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Movies / On DVD / Bad Lieutenant
Bad Lieutenant

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Bad Lieutenant (1992)

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Reviews Counted:9

Fresh:6

Rotten:3

Average Rating:6.5/10

Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Harvey Keitel stars as a nameless New York cop, hopelessy addicted to drugs, gambling, and sex, in this intense, hallucinatory portrait of sin and redemption by Abel Ferrara. The film follows the... Harvey Keitel stars as a nameless New York cop, hopelessy addicted to drugs, gambling, and sex, in this intense, hallucinatory portrait of sin and redemption by Abel Ferrara. The film follows the lieutenant as he makes his way to various crime scenes, concerned only with taking bets from his fellow cops on the outcome of the ongoing National League playoffs. As his bad decisions drive him deeper into debt, his life becomes a surreal hell, with a constant intake of crack, coke, heroin, and booze eroding what remains of his sanity. An investigation into the rape of a nun (Frankie Thorn) leads to his spiritual breakdown at the church crime scene, where he sees Jesus and the road to his salvation. This gutsy, highly original tale is one of Ferrara's most perfectly realized films and a pinnacle in the career of Keitel, whose performance transcends the screen in its sheer bravery. [More]

Starring: Harvey Keitel, Frankie Acciario, Brian McElroy, Peggy Formley

Starring: Harvey Keitel, Frankie Acciario, Brian McElroy, Peggy Formley, Stella Keitel, Leonard Thomas, Victor Argo, Frankie Thorn, Zoë Tamerlis

Director: Abel Ferrara

Director: Abel Ferrara

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Release:

Jul 28, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region [unknown]
  • NTSC
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 2.0 - English
  • Subtitles - English, Spanish

Additional Release Material:

Audio Commentary:

  • 1. Filmmaker Audio Commentary

Documentary:

  • 1. Retrospective Documentary
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Bad Lieutenant

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1 - 9 (sorted by date)
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Members of the gutter-al elite will be the sole survivors.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
04/09/08
Duane Byrge
Duane Byrge
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Bad Lieutenant is finally a pulp parable of sin, addiction, and redemption, a movie that, like its subversive hero, revels in the pleasure -- and danger -- of going too far.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
04/09/08
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Abel Ferrara's uncompromising Bad Lieutenant is a harrowing journey with a corrupt N.Y. cop sinking into the lower depths.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/09/08
Lawrence Cohn
Lawrence Cohn
Variety
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There's an undeniable formal elegance in the way Ferrara, who coauthored the script with Zoe Lund, frames and holds certain shots, and Keitel certainly gives his all.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
04/09/08
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

When Abel Ferrara calls something bad, better believe it: he means business.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It doesn't take five minutes for us to understand the depth of his immorality. But the movie proceeds to outline his badness.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This punishing film from director Abel Ferrara is something else altogether -- an illuminating, excoriating descent into the cesspool of sin, self-loathing and defilement. This is not an easy film to watch.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Hal Hinson
Hal Hinson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

As good as the lead actor is, he's not enough to save this picture from landing on the scrap-heap of uninspired, derivative, and grotesquely distasteful character studies.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment 1 Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Harvey Keitel plays this man with such uncompromised honesty that the performance can only be called courageous; not many actors would want to be seen in this light.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Latest News for Bad Lieutenant

May 27, 2009: Cage Unleashes Crazy In Bad Lieutenant Trailer
Okay, for everyone lamenting Nicolas Cage's decade-long slide into talent-wasting, hairpiece-abusing blockbuster mediocrity -- this one's for you. Below is the production... More...

October 03, 2008: Further Reading: Marion Cotillard and Forest Whittaker in Abel Ferrara's Mary
As the NFT in London prepares a Juliette Binoche season, Kim looks at Abel Ferrara's Mary which also stars Marion Cotillard and Forest Whittaker. More...

July 08, 2008: Herzog's Bad Lieutenant Grows Opens in new window
Val Kilmer, Fairuza Balk, Jennifer Coolidge, Vondie Curtis Hall, Shawn Hatosy, Denzel Whitaker and Xzibit have joined Nicolas Cage in the cast of Werner Herzog's "update" of Bad... More...

June 16, 2008: Eva Mendes in Negotiations for Bad Lieutenant Opens in new window
Eva Mendes is in talks to star opposite Nicolas Cage in Werner Herzog's remake/not-a-remake of Bad Lieutenant. More...

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