Sika’s 100 Greatest Movies of All Time! 59. Serpico (1973)
59. Serpico [DVD]
Plot: The true story about Frank Serpico (Al Pacino), a New York cop who blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the police force only to have his comrades turn against him.
Many of his fellow officers considered him the most dangerous man alive – An honest cop. (tagline)
Genre: Crime/Drama
Also Starring: John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire, Cornelia Sharpe, Tony Roberts
Directed by: Sidney Lumet
Written by: Peter Maas (book)
Waldo Salt, Norman Wexler (screenplay)
Length: 130 min
Budget: $1 million
Gross Revenue: $29.8 million
Favorite Quote:
Gun shop owner: That gun takes a 14 shot clip. You expecting an army?
Frank Serpico: No. Just a division.
Review: I was tempted to keep the review super short and just write two words: “Al Pacino“, like that was the only thing you needed to know to understand that Serpico is a great movie and deserving of a spot on this list.
But instead the review became two sentences.
Oscar Count:
Two Nominations: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Al Pacino) Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Waldo Salt, Norman Wexler)
Nerdiest Movie Trivia: The film was shot in reverse order.
Al Pacino began with long hair and a beard, then for each scene, his hair and beard were trimmed bit by bit until he became clean-cut.
PREVIOUS ON THE LIST: 60. Police Academy
Related articles
- Wall of Hair: Al Pacino starring in Phil Spector Biopic (lunkiandsika.wordpress.com)
- Wall of Hair: Al Pacino starring in Phil Spector Biopic – Part 2: Hairolution (lunkiandsika.wordpress.com)
- Serpico (1973) – 4.5/5 (allenwatcheseverything.wordpress.com)
