Prince of the City (1981)

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

Robert Daley (book)
Jay Presson Allen (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

21 August 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

A cop is turning. Nobody's safe.

Plot:

A New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption. However, he soon discovers that he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Corruption | Reference To John Wayne | Perjury | Vulgarity

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Treat Williams	...	Daniel Ciello
Jerry Orbach	...	Gus Levy
Richard Foronjy	...	Joe Marinaro
Don Billett	...	Bill Mayo
Kenny Marino	...	Dom Bando
Carmine Caridi	...	Gino Mascone
Tony Page	...	Raf Alvarez
Norman Parker	...	Rick Cappalino
Paul Roebling	...	Brooks Paige
Bob Balaban	...	Santimassino
James Tolkan	...	District Attorney Polito
Steve Inwood	...	Mario Vincente
Lindsay Crouse	...	Carla Ciello
Matthew Laurance	...	Ronnie Ciello
Tony Turco	...	Socks Ciello
Ronald Maccone	...	Nick Napoli (as Ron Maccone)
Ron Karabatsos	...	Dave DeBennedeto
Tony DiBenedetto	...	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
Michael Beckett	...	Michael Blomberg
Burton Collins	...	Monty
Henry Ferrentino	...	Older Virginia Guard
Carmine Foresta	...	Ernie Fallacci
Conard Fowkes	...	Elroy Pendleton
Peter Friedman	...	D.A. Goldman
Peter Michael Goetz	...	Attorney Charles Deluth
Lance Henriksen	...	D.A. Burano
Eddie Jones	...	Ned Chippy
Don Leslie	...	D.A. D'Amato
Dana Lorge	...	Ann Mascone
Harry Madsen	...	Bubba Harris
E.D. Miller	...	Sergeant Edelman
Cynthia Nixon	...	Jeannie
Ron Perkins	...	Virginia Trooper
Lionel Pina	...	Sancho
José Angel Santana	...	José (as José Santana)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Walter Brooke	...	Judge (uncredited)
Alan King	...	Himself (uncredited)
Ilana Rapp	...	Beach Player (uncredited)

Directed by
Sidney Lumet

Writing credits
Robert Daley		(book)
Jay Presson Allen		(screenplay) and
Sidney Lumet		(screenplay)

Produced by
Burtt Harris	....	producer
Raymond Hartwick	....	associate producer (as Ray Hartwick)
Jay Presson Allen	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Paul Chihara

Cinematography by
Andrzej Bartkowiak

Film Editing by
Jack Fitzstephens		(as John J. Fitzstephens)

Casting by
Joy Todd

Production Design by
Tony Walton

Costume Design by
Anna Hill Johnstone

Production Management
Barbara De Fina	....	unit manager
Raymond Hartwick	....	production manager (as Ray Hartwick)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alan Hopkins	....	assistant director
Robert E. Warren	....	assistant director

Art Department
Gerald DeTitta	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Peter C. Frank	....	supervising sound editor
Stan Bochner	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Hal Levinsohn	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Dan Lieberstein	....	sound editor (uncredited)
James Sabat	....	sound mixer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Louis Goldman	....	still photographer
Jim Hovey	....	first assistant camera (as James Hovey)
Michael Stone	....	camera operator
Garrett Brown	....	Steadicam operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Georges Delerue	....	conductor

Other crew
Lucille Cannon	....	auditor
June Rachel Guterman	....	assistant manager (as June Guterman)
Lilith Jacobs	....	assistant to director
Gabrielle Kelly	....	assistant: Mrs. Allen
Gaetano Lisi	....	location manager
Jennifer Ogden	....	production office coordinator
Martha Pinson	....	script supervisor
Michael Sporn	....	title designer

Production Companies

• Orion Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Orion Pictures Corporation (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1982) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1984) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Warner-Columbia Films (1982) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Fazer Musiikki Oy/Fazer Video (????) (Finland) (video)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1996) (Finland) (TV)
• TV3 (1990) (Finland) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Runtime:

167 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Canada:14+ | Argentina:18 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1982) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Canada:A

Filming Locations:

La Isla Restaurant - 1439 Myrtle Avenue, Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Alan King appears briefly in an early scene, chatting with the character played by Jerry Orbach. King had just finished shooting Just Tell Me What You Want (1980) with director Sidney Lumet for the same studio (the then fledgling Orion, originally a subsidiary of Warner).

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the start of the film when Dan is pushing his brother Ronnie around, there's a large crack on the wall (probably from a previous shot). After he pushes Ronnie near the wall, another large crack appears but Ronnie is never shown hitting the wall.

Quotes:

Daniel Ciello: [Danny is in court for the arraignment of some drug dealers he arrested] Maria, you want to stand up there please? Thank you. Your honor this young lady here has got nothing on under her fur coat. I'm sure the court wouldn't want her to catch cold.
Judge: Certainly not, Detective Ciello. Could be grounds for an appeal.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Inside 'Serpico' (2002) (V)

Soundtrack:

Love Will Keep Us Together

The Best of the New York Cop Pictures

The best of the Lumet NY cop pictures. PRINCE OF THE CITY has an excellent script by Jay Presson Allen and a fine cast lead by Treat Williams and the best of NY's local actors. Danny Ciello, a NYC narcotics cop, deals with the conflict between his "moral compass" and the realities of drug law enforcement. The film is about Ciello clearing his conscience and suffering the consequences of seeing his police colleagues burned in the process. Supporting perfs are superb with special notice to Jerry Orbach as Ciello's partner and Lane Smith as the FBI agent that befriends Ciello's confused wife. Haunting score by Paul Chihara adds the finishing touch to this fine film about "doing the right thing" even when the consequences are so high.

Hope this film is soon released on DVD for everyone to enjoy...