Few did gritty NYC movies better than Sidney Lumet and it’s amazing how his greatest films (many of which were in the 70’s and 80’s) don’t feel like they’ve aged one bit – excellent storytelling will always be excellent storytelling. Morally complex, epic in narrative scope, intimate with its fine details, and having a filmic sweep that rarely graces the cop genre, Prince of the City is easily one of the best, most absorbing cinematic policiers ever crafted. Treat Williams should have been a much bigger star — his fiery, totally riveting performance as a conflicted and corrupt cop investigating internal police transgressions is one for the ages, with one of the best character arcs for any protagonist within this well traveled milieu. Jay Presson Allen’s authentic and minutiae rich screenplay rings true in every scene, and with Lumet’s steady directorial hand guiding us through the many plot threads, the viewer is never lost within the proceedings, despite a no-hand-holding approach by the filmmakers. The great Polish cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak’s hand held, extremely naturalistic cinematography amps up the tension resulting in a film that gives off a “fly-on-the-wall” quality.
And then there’s LOOK AT THIS CAST POWER — Jerry Orbach, Bob Balaban, Lindsay Crouse, Lance Henriksen, James Tolkan(!), Richard Foronjy, Cynthia Nixon, and Alan King(!), along with tons of perfect character actors with lived-in faces that gave every scene that realistic quality that all of Lumet’s films always possessed. Sadly, Prince of the City was basically ignored by audiences (it recouped its $8 million budget but that’s it), and while certainly getting critical respect at the time, it’s stature as a pinnacle of the genre has been cemented over the years. And with fewer and fewer big-screen cop films getting the greenlight from studio execs in recent years, a film like this deserves to be treasured. The film was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, and despite not being available on home media format, there’s a four hour cut that has made the television airwaves over the years. Let’s hope that someone puts out a much needed Blu-ray release of this seminal American film, with any and all versions. The WB 2-disc DVD does a nice job with image quality and sound so at least we have that for the time being.
Podcasting Them Softly 