Cruising (1980) Al Pacino - when??? (1 Viewer)

[Jon Hertzberg]

Walter,

Sounds like our discussion on the thread about The Revolutionary. John Kirk did quite a job dusting off the UA chestnuts. I am surprised MGM did not get to these films before, when it seemed as if they were emptying their cupboards so to speak. I suspect that if that rate had continued, and the Sony buyout had not occurred, we would have seen some of these "never on home video" titles released on DVD.

Windows' tepid reception very quickly caused first-time director Gordon Willis to retreat back into the cinematographers' fraternity. This was one of Talia Shire's only starring roles in the wake of the Rocky films. The others were The Prophecy and Old Boyfriends. Neither she nor co-star Burt Young fared very well on their own, unfortunately. Young's Uncle Joe Shannon also bombed and was a UA release from Rocky producing team Chartoff and Winkler.

 

[Felix Martinez]

I think there's some info here.

Yikes!

 

[walter o]

Jon,

And sadly, those same channel was running a beautiful pristine copy of UNCLE JOE SHANNON from UA's archieves, another film never to get a video release, and now it looks like Sony will keep it buried in the vaults.
Had MGM never been bought out by Sony, I am sure REVOLUTIONARY, JOE SHANNON, WINDOWS, OUT OG IT, FEARLESS FRANK would have eventually been released on DVD , considering MGM was releasing 8 to 10 catalog titles a month, while Sony has barely release one catalog title a month (unless it is a triple dip).

 

[Michael Elliott]

Thanks Felix.


Agreed. Will this be Warner's first release directly into porn shops?

Since it appears those scenes are real, I really don't see Warner releasing that version. The only way it would get released is if Friedkin owns the director's cut and Warner allows him to take it to another studio. Blue Underground, Synapse and Shriek Show have released "hardcore" titles so perhaps Friedkin could look there. But again, it depends on if he owns any of the rights to that cut.

I recorded this from IFC tonight and took a couple peaks to see if the recording came out okay and the widescreen print did look very good. I remember some of the night scenes being WAY too dark on the VHS but they looked very good here.

 

[oscar_merkx]

so any idea when this is due ?

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Oscar,

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the WB folks have told us, in one of their chats, that this one is not currently in the pipeline.

 

[oscar_merkx]

ok cheers

 

[PopBodhi]

That's unfortunate considering the plethora of "bad" titles released since DVD was introduced. Cruising deserves to be on DVD! Thankfully, I've seen the film, so I do have my memories.

 

[Bob Cashill]

I recorded the LTXed CRUISING off IFC (good to know it was on, thanks). If you freeze-frame at about 13:48 you can very clearly see an insert shot of anal intercourse being performed during the S&M killing. It's very fast, but, still, how did this slip past the censors? With the cleaned-up transfer (which definitely looks like a movie and not TV, as another poster stated) the shot is "subliminal" no more.

Maybe SPOILERS...

IFC says it's print is uncut but I can't say with any authority if it's the R-rated theatrical or some new variant the station has gotten ahold of. It runs 1:42, four minutes less than the IMDb/VHS-stated run time of 1:46, but as with so many issues regarding this confounding film I'm not sure what the official running time is and I don't have my tape to confirm the difference. A post on the IMDb states that the film now has an explanatory line about the killer's dad (if he is the killer, or just a killer) but I think that's always been there, or his death is otherwise explained. One thing I think that's missing is a voiceover where the killer reads a letter as daytime shots of Central Park are shown...the shots are there, but not the voiceover...but again, my memory may be faulty on this point...

One little scene that may be new, or at least gained new significance this time around in this improved transfer, is an early line where Karen Allen tells Al Pacino that his father called, and Pacino's face, and the music, darken accordingly--creating an analogy between Pacino's character and the killer, who also has father issues.

Did anyone else see this broadcast? Such mysteries...

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Bob,

Glad you appreciated the heads-up on the screening. As for the hardcore inserts, those have been in every print I've seen--theatrical and WB VHS. Although, I seem to recall reading that earlier video incarnations (MGM, CBS/Fox, or both) had cut these shots out. In any event, Friedkin inserted them to stick it to the MPAA who had demanded heavy cuts of his original cut--somehow these slipped past the censors and the studio. Lord knows how that happened!

I have not watched my new DVD of IFC's airing all-the-way- through yet so I cannot comment on the scenes you mention. Though, I can concur that the scene in which Karen Allen mentions Al's father sticks out as being improved (I watched it) in terms of audio quality, with the ominous Jack Nitzsche score mixing nicely with the classical music that the film attaches to Karen Allen. The sound design on this film is really something to behold.

Another similar scene which really demands superior audio quality is the scene in which a troubled Al makes love to Karen while Willy DeVille's "It's So Easy" is heard somewhat faintly, used subjectively to represent Al's inability to extricate himself from the leather scene.

