Serpico 1973 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Serpico, a 1973 biography by peter maas, sold over 3 million copies. The film is full of corruption and it seems as if the only one willing to stop it is frank serpico. Based on the acclaimed book of the same name, it is that rarest of hollywood filmsan adaptation as exceptional as the book. The large cruise ship behind serpico in the end credits is the s. Along the years, his superior does not take any attitude against the corruption and serpico is an outcast police officer, rejected by his fellows.
Henry fonda as the police commissioner and richard widmark as a. Often times when i read a book then watch the movie it never lives up. Francesco vincent serpico is a former new york city police department detective who holds both american and italian citizenship. The deadly game also known as the deadly game, broadcast on nbc. Book hermione had very clear flaws that the movie version didnt have. For some, especially those on the left, serpico is a whistleblower a brave loner who took on a sinister system. Newly recruited as a new york cop, serpico sees the corruption that is going on, and wants no part of it. Serpico is a movie released in 1973 that is as impactful and relevant today as it was when it was made. I first ran across the commissionerthe book that madigan is. The movie gets into a big plot line about police corruption and serpico blowing. He is a perfect example of a whistleblower and a person with the utmost ethical courage. Here are some recommendations for an informants film festival. Rotten apples the officer acts corruptly alone and it would have been best not to hire them in the first place. I didnt see any significant differences between book ron and movie ron.
In the 1970s, whistleblower frank serpico exposed rampant bribery in the new york police department. It has now been forty years since al pacino blazed across the screen in the classic police drama, serpico. A culture of corruption pervaded the new york police department, where payoffs, protection, and shakedowns of gambling rackets and drug dealers were common practice. To even tackle the difference between a movie and a book is a mortal sin. Neophyte officer frank serpico is determined not to let his job get in the way of his individuality. As portrayed by al pacino, serpico is the resident nonconformist in the working class new york police department, a collegeeducated street cop with counterculture tendencies, an increasingly shaggy appearance the clean. Harry potter and the chamber of secrets compare and. Frank serpico is a former brooklyn detective who became the most famous whistleblower in nypd history, appearing before the knapp commission in 1971 to expose rampant police corruption.
Frank serpico catches up with the nyc cop who made al. Deputy commissioner ricardo morales was canned after talking to feds investigating a payforplay operation. Serpicos character is built up fairly well in the beginning, from his girls to his partygoing to his adoption of a puppy. Book harry has a more takecharge attitude but is significantly more whiney. Difference between movies and books difference between. Serpico 1973 sidney lumet synopsis, characteristics. 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. He is known for whistleblowing on police corruption in the late 1960s and early 1970s, an act that prompted mayor john v.
In the books, minerva is described to be a tall, blackhaired and kind of severelooking woman, who, according to harrys first impression, is not someone to cross. In my opinion a book can ruin a movie but a movie can never ruin a book. Serpico is a great movie but it is very cynical, much more so than the. Despite his colleagues leery reactions, he keeps one foot firmly planted in the counterculture, sporting a beard and love. Serpico, dog day afternoon, and network was then his biggest hit, serpico, and it began the directors frequent examination of police corruption. Much of serpicos fame came after the release of the 1973 film serpico, which was based on the book by peter maas and which starred al pacino in the title role, for which paci. The movie had a lot of gaps, parts where what happened in the book did not ever even come up in the movie. Serpico is an american crime drama series that aired on nbc between september 1976 and january 1977. Professionalismfrank serpico and nypd wikibooks, open.
The socalled blue code of silence protected the minority of crooked cops from the sanction of the. Serpico refuses to receive the money and reports to a superior. This chapter explores the details surrounding serpicos nypd career and his role exposing nypd police corruption in the 1970. The 1973 biography was adapted for the 1973 film serpico, which was directed by sidney lumet and starred al pacino in the title role. But if i watch the movie and enjoy it i find myself wanting to know more about the world and characters and i have never read a book after a movie and been disappointed. His struggles ultimately led to the knapp commission and reforms at the nypd, and set the stage for ethical reforms in policing across america. The problem with serpico is that all its about is police corruption.
For all the potterheads out there, this should prove to be a very short read but for all others, try and bear with me. Searing, deeply moral, and ultimately heartbreaking, it is as powerful today as it was the day it opened. And theres an excellent book by robert daley who wrote prince of the city about his year as a deputy. The 1960s was a time of social and generational upheaval felt with particular intensity in the melting pot of new york city. Lindsay to appoint the landmark knapp commission to investigate the nypd. This film is based on a true story, and stars al pacino as frank serpico, the title of the film. This movie is based on the true life story of a new york city police officer who joined the force as an idealistic young man only to discover that the force was. But once the plot gets going, the character slips away. Movie revolves around the longest book and shortest movie in the harry potter series. Francesco vincent serpico born april 14, 1936 is a retired american new york city police department nypd police who is most famous for testifying against police corruption in 1971. Its incredible but i feel like a criminal because i dont take money. France, which later was purchased by norwegian cruise lines and renamed the s. But a few weeks before going back, harry is attacked by two dementors back at his home.
Witty and charming frank al pacino, at a party with leslie cornelia sharpe on their first date, makes a hit with her friends, in sidney lumets serpico, 1973. In 1976 david birney starred as serpico in a tvmovie called serpico. Officer becker is a perfect example of a rotten apple. The harry potter series changed things in a way few imagined they would, be it c. For some, especially those on the left, serpico is. Director francis ford coppola cast pacino in the film that would make him a.
