Cruising (Deluxe Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Cruising (Deluxe Edition)
Movie Review: 2.5 stars out of 4
Summary: 3 Stars
The Bottom Line:
Cruising's problem isn't that it's too controversial, or too exploitative, or too dated--its problem is that it's just not a very compelling movie; with a central mystery that isn't interesting and an enigma of a lead character in Pacino's Steve Burns, the movie simply fails to engage the audience.
Movie Review: Unbelievable
Summary: 3 Stars
I read an article about this movie, when it recently came out on DVD. I had never heard of it. I love Pacino and had to see it. I thought it was a great. It realy seemed to be ahead of its time. It i shard to believe that some of those images were on the mainstream big screen, when the movie was originally released.Movie Review: Crusing in the 80's
Summary: 3 Stars
I liked the suspense but I'm not sure of the ending. Left too many questions. I was surprised with the graffic nature for a 80's movie.Movie Review: Heavily Flawed Crime Drama Became More a Firebrand for the Pre-AIDS Gay Community
Summary: 2 Stars
Just before the outbreak of AIDS came this lightning rod of a thriller from director/screenwriter William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist), a grisly murder mystery set deep within Lower Manhattan's gay, S&M subculture. It comes as no surprise that it has taken so long for this 1980 movie to come to DVD because it is difficult to watch just as much for the weak storytelling as its more unsavory elements. Based on a 1970 novel by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker, it is heavy on atmosphere, which Friedkin and cinematographer James Contner realistically capture in often graphic detail, but extremely light on character development. This turns out to be the film's ultimate deficiency since it is hard to assess what motivates a lot of the characters' actions beyond the plot circumstances.
A serial killer is on the loose in the aptly named meat packing district, and Captain Edelson assigns ambitious young cop Steve Burns to go undercover to find him. Burns pretends to be a gay commercial artist named John Forbes and immediately befriends his neighbor Ted to get to know the area. Soon enough he enters the underground leather bar scene and is simultaneously shocked and intrigued by what he sees and experiences. In hindsight, these scenes still have punch but now have an added layer of emotional complexity with the spread of the AIDS crisis. At the same time, Friedkin spends too much time on this aspect of the story at the expense of the crime drama itself. What happens is that plot points rush by with one innocent suspect brutalized at the police station and then an overlong sequence when the real killer is revealed and methodically pursued. All the while, Burns keeps his girlfriend Nancy in the dark about his undercover work, while he grapples with aspects of his own identity. This is where the story gets the most muddled, and the overly ambiguous ending is the result.
In 1980, Al Pacino suffered a temporary career setback playing Burns, but his relatively subtle performance is actually one of the film's redeeming qualities. As Edelson, Paul Sorvino is a somber presence, while Richard Cox does what he can playing a man driven by his father's disapproval. Karen Allen, just before hitting it big in Raiders of the Lost Ark, has little to do but look understandably confused as Nancy. Friedkin provides a detailed and fairly interesting commentary track on the 2007 DVD. There are two featurettes - "The History of Cruising" and Exorcising Cruising" - which run a combined 43 minutes and better explain the film's genesis and the firebrand reception to the production and the release. Friedkin participates as do several members of the cast and crew (though sadly not Pacino). In 2007, the film provides curiosity value more than anything else.
Movie Review: Gritty, silly, strange, psychodelic, boring, weird....
Summary: 2 Stars
I'll watch anything with Al Pacino. So when Cruising came out when I was 13, I talked my parents into taking me, without any knowledge what the film was about(the TV spots were obscure, as you can imagine). About half way through the film my parents took me home, much to my relief. However, they thought there was something "wrong" with me for wanting to see the film in the first place. I tried to explain that I had no idea the film's subject matter, which was the truth. Ironically, when I came out four years later I think they actually blamed the film. Haha!
So a few years later when I was old enough to rent the film on my own, I watched it all the way through. I'm a big Exorcist fan and Pacino fan, so I thought this film would be a grand slam, but it was endlessly strange to the point of confusing, and despite some intriguing visual shocks, it was basically flat and boring. Although the film does portray homosexuals as eithef effeminate or hyper masculine leathermen, I don't find it "homophobic" anymore than I find Animal House heterophobic (Animal House doesn't exactly show the heterosexual community in the best light either). Anyone who sees this film and assumes that's how gay people act aren't worth much effort convincing anyway. The acting is below par, the script nonsensicle, the direction choppy. About the only redeeming quality of the film is the cinematography. I would reccommend this film only if you are curious how wacked out a filmaker can get. If you are looking for a good police drama, I'd suggest you save your money and watch CSI on TV.