News

The 1973 Al Pacino-led crime drama Serpico has just arrived on a new streaming platform. The movie, based on the true story of Frank Serpico, is available on Paramount+.

While The Godfather and Scarface are typically the first films that come to mind when thinking of Pacino, the actor's role in Serpico is considered one of his best performances. The film is adapted from a biography of the real-life Serpico. Written by Peter Maas, the Oscar-nominated film sees Pacino as Frank Serpico, an NYPD cop on a mission to expose the corruption in the force. The movie was directed by Sidney Lumet and earned $29.8 million at the box office on a $3.3 million budget.

RelatedOne of Al Pacino’s Greatest Performances Came 51 Years Ago in This Oscar-Nominated Crime Drama

Based on a true story, Serpico is classic Pacino with a twist. With several awards and nominations, Serpico remains one of Pacino’s best films.

Sidney Lumet’s Serpico is an exemplar of a certain brand of character-based social realism that Hollywood excelled at in the 1970s, as well as an essential time capsule of New York City during the same period. Eschewing the backstory of detective Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) and keeping things firmly anchored in his time with the NYPD, the film builds character less by regurgitating facts and events than through gritty verisimilitude. This enlivens the clashes that arise from Frank’s offbeat humor, counterculture-friendly fashion sense, and unwavering morality as he butts heads with institutional powers that value conformity and blind allegiance above all else.

The conflicts that Frank finds himself involved in begin small, like when he refuses the offer for free creamed chicken at a local diner and instead orders a roast beef sandwich, much to the chagrin of both the owner and Frank’s partner (Al Henderson), who...

Walter Mirisch’s slam-bang, eardrum-pounding Sensurround stock footage orgy for the Centennial Year gathers an impressive lineup of big stars to celebrate the U.S. Navy’s biggest aircraft carrier battle: Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Hal Holbrook, Toshiro Mifune. Director Jack Smight manages the talky, exposition-laden account of a sprawling, complicated battle rather well, at least in terms of clarity. What is unwatchable pan-scanned on TV isn’t half bad for fans of big-scale war movies. Pi gives us an approximation of Sensurround (I think), and also John Ford’s short subject The Battle of Midway from 1942.

Midway

Region B Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator

1976 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 132 min. / Street Date October 25, 2021 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99

Starring: Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda.

Guest Stars (in alphabetical order): James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Hal Holbrook, Toshiro Mifune, Robert Mitchum, Cliff Robertson, Robert Wagner. Also starring: Edward Albert, Robert Webber, Ed Nelson,...

William “Biff” McGuire, whose Broadway career spanned seven decades and included a role in the original South Pacific and Tony-nominated turns in The Young Man From Atlanta and Morning’s at Seven, has died. He was 94.

McGuire’s death was announced by the Seattle Rep, for whom he performed in more than 30 productions, including Life With Father (directed by George Abbott), Saint Joan, Noises Off and A Flaw in the Ointment, starting in the 1970s.

“Reserved, even shy in real life, Biff gained a nearly scary confidence once he stepped on a stage,” former Seattle Rep associate artistic director Doug Hughes said. “He ...

1982: Another World's Buzz Winslow died in Wyoming.

1988: General Hospital's Anna lost her baby.

1990: Another World's Jake raped Marley, then got shot.

2000: All My Children's Vanessa and Arlene were busted."The best prophet of the future is the past."

― Lord Byron

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1937: Radio soap opera Stella Dallas made its debut as a local show in New York City. The 15-minute drama, with Anne Elstner in the title role, was picked up by the NBC Radio network beginning June 6, 1938, and aired weekdays afternoons through 1955.

1971: Chris Bohn debuted as Dr. Jason Aldrich on The Doctors.

1977: On Another World, Iris Carrington (Beverlee McKinsey...

Hollywood glamour strikes the crime genre, with a bank robbery tale that concentrates on high living and high fashion. Superstars Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway play a coy game of thief and investigator. This expensive show is not really in fashion anymore, but in 1968 it was high-class filmmaking, with Norman Jewison solidifying his position as a smart maker of solid mainstream entertainment.

The Thomas Crown Affair

Blu-ray

Kino Lorber

1968 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 102 min. / Street Date February 13, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, Paul Burke, Jack Weston, Biff McGuire, Astrid Heeren, Gordon Pinsent, Yaphet Kotto, Bruce Glover.

Cinematography: Haskell Wexler

Film Editor: Hal Ashby, Byron Brandt, Ralph E. Winters

Montage and title design: Pablo Ferro

Original Music: Michel Legrand

Written by Alan R. Trustman

Produced and Directed by Norman Jewison

Ah, 1968 was a good movie year. I remember my father returning from a car hunt (before he bought...