Prince of the City (1981)

Sidney Lumet is well versed in corrupt police thrillers, he'd already directed Serpico (1973), arguably the Godfather of the sub-genre before he made Prince Of The City eight years later. He also went on to direct the Nick Nolte fronted Q&A in 1990, which is certainly worth a look. Although very highly thought of, yet difficult to get your hands on, Prince Of The City doesn't hit the heights of the films mentioned above, falling way short of Serpico especially. Although length is often preferable for a character arc of this kind, Prince Of The City begins with Detective Ciello agreeing to assist a special commission investigating police corruption. Approaching three hours, the film takes a long time to almost go from point A to point A, and you wish somewhat that you were able to see Ciello's initial indiscretions as part of the set up, instead of three hours of similar scenarios playing out. Although there are scenes of Ciello with his team together, we don't ever see the bond and trust between the team before Ciello turns rat, and that takes away a huge emotional connection for the viewer. Treat Williams' performance as Ciello is almost comically over the top at times, and although he is solid, there is more than one too many similar outbursts over his predicament. Prince Of The City is worth tracking down even if it's just to say that you managed to track it down, and Sidney Lumet's films are never dull, but Serpico is a much superior film if you fancy a bit of corruption by Lumet. 6.1/10