Fort Apache, The Bronx
Fort Apache: The Bronx | |
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Directed by | Daniel Petrie |
Written by | Heywood Gould |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | John Alcott |
Edited by | Rita Roland |
Music by | Jonathan Tunick |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | 20th Century-Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 125 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $10 million[1] |
Box office | $65.2 million[2] |
Fort Apache, The Bronx is a 1981 American
It was filmed on location in the Bronx. Author Tom Walker sued
Plot
Police officers face many challenges in the decaying, impoverished, high-crime
The precinct is one of the worst and most dilapidated in the entire department, approaching demolition and staffed mostly by officers who are unwanted by, and have been transferred out of, other precincts. Additionally, the precinct's officers do not represent the large
Murphy becomes more intimate with Isabella, and they begin a sexual relationship. While she is sleeping, Murphy notices "track marks" on her skin. She admits that she uses heroin as a way to relax from working in such a stressful environment. She tells him that other hospital employees also use heroin, even the doctors. Murphy and Corelli are being emotionally tormented with the knowledge that they cannot turn in the murderous cops who they witnessed earlier; Corelli says that he will not destroy his career by going against fellow cops, and Murphy laments that he does not have the guts to smash through the "blue wall" and turn in the cops for their vile actions.
Illustrating the futility of policing in the precinct, Charlotte, the killer of the two rookie cops, is never found, despite mass arrests and interrogations. She is killed by a dealer who she tried to kill, and her body is dumped with roadside trash. In turn, Charlotte's killers are killed in a shootout with Murphy when they take hostages in the hospital where Isabella works. Murphy is heartbroken when Isabella dies from a
Cast
- Paul Newman as John Joseph Vincent Murphy III
- Ed Asner as Dennis Connolly
- Ken Wahl as Andrew Corelli
- Danny Aiello as Morgan
- Rachel Ticotin as Isabella
- Pam Grier as Charlotte
- Kathleen Beller as Theresa
- Tito Goya as Jumper / Detective
- Miguel Piñero as Hernando
- Jaime Tirelli as Jose
- Clifford David as Dacey
- Sully Boyar as Dugan
- Dominic Chianese as Corelli's Father
- Michael Higgins as Heffernan
- Paul Gleason as Detective
- Randy Jurgensen as Cop at Bar
- Gilbert Lewis as Mob Leader
- Cleavant Derricks as Suspect #4
- Reynaldo Medina as Detective
- Norman Matlock as Lincoln
Reception
The film opened at number one at the US box office, with an opening weekend gross of $4,565,000 from 795 theaters.[4] After 12 days in 860 theaters, it had grossed $11,266,000.[5] The film would gross more than $65 million worldwide at its time of release.[2]
On release, reviews were mixed.[6] On Rotten Tomatoes, which collects both modern and contemporaneous reviews, the film has an 86% approval rating, based on 14 reviews; the average rating is 6.6/10.[7]
Richard Schickel in Time called it "more like a made-for-TV movie". He added, "The film is not quite up to its star", and is "somewhere between Barney Miller and the works of Joseph Wambaugh". Of the acting, he wrote, "But mainly it is Newman, now 56, who gives Fort Apache its modest distinction."[8]
Variety labeled the film "a very patchy picture, strong on dialog and acting and exceedingly weak on story", and criticizes it for its lack of depth.[10]
Nick Sambides Jr. at AllMovie called it a "flinty but otherwise forgettable character study".[11]
Newman called the New York Post "a garbage can" after it published a photo of him on the set with a caption indicating that it portrayed a film crewperson "ward[ing] off a group of Hispanic youths protesting the film", which Newman claimed actually portrayed the crewmember warding off photographers.[12] Because of the dispute, the Post banned him from its pages, even removing his name from films in the TV listings.[12]
Legal issues
Local community groups threatened to file suit against the producers because of the way it depicted their neighborhood in the Bronx, and for the depiction of ethnic minorities (primarily Blacks and Puerto Ricans). Because of this pressure, some changes were made to the script and a note was added to the title card at the beginning of the film.[10][13]
In 1976, Tom Walker, a police officer who had been stationed at the 41st precinct, published Fort Apache,
Walker lost in federal district court, and again on appeal.
Newman also filed a claim against Time-Life, claiming that they had undersold the TV rights (on which he was due 15%) by selling to HBO for $1.5 million and not offering it to others, as well as underreporting foreign-distribution receipts by more than $3.75 million, on which he was due 12.5%. An agreement was settled out of court.[19]
See also
References
- ^ [1]. – AFI Catalog
- ^ a b Fort Apache, The Bronx. – The Numbers
- ^ "Fred Silverman Interview". Retrieved August 25, 2015.
- Daily Variety. February 10, 1981. p. 3.
- ^ "'Bronx' B.O. Tops $11 Mil". Daily Variety. February 24, 1981. p. 13.
- ISBN 9781429946148.
- ^ "Fort Apache, The Bronx (1981)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
- ^ Schickel, Richard (February 16, 1981). "Cinema: Conscience in a Rough Precinct". Time.
- Chicago Sun Times.
- ^ a b "Film: Fort Apache, The Bronx". Variety. January 1, 1981.
- ^ Sambides, Nick, Jr. – Review: "Fort Apache, the Bronx". – AllMovie. – Retrieved: June 10, 2008
- ^ a b DiGiaomo, Frank (December 2004). "The Gossip Behind the Gossip". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
- ^ "'Apache' Film's Debut Protested". The New York Times. Cultural Desk. February 7, 1981.
- ISBN 978-0-690-01047-3.
- ^ Walker v. Time Life Films, 615 F.Supp. 430 (United States District Court for the Southern District of New York August 14, 1985).
- ^ Walker v. Time Life Films, 784 F.2d 44 (United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit January 7, 1986).
- ^ Margolick, David (August 25, 1985). "Legal Notes: Writer Told 'Ft. Apache' isn't Just His". The New York Times. p. 59. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
- ^ Beeber, Jessie, and Maura Wogan. – "Is Scènes à Faire Really 'Necessary'?". – Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Journal. – Spring 2004. – Vol. 15, No. 1
- ^ Girard, Tom (February 23, 1984). "Newman, Time Inc., Agree On 'Apache' Compensation". Daily Variety. p. 8.