Le Policeman

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'm surprised at all the negative reviews of this movie. yes, it's dark and depressing and certainly 'un-even', but I was glued to the screen. New York is the most fascinating city I've ever visited. Beautiful, cosmopolitan, fantastically wealthy and it sure never sleeps. But there's a dark side to "the big apple" and I honestly think this film captures that perfectly. It shows the poverty and despair of all those who haven't managed to live the dream and the siege mentality of the guys trying to maintain law and order. It's an utterly believable picture of day-to-day police work in a huge city. Much better than Cagney & Lacey & Kojak. Paul Newman plays a veteran patrol officer who's been on the streets too long and finds it hard to take anything seriously any more, until. You'll have to watch the movie to find out what lights his fire again. Ken Wahl (convincingly) plays his much younger partner and Ed Asner is superb as their hard-nosed Captain, struggling to be a cop, manager, politician, budget-holder and father-figure all at once. In fact, I would say Asner deserved an Oscar nomination. It was easily his best role. Fort Apache truly shows the real nature of a war against crime. Cops are under-funded and battling daily against impossible odds. All they have is each other. On the DOWN side, this movie does have 2 major flaws. First, it is horribly jolty and un-even. There's no plot at all and (to me) it felt throughout like a 'pilot' for a police soap opera that never made it to series. And second, the romance between Paul Newman and Rachel Ticotin is frankly ridiculous. They're both excellent actors and I'm one of the many millions who envy Newman his good looks, but, Ticotin is THIRTY THREE years younger than Newman. He could (almost) be her Grandfather! Fort Apache is a good movie though and I would say it paved the way for many current shows (such as Law & Order) which show law enforcement, warts and all. It's well worth seeing.

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.

For those who didn't know.... This movie was based on the real life experiences of Thomas Mulhearn and Paul Tessitore who are pictured in some of the stills. Murphy (Paul Newman's Character)was inspired by Tom Mulhearn, he is my sister's dad, and he's a pretty interesting guy. I've heard all kinds of funny stories from my mom whom we will refer to as "V", talking about how Rachel Ticotin stole her role (which she claims is based on her given the fact that she's Puerto Rican and that she was with Tom during the writing of the screenplay). Its true that the story behind the drama is always the most interesting.

The point of this is... to let you guys know.. that the stuff in that movie, isn't even half of what i've heard really happened, and that those guys it was based on deserve props for being some of New York's Finest. I've heard that, it was a pretty tough neighborhood back then. Tom (part of the inspiration) is alive and well with a beautiful family to speak of. I'm not sure what happened to paul.

Some movies can rely on atmosphere and acting skills alone. This is one of them. The plot is flimsy, and the setting and most characterizations a bit unlikely (but extremely well acted), and the film might recycle many cop-series clichés, but why carp? I expected little more than a gritty urban cop-flick, which it is, but it also proves to be very successful as a heart-felt human drama, thanks in large part to a prime cast with Paul Newman, Edward Asner, Ken Wahl, Rachel Ticotin, Danny Aiello and Pam Grier in a small but extremely creepy part as a deranged homicidal hooker.

Paul Newman is excellent as a tough tired Officer Murphy and his partner, Ken Wahl, at least 30 years his junior, is one of the very few characters in the film blessed with an almost unbendable optimism, but he is in no way naive. He has a strong sense of realism and pride and, in many ways, represents Newman's moral conscience and ratio.

The world here is without glamour. It's all very raw and real - not necessarily a realistic setting, but with believable characters - and that makes the whole thing work. It's not formulaic, and never seems to go where you expect it. The film has a downbeat neon-lit dark photography by John Alcott. Depressing, but perfectly matching the mood. It's simple, straightforward, unpretentious, and s basically a portrait of human tragedy. Don't expect flashy car chases or fast action. There's plenty of violence, but it seems to be a way of life, rather than serve as sensationalism, but proves to be a all the more effective. Worth seeing.

Camera Obscura --- 9/10