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Rating:  -
For all the justifications offered by the filmmakers in the docs and commentaries here there's simply no getting over the fact that this is an expression of straight panic and the vilest bigotry. Neither can you escape the fact that it works as an entertainingly lurid thriller, 70s time capsule as well as a cluelessly campy portrait of the world it pretends to expose. (Watch hapless Al try and figure out the proper "hankie", or throwing out his stack of porn -- one magazine at at a time -- I defy you not to laugh.)
However, the homophobia is so intense that Freidkin sacrifices all storytelling logic. He revels in thinking the killer's identity is ambiguous. It isn't, all the killings have to be commited by the crazed I'm-Here-You're Here dude, even if they are played by differnt actors. He fails to realize that larger case he's making is that gay sex is like a virus spreading violence and death. He seems oblivious to the irony that the real thing would be visited on this community soon enough. (Freidkin does mention on the commentary an actor died soon after filming but doesn't say why.)
I'm not saying the filmakers are bad people, but they're certainly misguided. It would have been nice if the documentary had included a lookback from some of the surviving aggrieved parties as it certainly seems they had some valid points.
Rating:  -
I remember seeing this when it first came out. It was a rather taboo movie because it didn't hold back on the hard core gay leather life that is incorporated in the movie. Pacino did an excellent job of pulling off what the gay leatherman acted and looked like in the 70's and early 80's. The scenes of the clubs are pretty much the way it really was like
Rating: -
There's a certain expectation of sensationalism that comes with watching a William Friedkin film - one scene that will have your jaw dropping at the audaciousness of it, and that stays with you long after. Cruising, however, doesn't.
It's a well-crafted work, to be sure, and features great performances from supporting players Karen Allen and Paul Sorvino, but ultimately it leaves one with a sense of dissatisfaction. Friedkin here delves deep into New York's gay underworld of leather bars and kinky sex (he's not representing it as the whole of the lifestyle, just a subculture), occasionally spicing it up with a murder scene.
It's really a showcase for the formidable talents of Al Pacino (before the hysteria of his later work)here as an undercover cop investigating the brutal slayings of men who all seem to share the same lifestyle.
It's not bad Friedkin (like Jade or The Guardian) or brilliant Friedkin (Sorcerer, The French Connection), just very, very, average Friedkin. There's nothing memorable going on here for his fans, but does get a solid performace from Pacino. Not for all tastes.
Rating: -
I saw this movie in the theatres when it was released in 1980 and defended Mr. Friedkin's ("The Exorcist" and "Boys In The Band") right to make it when my friends protested its opening. I was curious to see what "Cruising" looks like over twenty-five years later. It does not wear well with time. Taken from a book by the same name, it's all about a homosexual serial killer who is making a bloody path through New York City's leather community. Al Pacino as Steven Burns of NYPD complete with a full set of leather goes undercover to catch the killer. The plot is still hard to follow and often doesn't make much sense; Pacino, who is such a fine actor, doesn't get his act together here, probably through no fault of his. (He allegedly said that this is the worst movie he ever made.) Much of the film is shot in a leather bar in New York City to give-- I supose-- realism to the story.
The DVD contains a long and winding defense of this film by the director William Friedkin. He should have left well enough alone. He tries unsuccessfully to convince us that "Cruising" is in no way homophobic. If he is not attempting the sensational, then why does he use what he calls more edgy music than the music that was playing in the bars when he made this film since he only wants to give an accurate depiction of the gay leather community? Do members of that community have women's names and constantly refer to each other with feminine pronouns? Are we really to believe that a muscle-bound member of the NYPD force wearing only a cap, boots and a jock strap roughs up a suspect at the precinct station? Mr. Friedkin says a similar event actually occurred but offers no proof of that. The ending is laughable. All of Pacino's soulful staring into the mirror will not make a great, serious film out of a homophobic slasher. In addition to all the footage of Friedkin, the minor characters give interviews although we do not get one word from or glimpse of Mr. Pacino. Jerry Weintraub, the producer, says that the novel from which the film is made is an "important piece of literature." I kid you not.
If Mr. Friedkin had depicted the African America or Jewish community-- or any other minority for that matter-- in such a way, he would have been vilified to the heavens. While you certainly do not have to be homosexual to make a movie about gay people that portrays them as complex, flesh-and-blood individuals-- Mike Nichols, for example, does a wonderful job in "Birdcage" of making a funny but honest movie-- it would be interesting to see what a gay director would have done with this story. Probably nothing.
I rant on. The good news is that I didn't pay a lot for the rental of the movie and that it will have the fate of most dull movies and become a bit of the history of gay cinema since it's not quite bad enough to make cult status, at least not for me.
Rating:  -
I say this movie when it first came out and it gave me the creeps. This sub-culture of leathermen in leatherbar is truly bizarre and Friedkin captures the atmosphere precisely.
Pacino's performance must have been one of the hardest he had to do since there are so many layers of sexuality and doubt and mystery surrounding his character that to give a convincing portrayal of a possible murderer of gay men must have tested his acting abilities to the limit. He succeeds.
Since today is World Aids Day - 1 Dec 2007 - I am just wondering how many of the "extras" are still alive since their performances are so real and convincing. Were they acting or just being themselves?
A cult classic with a few loose ends and for a very limited audience. Don't screen it for your mother or grandmother.
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