William Friedkin’s typically intense thriller finds Al Pacino overacting alarmingly as clear-eyed New York cop Steve Burns who leathers up and enters the gay, sadomasochistic underworld in order to track down a psychopath serial killer who’s preying on homosexuals – Inevitably, his hormones get very confused.
Drawing criticism from gay groups in America and Britain (as it was almost calculated to do) Cruising pushes to the limit what is acceptable in a mainstream studio picture.
However, while the savagery of the murders and the explicitness of the sexual practices on display are initially unsettling, they soon become numbing and, ultimately, yawn-inducing.
Steve Burns
Al Pacino Captain Edelson
Paul Sorvino Nancy
Karen Allen Stuart Richards
Richard Cox Ted Bailey
Don Scardino Skip Lee
Jay Acovone Detective Lefransky
Randy Jurgensen Gregory
James Remar Paul Gaines
William Russ Patrolman DiSimone
Joe Spinell Patrolman Desher
Mike Starr
Director
William Friedkin
Video
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