references to that upbringing/culture, they both deal with crime, and the time periods overlap.  BTW:  that trailer did nothing for me either.

I'm halfway through Serpico, and I'm not sure why you like it *so* much - I like what I'm watching, and I'm glad I'm watching it, but it's not blowing me away, on any level: on a superficial level, it's a little slow-paced; when I try to go deeper, I'm having trouble getting there.

Don't get me wrong - I like it, but I'm not in "one of my favorite movies ever" territory here. Could this be a hometown-favorite type of thing? Please inform.

(Some of my favorite artistic "things" I didn't like upon first viewing/listening/tasting, btw (this includes things such as "Unforgiven"), so I'm willing to go here.)

Also, I think Bob Blair looks like a tall Wayne Rogers (who, incidentally, stood well over six feet), but this is a distraction. I also love the scene where Blair comes in and suggests that they contact his friend at the New York Times, and Serpico goes ballistic, and then they get into a "Fuck You!" contest. The only time I've ever seen Pacino live was on Broadway in American Buffalo (by David Mamet, who I don't like much, if any, more than Quentin Tarantino), and this scene (which is, incidentally, precisely where I am in the film), reminds me of the rapid-fire dialogue (picture an R-rated "His Girl Friday") of that play.

---

ETA - OK, I'm starting to get into it more.

And do you know what's really scary? How much Serpico looks like Serpico (has anyone besides me seen "The Thin Blue Line?")

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I'm halfway through Serpico, and I'm not sure why you like it *so* much - I like what I'm watching, and I'm glad I'm watching it, but it's not blowing me away, on any level: on a superficial level, it's a little slow-paced; when I try to go deeper, I'm having trouble getting there.

Okay, I finished it tonight, and liked it a lot - I'm not sure why it took me so long to get into, but once I did, it became riveting and inescapable. *Thank you* for the nudge - I might never have seen this film otherwise. It's almost hard to imagine I wrote this just a couple of hours ago - I think this needs to be absorbed in one sitting, as opposed to 20 minutes here, 15 minutes there, etc.

I'm halfway through Serpico, and I'm not sure why you like it *so* much - I like what I'm watching, and I'm glad I'm watching it, but it's not blowing me away, on any level: on a superficial level, it's a little slow-paced; when I try to go deeper, I'm having trouble getting there.

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And do you know what's really scary? How much Serpico looks like Serpico

Go to that link, and do a find on Pussycat.

So, it looks like Serpico walked out on Lumet because the swirly (Google it) apparently never happened. Serpico (in real life) sounded very temperamental and territorial (I can't really blame him for wanting to stick with the facts as they happened, especially if he was caught off-guard in dealing with Hollywood). When you have a story you want told, losing editorial control is a bummer-and-a-half.

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