Cruising (Deluxe Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Cruising (Deluxe Edition)
Movie Review: A review and a poem
Summary: 4 Stars
The VHS tape I rented of this film was excellent; I bought the DVD not so much for a better print, as to hear Friedkin's voiceover of the film. There are confusing things in it, I thought; perhaps Friedkin will explajn them. Although it is very intersting to hear almost all of what Friedkin says (and he analyses almost every scene in detail), a summary might be: an intelligent viewer will agreee with Socretes that a wise man knows he knows nothing! Things I thought I understood were not meant to be understood, but to raise more questions.
This doesn't mzke the film, or the commentary, any less fascinating. It's also interesting to know that the film was lagely made as a real slice of life in that the leather bars, the hotel, and the minor actors (not acting)--were all real, and filmed on location, in 1979.
The opposition to the making of the film, expressed in demonstrations by sections of the gay community in New York, are understandable ("Don't we have ENOUGH troubles?"), but objectively speaking, for anyone to take this film as representing the whole of gay life, at any time, would be the equivelent of watching an episode of "The Sopranos," and concluding that all Italian-Americans made huge amounts of money dealing mostly illegally in mostly illegal goods, and that none of them had any understanding of the value of human life.
The following poem came about with the realization that "Master and Commander" and "Cruising" end with exactly the same part of the same Boccherini quartet, and my initial consternation that I was not going to be told any more about the plot of the film than I already knew. In fact--less!
There is one added line of dialogue, and some minor, but nifty special effects.
Boccherini Quartet
Two men, a captain and his first mate,
Sit in the captain's cabin, and play Boccherini,
The captain with his viola, the mate with an instrument
I would call a cello--were it not so long ago. It is
The most tuneful part of the quartet, ending in a
Feathery lightness, as the scene dissolves to their four-masted ship
Becoming little more than a spot on the great ocean.
A pretty girl puts a phonograph record on--why,
The captain and the first mate are still playing, after all!
They have begun their tune again.
As she tries on a killer's hat, and her boyfriend's leather jacket,
He is shaving in the bathroom mirror, and catches his own eyes there.
Those great, dark eyes, thoughtful at first, and then, questioning: who am I now? Their question overrides their sophistication, and the scene moves to
The Hudson River, outside the window, as a dirty yellow tugboat
Passes in front of the setting sun, to the feathery lightness
Of the music.
ADDENDA: yes, well, that's all very well. But Friedkin's screenplay acknowledges being based on a 1970 novel by Gerald Walker, which is a horror beyond your imagining--according to Russo (who occasionally makes mistakes). According to Vito Russo ("The Celluloid Closet"--the BOOK), because of the ambiguity of the film, it is possible to interpret the film this way: In Walker's book, a policeman goes undercover to trap a killer of homosexual men, and in the process, discovers his own homosexuality--and starts killing gays himself. According to Russo, homosexuality in the book is spread like being a vampire (one bite does the trick), and the book is not about "Cruising" being violent (which in itself is bad enough as a theory), but about homosexuality itself being violent. For homophobes, ordinary, and gay people with this book in the back of their minds, THIS WILL NOT DO, obviously. Friedkin has changed the focus of his film--to soft. Pacino's character's sexuality may change (reveal itself as other than he thought it to be), and it may not. The "serial killer" turns out to be several killers (the killers are played by different actors)--WHY?, Pacino may have killed his friend (the last murder in the film)--though God knows why.
Friedkin perhaps should have hung his script on a less horrifying book. However much he has changed, or softened it, it remains confusing--and open to the interpretation that Walker gave his novel. I like confusion, but being told that my lifestyle, or sexual proclivities, leads to self-hatred and hatred of him "who made me that way"--doesn't sit well at all.
More addenda:
A: My mother made me a homosexual!
B: Oh! If I buy the yarn--will she make me one too?
