Auf leisen Sohlen kommt der Tod

I was expecting a decent police drama out of the movie "Fuzz." With the talents of Burt Reynolds, Yul Brynner, and Raquel Welsh, viewers would anticipate a memorable picture. But considering the acting talent involved, the film is a near disaster with several plot-holes and mood changes in scenes and story lines that confuse, alienate, and annoy the viewer.

To the best that I can make out (as I was half-asleep waiting for anything to happen in this picture) Yul Brynner plays a deaf man who has orchestrated the assassination of several high ranking political officials and other selected targets. Bert Reynolds and Jack Weston are the cops who dress up as Nuns. ("NUNS?") to try to stop them, against a backdrop of a discombobulated police station and staff that makes Barney Fife look like an organized lawman! What a mess! There is absolutely no continuity to this film or plot development. You would think that some of the random shooting events would place an element of dramatic suspense, giving the viewers some reason to see this picture. However, in the next scene it's a comedy, than in the following scene it turns serious again. Fuzz is a perfect example of a movie that is only removed from being a 1, because I have given an extra point to the recognition of the actors, and another point for perhaps two good scenes that I liked in the whole movie. However, that's it. Fuzz in my judgment scores a VERY GENEROUS 3.

If the script would have stuck to ONE quality serious element, with concern about a strong issue from the cast, Fuzz could have been a passable police film. However, with too much going on at once, a weak and extremely confusing script, and a picture who's writers look like they crammed material from at least three different movies into this one, Fuzz is extremely fuzzy and never comes into focus.

By reading comments left by others, I can tell they never read the book "Fuzz" by Ed McBain. I think this is the WORST adaptation of a book I've ever seen. Ed McBain's stories are great! This movie was one TOTAL let down.

In response to other's comments: the final shot with the hand in the water is because the Deaf Man was supposed to survive and come back to terrorize the 87th Precinct several more times. If this movie was any good, perhaps they had a sequel in mind. Also, Eileen McHenry's (Burke, in the book), played by Welch, rape scene seemed almost gratuitous whereas in the book, the rapist was successful and this became the root of her troubles and ambitions in the future of the series of 87th Precinct books.

This movie showed NO storyline. It was merely scenes (poorly shot and directed) pieced together to form a not-easy-to-follow plot. All these scenes lacked so much detail and explanation, that the viewer was left wondering what was going on. For example, while in the park on stakeout, the blind man with the dog was really a cop (who later shot himself in the foot). This character was never introduced in the movie.

Had it not been for Reynolds and Welch (sex symbols of the time) I don't think anyone would have noticed this movie was in the theaters.

Bryner (whose fun) plays a assassin who threatens to kill all the city leaders one by one. It's up to some 'zany' characters at a crazy police station to stop him.

Attempt at bringing the irreverent, anti-establishment, comedy-drama of M*A*S*H to the police squad, is a complete disaster. The 'wacky' humor is both empty and annoying. Throwing in some strained sentiment and jarring action makes it even more baseless.

The actors seem to be just walking through their roles and the direction has no energy or vision. The pacing is disjointed without any rhythm or logic. Just about every shot is dark and shadowy. Like it was filmed on a camera with a very bad exposure.

The police station just never seems real. The precinct on BARNEY MILLER is more believable. Also having Reynolds and Weston dress as nuns just to catch the bad guy is a perfect example of forced humor.

The lowest point involves a unnecessary story thread where Welch goes after a prostitute killer. The final confrontation scene between her and the killer is a complete and pathetic rip off of the similar scene in KLUTE (complete with those chiming piano chords). This alone solidifies it as one of the biggest bombs of all time. If that's not enough you also have Dinah Shore singing "I'll be Seeing You" over the closing credits.

The whole thing is just excruciating. Does feature a young up and coming Tom Skerrit. Also has Charles Martin Smith as a punk who sets street bums on fire.

Based on the same characters as the early 60s TV series 87th PRECINCT that starred Robert Lansing, Norman Fell, Gena Rowlands and others. The TV series was based in New York City but here the 87th Precinct is in Boston (though no one has a Boston accent).

Burt Reynolds stars in this ensemble comedy/drama about a mad bomber trying to extort money from a wealthy man. It's an uneasy mix of comedy and drama especially when people start getting blown up. The cops also come off as a bunch of really stupid oafs without any common sense at all.

Reynolds plays the same character Lansing played on TV. Raquel Welch shows up as a cop and is totally miscast and unbelievable, though to be fair, it's a badly written role. Other cops include Jack Weston, Tom Skerritt, James McEachin, Steve Ihnat, Dan Frazer, and others. Gino Conforti and Gerald Hiken plays i for laughs as a copy of wisecracking painters assigned to re-do the squad room. And Neile Adams shows up for one scene as Reynolds' deaf wife (the Rowlands part on TV).

The bad guys are headed by Yul Brynner as a hearing-impaired maniac and Don Gordon and Peter Bonerz as his main stooges. There's also a couple of kids played by Charles Martin Smith and Gary Morgan who run around torching drunks (a real barrel of laughs).

Nothing quite works and the film makes Boston look like a burned out slum.

After reading several bad reviews of this film I was almost afraid to watch it. I hate wasting my time on bad movies, but I decided based on the cast to give it a go and I'm glad I did. The movie is not a fast paced comedy by any stretch of the imagination. It is instead, like many movies from it's time, a slow moving style of film along the lines of The Big Fix. It keeps your interest because the characters are interesting. It makes you laugh at times and actually has a little suspense mixed into a story that seems disjointed at first, but ties together so well in the end it makes the whole movie work.

The plot centers partially around a bombers scheme to blackmail the city of Boston, but more so around the police precinct he chooses to contact with his threats. We see a group of officers trying to get through their daily routine as they work on several cases at once. Focusing on the bomber but still trying to deal with a myriad of other problems that present themselves as they try to solve other crimes. It presents itself as more of a "day in the life" type movie rather than a film with one main focus. It's well acted, well told and is a good movie for those times when you really want to just relax and get into a story. Sure it has a few weak spots as with most movies but it is certainly worth putting on and I'm very glad I had the chance to see it.

In short, if your looking for Starskey & Hutch 2005, this isn't it. If your looking for a slow paced intelligent movie, don't let bad reviews chase you away and give this film a shot.