Bad Lieutenant
1992 Directed by Abel Ferrara
Synopsis
A police Lieutenant goes about his daily tasks of investigating homicides, but is more interested in pursuing his vices. He has accumulated a massive debt betting on baseball, and he keeps doubling to try to recover. His bookies are beginning to get agitated. The Lieutenant does copious amounts of drugs, cavorts with prostitutes, and uses his status to take advantage of teenage girls.
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Less a narrative than an examination of the depths of redemption, Bad Lieutenant takes an unlikable asshole and asks us how much we can take before we want him dead. Harvey Keitel's Lieutenant is a complete monster, a walking pharmacy cabinet, and, besides a strikingly inane suburban side-life, has nothing redeeming about him. We're treated to increasingly detestable episodes that showcase his brutality, hubris, and utter nihilism until there's seemingly no deeper he can sink.
The showcasing of his banal domestic life seems to be director Abel Ferrara's indication that most, if not all, of LT's woes are of his own causing. He mistakes self-destruction for pride. He thinks himself untouchable, even as he becomes more and more erratic. It…
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75/100
Pretty sure I disliked this at the time, probably for the same reason I like it now: Nothing but downward spiral, plus one agonized act of forgiveness. The early, iconic scene in which Lt. Bad staggers around naked, his face a mask of pain, arguably does more harm than good—it's certainly arresting and memorable (so much so that it became the primary marketing image), but it overwhelms what's otherwise a remarkably flat, almost procedural portrait of ingrained vice. I liked Herzog's "remake," too, but try to imagine Nicolas Cage just zipping up his pants and silently walking back to his car after forcing those two girls to perform for him; that there isn't even a sardonic "You ladies drive…
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Watch Harvey Keitel do all of the drugs for 90 minutes.
I was supposed to watch this years ago, but I skipped class that day, so I was happy to see it on Netflix Instant. However, the version on Netflix (at least the U.S. Instant version) is actually the R rated version that was created for Blockbuster distribution. From a comparison I read of the difference between the versions, it does seem that the omissions (although seemingly minor) create a significantly neutered version of the lieutenant.
In many ways, Bad Lieutenant is still quite disturbing, but much of its shock has perhaps been tempered over time into shlock, exposing Ferrara's past as a director of grindhouse and slasher films. The…
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I've written on one of my letterboxd lists about why older movies are "better" than most current stuff. I hypothesised that many of those older great films have something that contemporary films don't have, like certain themes or settings. One of the best examples would be war-torn Europe, the back drop for countless great films. Today, we don't have anything like that. Our wars are far away, and current topics just don't have the same impact as events in the past. Classic American films really only benefit from cultural differences, but I guess that's something. While watching Bad Lieutenant I realized we might have something else, gritty New York.
The old school 80s/90s New York is gone forever, but it…
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Harvey Keitel gives a career-best performance in this supremely underrated film from Abel Ferrara. Enthralling from start to finish, Keitel's performance lifts imperfect material above its level and makes this film one of the best of 1992 - dare I say one of the best of the 90s decade. A really powerful, moving film.
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Harvey Keitel plays an unrepentant scumbag for 75 minutes, then has a cliched turn around moment in an attempt to give him some development over the film. That's really all the film has to say. The film is a series of depraved scenarios strung together under the guise of a character study. It never works as well as I'd like. There's next to no story, other than two recurring plot lines that don't really tie together believably. I do not believe that the Lieutenant would have a religious epiphany and try to forgive two rapists. What drove him was never clear to begin with, but the desire or ability to be redeemed didn't seem present in him for the majority of the film. A great performance wasted on what amounted to a pretentious exploitation film
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An excellent portrayal of a man on the edge from the lead actor dominates this hard hitting movie. Keitel is a man consumed by alcoholism, drug addiction and a spiraling gambling debt. He is supposed to be investigating the violent rape of a nun, but spends most of the film unravelling due to his extremely bad habits. He uses his position on the police force to feed his drug habit and take advantage of teenage girls he pulls over. Keitel's performance is up with his very best work, and this no holds barred view of "pre_Guliani" New York is a very effective movie.
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Its like alice in wonderland, only the starting point is insanity and the rabbit hole only goes further into the spiral of it. I also liked a dialogue nod to The Addiction.
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My opinion on this has since changed upon reflection and also watching some interviews with Harvey Keitel on his role in the film.
I still consider it to be unnecessarily slow paced with all the shots of Keitel walking through corridors for example, which are overlong, but the performance of the character is so incredible that I have began to see the film in a new light and appreciate the artistry that went into the film.
The ending also took on a new meaning when I began to think harder about the rest of the film, and it really hits hard. Perhaps this is what makes the film better also, the fact that I thought more about it. It realy… -
75/100
Pretty sure I disliked this at the time, probably for the same reason I like it now: Nothing but downward spiral, plus one agonized act of forgiveness. The early, iconic scene in which Lt. Bad staggers around naked, his face a mask of pain, arguably does more harm than good—it's certainly arresting and memorable (so much so that it became the primary marketing image), but it overwhelms what's otherwise a remarkably flat, almost procedural portrait of ingrained vice. I liked Herzog's "remake," too, but try to imagine Nicolas Cage just zipping up his pants and silently walking back to his car after forcing those two girls to perform for him; that there isn't even a sardonic "You ladies drive…
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Preparing for the Separate But Sequel Podcast:
I like this, but don't take that as a guarantee of quality. This is a gritty, low budget film in the mode of 80s New York underground cinema. A parade of delinquent behavior posing as a story of faith and redemption. I wouldn't necessarily say this is an essential film, but this is possibly the most accomplished film by Abel Ferrara. Kietel brings so much intensity that this borders on comedy as he lurches into the final act of the story. His one-sided argument with Jesus is priceless, or ridiculously awful, depending on your point of view. Actually, that about sums up the whole venture.
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Less a narrative than an examination of the depths of redemption, Bad Lieutenant takes an unlikable asshole and asks us how much we can take before we want him dead. Harvey Keitel's Lieutenant is a complete monster, a walking pharmacy cabinet, and, besides a strikingly inane suburban side-life, has nothing redeeming about him. We're treated to increasingly detestable episodes that showcase his brutality, hubris, and utter nihilism until there's seemingly no deeper he can sink.
The showcasing of his banal domestic life seems to be director Abel Ferrara's indication that most, if not all, of LT's woes are of his own causing. He mistakes self-destruction for pride. He thinks himself untouchable, even as he becomes more and more erratic. It…
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Good at being Bad.
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Bad Lieutenant follows Harvey Keitel, as he plays the titular character with much ease and passion. The narrative is more concerned with his muddled personal life, covering his vices, copious drug usage, and moral corruption. It's message of salvation did seem a bit over-saturated at times, and eventually, the film's shock value grows old and lends itself over to tedium. Through its duration, however, Harvey Keitel steals the show, with his raw. unbridled performance as a truly broken individual.
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A masterpiece. A look at faith, forgiveness and sin that is not afraid to get it's hands dirty and bravely goes to the places a story like this needs to go to be truly effective. Perfect.