Cruising

source: Cruising

source: Cruising

The killer at the beginning of the movie and in the private movie booth is absolutely not the music student Pacino follows and arrests at the end. The original murderer actually looks more like the victim murdered in the park. Did anyone else pick up on this? I got to see this two nights in a row on IFC so I had the luxury of recording and watching it again. If anyone has an explanation, please explain. If not, Friedkin has to be the worst director ever. Again, the murderer who kills the first guy in the hotel by stabbing him in the back and the guy in the private movie booth is definitely the guy who GETS murdered in the park. What's going on? A little continuity please.

In New York, the ambitious police officer Steve Burns (Al Pacino) is assigned by his Captain Edelson (Paul Sorvino) to work uncover in the gay S&M underworld to seek out the serial-killer that is killing and severing the members of gays since he has the same appearance of the victims. Steve has the objective to be promoted to detective and get his golden shield and Capt. Edelson is the only one in the department who knows Steve's assignment. Steve does not tell to his girlfriend Nancy (Karen Allen) his mission and he needs to learn the behavior of this community. During the investigation, Steve is affected by the discoveries in this new world, but Captain Edelson does not want him to quit his assignment. In the 70's and 80's, Al Pacino was among my favorite American actors with his magnificent performances. "Cruising" is an original movie that discloses part of the society unknown to straight persons like me: the gay S&M world of New York in the late 70's. I have seen this film at least four time and today for the first time on DVD, and my greatest question is how far a person would go to be promoted. Steve Burns dreams on having a golden shield and when he has his chance, he accepts a dangerous psychological mission to find the serial-killer that is killing gays and affects his personal life and his relationship with his girlfriend. The conclusion is one of the most ambiguous that I have ever seen in an American movie, when Steve looks at his image on the mirror. My vote is eight. Title (Brazil): "Parceiros da Noite" ("Night Partners")

I was ten years old and an old movie house not far from my home was playing a double feature. It was Empire Strikes Back and Cruising. After nagging to my grandma for days she took me and a friend because we were huge Star Wars fans. The matinée was at 12:00 p.m. and they started with Cruising. The movie starts, the place is packed and the bar scene were the killer picks up his first victim plays and my grandma storms out of place with me and my friend and I don't know if the guy my grandma confronted was the manager or the ticket seller but she ripped him a new one. She told him that he was trash, that she was going to call the cops, that he was not a man, everything. My friend and me were stunned and beg my grandma to calm down and wait in the lobby till Cruising was over. We waited and we saw Empire. It is disturbing that the place was full of little kids and nobody else walked out. Anyway, I tracked the movie down when I was in college and watched it.It still is a shocking experience and the bad reputation that this movie earned is a little uncalled for because I think Friedkin captures the reality of that world as it is. My cousin had a friend who was homosexual and part of the S&M leather gay culture. He was a flight attendant and whenever he flew to New York went to this clubs and my cousin tells me that the things his friend told him pale in comparison to what Friedkin shows us. The flight attendant died of AIDS in 1983. Pacino and his perm realistically portray the confused cop that ultimately becomes a killer out of the brutal repression his gay feelings suffer. This movie after 25 years continues to provoke discussions among film fans and any movie that does that is a good film. I really would like a DVD of this movie with a few extras to witness the backlash this film created. Watch it and witness the closing of the 70s and the beginning of the 80s in this murder mystery that will no doubt open your eyes to the brutal, the cruel, misunderstood and innocent sides of human beings. P.S. Nobody complained in 1984's Police Academy which the Blue Oyster Bar about the portrayals of leather gay men. BA BA BA BUM BA BA BA BA BA BUM BA BA BAM PARARARARARARARA.(theme song). I know I'm an idiot.

