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Information

Year
1992
Runtime
96 min.
Director
Abel Ferrara
Genres
Crime, Drama
Rating *
7.1
Votes *
25,019
Checks
3,979
Favs
254
Dislikes
59
Favs/checks
6.4% (1:16)
Favs/dislikes
4:1
* View IMDb information

Top comments

  1. dchauvin's avatar

    dchauvin

    Very difficult to enjoy. So dark (literally), so gritty, so grimey.

    However, one of the bits I loved was the juxtaposition of the first scene, Harvey taking his sons to school, and one of the final scenes, Harvey driving off with the two arrested rapists. Abel Ferrara employs the same camera angles, has the boys and rapists sat in the exact same positions, Keitel’s relationship with the characters comes across exactly the same.

    Whereby in the first scene Keitel scolds his sons for not sticking up to their aunt and exerting their masculinity (“are you men or mice?!”), in the latter he is irate at the two young men for their crime, for raping a nun, and moreover their utter lack of respect for her femininity.

    And the seemingly peculiar conclusion to the film — whereby Keitel lets the two rapists walk free and gives them $30,000 to boot — makes a ton more sense with this juxtaposition in mind. In this moment Keitel’s character realises his hypocrisy, and realises that the two rapists are the men he is raising his sons to be.

    Full review: https://medium.com/@davidchauvin/spike-lee-s-essential-films-slef-episode-7-bad-lieutenant-1992-56f962d781d3#.b7z821kkf

    image
    8 years ago
  2. bklooney's avatar

    bklooney

    Oddly, one of the most effective movies about Catholic redemption ever made. Skip the "R" rated version. It's attempt to remove some of the more controversial parts makes it hard to get the message that the main character hates the things that he does, but feels compelled to do them anyway because of his weakness (concupiscence).

    This movie is less about blasphemy than an expression of hope and salvation for even the worst among us through acts of faith and penitence.

    Or, for a more crude analysis, it's like Tarkovsky's Nostalghia (literally) on crack.
    4 years 7 months ago
  3. Nine99's avatar

    Nine99

    Thank the copyright pricks for that.

    quote:
    "Signifying Rapper" was out for five years, and there wasn't a problem. Then the film had already been out for two years and they start bitching about it. [...] It cost Schoolly like $50,000. It was a nightmare. And meanwhile, "Signifying Rapper" is 50 million times better than "Kashmir" ever thought of being. [...] Why sue? You should be happy that somebody is paying homage to your work.
    —Abel Ferrara
    12 years 1 month ago
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In 6 official lists

  1. This movie ranks #1 in Spike Lee's Essential List of Films for Filmmakers
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    Spike Lee's Essential Li…

    1
  2. This movie ranks #3 in BFI's 100 American Independent Films
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    BFI's 100 American Indep…

    3
  3. This movie ranks #40 in TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films: 1001-2500
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    TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest F…

    40
  4. This movie ranks #68 in The Guardian's 1000 Films to See Before You Die
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    The Guardian's 1000 Film…

    68
  5. This movie ranks #297 in Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 Lists
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    Cahiers du Cinéma's Annu…

    297
  6. This movie ranks #684 in TSPDT's 1,000 Noir Films
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    TSPDT's 1,000 Noir Films

    684
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