As for the letter scene, I will check out my WB VHS, to see if the voiceover is there. Having seen this film previously in a nice 35mm print (on two occasions) and on the old video, I seem to recall a bit with Stuart's friend (played by William Russ) being questioned by police about Stuart and his father
that was shortened in one of those versions. My memory may be playing tricks on me though...

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

One other interesting note about this cut:

There is no opening logo--I think it used to have a UA/Transamerica logo and/or Lorimar logo at the start, as UA originally distributed the Lorimar films.

The IFC cut begins on a freeze frame (with no sound) of the "this film is about a specific subculture of the homosexual world..." tag (I guess IFC felt this message was not easily read at regular film speed). The film then starts and we soon hear the start of Jack Nitzsche's score.

However, originally, the tag was not "frozen" as long onscreen and on the soundtrack could be heard the eerie, jangling score that plays at the end of the end credits (after "It's So Easy"). I was a bit miffed that this part was altered, in addition to the omission of any opening company logo.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

The only camp value I can see arising out of Cruising is if WB licenced Dave Thomas' "Cruising Gourmet" sketch from SCTV.

 

[Bob Cashill]

Thanks, Jon, for doing a bit of legwork, which I would have done had I had access to my tape. I hope it's not a wild goose chase; it may be that seeing a good print of the film, at last, is like seeing it for the first time. But perhaps there are subtle differences to the IFC print that could add up to a different viewing experience. [And perhaps someone on high is reading this thread and thinking, "Maybe there is an audience for this picture on DVD after all." We can only hope.]

Robin Wood's essay on the film, a very close reading in HOLLYWOOD FROM VIETNAM TO REAGAN, really changed my thinking about CRUISING, and I highly recommend it.

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Bob,

I've read that essay as well. Mr. Wood sure does seem to champion some otherwise highly lambasted films, i.e. Cruising and Heaven's Gate.

I agree that seeing this film in a decent print makes a big difference in one's enjoyment and appreciation of it. I was lucky enough to see WB's newish print at Film Forum several years ago and then at BAM a couple years back. I believe the new print was struck back in the '90s for a San Francisco revival at the Roxie. The critics at the local papers there really swooned over it. The Roxie has revived other forgotten cult films such as WB's Dusty and Sweets McGee (with another new print and good reviews and crowds), but these successes do not seem to translate, in WB's eyes, to home video.

As for the prints, I really don't think there is too much difference in the two cuts, but I've not done a side-to-side comparison between VHS and IFC recording.

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Never mind...the scene is there. I accidently skipped past it before. The IFC cut looks to match up with the VHS.

 

[Bob Cashill]

Thanks for checking.

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Some links which provide very interesting background information on the events depicted in the film, as well as the San Francisco newspaper retrospective reviews:
Al Pacino's Loft

Mr. Friedkin will answer select queries...I wonder how many he gets about Cruising:
Billy Friedkin's Loft

In depth interview with British commentator Mark Kermode, on Cruising:
Guardian Friedkin Interview

 

[Mark Edward Heuck]

I suspect there are linked reasons for this. One, WB probably wanted to remove UA's logo from the front of the film anyway. (There were no Lorimar logos on the original 35mm prints, just the initial UA logo). Two, as you hinted, the opening disclaimer could be given more reading time by stretching it over the running time that the old UA logo would have appeared in (and thus preserving the running time of the film itself). And three, since Friedkin opens the film right away with no credits at all, perhaps it was always his intention to never have any sort of studio credit to begin with, and that UA overrode him on the initial engagements by adding theirs along with the disclaimer.

 

[Bob Cashill]

The historical info is fascinating; I had no idea the film was adapted from true events, and that the detective is in the film. Sounds like it would be an equally interesting movie if it were a docudrama. [I was a little dubious at first, because the IMDb summary the writer used says that the film takes place in San Francisco, a rather obvious error right off the bat. I note, though, that the entry has been fixed on the IMDb site, if it was ever actually incorrect from the beginning.]

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Friedkin became very involved with NYC cops like Randy Jurgenson (the basis for Al Pacino in Cruising), Sonny Grosso, and Eddie Egan during the research and production of The French Connection. Egan and Grosso were, of course, the cops that the film and novel were based upon. All three appear in that film and Jurgenson and Grosso later became television/film producers, specializing in cop dramas, of course. Jurgenson portrays one of the cops searching the car used by the smugglers, for hidden drugs.
in The French Connection.

I believe they were all involved with, to some degree, Phil D'Antoni's follow-up The 7-Ups. Roy Scheider who played Buddy Russo (the Grosso character) in French Connection stars in the later film. D'Antoni was producer of French Connection and Bullitt.

Shortly after Cruising's release, a crazed man shot up the Ramrod (one of the famous, or infamous) clubs used in the film. Several patrons were killed...geez, with all of the sordid, yet fascinating background information, the featurette possibilities for a Cruising SE are seemingly endless. I don't know that any of the cast would participate, but maybe their dissatisfaction with the film and Friedkin has subsided over time.