Serpico (1973)
89%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 2 Oscars
8 wins & 13 nominations total
An engrossing, immediate depiction of early ’70s New York, Serpico is elevated by Al Pacino’s ferocious performance.
Al Pacino shines in Serpico, a cop movie that’s more than just a cop movie. It’s a gritty, thought-provoking look at corruption in the police force and the toll it takes on those who try to fight it. Pacino’s performance is electric, and Sidney Lumet’s direction expertly balances action and commentary. Sure, there are some flaws, like Pacino’s character sometimes feeling more like a misplaced hippy than a cop, but overall, Serpico is a must-see for fans of crime dramas. Just don’t expect a feel-good ending.
Production Company(ies)
Columbia Pictures, Pascal Pictures, Marvel Studios,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Lewisohn Stadium, Amsterdam Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1973
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 9m
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Language(s):English, Italian, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 5, 1973 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 3, 2002
Genre(s)
Biography
Keyword(s)
starring Al Pacino, directed by Sidney Lumet, written by Waldo Salt, Norman Wexler, biography, New York City, police corruption, Knapp Commission, true story, idealistic cop, refusing bribes, shunned by colleagues, dangerous situations, accusations of corruption, going public, target on himself, gritty, engrossing, ferocious performance, critics consensus, box office performance, budget, R rating, Martin Bregman, Paramount Pictures, stereo sound mix, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire, Barbara Eda-Young, Cornelia Sharpe, reviewed by Paul D Zimmerman, Jay Cocks, Kim Newman, Variety Staff, Don Druker, Geoff Andrew, Romola Costantino, Gregory Mims, John Simon, Dick Lochte, Cole Smithey, Al Pacino’s performance, police expose, corruption drama, police force, police graft, bank robber, NYPD officer, police corruption, New York locations, suitably grim, realistic tone, Mikis Theodakaris, overused music score, iconic performance, Al Pacino’s commitment, phenomenal characters, engaging story, true life picture, crime drama, Sidney Lumet’s flair, inner conflict, struggle to do what’s right
Worldwide gross: $29,829,963
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $222,174,619
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 642
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 24,228,421
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $3,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $22,344,106
Production budget ranking: 1,313
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $12,032,301
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $187,798,212
ROI to date (est.): 546%
ROI ranking: 236
John Randolph – Chief Sidney Green
Jack Kehoe – Tom Keough
Biff McGuire – Capt. Insp. McClain
Barbara Eda-Young – Laurie
Cornelia Sharpe – Leslie Lane
Director(s)
Sidney Lumet
Writer(s)
Waldo Salt, Norman Wexler
Producer(s)
Martin Bregman
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 2 Oscars
8 wins & 13 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (44) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (4)
Al Pacino is destined to become the next big American film star. The proof lies in his ability to transform so mediocre a cop movie as Serpico into a glittering showcase for his growing talents.
February 10, 2022
Paul D. Zimmerman
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
Wonderful potential, and wasted. Serpico has some brutal surface flash and an acetylene performance by Al Pacino in the title role, but its energy is used to dodge all the questions it should have raised and answered.
July 26, 2011
Jay Cocks
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Al Pacino delivers a powerful performance in this compelling biopic of a cop and a city’s police force.
April 9, 2008 | Rating: 5/5
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Sidney Lumet’s direction adeptly combines gritty action and thought-provoking comment.
April 9, 2008
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
A virtuoso performance by Al Pacino and some expert location work by Sidney Lumet add up to a tour de force genre piece that transcends the supercop conventions to create a moving, engrossing portrait of Frank Serpico.
March 1, 2007
Don Druker
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Another problem, these days, is Pacino’s characterisation; he seems at times more like a misplaced hippy than a plainclothes cop.
June 24, 2006
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Here is a brilliant close-up of a corrupt police force in decadent New York… Serpico is a tough, realistic film.
March 7, 2022
Romola Costantino
The Sun-Herald (Australia)
It’s Pacino’s show anyway. His performance alone makes this film worth seeing. Pacino is Serpico. Pacino is “Serpico.”
December 14, 2021
Gregory Mims
New Pittsburgh Courier
As the protagonist, Al Pacino is spectacular… He has now learned how to convert this fierceness into a look of intense moral commitment or zanily lovable passion, and so turn the fuzzy implications of the script into disturbing realities.
January 27, 2020
John Simon
Esquire Magazine
The lead role has gone, quite correctly, to Al Pacino, who does very well by it.
December 17, 2019
Dick Lochte
Los Angeles Free Press
“Serpico” is a candid and gritty police expose film that juxtaposes systematic police graft with the personal toll it takes on the man who attempts to blow the lid on the crooked activities that surround him.
December 10, 2010 | Rating: A+
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
… set the style of American crime dramas in the seventies with his gritty look at street-level law enforcement and realistic portrait of procedure and systemic failure and it established Lumet as a director of intelligent, gritty, modern crime dramas
March 29, 2010
Sean Axmaker
Stream on Demand…
Plot
Serpico is a cop in the 1960s-early 1970s. Unlike all his colleagues, he refuses a share of the money that the cops routinely extort from local criminals. Nobody wants to work with Serpico, and he’s in constant danger of being placed in life threatening positions by his “partners”. Nothing seems to get done even when he goes to the highest of authorities. Despite the dangers he finds himself in, he still refuses to ‘go with the flow’, in the hope that one day, the truth will be known.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Al Pacino delivers a powerful performance in this compelling biopic of a cop and a city’s police force.
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