Prince of the City

1981

Action / Crime / Drama

18
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 81% · 28 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 81% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.4/10 10 10484 10.5K

new york city corruption police 1970s wiretap police corruption

Plot summary

New York City detective Daniel Ciello agrees to help the United States Department of Justice help eliminate corruption in the police department, as long as he will not have to turn in any close friends. In doing so, Ciello uncovers a conspiracy within the force to smuggle drugs to street informants.

Director

Sidney Lumet Photo
Sidney Lumet

Top cast

Carmine Caridi Photo
Carmine Caridi as Detective Gino Mascone
Norman Parker Photo
Norman Parker as Assistant U.S. Atty. Rick Cappalino
Treat Williams Photo
Treat Williams as Detective Daniel Ciello
Harry Madsen Photo
Harry Madsen as Agent Bubba Harris
720p.BluRay 720p.WEB 1080p.BluRay 1080p.WEB
1.5 GB
1280*682
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 47 min
Seeds 6
1.5 GB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 47 min
Seeds 1
2.79 GB
1920*1024
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 47 min
Seeds 12
2.79 GB
1904*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 47 min
Seeds 7

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by arthur_tafero 7 / 10

Prince of the City - Best Cop Movie of All TIme

Yes, Treat Williams was not as good an actor as Al Pacino in Serpico (the film that made Pacino's career). But Sidney Lumet was a better director than the vast majority of cop film directors, and the dialogue was better written for this movie than 99% of the cop films I have ever seen. The supporting actors are the strength of this movie. There must have been at least a dozen stellar performances from most of the cast involved in a secondary role. Lindsay Crouse was very good on the distaff side, but this is primarily a man's film.To be more precise, it is not just a cop's film, but is a cautionary tale for most of us who had graduated college and tried to be honest, forthright, truthful, have integrity, and perform in a professional manner, regardless of our chosen field.The world has a way of eroding all of those things, bit by bit over a long period of time. Chasing money becomes more important than some of those lofty principles, as they do not put food on the table. Sometimes they do, or if you are Jesus, you can create your own loaves and fishes, but the rest of us are not Jesus.There is great empathy for Danny Ciello from most viewers; I knew I felt sorry for him. However, a prosecuting attorney makes a point about if any arm of the law is corrupt, then the whole system suffers. Corruption, however, does not start with the police, or teachers, or hospital workers or accountants or any other hard-working person. Corruption starts at the top of the food chain and works it way down. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Lumet does a great job with the direction and this is a film that is not to be missed if you want a real piece of New York City reality in the late 1970s.
Reviewed by tlawrence 8 / 10

The Best of the New York Cop Pictures

The best of the Lumet NY cop pictures. PRINCE OF THE CITY has an excellent script by Jay Presson Allen and a fine cast lead by Treat Williams and the best of NY's local actors. Danny Ciello, a NYC narcotics cop, deals with the conflict between his "moral compass" and the realities of drug law enforcement. The film is about Ciello clearing his conscience and suffering the consequences of seeing his police colleagues burned in the process. Supporting perfs are superb with special notice to Jerry Orbach as Ciello's partner and Lane Smith as the FBI agent that befriends Ciello's confused wife. Haunting score by Paul Chihara adds the finishing touch to this fine film about "doing the right thing" even when the consequences are so high.Hope this film is soon released on DVD for everyone to enjoy...
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