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103 comments in total

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34 out of 38 people found the following comment useful :-
The first real power-house performance by Pacino, thirty years down the line still one of his finest, 9 June 2003

Author: Filmjack3 from United States

Sidney Lumet proved himself to be a highly competent and effective director/storyteller for the true story of New York Officer Frank Serpico, who became famous after appearing to testify before the NAPA Commission about payoffs and corruption in the Police Department. At the time, it was unheard of, and it gained Peter Maars attention to write the book, which thus got transferred to the screen as so. But what makes Serpico such a riveting and eye catching picture today are the little things about it, little details in specific scenes and locations that help ring Serpico's emotions far more than true- it's just there. Even more amazing on the part of the actual filming of the movie is that it was at the time filmed backwards (started with the beard, then the mustache, then clean-shaven).

Al Pacino, right off of the first part of the Godfather trilogy, took this role with all the fire and compassion that he had in him. He sees in Serpico not just an honest cop wanting some balance and honor in his work, yet also a man, who can get as joyful and humorous as he can act subtle, furious, and thoughtful. This will always remain one of his stand-out roles after all the Scarfaces and Scent of a Woman pictures he can do because he, as well as Lumet, know how to approach such a saga. Plenty of great, compelling set pieces, and even sweet ones (like when he first buys the sheepdog as a puppy). A+

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29 out of 33 people found the following comment useful :-
Sure, The Godfather made Al Pacino a star, but Serpico kept him one, 5 June 2003

Author: Derek237 from Canada

Al Pacino is one of the best actors around, and he has many definitive roles. His role as Frank Serpico is certainly one of them. He acts with such charm and smoothness in some scenes, while explosive and intense in others.

The movie gets into a big plot line about police corruption and Serpico blowing the whistle on the department. It's interesting and the whole point of the movie, but the reason this is such a good movie is because of the character, not the plot. The better scenes include Serpico's personal life and struggles. There's one great part where he explains to his girlfriend why he's always wanted to be a cop. It's scenes like those that make you sympathetic for him.

Sidney Lumet and Pacino made a great team for this movie, and proved to be a great team for Dog Day Afternoon a few years later. But as good as a director Lumet is, as good as everyone involved with this movie is, this is Pacino's movie. It's an essential viewing for his fans.

My rating: 9/10

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22 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
A dramatic and depressing tale, 29 February 2004
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

When Frank Serpico joined the police force he was full of ideals and eager to help bring crime down in his neighbourhood. He first encounters the corrupt side of his job when he is given an envelope of cash. Even though he refuses to be part of the take, he finds that it goes too high for him to avoid or ignore. Meanwhile, his colleagues, who already suspect him of being untrustworthy, begin to suspect him of trying to bring actions against the whole force. As Scerpio lies bleeding from his head wound, he thinks back over his career.

Having read the book several times, I was interested in seeing how such a tomb of a book was brought into a two hour movie. I was pleased to find that the answer to this question was `actually pretty well'. The film manages to bring off the whole plot by giving the gist and delivering many of the book's most memorable scenes. There is a problem with the story if you really like the book, but otherwise it works very well. In fact the way each sequence is important means that the film moves very quickly - it's is often a downside if a film shirks on characterisation, but here it works to the film's favour.

Part of the reason the script can get away with little character is that Pacino is really good. He seems to have fallen into `who-ha' shouting of late, but here he has genuine passion and subtlety in his performance. The support cast includes Roberts, Randolph and others, but really it is Pacino's film and his performance reflects that.

Overall this is a tragic true story and it is notable that the film doesn't end with the `and then' text. There is no happy conclusion to the tale, the corruption that Serpico tried to confront and defeat remains in place after he is finished. Despite this the film is exciting and dramatic as the story deserves.

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24 out of 31 people found the following comment useful :-
Serpico: A Name That Became Famous, 3 April 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

There have so many crooked-cops-themed films in the past 30 years that this film has lost a lot of its shock-and-awe. The long hair, wild clothes, beads, etc. really date this film, too, it being so early '70s in looks. It's almost become a "period piece" as if it were the Roaring Twenties except its the Sleazy Seventies.

All you have to do is look at the party scene in here and you'll get a glimpse at the early '70s, and most of it is not good. What IS good is Al Pacino's acting, of course. There have been very few films in which he starred that didn't displaying his acting talents to the fullest. This one, along with Dog Day Afternoon and few others, put him "on the map," making him a big star. He's been a "star" ever since.

