Prince of the City

Summary

“How much did ya tell ‘em?”

The Warner Bros. Archive Collection has been releasing films from the vault to the delight of cineasts and film collectors for years. One of the films most often brought up as a request on the online forums has been Sidney Lumet’s gritty police corruption drama Prince of the City. The film is based on the true story laid out in the book of the same name by Robert Daley. Lumet was a master filmmaker and wrote one of the definitive texts about filmmaking (Making Movies – Side Note: it’s an excellent read if you want to make a film yourself.) His films for the most part have all aged gracefully and deserve reappraisal by the next generation of film lovers. Years ago, when Warner Archive released Deathtrap on Blu-ray, fans were certain that Prince of the City would follow soon after. Then they waited for another five years. Finally the wait is over and fans of Lumet and the film can finally revisit Prince of the City on Blu-ray. 

Treat Williams stars in the film as New York City Detective Daniel Ciello. Danny works for the SIU (Special Investigative Unit) which was a specialized unit targeting narcotics and given jurisdiction over the entire city. The detectives that worked that jurisdiction were thus called the princes of the city because they were largely allowed to proceed without much oversight of their department. As the film begins, Danny – along with Gus (Jerry Orbach,) Joe (Richard Foronjy,) and Gino (Carmine Carini) – leads a bust on a group of Colombian drug dealers based off of a tip from a rival drugdealer. The Colombians have a lot of money that the detectives seize. They feel justified in lining their own pockets with cash from the proceeds of their busts, despite the obvious moral dilemma. At a barbecue party, Danny’s junkie brother shows up to the party asking Danny for money. Danny tells him he won’t give him any money for drugs, and his brother points out the hypocrisy of what Danny is doing by profiting off of drugs. Danny’s father overhears the conversation and explains that he is not blind to what is happening. It is obvious that Danny and his friends could not liver their lifestyle without skimming somewhere. Danny and his friends all bend the law in order to pursue hardened criminals, but they have bent it further than should have ever happened. Danny has a network of informants that are junkies which he occasionally supplies with drugs that he gets from the evidence locker or by shaking down other junkies. It’s a hard way to live and the guilt in supplying these junkies is overwhelming for Danny. At the same time, the Chase Commission has been looking into police and governmental corruption. Danny is approached by internal affairs and federal prosecutors to help them uncover corruption in the system. Danny begins to assist them with their investigation with the proviso that none of his partners will be impacted. He begins to wear a wire and help turn in numerous corrupt officials embroiled in drug activity and bribery. In due course it becomes unavoidable that the house of cards built by the SIU would eventually topple over and his friends would be affected by the sprawling nature of the investigation.

Prince of the City is a well realized picture from director Sidney Lumet. Lumet wisely chose to allow the film to play out in extended form with the film’s runtime clocking in at almost three hours. While this runtime can feel excessive at times and probably will limit replay value on the film (it’s a commitment,) there is not a lot of wasted time in the film. The film aims to explore the multileveled nature of corruption and the consequences of graft in our society and for the most part it succeeds brilliantly. Lumet knew how to approach this material given that just a few years earlier he had made Serpico, but I feel like Prince of the City is the better film overall. The script by Lumet and Jay Presson Allen is well written, very detailed, and at times feels Shakespearean in its understanding of tragedy. I understand entirely why the script itself was nominated for an Oscar.

The performances in the film are enjoyable. Treat Williams at times comes very close to overindulging himself in his role, but his performance rings true most of the time. Jerry Orbach is fantastic in the role of Detective Gus Levy. He has the sad eyes necessary to carry the emotional depth of his character. Bob Balaban is memorable as a firebrand no-nonsense agent whose approach causes some unintended harm to those he sought to prosecute. James Tolkan is memorable as Assistant U.S. Attorney George Polito. Norman Parker is also well cast in the film.

Overall – Prince of the City is an extremely realistic and sad depiction of the police corruption that New York City faced in the Seventies. It’s a very well made film from director Sidney Lumet.

Video

Warner did a solid job on the transfer of Prince of the City using an MPEG-4 AVC codec of a new restoration. The cinematography is well served by the Blu-ray format, allowing much more detail than would have been possible before. The film is a gritty affair and works for the most part in fairly muted colors, but it clearly has never looked better than here. It would be a little bit strange to call the results pretty, but fans of the film will be glad to see the excellent care given to the material.

Audio

Warner has provided a very capable DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track that sounds very good. The score from Paul Chihara works well for the film by being employed strategically. This is a dialogue driven film and the dialogue is crisp and clear without much hiss. Like other Warner releases fidelity is very strong to the original elements.

Supplements:

• Prince of the City: The Real Story – This half hour documentary interviews director Sidney Lumet, screenwriter Jay Presson Allen, author Robert Daley, production designer Tony Walton, and actors Treat Williams, Bob Balaban, and Lance Henriksen, alongside the real Daniel Ciello on which the film was based. This is a well made piece.

• Theatrical Trailer 

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – 2.5/5

Overall – 4/5

Prince of the City is a well made crime drama by the late great Sidney Lumet. The film’s expansive running time serves a purpose of allowing the layers of corruption to be explored along with their consequences in great detail. The screenplay is very well written and the story is not one that would be easily forgotten. The film is gritty and certainly sad, but given the true story upon which the film was based that should be expected. The performances in the film for the most part ring true and I am very happy to see that the often requested film has finally made it to the Blu-ray format. Warner has supplied a good looking transfer and a DTS-HD MA 2.0 track that capably replicates the film’s original sound design. Recommended.