Main Cast: Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy, Don Billett, Kenny Marino, James Tolkan
Release Year: 1981
Country: US
Run Time: 167 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Inspired by a true story, Prince of the City stars Treat Williams as a Manhattan detective who agrees to help the US Department of Justice weed out corruption in the NYPD. Williams agrees on the assurance that he'll never have to turn in a close friend. Wired for sound, Williams almost immediately stumbles upon a police conspiracy to smuggle narcotics to street informants in order to insure cooperation. While this might be condonable in a stretch, the fact is that the many cops are using the drugs on their own, and are also highly susceptible to bribes. Williams gets the goods on the miscreants, but in so doing he breaks the "code" and becomes a pariah to his fellow officers. As we learn in the unsettling final scene, Williams will always be considered a "fink," even by honest cops. Prince of the City is too long for its own good, but its opening expository sequences and its final twenty minutes more than compensate for the duller stretches. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Despite such influential, well-respected films as 12 Angry Men, The Pawnbroker, Dog Day Afternoon, and Network, director Sidney Lumet is often forgotten in considerations of the most influential filmmakers. Mirroring this under-appreciation is Lumet's neglected 1981 crime drama, Prince of the City. Overlong but fascinating, the film and its follow-up, 1982's The Verdict, stand as the director's best work of the 1980s and 1990s. Lumet showed a knack for working with new talent: the mostly unknown cast featured standout performances from Treat Williams and Jerry Orbach. The plot, dealing with corrupt New York City cops, is familiar territory for Lumet fans -- most notably in 1973's Serpico -- but Lumet makes the material seem fresh. The director would be nominated for his first Academy Award for screenwriting for Prince, along with co-writer Jay Presson Allen. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
Carmine Caridi - Gino Mascone; Lance Henriksen - DA Burano; Norman Parker - Rick Cappalino; Paul Roebling - Brooks Page; Bob Balaban - Santimassino; Steve Inwood - Mario Vincente; Lindsay Crouse - Carla Ciello; Matthew Laurance - Ronnie Ciello; Tony Turco - Socks Ciello; Ronald Maccone - Nick Napoli; Ron Karabatsos - Dave DeBennedeto; Tony di Benedetto - Carl Alagretti; Tony Munafo - Rocky Gazzo; Robert Christian - The King; Lee Richardson - Sam Heinsdorff; Lane Smith - Tug Barnes; Cosmo Allegretti - Marcel Sardino; Bobby Alto - Mr. Kanter; Burton Collins - Young Virginia Guard; Peter Michael Goetz - Atty. DeLuth; Eddie Jones - Ned; Cynthia Nixon - Jeannie; Lionel Pina - Sancho; Jose Santana - Jose; Harry Madsen - Bubba; Conrad Fowkes - Elroy; Carmine Foresta - Ernie; Dana Lorge - Ann; Antony Page - Raf Alvarez; Peter Friedman - DA Goldman
Credit
Edward Pisoni - Art Director, Anna Hill Johnstone - Costume Designer, Sidney Lumet - Director, John J. Fitzstephens - Editor, Paul Chihara - Composer (Music Score), Tony Walton - Production Designer, Andrzej Bartkowiak - Cinematographer, Ray Hartwick - Production Manager, Burtt Harris - Producer, Jay Presson Allen - Producer, Ray Hartwick - Producer, Jay Presson Allen - Screenwriter, Sidney Lumet - Screenwriter, Robert Daley - Book Author
The DVD was released on May 22, 2007, without the commentary by Sidney Lumet that had been announced in an online chat on February 21, 2006 on the Home Theater Forum by a Warner Home Video representative. However, Lumet appears on the DVD in a companion featurette by Laurent Bouzereau.
Orion Pictures bought Robert Daley's book for $500,000 in 1978.[1] Daley was a former New York Deputy Police Commissioner for Public Affairs who wrote about Robert Leuci, an NYPD detective whose testimony and secret tape recordings helped indict 52 members of the Special Investigation Unit and convict them of income tax evasion.[1] Originally, Brian De Palma was going to direct with David Rabe adapting the book[2] and Robert De Niro playing Leuci but the project fell through.[3] Sidney Lumet came aboard to direct under two conditions: he did not want a big name movie star playing Leuci because he did not "want to spend two reels getting over past associations,"[3] and the movie's running time would be at least three hours long.[2] Lumet cast Treat Williams after spending three weeks talking to him and listening to the actor read the script and then reading it again with 50 other cast members.[4] In order to research the role, the actor spent a month learning about police work, hung out at 23rd Precinct in New York City, went on a drug bust and lived with Leuci for some time.[5] By the time rehearsals started, Williams said, "I was thinking like a cop."[5] Lumet felt guilty about the two-dimensional way he treated cops in Serpico and said that Prince of the City was his way to rectify this depiction.[4] He and Jay Presson Allen wrote a 240-page script in 30 days.[2] The film was budgeted at $10 million but the director was able to bring it in for under $8.6 million.[4]
Reaction
Orion decided to open the film initially in select theaters in order to allow good reviews and word-of-mouth to build.[1] They were unable to buy television advertising because of the cost and relied heavily on print ads, including an unusual three-page spread in the New York Times.[1]
Some law enforcement officials criticized the film for glamorizing Leuci and other corrupt detectives while portraying most of the prosecutors who uncovered the crimes negatively.[6] John Guido, Chief of Inspectional Services said, "The corrupt guys are the only good guys in the film."[6] Nicholas Scoppetta, the Special Prosecutor who helped convince Leuci to go undercover against his fellow officers, said, "In the film, it seems to be the prosecutors who are disregarding the issue of where real justice lies and the prosecutors seem to be as bad or worse than the corrupt police."[6]
The film was so authentic that the head of the DEA called Lumet and wanted a copy of the movie for their training program.[4]
The character of Daniel Ciello is based on real-life NYPD Narcotics Detective Bob Leuci. After he quit the job, Leuci turned novelist and wrote the gritty police dramas Snitch, Odessa Beach and Captain Butterfly.
The film originally premiered on TV in a 4-hour version, introducing new material that had been cut for the theatrical release, which runs 167 minutes. This material isn't featured on the "Special Edition" double DVD.
