Serpico

Serpico is a 1973 Italian-American crime neo-noir film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino. The screenplay was written by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler based on Peter Maas' biographical book of the same name about New York Police Department officer Frank Serpico. The story details Serpico's fight against New York City police corruption during his eleven years of service and his work as a whistleblower that led to the Knapp Commission investigation.

While producer Dino De Laurentiis bought the rights from Maas, agent Martin Bregman joined the film as a co-producer. Bregman suggested Pacino for the lead role, and John G. Avildsen was hired to direct the film. Pacino met with Serpico to prepare for the role in the early summer of 1973. After Avildsen was fired, Lumet was hired as his replacement, who, within a short time, selected shooting locations and staged scenes; filming took place between July and August 1973.

Upon its release, Serpico became a critical and commercial success. At the same time, the film drew criticism from police officers. He received nominations for the Oscars and the BAFTA Awards. Pacino won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama, while Salt and Wexler received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Plot

NYPD officer Frank Serpico is rushed to the hospital after being shot in the face. Chief Sidney Green fears Serpico may have been shot by another cop. In a flashback, Serpico graduates from the police academy. In 1959, he joins the New York Police Department and it isn't long before he becomes aware of the systematic corruption rampant among his colleagues: from small bribes of three hundred dollars a month to larger sums. The blindness of his superiors and his subservience to that system hinder Serpico's activity. While on patrol, he confronts three men who are raping a woman and arrests one of the assailants. When the suspect is beaten during the interrogation, Serpico refuses to participate. He later convinces the suspect to turn the others in. Serpico breaks protocol to arrest the suspect himself, but is forced not to take credit. He is later assigned to the Criminal Investigation Bureau. He moves to Greenwich Village and begins dating Leslie, a woman from his Spanish class. Because of her appearance, her interests, and a misunderstanding in the men's room, she is accused of being homosexual. Serpico clarifies the situation to Captain McLain and requests a transfer.

In his new apartment, Serpico works in civilian clothes. While he is chasing a burglar, he is nearly shot when other officers don't recognize him. Later, Serpico befriends Bob Blair, who has been assigned to the Mayor's Office of Investigations. Meanwhile, Leslie leaves Serpico to marry another man in Texas. Serpico is offered a bribe and reports this to Blair, who arranges a meeting with a high-ranking investigator. He is told that he must testify or "forget it", so he hands over the bribe to his sergeant. Later, Serpico requests a transfer and starts recording his phone calls. At that time, he begins an affair with his neighbor, Laurie. Meanwhile, deals continue between the officers and various local underworld exponents and gamblers who, by paying the police, make sure they can continue their business undisturbed.

He is reassigned to the 7th Division, but immediately discovers an even worse corruption situation. Forced to accompany his plainclothes comrades as they perpetrate acts of violence, extort and collect bribes, he refuses to accept his share of the money. He informs McLain, who assures him that the police commissioner wants him to continue collecting evidence and that he will be contacted by the chief's office. Serpico is impatient waiting for the promised contact, because he fears for his life. Serpico and Blair go to the assistant mayor, who promises them a real investigation and support. His efforts are hampered by political pressure, and Serpico rejects Blair's suggestion to go to other officials or the press.

During the course of a "meeting" in a public park, his peers try to convince him to accept at least some of the bribe money. Serpico refuses and realizes that he is all alone. Since then, the threats are greater. "Many things can happen to a policeman in the service, like not having his back covered by his colleagues during police actions," suggests a colleague from the academy, now one of the most influential collectors in the activity. Serpico's fate —already isolated from his colleagues and without sufficient external support— is cast, because he has no intention of accepting corruption and the police officers of his district do not allow him to do his thing now that he knows the internal situation. The stress takes its toll on him and his relationship with Laurie. When Serpico discovers that a suspect, whom he had arrested, is getting special treatment, he beats up the man, who, he reveals, had served fifteen years in jail for killing a policeman. Frustrated after a year and a half of inaction, Serpico informs McLain that he has gone to outside agencies with the allegations against him. Leading the squad, Serpico is sent to meet with divisional inspectors, who explain that his charges never made it up the chain of command. The inspectors report to the commissioner, who orders them to investigate the division themselves, acknowledging that McLain had told him about the allegations.

