1981 · crime · drama
Prince of the City
Directed by Sidney Lumet2h 47m1981
New York City detective Daniel Ciello agrees to help the United States Department of Justice eliminate corruption in the police department, as long as he will not have to turn in any close friends. In doing so, Ciello uncovers a conspiracy within the force to smuggle drugs to street informants.
Our read: Prince of the City (1981) reads as a sombre, steady, grounded crime · drama entry — measured in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, measured in temperature, nihilistic in outlook.
Sombre, steady, measured crime / drama, grounded in texture. Nihilistic, mid-stakes, measured.
- sombre
- intense
- twisty
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Availability in the UK · via JustWatch
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How Prince of the City feels to watch.
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What watching it is actually like.
“You want a dense Lumet epic about narc cops betraying everyone they love.”
Skip it tonight — Skip if nearly three hours of moral corrosion and wiretaps is too much.
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