Cheap Serpico (DVD) (Al Pacino, John Randolph) (Sidney Lumet) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Serpico

One Man vs. Citywide Corruption
Out of all the performances he did in the 1970s, Al Pacino's amazing, realistic performance in Sidney Lumet's 1973 film SERPICO is by far his most underrated. Even though the movie was a success and critics praise this as one of Pacino's best roles (I would agree to that), SERPICO was sandwiched in between the two GODFATHER movies which contained Pacino's most famous role of Michael Corleone. It seems that some have forgotten this film, but luckily I read about it recently and now have discovered how great this movie really is. It was also a groundbreaking motion picture - the first movie ever to expose police corruption among the NYC departments. Corruption was known to exist in police departments, but it remained largely underground and unknown to the public. When the original book was published followed by the film version which became SERPICO, it exposed the public to a hidden evil that was lurking right under their noses and how one honest cop tried to change all that for good.

The film is based on a true story, on the life of Frank Serpico (Pacino). It begins in the late '60s and ends in 1972, during Serpico's five-year ordeal as a NYC undercover cop. When we first see Frank in his younger years, graduating from training, he's an idealistic man who wants to help people. It's clear from the start that Serpico is not your average policeman: he is honest, a do-gooder, wants to help people, by-the-book, and his facial and top hair are extravagant. He hates wearing the uniform and becomes a part of the plainclothes division. As time rolls on, Serpico notices that various police officers are taking money from criminals as well as bribes, and also beat the criminals mercilessly. It's all drug money or the like, and Serpico wants no part of it. Throughout the movie, he constantly ignores the copious bribes offered to him by his peers. Thus, Serpico hops from precinct to precinct hoping to work with honest cops, but it turns out that every precinct in the city is even worse than the last one. Frank wants to expose this police corruption, but his so-called "friends" give him false promises and drive him towards frustration. He begins to snap, it damages his relationships, and when he says that he is all alone in this case, you can't help but believe him.

Serpico's story is not a triumphant one. For all the good he tried to do and for all the effort he tried to do to put an end to rampant corruption, he is constantly spit on for his actions. Pacino really gives an effective performance throughout. He starts off as a nice, humble guy who wants to do the right thing at the beginning, and by the end the right thing almost causes him to lose his life. This is a really great showcase for Pacino's talent. Sidney Lumet directs the film with gritty expertise. You really feel like you're there in New York circa 1970 and it just adds to the painful, grim realism of the film. The special features on the DVD are also good, the best of which is a short but rewarding two-part documentary on the making of the film.

SERPICO is a towering achievement. It deserves more credit that it gets. Here is a movie that features one of our greatest actors in prime form and a wrenching story told the way the real Frank Serpico would've wanted it: honest.

---

A Disappointment from Two Cinema Greats
Any film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino should be great, but "Serpico" is mediocre at best. Chronicling the true-life story of Frank Serpico, a police officer who exposed corruption in the NYPD, the film comes from that exquisite golden age of cinema, lasting from the late '60s through the late '70s, when paranoia infected the country and our most trusted and honored institutions were becoming suspect. It's got the grainy, neo-realistic feel that so many of the films from that time period had (and as many of Lumet's own films had), yet it never really works. Lumet's pacing is poor; no scene lasts longer than a minute or two. While one would think this would make for a film with some narrative drive to it, just the opposite happens. It's as if in the editing room all of the important parts of each scene got left out, and what we've been given as a final product is an outline of Serpico's story. No characters beyond Pacino's is really developed, and even he struggles to make something substantial out of his role. This came directly on the heels of "The Godfather" from the year before, the film that put Pacino on the map. "Serpico" gives testament to Pacino's abilities and range as an actor; his performance is quite different from that of Michael Corleone. But for me, it's not until his mesmerizing performance in "Dog Day Afternoon" from 1975 that Pacino really flexes his acting muscles and shows what a true cinematic treasure he is.

26 years later, Pacino was to star in "The Insider," another thriller where he played a character who helps to expose corruption, this time in the world of corporate America. My advice is to see "Serpico" for the place it holds in Pacino's career, but then see "The Insider" for a suspenseful, terrific movie.

Grade: C

---

Nothing to wonderful
I did'nt like this one to much. Al Pacino's character is ok. There where only a few parts in the movie, where he really did an amazing job. The story plot did'nt make sence, it kept jumping around, Pacino looked like a horrible Charlies Manson, look-a-like. Don't waste your time.