As the investigation progresses, Serpico is threatened and, tired of the continual arguing, Laurie leaves him. The district attorney convinces Serpico that if he testifies before a grand jury, a major investigation into the department's rampant corruption will take place. During the trial, the DA prevents him from answering incriminating questions up the chain of command, further frustrating Serpico. After several unsuccessful reporting attempts and knowing that his life is in danger, he, Blair and an honest division commander contact The New York Times . After his accusations are published, he is assigned to a dangerous narcotics squad in Brooklyn, where he encounters even greater corruption.

During a break-in at a drug dealer's apartment in a rough neighborhood, Serpico ends up involved in a violent situation where two of his coworkers ignore his plea for help and he is shot in the face. He recovers, albeit with lifelong effects. After being discharged, he testifies against police corruption in front of the Knapp Commission, a government investigation into police corruption of the New York Police Department. An epilogue reveals that he resigned from the NYPD on June 15, 1972 and was later awarded the NYPD Medal of Honor for "conspicuous gallantry in action". Once named detective, a badge that for him no longer has any value, he decides to leave the police and move to Switzerland.

Cast

Background

After Frank Serpico recovered from being shot, he helped Peter Maas write the book Serpico. Maas had been fascinated by the figure of Serpico, who spent months interviewing and researching him for his own account to verify that he was indeed an honest policeman and that his statements were not exaggerated. Detective David Durk, who also testified before the Knapp Commission, planned to sell the rights to his story for a film adaptation. Early negotiations included Paul Newman in the role of Durk and Robert Redford as Serpico. Serpico distanced himself from the project, as he felt he would be portrayed merely as a sidekick. Screenwriter John Gregory Dunne turned down the project, feeling that "there was no story." Director Sam Peckinpah, as well as Newman and Redford left the project.

Maas's agent, Sam Cohn, was contacted by agent Martin Bregman, who expressed interest in producing the film after reading an article about the book in New York magazine. Bregman pitched one of his clients, Al Pacino, to play the lead role. Bregman tried unsuccessfully to get funding from some studios but according to him, the police drama had been out of print in the past two years, when it had been released for a few years. seventeen films in the genre, most of them "horrible" and unrealistic. After the success of several of his films in the 1960s and early 1970s, producer Dino De Laurentiis decided to move from Italy to the United States. Joined. The change in financing laws further regulated the Italian film industry and so the producer decided to settle in New York City. Following their collaboration on The Valachi Papers, De Laurentiis bought the rights to Maas's book. De Laurentiis contacted Maas when he had about twenty pages of his book written, and after persuading him to allowed to read the material, he became fascinated with Serpico's character and, with the book still unfinished, decided to buy the rights. "I knew that I could do a story around the strong personality of Frank Serpico", stated the Italian. Maas's representative arranged a meeting between Bregman and De Laurentiis, who agreed with the choice of Pacino for the lead role. Maas received $400,000 (equivalent to $2.3 million in 2020) and participation in the film, while the rights to his work were obtained prior to the book's publication in March 1973. De Laurentiis initially found resistance to the project on the part of Paramount Pictures. The studio felt that "enough cop movies" had already been made. In turn, De Laurentiis received the support of Charles Bluhdorn, president of Gulf+Western, who wanted the film made. De Laurentiis later stated that "no American producer would have had the courage" to portray police corruption on film.

Waldo Salt was selected to write the adaptation. The first draft impressed neither Maas nor De Laurentiis nor Bregman. Bregman perceived the result as "very political" and felt that the story did not reflect what the producers wanted to capture in the film. Bregman and Maas then directed Salt to the parts of the book they imagined would be reflected in the script. The second draft was substantially improved, according to the production team. Bregman showed the treatment to Pacino, who was initially uninterested in the film. Salt then visited Pacino with a rewrite of the script, which convinced him to consider the role. A meeting was later arranged between Serpico, Maas, and Pacino, so that the actor could learn the theme of the film. Upon meeting him, Pacino was completely convinced to accept the role. John G. Avildsen was chosen to direct the film.

