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Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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The First Deadly Sin
Crime · Drama · Mystery · 1980
A serial killer is stalking New York City. Inspector Edward Delaney is an NYPD detective, nearing retirement, who is trying to put together the pieces of the case. Are the victims somehow linked? What does the brutal method of death signify?
Movie details
The First Deadly Sin
“He's searching for a killer. She's searching for a miracle .... And time is running out.”
1980 Crime · Drama · Mystery 1h 52m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
5.8 / 10
Community rating
A serial killer is stalking New York City. Inspector Edward Delaney is an NYPD detective, nearing retirement, who is trying to put together the pieces of the case. Are the victims somehow linked? What does the brutal method of death signify?
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The First Deadly Sin?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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The Pledge
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A police chief, about to retire, pledges to help a woman find her daughter's killer.
The Bone Collector
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Lincoln Rhyme was the department's top homicide detective and leading expert in criminal forensics until an injury left him paralyzed, depressed, and incapable of working. But when a gruesome murder in Manhattan leaves detectives baffled, they call on Rhyme to help solve the mystery. Amelia Donaghy, a rookie cop whose quick thinking preserved a gruesome murder scene, is enlisted by Rhyme to be his on-the-scene forensics expert. With Amelia reluctantly acting as Rhyme's able-bodied go-between, the pair piece together cryptic clues the killer leaves behind at the scene of the crime, hoping to catch the grisly serial killer.
Reptile
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Following the brutal murder of a young real estate agent, a hardened detective attempts to uncover the truth in a case where nothing is as it seems, and by doing so dismantles the illusions in his own life.
Farewell, My Lovely
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Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, a former lounge dancer. While also investigating the murder of a client and the theft of a jade necklace, Marlowe becomes entangled with seductress Helen Grayle and discovers a web of dark secrets that are better left hidden.
Cruising
Crime · 1980
When New York is caught in the grip of a sadistic serial killer who preys on patrons of the city's underground bars, rookie cop Steve Burns infiltrates the S&M subculture to try and lure him out of the shadows.
Solace
Thriller · 2015
A psychic doctor, John Clancy, works with an FBI special agent in search of a serial killer.
Tightrope
Mystery · 1984
Wes Block is a detective who's put on the case of a serial killer whose victims are young and pretty women. The murders are getting personal when the killer chooses victims who are acquaintances of Block. Even his daughters are threatened.
The Long Goodbye
Mystery · 1973
In 1970s Hollywood, Detective Philip Marlowe tries to help a friend who is accused of murdering his wife.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Brian G. Hutton
Written by
Mann Rubin
Frank Sinatra
Sgt. Edward X. Delaney
Faye Dunaway
Barbara Delaney
David Dukes
Daniel Blank
George Coe
Dr. Bernardi
Brenda Vaccaro
Monica Gilbert
Martin Gabel
Christopher Langley
James Whitmore
Dr. Sanford Ferguson
Court is in session
Put The First Deadly Sin on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.