If one is slightly sceptical if not critical of his sometimes ridiculouslooking harry hippy persona, i think it can be. The director, antonino dambrosio, joins serpico on a tour of landmarks from his. In the early 1970s, one man stood up to the entire new york city police force. This quiz compares the film with the book to help your students practice critical thinking skills. The informer 1935 on the waterfront 1952 valachi papers 1972 serpico 1973 prince of the city 1981 marie 1985 the last temptation of christ 1988 the insider 1999. Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with bring me. Which are better, the harry potter books or movies. Watching serpico with serpico the new york times duration. New documentary frank serpico sees former nypd police officer frank serpico take on al pacino who played him in 1973 movie serpico, donald trump and. And you really cant tell the best bunch of the two no matter how conclusive your defense might be. I know the movies have skewered how people think of harry. He wants to tackle corruption on the police force, but it goes so far up that he cant hope to make a difference.
The frank serpiconypd case study provides an alarming account of systemic corruption. She was first launched in 1960 and continued her career until about 2006, when she was sold, anchored off. Frank serpico al pacino is an idealistic new york city cop who refuses to take bribes, unlike the rest of the force. Much of serpicos fame came after the release of the 1973 film serpico, which was based on the book by peter maas and which starred al pacino in the title role. So says frustrated new york policeman frank serpico in the fact based drama cop drama serpico 1973. The rest of the movie tells the story of serpicos career up to this moment, starting with him becoming a police officer in 1960. The series was based on the book by peter maas and the 1973 film of the same name that starred al pacino in the title role. The grim drama was adapted from the peter maas book about reallife undercover cop frank serpico played by al pacino, whose life was endangered after he exposed graft and corruption in the new york. Is it true that the book is always better than the movie. Al pacino, john randolph, jack kehoe, biff mcguire. That, of course, did not happen, and as a result film critics and movie lovers. It is not because the book was bad, if anything it was because the book was good. In 1971, after the story of nypd corruption first broke, sam peckinpah wanted to make this movie as a twohander, with paul newman as durk and robert redford as serpico.
I must say, harry potter and the chamber of secrets was probably my least favorite movie of them all. Serpico, the 1973 movie directed by sidney lumet and starring al pacino, was an adaptation of a book by peter maas about a new york city police officer who fought corruption in. His notable movies included the godfather series, serpico, dog day. The novelisation of a film set in the 1970s, which tells of how patrolman frank serpico spent five lonely years, despite threats from his fellow officers, fighting a fruitless battle against police corruption, until finally, in despair and frustration, he decided to take the final step. But others around him think otherwise and try to tempt him into their corrupt world. You just cannot compare and contrast movies from books because it would be saying or identifying the best bunch of the two. At the time, it was unheard of, and it gained peter maars attention to write the book, which thus. Would harry dirty harry callahan and vincent frank. Fans of sidney lumets 1973 serpico, starring al pacino and his beautiful beard, likely hold a romantic notion of the real man who inspired the. The book is cocked, and there is stress creasing on the spine. He stands in for serpico s reallife friend david durk, though he plays a smaller part in the story than durk did. Al pacino was a superb choice to play frank serpico, a reallife new york.
Performances, writing, attention to detail, and the visual storytelling are all first rate. His actions get frank shunned by the other officers, and often placed in. In this book, serpico, maas wrote the biography of frank serpico who was a new york police officer who witnessed and testified against corruption in the police service. Composition of book actual chase scenes or violence 20% planningpreparing, gather info, debate puzzlesmotives 70% feelings, relationships. Frank serpico al pacino covered in blood and slumped in the backseat of a police car as it races to a hospital with lights and sirens blaring. Leslie an actress, a singer, a dancer, and a buddhist she is serpicos first lover in. Serpico is an interesting and well written book about the struggles frank serpico faced while trying to be an honest cop among the corrupt practices which were ongoing at the time in new york city. Nearly 50 years after frank serpico exposed endemic corruption in the new york city police department, his name still divides people. Every al pacino movie, ranked from worst to best vulture. Serpico, a cop himself, ended up getting shot in the face when fellow officers wouldnt come to his aid when confronting a suspect. Al pacinos turn as frank serpico in sidney lumets aptly titled biopic serpico is erratic and unsubtle, and its been a target for parody, but it works incredibly well within the context of the movie mentally, serpico is all over the place.
Read a sample read a sample read a sample enlarge book cover. We recently asked members of the buzzfeed community to tell us which harry potter book scenes should have made it into the movies. Serpico peter maas paperback harpercollins publishers. Hailed as a hero by many, hated by others, officer frank serpico made headlines when he blew the whistle on a culture. Further, his personal life is affected and he is harassed and threatened by his colleagues.
Adapted by waldo salt and norman wexler from peter maass book, sidney lumets drama portrays the reallife struggle of an honest new york city cop against a corrupt system. It is important because it demonstrated that al pacino could carry a successful film as the star. Naide 032614 the reason i chose serpico is because i thought this book would talk about a cop trying to do the right thing, which was to change the crooked system that allowed corruption this nonfiction talks about the criminality that takes place in this book. Known around the new york police department just as serpico, he is the protagonist of the film.
This is the first incident in a chain of events that leads to. He eventually testified before a special commission set up to investigate corruption in the nypd, and al pacino played him in the hollywood. Various other biographies and peter maas was an american journalist and author born of dutch and irish ancestry in new york city, new york state usa on 27 june 1929. New documentary frank serpico sees former nypd police officer frank serpico take on al pacino who played him in 1973 movie serpico. They could be, but the trouble is that serpico, being a man honest to a fault, could not and would not tollerate the dirty, nonstandard methods of investigation that callahan was more than willing to use.
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