Salt's work did not live up to Avildsen's expectations, and he threatened to leave the project unless he could bring in Norman Wexler, with whom he had worked on Joe, to write the script. The two traveled to Switzerland to visit Serpico and work out details. Time to work on the production was limited due to Pacino's commitment to The Godfather II. Further disagreements arose between Avildsen and Bregman regarding the script and the selection of filming locations. Meeting resistance to his ideas, Avildsen repeatedly threatened Bregman with resignation. Aggravated, Bregman called a meeting with the production team, in order to cause the director to resign in front of witnesses. In a meeting with Bregman and De Laurentiis, Avildsen had insisted on filming a scene in the actual home of Serpico's parents for authenticity, but the producers felt the structure could not efficiently accommodate the production crew. The tension at the meeting resulted in De Laurentiis firing Avildsen, and the director in turn resigned. According to Avildsen's account, the reason for his dismissal was because he refused to cast Cornelia Sharpe as Leslie. Sharpe was dating Bregman at the time. Avildsen would later state that he should have handled the situation "with more finesse". Just before shooting began, Sidney Lumet was brought in to complete the job because of his reputation as an effective director under busy schedules. The director considered it too lengthy. —about 240 pages— Salt's version of the script. Wexler shortened and restructured the script. According to Lumet, the final result was a mix between the dialogues written by Salt and the structure created by Wexler.

Pacino was briefly distracted from the project by an offer to play the lead in Lenny, but ultimately turned it down. To prepare for Serpico, he drove for a night with police officers, but decided that was not enough. As a method actor, he felt that he needed to spend time with Serpico.Pacino and Serpico met several times in Montauk, where the actor had rented a house for the summer season. Serpico's conviction to reform the New York Police Department inspired Pacino to become more committed to the project. In character, Pacino often walked through areas of the city that were considered dangerous at the time. On one occasion, while waiting in traffic, he attempted to arrest a truck driver who was upset by exhaust fumes. On another occasion, he was refused service at a Manhattan restaurant because of his scruffy appearance for the film.

Production

Lumet staged 107 speaking roles and their scenes took place in 104 different locations. The longest scenes took up two and a half pages of the script, while the average was one page. The project was given a budget of 3.3 million dollars - the equivalent of 19.2 million dollars in 2020. Two weeks of rehearsals were carried out. Pacino had learned the script from Salt and agreed with Lumet that Wexler's revised version had improved the structure but impoverished the dialogue. Lumet allowed the actors to improvise certain dialogue and also allowed their creative input on scenes. The cast selected dialogue from both scripts as filming progressed. Although he already had a good understanding of the New York locations, Lumet considered the work "physically brutal and emotionally hard". The shooting of Serpico began in early July 1973. The film was planned to be released before Christmas, with four and a half months for the crew to complete it. Filming took place between July and August of that year. of the film spans eleven years, from 1960 to 1971.

Pacino like Frank Serpico in an advertising portrait.

To accommodate the scenes surrounding Pacino's facial hair, the film was shot in reverse. Pacino started out with a beard and long hair. He was shaved down to the mustache and eventually had his hair cut and shaved for the beginning of the film. Lumet decided every day if Pacino should shave more, and the crew prepared fake beards in case they were needed. In winter conditions, the crew had to defoliate trees and cut down bushes. Special makeup was used to absorb sweat and keep the actors' skin dry. The cast wore winter coats, and their skin was given a bluish tint, while his exhalation had to be visible. The director complied with Serpico's wish to make winter appear "cold and heavy" and summer "idyllic and misty". The crew had difficulty finding suitable locations for scenes set in the 1960s, as graffiti did not become common until 1970. Lumet filmed on up to thirty-five different sets a day. On average, the crew had to move three times a day. Each location had to be free of non-period cars, and extras could not feature long hair or non-period clothing. Hairdressers were present among the production crew. Various locations from four of the city's five boroughs—with the exception of Staten Island—were used, including Harlem, the South Bronx, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Astoria. Lewisohn Stadium shortly before its demolition. The party scene was filmed in playwright Sidney Kingsley's Fifth Avenue loft. The NYPD cooperated with the director, allowing him to film in four active police stations.

