Serpico (Widescreen Edition) |  | Directors: Laurent Bouzereau, Sidney Lumet
Actors: Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire, Barbara Eda-Young
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.98
Buy Used: $2.10
as of 3/21/2010 04:41 EDT details
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Rating:  76 reviews
Sales Rank: 7417
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 130 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 097360868944
UPC: 097360868944
EAN: 0097360868944
ASIN: B00006JU7T
Theatrical Release Date: December 3, 2002
Release Date: December 3, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com essential video
Tony Manero (John Travolta) in Saturday Night Fever and Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) in Boogie Nights have one major thing in common: They both have posters of Al Pacino as Serpico on their bedroom walls. As the real-life NYPD detective whose integrity cost him virtually everything (and almost cost him his life), Pacino became one of the icons of gritty, realistic 1970s filmmaking. Released in 1973, between the first two Godfather movies, this is the true story of Frank Serpico, a long-haired, idealistic, iconoclastic cop who reluctantly goes undercover to investigate dirty colleagues who are on the take. This is one of the definitive Pacino performances, along with his role as Michael Corleone in the Godfather saga, and Sonny the bungling bank robber in Dog Day Afternoon (which reunited him with his Serpico director, Sidney Lumet)--and Pacino was nominated for a best actor Oscar for all of them (although he wouldn't actually win until 1992's Scent of a Woman). --Jim Emerson
Product Description
True-life story of a non-conformist undercover New York cop whose techniques isolate him from the rest of the force.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 19-AUG-2003
Media Type: DVD
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 76
 Success after The Godfather March 14, 2010
Eric S. Kim (Southern California)
Ever heard of Al Pacino? Well, I'm sure you have. Ever seen Scarface, The Insider, Heat? Or how about Dog Day Afternoon, The Panic in Needle Park, or Scent of a Woman? Yeah, he's been in numerous movies ever since the early 70's, and I'm sure you recognize at least his face. But in case you haven't noticed, Al Pacino is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors of 20th-century cinema. In fact, he's one of my favorite actors of all time, and there's a very good reason for it: this guy can really act. He's been parodied several times on film and on TV, but that's because everyone knows how good he is. From The Godfather trilogy to Insomnia, his performances are MORE then just solid gold. A professional method actor, he simply becomes his characters, whether they are fictional (Ricky Roma) or real-life (Lowell Bergman). He's not Al Pacino in The Godfather trilogy, he's Michael Corleone in the Godfather trilogy. He's not himself in Dick Tracy, he's "Big Boy" Caprice. No matter how you look at it, this guy is a living legend among actors. However, if Glengarry Glen Ross or Carlito's Way doesn't impress you enough, then maybe Serpico will.
When The Godfather was released back in 1972, it made Pacino, who was unknown at the time, a movie star. Studio executives already saw him as a "profitable" performer, but it looked like Pacino was concentrating more on cinematic material rather than money, because his next movie didn't look and feel like a typical Hollywood-style film. Serpico is based on the real-life story of Frank Serpico, a cop who refused to adapt to the corruption that took place in the NYPD. The film was made back in the early 70's, and the budget looks pretty modest from the looks of it, but that's beside the point. What really matters is how mesmerizing this movie is. This is a carefully-directed tour de force that showcases not only Pacino's spectacular acting talents, but also gives us an incredibly solid character study of the man who would become famous in police departments everywhere. Here is an individual who is honest and is fully dedicated to his work, but who is also tormented by the fact that the people he is working with are secretly breaking laws. This would result in him fighting against corruption, with some severe sacrifices along the way. I must say that Pacino plays the part perfectly, of course. The appearance, the mannerisms, and the ANGER of Frank Serpico are shown with real strength and heart. This is one of his greatest roles.
Aside from the fact that this movie showcases young Pacino at his best, the movie is photographed beautifully and written extraordinarily well. Director Sydney Lumet breaks away from over-the-top action and suspense and delivers with a slow and steady pace, which I think is really appropriate for this kind of film. The supporting cast (Barbara Eda-Young as Laurie, Tony Roberts as Blair, John Randolph as Sidney Green) is all-around excellent. The music by Mikis Theodorakis is a pleasure to listen to (except during one specific sequence, in which the music sounds as cheesy as the theme for a 70's cop show).
