US (1981): Crime/Drama
Based on a true story, this film stars Treat Williams as Danny Ciello, a conflicted New York cop who reluctantly decides to go undercover for the feds to ferret out police corruption. At first, he recklessly gets off on the danger, but as the feds tighten the screws, the guilt-wracked Ciello is forced to compromise his partners and friends, and his own checkered past inexorably catches up with him.
Sidney Lumet is esteemed as an actor's director. This film is prime evidence. The peerless ensemble, including Jerry Orbach, Bob Balaban, and a duty roster of great New York character actors, is flawless. If there was any justice in Hollywood, Prince of the City would have been Treat Williams's star-making breakthrough, his Serpico (1973) (which Lumet also directed). But this film couldn't get arrested at the box office and was criminally snubbed by the Academy. Due to its length and gritty, profane dialogue, it is severely compromised when broadcast on network TV. For fans of "NYPD Blue, Law & Order" and "Homicide," here is a movie ripe for discovery on home video. (Orion, Warner Bros.) (Donald Liebenson, Amazon.com)
1 nomination
· Writing (Best Screenplay based on material from another medium) 1981: Jay Presson Allen, Sidney Lumet