Serpico's apartment had to be built by the production; it had a fixed ceiling and movable walls, and was located in Greenwich Village, much like Serpico's original apartment. Through the lighting, Lumet and cinematographer Arthur Ornitz opted to maintain a "warm look" to the location.. Different techniques were used to reflect the moods and changes the character went through over the years. Lumet focused on portraying Serpico's struggle to balance his work and personal life, and his further isolation and alienation, as his efforts they had slow results. The director decided to portray him "darker and darker". As the film progressed, the cast's wardrobe became darker, until reaching the courtroom scene, where all the actors were wearing dark shades. Lumet told Charles Champlin: "I was trying to negate the color, to make a color film that was not colourful. Meanwhile, he wanted Serpico's fellow cops to be “charming men, all the more evil for being human and understandable.” Lumet finished shooting the film in fifty-one days, within budget.

The film was edited by Dede Allen. Allen received the scenes immediately after they were shot by Lumet. He had a limit of forty-eight hours to finish his work and turn it in to the sound department.At first, Lumet did not want to add music to the film, but decided that he would do so before De Laurentiis commissioned one. After learning that Mikis Theodorakis had been released in Greece, he was able to locate him in Paris, as the composer quickly left his home country.Theodorakis accepted Lumet's offer and flew to New York City the next day.. He met with the director, who showed him the film the same day he arrived. Theodorakis agreed that he should not have a score, but offered a composition of his own to add to the film. Theodorakis had organized a tour of the United States with a Greek orchestra and told Lumet that he could not be present for the spotting session. Lumet enlisted the help of Bob James, who was to accompany the director in the process of introducing music to the film. To report on the progress of the sessions and possible changes to the arrangements, James flew to the cities where Theodorakis performed to work out the details together.

Premiere

The film opened on December 5, 1973 in New York and on December 18 in Los Angeles. Its opening week in New York grossed $123,000. Serpico was it was released nationally on February 6, 1974. The film was both a critical and commercial success. With a modest budget, estimated at $2.5–3 million, it grossed between $23.4 million and $29. 8 million dollars.

Frank Serpico attended the premiere of the film, but did not finish watching it, feeling "distant" from the final result. In an interview with Pauline Kael for The New Yorker, he stated that "It doesn't give you a sense of frustration that you get when you can't do anything." Lumet met Serpico shortly before production. The director asked him to stay away from the set, so that Pacino would not "feel self-conscious" about his performance. Serpico first saw the film in its entirety in 2010. In a later interview, he stated that Lumet excluded him from the set after he interrupted filming for a scene that "never happened". Serpico also criticized the firing of Avildsen by the production team. Serpico and Avildsen remained friends, sharing Long Island property for three years in the 1980s. New York City Police Commissioner Michael Codd stated that the film "tends to imply that Serpico was the only honest cop in the whole department." Detective Durk was not satisfied with Serpico. Durk, who was portrayed as Bob Blair, felt that the film would discourage other police officers from speaking out against corruption. In an interview with The New York Times , he considered that the film was unfair to honest policemen. Durk stated that the ending of the film conveyed that "the cost of honesty is martyrdom" and Serpico's departure for Switzerland shows him "hurt and frustrated". Meanwhile, Bronx District Attorney Burton B. Roberts stated that he has "absolutely nothing to do with the truth." Lumet defended his artistic license in depicting the story, as he wished to make a film that "people would believe". Bregman rejected the criticism, as he felt that real names were not relevant to viewers in other cities as well. of New York. Maas chided Durk's comments about honest cops, and in reference to Serpico's injury asked, "Where were they?"

On September 21, 1975, Serpico was broadcast on television as part of The ABC Sunday Night Movie. It was released on VHS in 1991, on DVD in 2002 and on Blu-ray in 2013. The film was released on Blu-ray for the UK by The Masters of Cinema line in 2014. This version contains three documentaries about the film, a photo gallery with audio commentary from Lumet and a forty-four page booklet.

