BAD LIEUTENANT
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Sound format: Mono
A dissolute New York cop (Harvey Keitel) finds redemption whilst investigating the case of a nun (Frankie Thorn) who was gang raped and forgave her attackers.
Abel Ferrara's grimy little epic has been described as 'daring', 'brave' and 'controversial' by its many admirers, as though rubbing the audience's nose in excrement for 98 minutes automatically qualifies the movie for sainthood. Keitel's performance is astonishingly natural and convincing, and his various acts of debasement (whether taking drugs, masturbating in front of two young women he's pulled over for a minor traffic violation, or regressing into infantile chemical-induced behavior while Ferrara's camera stares impassively at the actor's full-frontal nudity) are quite audacious. However, the movie is little more than an endurance test, and after a full hour of watching Keitel take drugs, more drugs and yet MORE drugs, many viewers will want to throw up their hands and cry: "Enough already! Get to the damn punchline!" And when that punchline is finally reached - after a long, L-O-N-G trawl through the scuzziest Catholic guilt trip you'll ever see - it hardly seems worth the effort. However, the scene in which Jesus (Paul Hipp) makes a fleeting appearance is strange, unsettling and beautiful, all at the same time.
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Sound format: Mono
A dissolute New York cop (Harvey Keitel) finds redemption whilst investigating the case of a nun (Frankie Thorn) who was gang raped and forgave her attackers.
Abel Ferrara's grimy little epic has been described as 'daring', 'brave' and 'controversial' by its many admirers, as though rubbing the audience's nose in excrement for 98 minutes automatically qualifies the movie for sainthood. Keitel's performance is astonishingly natural and convincing, and his various acts of debasement (whether taking drugs, masturbating in front of two young women he's pulled over for a minor traffic violation, or regressing into infantile chemical-induced behavior while Ferrara's camera stares impassively at the actor's full-frontal nudity) are quite audacious. However, the movie is little more than an endurance test, and after a full hour of watching Keitel take drugs, more drugs and yet MORE drugs, many viewers will want to throw up their hands and cry: "Enough already! Get to the damn punchline!" And when that punchline is finally reached - after a long, L-O-N-G trawl through the scuzziest Catholic guilt trip you'll ever see - it hardly seems worth the effort. However, the scene in which Jesus (Paul Hipp) makes a fleeting appearance is strange, unsettling and beautiful, all at the same time.