A serial-killer is attacking homosexual men in New York and the police have no leads. An ambitious young cop goes undercover and hangs out at the gay bars and nightspots to lure the killer out, but finds himself being changed by the scene he becomes part of. Based on a book by Gerald Walker, this is an intriguing (and daring for the time) delve into the NYC homo underground of leather bars and pick-ups in Central Park, and is a great pre-Aids snapshot of a particular era of the city's history. Unfortunately, as a crime thriller it's pretty pedestrian; the murders are bland, the investigation boring and the suggestive ending just plain confusing. Friedkin is a very stylish director, but here he deliberately abandons that for a documentary-like approach; this adds to the drama but kills any suspense, although James Contner's ultra-dark photography is terrific. Pacino is likeably believable, Sorvino does a gritty textbook job of a police captain who hasn't slept in a week and the supporting cast are good. Ultimately however, this film is more interesting as a pre-political-correctness depiction of a particularly sordid corner of society. As with other urban-ghetto films of the time (Busting, Fort Apache - The Bronx, etc) it was crucified by the white liberal arts media as queer-bashing propaganda, but of course it's not - they just didn't like the way it depicts the specific social scene the story is set amongst. An important document of a time, but not really a very good movie.

I know this film got bad reviews when it was first released but I have always thought it deserved much better than it got. The film is a very tense thriller with a terrific performance from Al Pacino. The film is filled with memorable scenes and characters. The killer is one of the most interesting villains I have seen.....attractive with a complex character that is both mesmerizing and frightening. The film has a creepy quality that sometimes reminds me of the feeling I got watching "Silence of the Lambs." The scene in which Pacino goes to the shop and views the different colored bandanas for sale provides some brief humor that gives your nerves a chance to calm down.

I had the pleasure of seeing this movie recently and I highly recommend it to any people who savor the darker things in life. If I had never seen this movie the reviews left about it everywhere on the net would surely have made me miss it at every opportunity but luckily I only came across them looking for more information after its viewing. The first thing that really got me was the fantastic soundtrack. This is American punk rock at it's best and most glorious and I cannot think of a more apt context for it than the New York gay S&M scene. This my friends ... is punk-o-rama. This is not a gay film ... nor is it a porno film ... this is an in your face horror much like William Friedkin's other classic "The Exorcist" ... but not a hammer horror nor a gore filled voyage through some fiery "kissing the devil's ass" hell but a very real slice of a very real life that exists in every major city in the world as well as some smaller ones. This is a film about a world so few know anything about that it is far above common criticism ... yet at the same time the directions and nuances are all too common. I would say that any fans of the movies of David Lynch might enjoy the somewhat lost disenchantment of this flick as it slides further and further into the darkest realms of the grotesque. As well anyone who's enjoyed the backwards pleasures of watching the cult classic "Je'Taime ... Moi Ne Plus" starring Jane Birkin would also find a little gem here. "Cruisin'" is pure subversive genius. Futurist-surrealism! Pure *ART*

William Friedkin directed not only The French Connection and The Exorcist, he also directed The Boys In The Band then years before Cruising. If there is an evolution in how the straight world saw the gay world in the decade between Boys In The Band and Cruising, the evolution is backwards. The gay scene in Crusing is sheer hell and I have to believe that it reflected the Country's mood of the day. In not such subtle ways Cruising tells us about the depravity of one group threatening the other. If you think I'm wrong, why then the gay sex and enviroment is wrapped in violent rock music in which actual feelings are not even present but the heterosexual sex scenes between - the always wonderful Al Pacino and the beautiful Karen Allen are wrapped in lyrical classical music, all feeling, tenderness and light. As soon as the film ended I had to wash my face and pour myself a double scotch on the rocks. I was kind of angry and definitely disturbed. Oops, maybe I recommending Cruising without meaning to.

Crusing is a very dark psychological thriller from acclaimed director William Friedkin and leading man Al Pacino. Based on true events where a serial killer preyed on gay men part of the S+M gay leather scene in NYC, pre AIDS, where casual sex or cruising was a big thing in that scene. Al Pacino goes deep undercover to attempt to bring down the killer. This film only shows one side of the gay community, which was controversial and brought a polarizing reaction in the gay community in that time. The gay S+M clubs, parks and other areas of NY are the backdrop to this sleazy, violent and downbeat thriller. Al Pacino is excellent, as is the support cast of Paul Sorvino, Joe Spinell and Karen Allen as Pacino's girlfriend. The film is similar in a lot of ways to the Italian giallo films and it seemed to borrow some of its ambiance and style. While most of what happens in the film is pretty ambigious, it seems that as the film progresses Al Pacino seems to identify more with the gay community. This film is very well done and very much in the 70's style, gritty, suspenseful and uncompromising in its presentation. Crusing certainly will not appeal to everyone, but for those that like this kind of film, it is very well done.