Reception

First reviews

The New York Times found the film "exhilarating" because of Pacino's performance and the "tremendous intensity" of Lumet's direction. At the same time, the newspaper found the film "disturbing" for its use of fictitious names, as the reviewer felt it diminished Durk's role. In addition, he referred to Theodorakis' score as "redundant and silly". The New York Daily News received the film favorably; gave it four stars out of five, calling it "a triumph of intelligence, compassion and style". Another reviewer for the same outlet called Pacino's performance a "masterful performance" and commented that he "walks like a cop. He talks like a cop. He even seems to think like a cop ». The review also praised Lumet and his "gift for achieving social realism."The Record deemed it "one of the best films of the year." While deeming Serpico's portrayal "too honest and obsessive", the review praised Pacino, though opined that his performance was "at times a little too intense". He praised the New York City photography as authentic and credited the work of Ornitz and Allen. The Village Voice wrote a mixed review; He criticized the film's focus on Serpico and the secondary role that the writers gave to the character representing Durk. The reviewer deemed Serpico "worth watching" for Pacino's performance. Variety found Pacino's performance "outstanding" and Lumet's a combination of "brave action and thought-provoking commentary". For Newhouse News Services it was an "exciting film", but the review noted that it was "weakened" by its focus on Serpico. The news agency felt that minimizing the other characters was a way to avoid "possible lawsuits". The Los Angeles Times praised Serpico; Charles Champlin called Pacino "one of the few genuine star actors in American cinema." Salt and Wexler's script was noted as "almost documentary reality", and their treatment of the main character "a complex and evolving portrait". The reviewer also commented that the romances and breakups were presented with "unbridled honesty". The contributions of the supporting cast were well noted. Champlin felt that Allen's work was considered "high on the list" for an Academy Award nomination. and considered Theodorakis' music "effective".

Criticism after the national premiere

The Chicago Tribune rated the film two and a half stars. The critic said that the treatment of corruption was its "main strength and weakness" and added that Serpico "loses perspective" that "corruption... begins and ends with active decision-making and passive of individuals." The Philadelphia Inquirer celebrated the film's criticism of police corruption, despite its "embellishments and omissions" in the story. Pacino's performance was called "riveting" and praised the "sharply individualized characterizations" of Tony Roberts, Jack Kehoe, John Randolph, Biff McGuire, Barbara Eda-Young, and Cornelia Sharpe. Also for the Philadelphia Inquirer, investigative journalist Greg Walter lamented the portrayal of police officers as "vapid donkeys." Walter felt that Maas's book was "coldly objective", but that the director's work featured characters that were "one-dimensional caricatures". The Boston Globe noted Lumet's "melodramatic efficiency". The publication deemed the story "very repetitive" but approved of its "fast pace." He considered Ornitz's camerawork "the proper documentary look", while bemoaning Theodorakis's score, describing it as "disruptive" and "out of place". criticized Theodorakis, opining that his work as a composer "should be silenced". Nonetheless, the review praised Allen's work.

Pacino as an undercover agent in a scene.

The Miami Herald praised the use of "street talk" instead of the "speak of actors and actresses" of Salt, Wexler and Maas. He praised Lumet and Ornitz's photography, which "generates the smells, sounds and styles of the city," and Theodorakis' music. He also deemed Pacino's performance "predictably excellent."The Detroit Free Press suggested that Serpico would be a breakthrough role for Pacino as an actor, calling his performance "riveting." ». The newspaper called the film an "uplifting moral tale". Meanwhile, The San Francisco Examiner noted that Pacino's performance was "brilliant and solidly thought out". The publication added that the supporting cast's contributions "never developed satisfactorily." As for Lumet, the critic felt that he directed the film with "skill and vigour". The Cincinnati Enquirer attributed the film's commercial success to Pacino's performance and the film's portrayal of " the hard, cold, raw and filthy reality".

