Cruising [Blu-ray]

Director: William Friedkin

Overview

New York City detective Steve Burns Al Pacino receives orders from Captain Edelson Paul Sorvino to solve a series of brutal murders in the gay community. Steve scours the gay bars that caters to same-sex sadomasochism in a desperate attempt to solve the crime. As he infiltrates the scene, he slowly comes loose from the moorings of his own reality, and an innocent victim is tortured by the cops in an effort to exact a confession. The story is based on actual murders that took place between 1962 and 1979. The film gained considerable publicity because of the controversial subject matter while censor argued between an X and R rating for the feature.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/20/2019
UPC:	0760137276081
Original Release:	1980
Rating:	R
Region Code:	A
Language:	English
Time:	1:42:00
Sales rank:	2,477

Special Features

Brand new restoration from a 4k scan of the original camera negative, supervised and approved by Writer-Director William Friedkin; High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation; Newly remastered 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio supervised by William Friedkin; Optional English Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing; Brand new Audio Commentary with William Friedkin and critic and broadcaster Mark Kermode; Archival Audio Commentary by William Friedkin; The History of Cruising - archival featurette looking at the film's origins and production ; Exorcising Cruising - archival featurette looking at the controversy surrounding the film and its enduring legacy; Original Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Al Pacino	Steve Burns
Paul Sorvino	Edelson
Karen Allen	Nancy
Richard Cox	Actor
Don Scardino	Ted Bailey
Joe Spinell	Patrolman DiSimone
Jay Acovone	Skip Lee
Randy Jurgensen	Detective Lefransky
Barton Heyman	Dr. Rifkin
Gene Davis	Da Vinci
Sonny Grosso	Detective Blasio
Larry Atlas	Eric Rossman
Allan Miller	Chief of Detectives
Edward O'Neil	Detective Schreiber
Michael Aronin	Detective Davis
James Remar	Gregory
William Russ	Paul Gaines
Mike Starr	Patrolman Desher
Steve Inwood	Martino
Keith Prentice	Joey
Leland Starnes	Jack Richards
Robert Pope	Da Vinci's Friend
Leo Burmester	Water Sport
Bruce Levine	Dancer
Charles Dunlap	Three Card Monte
Powers Boothe	Hankie Salesman
Richard Jamieson	Spotter
James Ray Weeks	Seller,Seller
David Winnie Hayes	Bouncer
Carmine Stipo	Bartender
James Hyden	Cockpit Coke Man
Todd Winters	Tugboat Mate
Robert Carnegie	Actor
Dennis Shea	Actor
Larry Silvestri	Actor
Lawrence Lust	Actor
Penny Gumeny	Actor
Ray Vitte	Actor
Joseph Catucci	Actor
Dan Sturkie	Actor
Sylvia Gassel	Actor
Henry Judd Baker	Actor
Louie Grenier	Actor
Mike Barbera	Actor
Robert Duggan	Actor
Linda Gary	Actor
Arnaldo Santana	Actor
James Sutorius	Jack
Richard Jamison	Actor
Kevin Johnson	Actor
Burr de Benning	Actor
Ed O'Neill	Det. Schreiber
Jack Nitzsche	Composer
Egberto Gismonti	Composer

Technical Credits

Gerald Walker

William Friedkin

Louis DiGiaimo	Casting
Jerry Weintraub	Producer
Gerald Walker	Screenwriter
Charles L. Campbell	Sound Effects
Robert Glass	Sound Effects
William Friedkin	Screenwriter
William E. Miller	Key Grip
Burtt Harris	Producer
David Pettijohn	Sound Editor
Louis L. Edemann	Sound Editor
Bruce Richardson	Sound Editor

Editorial Reviews

Although it was greeted with scorn by gay-rights groups and other critics upon its 1980 release, this Al Pacino thriller isn't coherent enough on any front to be viewed as a deliberately anti-gay screed. Less a police procedural than a queasy psychodrama set against the backdrop of New York City's leather scene, Cruising simply doesn't function very well as a mystery. Red herrings are one thing, but writer/director William Friedkin's script is so full of holes, ambiguity, and misdirection that it confounds any sort of literal interpretation. As a gritty fever dream about masculinity and sexual anxiety, however, this dank, dark, unpleasant picture is memorable indeed. His weary, hollowed face bathed in shadows, Pacino navigates the world of gay S & M like it's a perversely fascinating theme park -- one he's uncomfortable admitting that he's grown to love. No greased-up arm, no bobbing head, no desperate tongue kiss is too hyperbolically sleazy to escape the notice of his character -- or the camera. One infamous scene, involving an oversized African-American man in thong underwear and a cowboy hat inexplicably conducting an interrogation, provides only the most obviously over-the-top example of masculinity magnified until it's a parody of itself. Cruising may not be much of a thriller, but it's still a fascinating piece of cinematic voyeurism with an enduringly hard-to-pin-down subtext.