Movie Review: Not nearly as bad as its reputation suggests
Summary: 4 Stars
Back in 1980, this William Friedkin shocker caused such a controversy that it seemed that everyone condemned it. The gay community was in an uproar over "Cruising"'s frank display of male sexuality and what amounted for many to be the generalization of a "lurid" gay lifestyle depicted in the film. The religous community followed with their own uproar over many of the same issues (albeit for different reasons). The movie was further slammed by critics and audiences alike, who either found the film to be homphobic, dull, nasty, and/or overly sensational. Personally, I think that critics, in particular, were disappointed because they found "Cruising" to be a major step down from William Friedkin's previous hits ("The Exorcist" and "The French Connection"). However, after viewing the recently released DVD of the deluxe edition, I have to say that "Cruising" is not nearly as bad as it's reputation might suggest. First of all, as a gay man who was recently out and about in 1980, I don't think that the gay culture of the time is misrepresented here. Friedkin made the film shortly before the spectre of AIDS descended upon the community, and there was a wide open, hedonistic sexuality that seemed to be prevalent in every aspect of gay life. The homosexuality depicted in "Cruising" was in context with the reality of the times, regardless of what revisionists may proclaim. I remember being very disturbed, at the time, by the hypocrisy of gay leaders who wanted to deny the overt sexuality that was a fact of our existence.
Second of all, I don't find "Cruising" to be a dull film. While I don't find it to be erotic, or exciting in the tradition of other detective films of the time--there are no car chases ala "The French Connection"--I do think that it is an effective psychological thriller detailing one man's very dark journey into unknown territory, encompassing both his environment and his very heart and soul. Al Pacino is surprisingly good as Steve Burns, a plucky, green young cop selected by his superior officer (Paul Sorvino) to go undercover and track down a serial killer of gay men frequenting S&M clubs, parks, and sex shops. After his performances in the Godfather films, "Dog Day Afternoon", and "Serpico", among others, it's interesting to note that Pacino was able to bring the depth of believable naivete to his character; it makes the character's transformation all the more shocking. Paul Sorvino also delivers a first-rate performance as Pacino's boss, a longtime cop who always seems to be withholding something (information, concern, money). A pre-"Indiana Jones" Karen Allen is also on hand as Pacino's girlfriend, although her scene of primary impact is reserved for the final seconds of the film.
The quality of the deluxe edition is pristine, with the gorgeously restored cinematography suggesting that the film is of more recent vintage than 1980. Yet, the clothes, hairstyles, scenes of New York street life--all suggest a New York of another time, not so long ago, yet long gone, in so many ways.
I don't have any major problems with "Cruising", certainly not the ambiguous ending nor the fact that not all the loose ends are neatly tied up for the viewer. I actually prefer it that way, and it makes for a more interesting experience that is open to interpretation. And it's interesting that about half the people on the screen actually look like Pacino and there are scenes where you think that you're watching Pacino, only to discover that it's somebody else. And vice versa. And sometimes you're never 100% certain who you're watching. I think it's an interesting idea because it forces the viewer to come to his own conclusions, it doesn't offer easy answers. The same goes for the film's suggestion that there may be multiple killers--again, the viewer is forced (like the police at the end of the film) to draw his or her own conclusions. "Cruising" is, in may ways, a demanding film with characters that many may find disagreeable or downright unlikeable. I like "Cruising" because it does make you think and because it offers no apologies, no easy way out.
Movie Review: Long overdue release of a controversial thriller
Summary: 4 Stars
This review is about the actual features contained on the Deluxe Edition that is due for release in September 2007. This marks the long overdue release of this controversial film on DVD, and it is good to see that there shall be plenty of extra features, since I have been arguing with other people about the meaning of this film's ending since its release in 1980. Cruising stars Al Pacino as a cop who infiltrates the homosexual S&M night life scene in order to solve a murder. Unable to just leave his work at the office in this case, the experience begins to affect his whole life - his outlook, his relationship with his girlfriend, everything. This is one of those love-it-or-hate-it movies. Few people come out on the fence on this one. It is a shocking dark film any way you approach it, but it is also just about the first major motion picture to portray homosexual men as strong masculine types, not just as the effeminite stereotypes that had been characteristic of the role since the birth of motion pictures. The soundtrack for this film has been remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 and includes the following extra features:
Commentary by Director William Friedkin
2 New Featurettes: "The History of Cruising" and "Exorcising Cruising"
Original Theatrical trailer
Languages: English & Spanish
Subtitles: English, French, and Spanish (feature film only)
Director William Friedkin has personally supervised the creation of an all new high-definition master and new 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track for the release with the new director's commentary. Eminent documentarian Laurent Bouzerou is the creator of the included featurettes which contain interviews with actors and filmmakers who provide thorough perspective on the incidents surrounding the production. In addition to Friedkin and producer Jerry Weintraub, participants include editor Bud Smith, actors Don Scardino (Ted Bailey) and James Remar (Gregory), and real-life cops Randy Jurgensen (Det. Lefransky) and Sonny Grosso (Det. Blasio). The bad news is that the 40 minutes of deleted scenes that were removed from Cruising 26 years ago at the behest of the MPAA have not been restored in this release. The information on these special features is from a press release from Warner Home Video.
