Prince of the City [Special Edition] [2 Discs]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Inspired by a true story, Prince of the City stars Treat Williams as a Manhattan detective who agrees to help the US Department of Justice weed out corruption in the NYPD. Williams agrees on the assurance that he'll never have to turn in a close friend. Wired for sound, Williams almost immediately stumbles upon a police conspiracy to smuggle narcotics to street informants in order to insure cooperation. While this might be condonable in a stretch, the fact is that the many cops are using the drugs on their own, and are also highly susceptible to bribes. Williams gets the goods on the miscreants, but in so doing he breaks the "code" and becomes a pariah to his fellow officers. As we learn in the unsettling final scene, Williams will always be considered a "fink," even by honest cops. Prince of the City is too long for its own good, but its opening expository sequences and its final twenty minutes more than compensate for the duller stretches. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Subtitle: Eng/Fre/Spa
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Screen: Soft-Matted WSE for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • New featurette Prince of the City: The Real Story
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Languages: English & Francais (dubbed in Quebec)
  • Subtitles: English, Francais & Espanol (feature film only)

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay - 1981 (Jay Presson Allen, Sidney Lumet)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Director - 1981 (Sidney Lumet)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - 1981 (Treat Williams)
•     Nominated Best Picture - Drama - 1981

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Picture - 1981

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Director - 1981 (Sidney Lumet)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Treat Williams - Daniel Ciello
       Jerry Orbach - Gus Levy
       Richard Foronjy - Joe Marinaro
       Don Billett - Bill Mayo
       James Tolkan - District Attorney Polito
       Carmine Caridi - Gino Mascone
       Norman Parker - Rick Cappalino
       Paul Roebling - Brooks Page
       Bob Balaban - Santimassino
       Steve Inwood - Mario Vincente
       Lindsay Crouse - Carla Ciello
       Matthew Laurance - Ronnie Ciello
       Tony Turco - Socks Ciello
       Ronald Maccone - Nick Napoli
       Ron Karabatsos - Dave DeBennedeto
       Tony di Benedetto - Carl Alagretti
       Tony Munafo - Rocky Gazzo
       Robert Christian - The King
       Lee Richardson - Sam Heinsdorff
       Lane Smith - Tug Barnes
       Cosmo Allegretti - Marcel Sardino
       Antony Page - Raf Alvarez

• Director:

  Sidney Lumet

• Producer:

  Burtt Harris, Jay Presson Allen, Ray Hartwick

• Screenwriter:

  Jay Presson Allen

• Book Author:

  Robert Daley

• Screenwriter:

  Sidney Lumet

• Cinematographer:

  Andrzej Bartkowiak

• Composer (Music Score):

  Paul Chihara

• Editor:

  John J. Fitzstephens

• Production Designer:

  Tony Walton

• Art Director:

  Edward Pisoni

• Costume Designer:

  Anna Hill Johnstone

• Production Manager:

  Ray Hartwick

REVIEW:

• Despite such influential, well-respected films as 12 Angry Men, The Pawnbroker, Dog Day Afternoon, and Network, director Sidney Lumet is often forgotten in considerations of the most influential filmmakers. Mirroring this under-appreciation is Lumet's neglected 1981 crime drama, Prince of the City. Overlong but fascinating, the film and its follow-up, 1982's The Verdict, stand as the director's best work of the 1980s and 1990s. Lumet showed a knack for working with new talent: the mostly unknown cast featured standout performances from Treat Williams and Jerry Orbach. The plot, dealing with corrupt New York City cops, is familiar territory for Lumet fans -- most notably in 1973's Serpico -- but Lumet makes the material seem fresh. The director would be nominated for his first Academy Award for screenwriting for Prince, along with co-writer Jay Presson Allen. ~ Brendon Hanley, Rovi