Lumet at his zenith. If you love Lumets directing, please seek out the hidden gem "Lovin' Molly" from about circa 1974 starring Blythe Danner, Anthony Hopkins and Beau Bridges. Trust me, it will affect you.

'Serpico' has lost none of it's impact despite being close to 30 years old. Please rent it, buy it, or, if you are truly brave, live it.

(The score and cinematography are also excellent. And the cardboard box that the videotape comes in makes an excellent source of dietary fibre.)


Brilliant, and it's true   December 13, 2003
 9 out of 15 found this review helpful

Fantastic film with Al Pacino in the title role playing Frank Serpico, a real-life NYPD detective whose integrity nearly cost him his life (by disgruntled co-workers) and definitely cost him his career. This movie made Pacino an icon during the 70s, and he's never slowed down since. The plot is that Serpico goes undercover to ferret out other cops who are on the take.
When we first watched this film it was on TV, and about 15 minutes from the end we suffered a power outage - and we freaked out, ran outside, up and down the block, looking for a neighbor who maybe still had power. No such luck, of course: the whole area was blacked out. It was about 3 years later that we rented it in video and finally got to watch the rest of it. Well worth the weight, but talk about frustration!
Don't miss it.


Very compelling story.   August 13, 2001
 8 out of 9 found this review helpful

The story of Frank Serpico, an honest Nyc cop, is one of the most compelling police movies ever made. Al Pacino gives the character a lot of class and cool. Serpico is an easy-going guy with very clear morals about what's right and what's wrong. As he moves from precinct to precinct in dire hope of finding an honest place to work, all he finds are more and more corrupt cops...and it seems to be driving him insane both morally, and insane because the cops aren't comfortable with cops who don't take money. The film does a great job of displaying how the corruption is corrosive and unjust to the people of our country...but esp. interesting is that this wonderfully directed Sidney Lumet film is really very much like a suspense adventure chase...but at a much slower speed in which you can watch as things crumble and go to pot. Pacino plays the role in an understated manner...perhaps due to his knowledge of the real Frank Serpico, or maybe a creative choice. Either way, it's not his usual boisterous way...no crooked looks, no playful grins, etc. You'll forget Pacino is in this character. That Academy is worthless for not handing out an Oscar for this or Scarface or for Godfather I or II...or Dog Day Afternoon or Glengarry Glen Ross.


Pacino's Magnum Opus   January 31, 2002
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Serpico...I still remember the original movie billboards with that name in 1973, and it's a classic piece of filmmaking.
Sidney Lumet directed Pacino as the real life hero cop who took on police based evil in the New York Police Department. Pacino gets completely into the role...he becomes Serpico, an honest open-minded hippy cop in the '60s pitted against his corrupt disgusting colleagues and the higher ups who not only allow the corruption, but (as the film hints at) conspire to crush those who try to expose it.
You must see this film uncut, as many of us saw it only on TV with much of the intensity cut out. Of course the film adds some extra drama to it not in the actual Peter Maas biography, just as Alan Parker did in Midnight Express.
Some tidbits: They actually had a year long TV series Serpico in 1975. And watch for the newly finished World Trade Center in the background (during the actual events it wasn't yet finished...not nitpicking...just something of interest).
Finally this is Al Pacino's definitive performance, in my opinion a superior role and film to The Godfather. Especially since he's the good guy in this one.