Fort Apache the Bronx

Fort Apache is flawed, but interesting and atmospheric. Newman's and Asner's accents are a bit dodgy, but the location shooting and moral ambiguity place this 1981 movie firmly in the camp of 1970's police/New Yawk flicks. Rachel Ticotin is a real stunner, in a very early role. A lot of fuss was made over the portrayal of minority groups and the South Bronx generally when Fort Apache was being made, though it seems standard movie fodder now.

In the war zone of the South Bronx, the police of the 41st Precinct have the worst absentee record in the city, the most disability record claims, the least conviction per arrests, and there's nobody doing anything and the men aren't motivated…

The first petition of the new captain Dennis Connolly (Ed Asner) was to make it clear that there is zero progress on the investigation on the murders of two policemen (killed on the opening of the film by an addicted hooker played nicely by Pam Grier). For the good officer the case must be cleared even if his men have to take extraordinary measures to clear it…

Murphy (Newman) comes from three generations of cops… All his friends are cops… He gets drunk every night… He is essentially honest and he doesn't trust anyone but his partner, Corelli (Ken Wahl). He is attracted to Isabella (Rachel Ticotin) who happens to be a heroin addict…

The film turns dramatic first when a body is discovered after a fire… Death was caused by injuries sustained in a fall… Murphy and his partner witnessed the officer Morgan (Danny Aiello) throwing an innocent kid off the roof… And second when narcotics dealers took a bunch of doctors, nurses and patients hostage…

Paul Newman's performance is vulnerable, masking his sensitivity with arrogance and showing a flash of charm and humor… It is a story of an ordinary cop finding the courage to stand up and be counted… As portrayed by Newman he is touchingly believable

I was a bit taken aback when reading through the external reviews and seeing notable critics like Roger Ebert generally panning this movie. Not that it's a high water mark of film making, but a stylish, gritty, well-constructed movie, certainly.

The one major distracting element is Paul Newman. His performance is not at fault by any standards, in fact he was very good, but in this dark look at inner city dwellers and how they're prisoners of the crime and poverty that surrounds them, one of Hollywood's most notable actors just sticks out like a sore thumb. Again, not through any misstep that Mr. Newman might have made, but just simply because he is who he is: Too big to fit into a movie about little people.

Regardless, the movie is highly recommended for anyone wanting a unique look at inner city blight, the people who live in this setting and the men and women who try to protect them. There is nothing quaint about this movie, it is real and rough.

Paul Newman is terrific in a bit of a departure for him. There is a huge and talented cast at work here, and Pam Grier steals the show from everyone else. As a crackhead prostitute, she is completely mesmerizing. Rachel Ticotin also does great work as a drug addict/romantic interest for Newman. She does a scene walking down the street in only a nightgown that is memorable. All in all, this movie is good enough to be worth your time.

Almost forgotten nowadays, "Fort Apache, the Bronx" it's an interesting, but somewhat flawed, cop drama about a Police Precinct in the problematic South Bronx located right in the middle of a "war zone" where taking a life became gratuitous and cheap. Hordes of street gangs, hookers, pimps, drug dealers, heroin addicts, winos & bums roams the over-populated slums ready to explode by racial mixtures and a common war against the authority. When 2 rookie cops are killed at cold blood, the newcomer Commissioner demands results and drastic changes in the police procedures starts to appear, it clashes with the ideals of one of the veterans in the Precinct...

Released around the same time with the now legendary TV Show "Hill Street Blues", this Daniel Petrie directed movie, shares the same themes about the day-to-day life in a Police Precinct with several sub-plots related to the main one in a gritty, depressing atmosphere of a decadent South Bronx realistically photographed by the camera of John Alcott.

On a high note, even if the movie flows at a slow pace, it catch the viewer much because of Paul Newman's excellent performance as the veteran Irish-American cop, Murphy, himself an outsider in the Precinct, a loner who doesn't like to follow rules by the book, but with a sense of fairness & dignity which makes him a respected individual in the streets. Ken Wahl (the underrated star of Philip Kaufman's "The Wanderers") plays his loyal partner, a daring rookie full of freshness with a will to be promoted soon to start a life with his fiancée. The main plot follows, almost in a documentary style, the lives (in and out of service) of the two protagonists offering a character study of both worlds and their relation to the common values of justice, integrity and the healthy balance between authority and the civilians that lives upon the troubled streets.

On a lower note, there's too many subplots (some of them cliché-ridden ) that provides unnecessary loose ends & a certain restriction of a 'made for TV' makes this movie experience not at all satisfactory as a more ambitious (& serious) film on the subject matter (needed a Friedkin, Scorsese, De Palma or Cimino on the helm), but still a watchable piece of work for fans of late 70's / early 80's gritty / raw flicks with attitude & a 56 years old Paul Newman in top form.