Bad Lieutenant (1992)

Proving that he may be the most fearless actor of his or any other generation, Harvey Keitel gives an amazing, no-holds-barred performance in director Abel Ferrara's uncompromising 1992 film about a New York cop on the edge of self-annihilation. The film's title is meant to be taken literally: Keitel's character has no redeeming values whatsoever, save for his desperate need for redemption. Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide is correct in calling this an "over-the-top Catholic guilt movie," but it's been made with such conviction that Ferrara and Keitel transcend the sheer unpleasantness of the material to give it a kind of tragic divinity. Here's a character so vile and corrupted that he consumes or re-sells the drugs he confiscates, but when he's assigned to investigate the brutal rape of a nun who refuses to press charges, he feels that this is his opportunity to redeem his rotten soul. Deservedly rated NC-17 due to its rough content and a frontal nude scene that even Keitel's most loyal fans could do without, this film tends to divide viewers into love-it-or-hate-it categories, but few could deny its raw power and the deeply anguished humanity that Keitel brings to his role. Whatever your reaction may be, few would deny this is an unforgettable film. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

They should've named this one "Bad Movie"

Very rarely does a film irk me to the level of writing a one-star review. Don't get me wrong, I like Harvey Keitel's acting and most of his films feature hard-core performances but "Bad Lieutenant" was just plain "Bad".

"Bad Lieutenant" takes a look at the down-trodden life (if you can call it a life) of a junkie cop from New York's mean streets. Keitel's character doesnt even really have a name and frankly I didnt care if he did. His character didnt have one redeeming quality; even in the end when he confronts the two low-life scumbags who had raped a nun on a Church altar he didnt show any growth as a character; his response to such a heinous crime is both unbelievable and unacceptable. No viewer in their right mind wood root for this guy.

Ferrara's other crime feature- "The King of New York" at least had a solid plot with a decent cast-I wish I could say the same for this bomb. Despite Keitel's gritty performance in "Bad Lieutenant", he could'nt save this script-which looks like it was written by a heroin junkie at 3am on a Saturday night. The viewer is brutally tortured one scene after another with a movie that doesnt know where its going or where its been. "Bad Lieutentant" fails to explore any new ground regarding drug abuse, while displaying characters who dont have identities. Maybe this is what the director was hoping to accomplish, but it made for one disjointed film.

When the end of this movie finaly came boy was I relieved. I didnt really care for any of the characters-they were as shallow as they come. The only reason I gave this review one star is because I couldn't rate it any lower. In short it was 96 minuites too long.

December 31, 2008

Bad Lieutenant "bad movie"

If you like the Piano dont expect this movie to have any of that quality or thought provoking romantic trajedy. The entire movie should be rated PG if you just dont show the nun in the hospital bed naked which by the way is the only nudity in the film. Which was absolutly unescessary. (didnt show any of the reported trauma) People here talk about how shocking and hard hitting it was!!! WHERE... and When.. take any drunk with a chip on his shoulder and you have more excitement than this movie.

I wanted to see drama... I wanted to care... like i cared about the Piano. But this movie is void of any substance what so ever. Except for the substance abuse LOL..

If your looking for good emotional excitement like in the Acused which actually covers the emotion and the re-living and suffering of a tragedy such as rape this just isnt it.... AVOID AT ALL COSTS December 20, 2008

Brilliant, transcendental film, easily Ferrara's best work...

This is one of the most notorious films of the 1990's, a really stunning piece of filmmaking. It's Abel Ferrara's best film, one of Keitel's most powerful, shocking performances, and a film that despite the intensely visceral, borderline sleazy material, manages somehow to be spiritual and transcendent by the end.

Keitel is a cop with no name (he's never referred by anything other than Lieutenant) who is corrupt to the bone. He's a junkie, a gambler, an alcoholic, and hangs out with hookers. He also "verbally assaults" school girls (this is probably the most uncomfortable scene in the film), and doesn't have any moral center. He's a completely amoral character. Yet, during an investigation of a brutal, unflinching rape of a nun, he somehow finds his soul again.

Abel Ferrara is a wildly uneven filmmaker. He's made sleazy, borderline Grindhouse movies (Driller Killer and Ms. 45), decent crime dramas (King of New York), underrated films (Dangerous Game), and garbage (Body Snatchers). Here he surpasses everything else he's done and makes a film that almost reaches Bressonian transcendence at the end, and it's not a mistake. It's also filmed in the heart of NYC, which gives it a realistic, gritty feel (this was made in 1992, before Giuliani cleaned up the city). It's also filmed with real street people, meaning when they shoot a scene, the filmmakers didn't close off any streets and let people and traffic unfold naturally like they would on any NYC day. The film makes haunting use of Forever My Love by Johnny Ace, and the film has one of the best long take endings I've ever seen. Many people can't get past the amoralness and scumminess of the main character, and there are a lot of rough scenes (even though many complain of seeing Harvey Keitel full frontal nude more than anything), but if you can make it through this film, you'll find yourself admiring it deeply. November 19, 2008

Bad Lieutenant

In this movie Harvey Kietel does more drugs, drinks more alcohol, and shoots his gun while driving his police car than most criminals do in the course of their day. Harvey drops his kids off at school then does coke. He goes home and drinks. He goes and shoots heroin. Then a nun is raped and he tracks down the assailants.

This isn't a bad movie, I just wonder how he can do so much drugs and alcohol and keep his car on the road. He shoots his radio because the LA Dodgers lose baseball games (which he bet large sums of money). In the end he is shot and presumably killed. Too bad we didn't get to see a scene where his supervisor gives him his annual performance appraisal. November 8, 2008

You do something for me, and I'll do something for you!

'Dazzlingly raw, gritty, dirty, blatantly real' are the best ways to describe this spectacular flick about a bad cop whose life is spinning out of control. Harvey Keitel gives an incredible, mind-blistering performance in the title role. This cop is losing himself in a gambling problem and a drug problem. These 2 problems are brutally and graphically shown on film as they drag this officer into the depths of depravity and degradation. He steals and abuses his power as a policeman to support his self-destructive habits. And what he does with those teenage girls who steal their father's car is just oh so wrong! But it's one of my favorite scenes in the movie. As his life deteriorates, he must face a gruesome case involving the rape of a nun. (This crime is portrayed semi-graphically, and may be a bit much for some to handle) The cop's faith and self-destruction clash as he faces the solution to this, his hardest case. Vivid, graphic depictions of all aspects of a dirty cop's life are pictured as his life unravels on camera. This movie is not for everyone...but it is a stark, raw and brutal portait of a cop in the midst of the deepest inner-turmoil. Even though I am not a fan of cop movies, I think this is one of my all-time favorite flicks. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes brutal realism...and anyone who is not too squeamish. September 30, 2008

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