This is a fairly long film but, like Pacino, it's rarely boring. The name of Pacino's character, "Serpico," has become synonymous with "honest cop." It demonstrates what a strong impact this movie had on millions of people.

Gritty? Yes. Profane? Yes; Memorable? Most definitely. When you speak of modern-day "classics," this film is one of them.

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17 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
Pacino's breakthrough is a timeless classic that shouldn't be missed, 13 January 2005

Author: ed56 from Israel

Serpico, directed by Sydney Lumet at the peak of his career, and also launched Al Pacino into a star status. The story follows Frank Serpico, an ambitious and idealist policeman from his first days at the police force as he is exposed to a routine police corruption and to his final days in the force as he invests all his energy in fighting these corruptions. Al Pacino's Performance as Serpico is one of the best in his career, he plays it so cool and professional that it's easy to forget that back in 1973 he was still at the beginning of his career. He makes character of Frank Serpico unforgettable. The film itself is very credible and honest with no clichés that are often appear in this kind of genre. New York has got a terrific look here. every place in this film whether it's bars or shops or buildings is memorable. Overall this makes for a very unique cinematic experience and shouldn't be missed by any movie fan. Well Recommended. 10/10

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19 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :-
honest filmaking, good and true story of corruption in NY police department, 11 March 2004

Author: parsleylion from Ireland

Sidney Lumet is a director who captures something crucial in city based dramas surrounding legal and political affairs; with films like '12 angry men', 'the verdict', 'nightfalls on Manhattan' and 'Q & A' he shows an excellent grasp of the power plays in civic politics. In 'Serpico' he uses an excellent script to tell the story of an unorthodox character in Frank Serpico, a hippie in a time when most cops were square as a doorway but whose honesty when faced with police corruption marks him out as a man of remarkable character. Unflinching in its depiction of Serpico, the film portrays warts and all, over the period in which he refuses to take money and shows his extraordinary political vindication at an official investigation into NYPD corruption. The story of civic corruption is cogent in any time, one only has to look at great empires like Rome to understand how much corruption plays a part in the shaping of so called civilizations; where the very foundation stones have bodies, so to speak, buried under them or even within them. This film is both informative and honest in much the way 'All the Presidents Men' would be in the following year. Winning Al Pacino a deserved Oscar nomination in the years between the Godfather's Part I and II; it demonstrates the range of an actor who would go on to portray a character in Michael Corleone soon afterwards who is the very nemisis of the character in Serpico. In Serpico there is a dramadocumentary that calls to mind Shakespeares history plays in its depiction of a classical situation of a man ostracized and driven by noble sentiments to embody something of the civic value one expects of servants of the public trust. Brilliant film. 10 out of 10.

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37 out of 58 people found the following comment useful :-
He's still my hero!, 29 September 2004
Author: lccjenni (lccjenni@bellsouth.net) from North Carolina

Serpico managed to last a lot longer than I did as a cop...I made it 7 years but being a female officer in SC in the '80's was not a cakewalk either! I now teach criminal justice at the community college level and I have taught Ethics classes for 13 years; Frank Serpico is always a part of that course and the movie is always shown. While the movie is "old" it still holds up. My students always rave about it and some of them even read Peter Maas' book...without being made to! We finished the movie today. We begin discussion Friday and it will be lively, as always. This is well worth the watch/read and make no mistake that it "can't be like that now"; watch the news.

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14 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Serpico, 24 March 1999
Author: Tim Cox from Marietta, OH

A perfect, true to life film based on the true exploits of a young police officer named Frank Serpico. Serpico was an officer in a time when political corruption was rampant and many of his brethren were found "on the take." The true story is brought to the screen under the superb leadership and direction of Sidney Lumet and the brilliant performance of Al Pacino as Serpico. Serpico was said to be known for his eccentricity and Pacino plays it up every step of the way, from the hairy beard to the earrings; he immerses himself into the character. This is the first of two great pairings with Lumet and Pacino. They know character. You see it here and you see it in 'Dog Day Afternoon." They know the streets. Lumet is a avid filmmaker of "New York-style films." Pacino walks the beat in his hobo outfits and long hair as if he's a hippie, not a cop. Although an eccentric, Serpico cannot be bought and certainly cannot be had, by anyone... cop or crook Pacino was Oscar nominated, but lost to Jack Lemmon for his performance in "Save the Tiger." The film was also nominated for it's taut screenplay, based on the Peter Maas book of the same title.

