Cruising (1980)

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers:

William Friedkin (written by)
Gerald Walker (novel)

Release Date:

8 February 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Al Pacino is Cruising for a killer.

Plot:

A police detective goes undercover in the sleazy and underground gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is murdering numerous gay men with S&M tactics.

Plot Keywords:

Gay | S&M | Undercover | Police | Cruising

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Al Pacino	...	Steve Burns
Paul Sorvino	...	Capt. Edelson
Karen Allen	...	Nancy
Richard Cox	...	Stuart Richards
Don Scardino	...	Ted Bailey
Joe Spinell	...	Patrolman DiSimone
Jay Acovone	...	Skip Lee
Randy Jurgensen	...	Det. Lefransky
Barton Heyman	...	Dr. Rifkin
Gene Davis	...	DaVinci
Arnaldo Santana	...	Loren Lukas
Larry Atlas	...	Eric Rossman
Allan Miller	...	Chief of Detectives
Sonny Grosso	...	Det. Blasio
Ed O'Neill	...	Det. Schreiber (as Edward O'Neil)

Also Known As:

Cruising (West Germany)
William Friedkin's Cruising (USA) (closing credits title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Finland:(Banned) (uncut) (1980-2000) | Finland:(Banned) (cut) (1981-2000) | UK:18 (cut) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2007) | West Germany:18 (f) (original rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | France:-16 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Portugal:M/18

Filming Locations:

Badlands - 338 West Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

CiP - Europaische Treuhand AG

Trivia:

In an effort to make the scenes of gay "leather bars" as real as possible, actual gay bars were used in the film that existed in New York City at that time. These locations are still in the meat packing district of New York. Movie extras in full black leather and chaps, including other provocative sexual attire were actual gay patrons of the bar recruited for the scenes a few days before filming began. And, extras were instructed to act as they would normally act in gay bars but to tone down sexually-oriented activities because of the likelihood these acts would give the film an "X" rating.

Goofs:

Continuity: Steve Burns is in a patrol car with his fellow detectives and points out a suspect. He tells them that the man's name is Skip, but does not know his surname. But in the previous scene the barman tells Burns the suspect's name is Skip Lea.

Quotes:

Loren Lukas: Where you from?
Stuart Richards: Mars.
Loren Lukas: Terrific, I never made it with a Martian before.

Movie Connections:

References Golden Boys of the S.S. (1976)

Soundtrack:

Herbal Scent

a question of taste

This is a FRIEDKIN movie. Consequently, it is soulless, dark and physical. There are no heroes, the range goes from unclear/mixed up/tortured souls/loonies to the dephts of hell. It is also highly interpretative, you can not expect a logical script and a "I did it" smile or a "walk towards the sun" type of ending. So, it's a question of taste if you like his movies or not. I DO. I very much doubt that Pacino or Sorvino regret making this film. It is riveting. For one, characters are not even gray, they are a mystery. Sorvino's character, for instance is so blank, that you even wonder if he cares about anything, including Burns' fate. Pacino's character is pretty ambitious, but other than that he is completely controversial. Although he shows some kind of goodness (towards his neighbor, for instance), the ending even kinda questions that (was it because he had sexual intentions with the guy or that he just wanted to do some good?). Also, he sometimes feels overwhelmed by the undercover job ("I don't know if I can do this") but then he starts to adapt. One of the possible ideas of this movie is: you dance with the devil and then you start to like it. In any case, it leaves conclusions to the viewer. The atmosphere and especially the music are truly amazing and original. 9/10