The Evening Sun critic Lou Cedrone expressed doubts about Durk's "gratuitous talk about smearing police image". Cedrone felt that Durk "fits very well" in the film and defended Lumet's choice to "emphasize action over definition". Meanwhile, he found the use of Neapolitan music "silly perhaps, but not moving." He called Pacino's contribution “a magnificent performance.” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called Serpico “meticulously crafted, intelligently written, unflinchingly honest.” The publication highlighted the "fidelity" with which the director captured New York and that the city "becomes more than just a background landscape." He called Pacino's performance "naturalistic, perfectly convincing". The Honolulu Advertiser noted that Pacino's "brilliant performance" turned an "ordinary cop movie" into "extraordinary". The review also highlighted the work of Lumet, the writers, and the supporting cast.

The Austin American-Statesman noted that the film's realism produced a "riveting film". The Fort Worth Star-Telegram praised Pacino's "compelling performance"., mentioned Roberts' participation as "outstanding" and considered that the appearances of Sharpe and Eda Young as Serpico's girlfriends were "acted with moderate excellence". The newspaper opined that the film had "15 minutes to spare", but that viewers "wouldn't realize the length until they were outside looking at the clock". The Kansas City Star detailed the criticism. that the film was received by the police and Serpico's dissatisfaction with the production. The review noted that despite the fictional additions, Serpico was a "super-realistic dramatization". Meanwhile, Wexler and Salt were praised for their authentic use of profanity in their dialogue. The Times began its review by applauding Serpico's denunciation of police corruption, noting that the film "exceeds the expectations" of the public that it be "powerfully dramatic". Lumet's "precise eye for surroundings" was noted, and the reviewer praised Pacino and the supporting cast.

Later reviews

Serpico garnered 91% positive reviews on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 45 reviews, with an average of 8 out of 10. The website noted Pacino's "fierce performance" On the Metacritic website, where an average score is assigned based on reviews from major media critics, the film received an average score of 81, based on fifteen reviews.

AllMovie gave Serpico five stars out of five. The review described the situation in the United States after the Watergate scandal and how "bureaucratic depravity struck a cultural nerve". He also welcomed the "documentary-style realism" of the film. The A.V. Club received it positively, with the reviewer finding Serpico to express "witty, character-driven moments of life". In their later review, The Village Voice stated that the "Watergate-era hippie fashion time capsule" that the film featured "should look pretty dated", but that the story "feels depressingly relevant".

Legacy

A television series based on Maas's book and film aired on NBC between September 1976 and January 1977, with David Birney playing the role of Serpico. Fourteen episodes were broadcast and one never aired. The series was preceded by a pilot film, Serpico: The Deadly Game, which aired in April 1976.

The main character in the Italian film Squadra antiscippo (1976) was inspired by Serpico. In the film Saturday Night Fever (1977) a poster of Serpico appears in the bedroom of its main character, Tony Manero. The character Scagnetti references the film in Natural Born Killers (1994). The film's poster appears in the bedroom of the main character in Boogie Nights (1997). In a 2004 episode of the sitcom Corner Gas, titled "The Taxman", cops Davis and Karen talk about the movie and Karen tries to rent it from the video store. Serpico was mentioned in a 2016 Ministry of Time episode as the reason for the nickname of one of its main characters, "Pacino". Among other police films, Serpico influenced Hong Kong action cinema.

Awards

The film received Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Pacino) and Best Adapted Screenplay. The writers won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Theodorakis was nominated for a Grammy for Best Soundtrack Album for a Visual Medium and a BAFTA for Best Original Score. to the Golden Globe Awards for best dramatic film. Pacino won his first Golden Globe for best dramatic actor and the David de Donatello Award for best foreign actor from the Italian Film Academy; he was also nominated for a BAFTA for Best Actor.Director Sidney Lumet was nominated for Best Director at both the BAFTA Awards and the Directors Guild Awards.

Pacino's role as Frank Serpico was ranked number forty on the American Film Institute's list of "100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains." eighty-four of "100 Years...100 Inspirations", a list of the most inspiring American films. Serpico is among the films included in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before to die.