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17 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :-
Pacino Shines in Classic Grim & Gritty Crime Biopic, 25 April 2005

Author: Dorian Tenore-Bartilucci (dtb) from Whitehall, PA

I'd been wanting to see SERPICO for some time; this real-life crime drama based on Peter Maas' nonfiction bestseller about an honest cop fighting corruption in the NYPD was one of the few grim-and-gritty New York crime dramas that my older brother didn't take me to see when I was a kid! :-) (I should explain that my brother, 9 years my senior, used to take me to the kind of movies he wanted to see -- films like TAXI DRIVER, REPORT TO THE COMMISSIONER, etc. Fortunately, I developed a taste for them as well, though our mother didn't think they were really appropriate for a girl as young as I was then. :-) No wonder this film helped young Al Pacino's then-rising star (he was fresh off THE GODFATHER when he began filming SERPICO) to soar to the stratosphere, complete with an Oscar nomination. Pacino's earnest intensity fuses Frank Serpico's disparate qualities into a spellbinding performance. The guy is a bundle of contradictions, the kind of man who could charm you, move you, and drive you crazy at the same time: a nice Catholic boy who can't commit to any of the devoted women in his life; an honest, downright rigid moralist who's also a free spirit known as "Paco" to his friends and lovers; and an undercover cop with detective aspirations whose hippie-like appearance rankled his superiors and fellow officers even as it helped him blend in on assignments. Pacino's riveting performance carries the film, with fine support by John Randolph, Tony Roberts, M. Emmet Walsh, Barbara eda-Young and Cornelia Sharpe, not to mention memorable uncredited turns by F. Murray Abraham, Judd Hirsch, Kenneth McMillan, and Tony LoBianco, among others. Sidney Lumet's taut direction of the script by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler does Maas' source material proud, as well as taking advantage of evocative NYC locations (just try getting this kind of atmosphere in Canada, I dare you! :-). The sparing use of simple yet haunting music by Mikis Theodorakis sets the tone well. The end result: one of the best films of the 1970s and beyond. Rent the DVD to see some fascinating extras about the making of the film and the filmmakers' experiences with Frank Serpico himself, including interviews with Lumet and producer Martin Bregman (no Pacino, alas).

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12 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Realistic movie with a gripping and gritty story., 22 July 2005

Author: Boba_Fett1138 from Groningen, The Netherlands

The movie tells the true story of Frank 'Paco' Serpico who was about the only honest cop of the entire New York police department at his time. The movie provides a realistic view in the corrupt and tough world of the New York police and tells the story of Serpico in an intriguing and realistic, perhaps maybe even documentary like way.

"Serpico" is a movie with a typical fantastic '70's atmosphere and it's a movie that still holds up today. This is mainly thanks to the fantastic story of the movie and the way it is told. Yep, they really don't make movies like this anymore. I think "Serpico" may already be regarded as a 'classic'.

Actually the story itself or concept isn't that terribly original compared to many other movies from the same period. Still this movie distinct itself from most of those movies, thanks to the perfect directing from Sidney Lumet. Also Pacino's acting and the fact that his movie is based on a true story makes this movie better than most others. Lumet and Pacino continued working together and later made the even better "Dog Day Afternoon" together.

But fair is fair, even though Pacino is fantastic, this is far from his best role. The 'explosion' he later used for his characters in movies is still missing here and it seems like he's holding back. I also think that his Oscar nomination he deserved for this movie was also a bit too much credit for him. Pacino was just a young beginning actor at the time (He had just done his first big role and movie; "The Godfather".) and he obviously had still a lot of learning to do.

The rest of the cast consists out of unknown actors (with the exception of apparently Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham in one of his first small movie roles, to be honest I didn't even noticed him.) but for a movie like this a cast with unknown actors work really well. It keeps the focus on the movie's its intriguing story better.

Apparently there is a lot of hate for it but I really liked the musical score by Mikis Theodorakis. It was really fitting with the movie its atmosphere.

All in all this is a already 'classic' typical '70's cop flick in the style of, for instance "The French Connection" and is an absolute must see.

9/10

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