It’s been 39 years since the movie CRUISING was released.
Poorly received by critics, making only a modest amount of money and surrounded
by controversy from both the gay and anti-gay community it certainly stirred
the pot in 1980. One would think that in those 39 years the movie would be less
controversial but the fact is it remains so.
If you’ve never seen the film it’s a murder mystery set in
the hard core S&M gay community of New York City at the time. Director
William Friedkin says in the extras that he always saw it as a murder mystery
and not about the gay community but others disagree. Gay men are being
murdered, stabbed to death and even dismembered in various locations. Police
detective Captain Edelson (Paul Sorvino) decides the best way to handle the
case is to send someone in undercover.
He recruits a young officer named Steve Burns (Al Pacino).
The assignment is to infiltrate the S&M clubs and leather bars the victims
once frequented and find as much information as possible. At first reluctant to
take the job Burns changes his mind realizing that this could lead him to a
gold shield and detective position bypassing walking a beat. He takes the job
as well as the condition not to tell anyone about what he is doing. This
includes his girlfriend Nancy (Karen Allen).
Burns moves into an apartment in the gay community and
begins making friends, first with next door neighbor Ted Bailey (Don Scardino).
Through Ted he gains some information about the community as well as which
clubs to frequent. Having not been exposed to what takes place there it’s an
eye opener for him as well as the uninformed viewer. Bondage, sexual acts
taking place for all to see and rampant random sex are the norm here.
As Burns begins to look into this lifestyle his character
begins to change as well. There are moments when you’re not quite sure just how
far he’s taken this assignment but nothing is seen or certain. It is affecting
him though. When he gives Edelson a potential suspect he and the man are
arrested, he is slapped by an imposing detective in a jock strap and the
suspect is beaten as well. This is not what he expected either.
Eventually the potential suspect is revealed but not before
several possibilities are offered. Through it all the question of just who are
these men and who is Steve Burns really are pondered. Their treatment of one
another is called into question while at the same time their treatment at the
hands of the police is also noted.
As for the movie itself when I saw it on its initial
release, even as a Friedkin fan, I was disappointed. It didn’t feel like a
complete movie and used far too little dialogue to propel the film. The
cinematography and editing were fantastic but the story itself seemed to
present such an unappealing worlds that it was difficult to remove oneself from
it and pay attention only to the mystery at its core. It is by no means a
pleasant film and none of the characters with the exception of perhaps Edelson
and Ted Bailer are sympathetic. And Pacino, whose acting prowess is well known,
feels like he’s just not quite sure what way to go here.
As I said the movie didn’t do major business at the box
office in spite of the fact that Pacino was coming in off of the success of AND
JUSTICE FOR ALL, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, SERPICO and THE GODFATHER PART 2. While he
had the clout to get this production under way Friedkin wasn’t as hot at the
time having just had two commercial failures with THE BRINKS JOB and SORCERER
(two highly underrated movies in my opinion). Odds are the problem was the content
of the film and the controversy surrounding it.
The gay community was fearful of the film being released by
feeling that it portrayed them all as this select group of S&M leather
wearing roughnecks. They attempted to stop or slow down the production while it
was being filmed and protested it. On the other end religious groups were
opposed to the film for what they felt was promoting a gay lifestyle. Odd how
both saw the film as a problem for completely opposite reasons.
Arrow has done their usual wonderful job of making the movie
not only accessible but in the best format possible. This is a brand new
restoration in 4k from the original film negative, supervised and approved by
writer-director William Friedkin. Extras this time are limited but important
none the less for fans of Pacino, Friedkin or the film itself. They include an
archival audio commentary track by Friedkin, “The History of CRUISING” an
archival featurette about the making of the film and its origins, “Exorcising
CRUISING” another archival featurette looking at the controversy surrounding
the film and the original trailer.
One word of warning I would offer to those considering
picking this up is to be well aware of the subject content of the extreme gay
community this movie depicts. It doesn’t present it in the most favorable light
which would account for the gay community that objected at the time. It is
indeed graphic even by today’s standards. Know this going in.
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