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Prince of the City

Prince of the City

Drama · Thriller · Crime · 1981

New York City detective Daniel Ciello agrees to help the United States Department of Justice eliminate corruption in the police department, as long as he will not have to turn in any close friends. In doing so, Ciello uncovers a conspiracy within the force to smuggle drugs to street informants.

Movie details

Prince of the City

“A cop is turning. Nobody's safe.”

1981 Drama · Thriller · Crime 2h 47m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

New York City detective Daniel Ciello agrees to help the United States Department of Justice eliminate corruption in the police department, as long as he will not have to turn in any close friends. In doing so, Ciello uncovers a conspiracy within the force to smuggle drugs to street informants.

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 Prince of the City?

The 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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Cry of the City

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I Walk Alone

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Sidney Lumet

Written by

Jay Presson Allen · Sidney Lumet

Treat Williams

Treat Williams

Daniel Ciello

Jerry Orbach

Jerry Orbach

Gus Levy

Richard Foronjy

Richard Foronjy

Joe Marinaro

D

Don Billett

Bill Mayo

K

Kenny Marino

Dom Bando

Carmine Caridi

Carmine Caridi

Gino Mascone

T

Tony Page

Raf Alvarez

Court is in session

Put Prince of the City on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

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.