Cop Land (1997)
76%RT Audience Score: 67%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 1 nomination
Cop Land matches its star-studded cast with richly imagined characters while throttling the audience with carefully ratcheted suspense, although it lacks the moral complexity of classic crime thrillers
Cop Land” is like a salad that needs more dressing, but Stallone’s 40-pound weight gain for the role is definitely worth mentioning. The movie is a slow-burn thriller that keeps you hooked with its plot about police corruption. The star power is impressive, but it also throws the proceedings off-kilter, making you expect more than the film can deliver. Overall, it’s a haunting and downbeat police drama that mixes elements of a grand urban crime drama with westerns, creating a new type of story that drips in realism and gray characters. Ray Liotta steals the show as a cokehead cop who just might be Stallone’s only friend.
Production Company(ies)
Discovery Channel, Jigsaw Productions, Tall Woods
Distributor
Buena Vista Pictures, Miramax Films
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Edgewater, New Jersey, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for violence, strong language and brief nudity
Year of Release
1997
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 45m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 15, 1997 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 2, 2002
Genre(s)
Crime/Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
starring Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Peter Berg, Janeane Garofalo, Michael Rapaport, Cathy Moriarty, Frank Vincent, Noah Emmerich, Annabella Sciorra, John Spencer, Arthur J Nascarella, Malik Yoba, Edie Falco, Method Man, Tony Sirico, Paul Calderon, Victor Williams, John Doman, Frank Pellegrino, directed by James Mangold, written by James Mangold, produced by Cary Woods, Ezra Swerdlow, Cathy Konrad, crime, mystery, thriller, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Jason Bailey, Owen Gleiberman, David Edelstein, Jack Kroll, Ian Freer, Paul Tatara, Yasser Medina, Rachel Wagner, Leigh Paatsch, Ed Travis, Matt Brunson, MPAA rating R, corrupt cops, police corruption, New York City, Internal Affairs, suburban New Jersey, sheriff, cover-up, racially-motivated incident, investigations, idealistic, moral complexity
Worldwide gross: $44,862,187
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $83,626,744
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,105
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 9,119,601
US/Canada gross: $44,862,187
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $83,626,744
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 838
US/Canada opening weekend: $13,510,482
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $25,184,631
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 541
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $15,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $27,961,213
Production budget ranking: 1,184
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $15,057,113
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $40,608,418
ROI to date (est.): 94%
ROI ranking: 963
Harvey Keitel – Ray Donlan
Ray Liotta – Gary “Figgsy” Figgis
Robert De Niro – Lt. Moe Tilden
Peter Berg – Joey Randone
Janeane Garofalo – Deputy Cindy Betts
Director(s)
James Mangold
Writer(s)
James Mangold
Producer(s)
Cary Woods, Ezra Swerdlow, Cathy Konrad
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (65) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (49) | Rotten (16)
‘Cop Land’ holds up as a pretty good little thriller, a Sidney Lumet movie in a Martin Scorsese movie’s clothing.
August 26, 2017
Jason Bailey
Flavorwire
TOP CRITIC
Mangold certainly knew what he was doing when he cast Keitel and De Niro.
April 9, 2008 | Rating: B-
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Cop Land shares its leading man’s slow-wittedness, but also his likability.
April 9, 2008
David Edelstein
Slate
TOP CRITIC
Mangold is something of a pseudo-Scorsese.
April 9, 2008
Jack Kroll
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
A good effort, but the star power on show throws the proceedings off kilter somewhat, hiking up an expectation that the film ultimately cannot live up to.
April 9, 2008 | Rating: 3/5
Ian Freer
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
It’s pretty funny, actually, that Stallone gained 40 pounds to play this role, and what the movie needs more than anything else is to eat a salad and do some sit-ups.
April 9, 2008
Paul Tatara
CNN.com
TOP CRITIC
‘Cop Land’, James Mangold’s second film in the director’s chair, has an intrigue that keeps me hooked at all times with its plot about police corruption. [Full review in Spanish]
September 16, 2021 | Rating: 7/10
Yasser Medina
Cinemaficionados
Stallone’s character is interesting and easy to root for
October 11, 2020
Rachel Wagner
Rachel’s Reviews (YouTube)
A haunting and decidedly downbeat police drama, Cop Land marks one of the few times anyone could see fit to sing Sly’s praises.
June 26, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
James Mangold says that his goal was to mix elements of a grand urban crime drama a la Goodfellas with westerns like High Noon. My opinion? He succeeded in spades.
April 1, 2020
Ed Travis
Hollywood Jesus
Top acting honors go to Ray Liotta as Gary Figgis, a cokehead cop who just might be Freddy’s only friend.
September 13, 2012 | Rating: 3/4
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing
not your traditional action flick, nor your traditional cop flick. It has elements of each, all wrapped up in a new type of story that drips in realism and gray characters.
August 15, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures…
Plot
Sometime in the 1970’s, police officers from New York City wanted a safe haven to live, away from the dangers of the streets of New York City, this is when they established a “Cop Land” in the small New Jersey town of Garrison. Freddy Heflin who was always admired by the New York cops wanted to become one, but because he was deaf in one ear this prevents him from achieving his goal, but has become sheriff of Garrison. Recently there have been a dark omen surrounding the NYPD, and Freddy is now investigating on this case, then Internal Affairs officer Mo Tilden is also on the case and asks Freddy for help, but Freddy could not. Now Freddy suspects that a New York City cop named Ray Donlan might be one of the many cops who is corrupted by the mob and other criminals. Now, Freddy must find a cop who is nicknamed “Superboy” who can testify against Donlan and protect him, before Donlan finds Superboy and kills him.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels notes that Sylvester Stallone gained 40 pounds for his role in Cop Land.
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