Themes: Police Corruption, Drug Addiction, Redemption
Main Cast: Harvey Keitel, Frankie Thorn, Zoe Tamerlis, Anthony Ruggiero, Victoria Bastel, Eddie Daniels
Release Year: 1992
Country: US
Run Time: 98 minutes
MPAA Rating: NC17
Plot
If police lieutenant Harvey Keitel's life could get any more sordid, he could probably sell tickets. The least of his vices is gambling, which has gotten him in Dutch with the mob. He abuses his body with drugs and his soul with hookers, and now he's turned to exploiting teenage girls for sex. Keitel is forced to reassess his life while investigating the rape of a nun. Director Abel Ferrara co-wrote the screenplay with Zoe Lund, who as Zoe Tamerlis starred in Ferrara's cult classic Ms. 45. A soundtrack tune by rapper Schoolly D, which was included in the initial release of Bad Lieutenant, featured a sample from Led Zeppelin which was used without permission; the song has since been excised from the soundtrack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Bad Lieutenant is like a diseased '90s version of Mean Streets: same lead (Harvey Keitel), same city in turmoil (New York), same striking visual energy, same Catholic guilt. Of course, Abel Ferrara's movies have never had the same sense of humanity as Martin Scorsese's, and Bad Lieutenant is the ultimate extension of that comparison. The "bad" lieutenant is so lost in excess of every kind that he has become basically an anti-human. Ferrara has made a strange career of examining such bottom-feeders; his filmography includes such classic exploitation titles as Driller Killer, Ms. 45, and King of New York. What elevates Bad Lieutenant above the others is Keitel and his shockingly open, courageous -- some would say foolhardy -- performance. In 1992, Keitel was making quite a diverse career statement, starring in this movie, Reservoir Dogs, and...Sister Act. Ferrara's ability to build the tension surrounding the lieutenant is impressive, but none of it makes for pleasant viewing. It's a lurid, over-the-top cult film masquerading as an arthouse movie, and it's hard to imagine a motion picture that could polarize reactions more. At times, that reaction seems to be exactly Ferrara's idea. Bad Lieutenant has been issued in two versions -- one rated NC-17, and one rated R. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
Bianca Bakiia - Jersey girl (passenger); Robin Burrows - Ariane; Victor Argo - Bet Cop; Paul Hipp - Jesus; Paul Calderon - Cop One; Leonard Thomas - Cop Two; Bo Dietl - Detective Bo; Vincent Laresca - JC; Minnie Gentry - Elderly Woman; Iraida Polanco - Momacita; Frank Adonis - Large; Frank Acciarto - Lt.'s Son Number 2; Penelope Allen - Doctor; Gene Canfield - Irish Cop; John Clohessy - Radio Announcer; Peggy Gormley - Lt.'s Wife; Stella Keitel - Lt.'s Daughter; Brian McElroy - Lt.'s Son; Jaime Sanchez - Priest; Stephen Chen - Korean Store Owner; Nicholas de Cegli - Limelight Guide; Ed Kovens - Monsignor; Bob Murphy - Play by Play Announcer
Credit
Randall Sabusawa - Co-producer, David Sawaryn - Costume Designer, Abel Ferrara - Director, Anthony Redman - Editor, Patrick Wachsberger - Executive Producer, Ronna Wallace - Executive Producer, Diana Phillips - Line Producer, Joe Delia - Composer (Music Score), Charles Lagola - Production Designer, Diana Phillips - Production Designer, Ken Kelsch - Cinematographer, Mary Kane - Producer, Edward R. Pressman - Producer, Stephanie Carroll - Set Designer, Abel Ferrara - Screenwriter, Zoë Lund - Screenwriter
Keitel's nameless character is a corrupt police lieutenant who, throughout the movie, is spiralling rapidly into various drug addictions, including cocaine and heroin. The "Bad Lieutenant" is also a gambler who finds himself plunged into debt when the New York Mets win the National League Championship Series after trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers and former Met Darryl Strawberry 3-0. The Mets' comeback is a sort of "minor miracle" that defies the Lieutenant's lack of faith and parallels his eventual redemption. The Lieutenant is also regularly linked with the prodigal Strawberry. The turning point in the film arrives when the Lieutenant investigates the rape of a nun and uses this as a chance to confront his inner demons and perhaps achieve redemption.
The movie was originally rated NC-17, one of the few movies to be rated NC-17 mainly for drug use. The exact descriptors were "Rated NC-17 for sexual violence, strong sexual situations & dialogue, graphic drug use."
Blockbuster, the largest video rental company in the United States, had a policy prohibiting the purchase and rental of NC-17 movies. An R-rated cut was created specifically so that Blockbuster would rent out the film. The R-rated version is a full 5 minutes shorter than the original.
Jimmy Page, guitarist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin, discovered the guitar line from the Led Zeppelin song "Kashmir" was used in the Schoolly D song "Signifying Rapper", which is played several times throughout the film. This usage had not been cleared by Schoolly D's record company. A lawsuit forced the removal of the song from the soundtrack on some VHS and all DVD versions of the film.[2]The song was replaced by a recording of an original Ferrara composition called "Bad Lieutenant" recorded on a cassette Walkman and performed live at a late night jam session by Ferrara and Paul Hipp (who also appears as Jesus Christ in the film).
Reception
Mark Kermode has mentioned that the movie was praised as "a powerful tale of redemptive Catholicism".[3]Roger Ebert stated that "in the Bad Lieutenant, Keitel has given us one of the great screen performances in recent years"[4]