Movie Review: Why all the angst over this film & others like it?
Summary: 4 Stars
"Crusing'"was a film that was both a crime drama and a social statement..it succeeded on both levels,but perhaps because it succeeded as a social statement it took unnecessary,politically correct heat...A nutcase is dismembering gay men...the police call upon a new detective,played by Al Pacino,to find him by faking it as a homosexual..Pacino follows leads through the'80s leather bar scene and,in the process,may begiving in to latent gay strains existing within himself...
The gay community was outraged by this film,as if,for starters,there could never be a gay murderer who randomly slaughters and dismembers other gays...Flapdoodle...there have been quite a few real-life homosexual murderers,whose mentality and whose crimes are every inch as disgusting as the ones depicted here,but,worse,unlike the killer depicted here,they were real...John Wayne Gacy comes to mind,among others...Then there have been the snipes directed towards Pacino,especially his dance scene..Now,honestly,does ANYONE out there think that,for an apparent straight guy,a cop no less(no matter that,latently,he may be otherwise)becoming a gay overnight,as it were,is as easy as turning a light-switch on and off?I defy any of these critics,straight or gay,to just up and relocate themselves into that other culture and see if they just fit right in right away...
Films that say or suggest uncomfortable truths about "fringe"cultures seem vulnerable to attacks by the politically correct police force out there...There can be no stereotypes...Gays must ALWAYS appear to be"just like the rest of us"even if,by definition,they are not...likewise there can be no cheap jews,no drunk Irish,no ignorant or violent blacks,ect ect...Apparently wish-fulfillment is more important than reality to the thought police...This film suggested that maybe the gay lifestyle was not all that it was cranked up to be...Straights recoiled from some of the representations because they were,well,offensive,while gays saw these same scenes as representing the loophole truths that they would prefer not to have been made so public..
When this film finally does get to DVD see it...it is hard-edged,and uncompromising,but it it worth the price of admission...
Movie Review: One of my favorites
Summary: 4 Stars
I've always enjoyed "Cruising", Billy Friedkin's opus on violence, male homosexuality, leather and all things bizarre. Right from that great line, "Have you ever been porked?" between stars Paul Sorvino and a fresh-faced Al Pacino, this film draws me in like few others.
While the police action and the chase mystery are interesting, what I enjoy most about this film is Pacino's transformation from all-American boy cop to undercover cop to feigning homosexuality in the leather underground of New York and the changes he goes through to get there. The script suggests he and girlfriend Karen Allen lose their love life in the process; how could they not? Try chaning your sexual orientation sometime for the focus of your job.
The scene between investigative chieftain Sorvino and his boss, who makes it clear to Paul that he either catches the killer by the time of the upcoming 1980 political convention or "I'll put someone in your seat who can do just that" adds an element or reality to the film, which straddles the line between fantasy and reality much of the time.
After being given the ultimatum, Sorvino turns up the heat on his undercover cop turning gay man, Pacino. In a touching and dramatic scene, Sorvino not only turns down Pacino's request to be released from the case, he hands him potential new leads and in effect says, "Catch this guy."
So, for me, this film is full of human realities and conflicts that make it a great film. This transcends the somewhat mundane material -- the norish police drama focused on catching a serial killer in the gay leather underground -- that makes it a compelling film about people and situations and how the two come together in art.
One thing I've never understood -- the ending. All seems well afterward, but is it? Does the tug in the harbor signal some rumbling beneath the surface? Or does this signal a return to normalcy for everyone. This is the kind of emotion Friedkin generated in all his films. Since no sequel was produced, I may go to my grave wondering about this. If so, I'll be pleased to watch this film another half-dozen or dozen times trying to piece this together.