After my first viewing of Serpico, I instantly fell in love with it. It has quickly become one of my favorite films of all time. I think that the movie is going to get better and better after repeated viewings. In conclusion, this is a great movie, and if you're a fan of Pacino, then you have to see this film. Too bad, though, that the DVD has now been discontinued. You'll have to buy a new copy as quickly as possible, or just purchase a used one from here or elsewhere.
Grade: A
SERPICO January 7, 2010
Andrew John Zukowski
A CLASSIC MOVIE WITH A GREAT ACTOR AL PACINO. A TRUE STORY ABOUT A HONEST COP IN NEWYORK. YOU WILL LOVE THIS MOVIE
 Serpico: A Name That Became Famous April 23, 2009
Craig Connell (Lockport, NY USA)
This is a fairly long film but, like Al Pacino, it's rarely boring. The name of Pacino's character, "Serpico," has become synonymous with "honest cop." It demonstrates what a strong impact this movie had on millions of people.
There have so many crooked-cops-themed films in the past 30 years that this film has lost a lot of its shock-and-awe. The long hair, wild clothes, beads, etc. really date this film, too, it being so early '70s in looks. It's almost become a "period piece" as if it were the Roaring Twenties except its the Hairy and sleazy Seventies.
What hasn't changed over the years is Pacino's acting, of course. There have been very few films in which he starred that didn't display his talents to the fullest. This film, along with Dog Day Afternoon and few others, put him "on the map," making him a big star. He's been a "star" ever since.
Gritty? Yes. Profane? Yes; Memorable? Most definitely. When you speak of modern-day film classics, "Serpico" is one of them.
Don't make em like this one anymore January 25, 2009
Ronald Battista (Colorado Springs, CO)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm of the mind to think that the 70s in American cinema is its golden age. Serpico is an indispensable product of that period, and if you haven't seen this yet, you won't get a chance to find out why Al Pacino is one of our most interesting actors. When the movie makes you want to read the book immediately after viewing, you know you've come across something special.
Terrific September 25, 2008
Cosmoetica (New York, USA)
It was Al Pacino's first big screen masterpiece of acting. The Godfather was really Marlon Brando's showcase vehicle, and The Godfather, Part Two was a year away, while Dog Day Afternoon, also with Lumet, was another year further out. Pacino's Frank Serpico covers alot of ground in his time on the force, and the two and a quarter hour film moves so briskly that it seems much longer, but in the good sense. As a biopic, it wisely focuses on the meat of the man's public impact, not a cradle to grave psychodrama. We see the thousand little ways that corruption breeds and spreads. Not only is evident it out and out graft and bribery, but in parking ticket quotas, freeby lunches, and the like of countless seemingly harmless acts. Serpico will have none of it, as he is shunted from precinct to precinct, and mocked by his fellow cops as a goody-goody, untrustworthy, and dangerous- all because he's decent and ethical. The non-stop harassment eats away at his insides and his mind, destroys his relationships with women, and lands him on a mission to clean things up, by whatever means he can.
However, bureaucracy slows down his quest, until he connects with another cop, Bob Blair (Tony Roberts), who guides him across minefields of political machinations, until they both decide to go public to the New York Times. Consequently, Serpico is abandoned on a drug bust, by his partners, and shot in the face- the point at which the film begins, then proceeds to its coda. The film ends with Serpico going public at the Knapp Commission hearings, and then we get the credits telling us of the aftermath. Sidney Lumet had a perfect grasp of the streets and the times in this film, and the old clichés about them not making films like this any more is true. Compare this to the Academy Award-level `issues' films of recent vintage- The Hours, Million Dollar Baby, Monster, or this year's Brokeback Mountain- and there's simply no comparison. Realistic, but poetic, films like this are just not made by the damnable Hollywood machine any longer. And few independent films can afford the budget and time needed to craft so meticulous a work- Joe Carnahan's recent Ray Liotta vehicle Narc being a welcome exception. Yet, films like this, Dog Day Afternoon, The French Connection, The Conversation, Taxi Driver, All The President's Men, Apocalypse Now, and the like, still tug at the American psyche. Surely, there will be a time in the not-too distant future that such films will be welcome again?
Showing reviews 1-5 of 76
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