Beverly Hills Cop is a 1984 American action-comedy film directed by Martin Brest and starring Eddie Murphy. Murphy stars as Axel Foley, a street-smart Detroit cop, who heads to Beverly Hills, California to solve the death of his best friend. During his investigation, he finds himself being frequently pursued by Beverly Hills police.
This first film in the Beverly Hills Cop series shot Murphy to international stardom, won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical (1985). It earned an estimated US$234 million at the box office, narrowly making it the biggest hit of 1984 (ahead of Ghostbusters).
Taglines:
"The heat is on!"
"He's been chased, thrown through a window, and arrested. Eddie Murphy is a Detroit cop on vacation in Beverly Hills."
Plot
Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is a young, talented, but extremely reckless Detroit police detective, having been reformed from his hoodlum years. His latest act of attempting to catch crooks through a cigarette smuggling operation goes sour when some uniformed officers show up, questioning their suspicious activity, and earns him the wrath of his boss, Inspector Douglas Todd (Gil Hill).
Axel's childhood friend and former criminal cohort Mikey Tandino (James Russo), long gone from Detroit, shows up in Axel's apartment (by breaking in) and tells him he's working in Beverly Hills, California as a security guard, through the efforts of a mutual friend, Jenny Summers (Lisa Eilbacher). After going out to have a few drinks, both men return drunk to Axel's apartment, where Axel is knocked cold and Mikey is confronted by two thugs, questioning him about some missing bearer bonds that he had shown Axel earlier. Mikey is then murdered, and after being refused the investigation because of his close personal ties, Foley uses the guise of going to Beverly Hills for a vacation to ascertain the motive and solve the crime.
Foley's search soon leads him to Victor Maitland (Steven Berkoff), Mikey's most recent employer and a respected art dealer who Foley soon begins to suspect is involved in some questionable activities, including Mikey's murder. His investigation is hampered, however, by the Beverly Hills Police Department, who is even less enthusiastic about Foley's crimefighting methods than the Detroit Police Department. As evidence of Maitland's unsavory activities piles up, Foley eventually convinces his Beverly Hills counterparts to assist him in bringing Maitland to justice.
Cast
Sylvester Stallone was originally intended to play Axel Foley. After his departure due to differences in scope (he wanted more action than the producers would budget for) the role was re-written for Murphy. Stallone went on to use his version of the film as the basis for his movie Cobra. According to Eddie Murphy on Inside the Actor's Studio, Stallone also envisioned a "harder edged" screenplay. The character of Jenny Summers was originally a Stallone love interest, but was rendered only an "old friend" to Murphy's Foley. Mikey was originally supposed to be Stallone's brother.
On the DVD featurette, producer Jerry Bruckheimer claimed that the part of Axel Foley was first offered to Mickey Rourke, who signed a 400,000 USD holding contract to do the film. When revisions and other preparations took longer than expected, Rourke left the project to do another film. It was then offered to Stallone.
Axel Foley's boss (Gilbert R. Hill) was a real-life detective in the Detroit Police Department, who later became a Detroit City Council member and mayoral candidate, losing to Kwame Kilpatrick in 2001.
The scene in which Axel, Rosewood, and Taggart give an explanation to Bogomil about the strip club arrest was improvised according to a making-of featurette. When filming the "Beverly Hills Police Station" sequences, Eddie Murphy was feeling groggy from the stuffy environment and was described "to be so pure, that he didn't drink coffee". Eventually, Murphy relented by taking small sips of coffee just to stay awake for filming inside the building. As a result of the first sips of coffee, Eddie's performance in the scene skyrocketed and he ad-libbed the part about Rosewood and Taggart being super-cops without having the capes.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack won a Grammy Award for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special (1986). The instrumental-only title tune "Axel F" is very recognizable and has since been covered by numerous artists. The soundtrack was mastered by Greg Fulginiti.
Selected items from the soundtrack:
Though not officially in the soundtrack, "Nasty Girl" by Vanity 6 is heard in the strip club, but is credited in the end credits of the film. Since the film's release in 1984, there has never been an official release of the soundtrack score which was composed by Harold Faltermeyer. The only part of the soundtrack score that has been commercially released is "Axel F", featured on the soundtrack release.
However, two tracks of score were released on B sides to the vinyl singles of "Axel F":
- "Discovery" - This piece of score is heard in the scene where the drugs are discovered by Axel Foley in the warehouse.
- "Shootout" - This piece of score is heard in the scene where Billy Rosewood waits outside the warehouse and then decides to go in.
There are also 12" extended versions of the "Axel F" theme which were released on the vinyl singles in the 1980s.
Chart positions
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 1985 |
Billboard 200 |
1 |
Sequels
A fourth Beverly Hills Cop film is currently in development set to come out in 2010.
Awards and nominations
- Academy Award
- BAFTA Awards
- nominated for Best Score - Harold Faltermeyer
- Edgar Allan Poe Award
- nominated for Best Motion Picture - Daniel Petrie, Jr.
- Golden Globe
- Grammy Award
- won for Best Score Soundtrack - Marc Benno, Harold Faltermeyer, Keith Forsey, Micki Free, Jon Gilutin , Howard Hewett, Bunny Hull, Howie Rice, Sharon Robinson, Danny Sembello, Sue Sheridan, Richard Theisen, Allee Willis
- People's Choice Award
- won for Favorite Motion Picture
- Stuntman Award
- won for Best Vehicular Stunt (Motion Picture) - Eddy Donno
American Film Institute recognition
Audio sample
Video games
See also
References
External links
