Back to trending
Serpico

Serpico

Crime · Drama · History · 1973

New York cop Frank Serpico blows the whistle on the rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.

Movie details

Serpico

“Many of his fellow officers considered him the most dangerous man alive - an honest cop.”

1973 Crime · Drama · History 2h 9m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.5 / 10

Community rating

New York cop Frank Serpico blows the whistle on the rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.

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 Serpico?

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.

Once Upon a Time in America

Once Upon a Time in America

Drama · 1984

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

Black Mass

Black Mass

Drama · 2015

The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.

The Alto Knights

The Alto Knights

Crime · 2025

Two of New York's most notorious organized crime bosses, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, vie for control of the city's streets. Once the best of friends, petty jealousies and a series of betrayals place them on a deadly collision course that will reshape the Mafia (and America) forever.

American Gangster

American Gangster

Drama · 2007

Loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina, who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being detained by a task force led by Newark Detective Richie Roberts.

Gotti

Gotti

Crime · 1996

John Gotti, the head of a small New York mafia crew breaks a few of the old family rules. He rises to become the head of the Gambino family and the most well-known mafia boss in America. Life is good, but suspicion creeps in, and greed, rule-breaking and his high public profile all threaten to topple him.

Donnie Brasco

Donnie Brasco

Crime · 1997

An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and identifies more with the mafia life at the expense of his regular one.

Cop Land

Cop Land

Crime · 1997

Freddy Heflin is the sheriff of a place everyone calls “Cop Land” — a small and seemingly peaceful town populated by the big city police officers he’s long admired. Yet something ugly is taking place behind the town’s peaceful facade. And when Freddy uncovers a massive, deadly conspiracy among these local residents, he is forced to take action and make a dangerous choice between protecting his idols and upholding the law.

City of Lies

City of Lies

Crime · 2018

Los Angeles Police Department detective Russell Poole has spent years trying to solve his biggest case -- the murders of The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur -- but after two decades, the investigation remains open. Jack Jackson, a reporter desperate to save his reputation and career, is determined to find out why. In search of the truth, the two team up and unravel a growing web of institutional corruption and lies.

Dark Blue

Dark Blue

Crime · 2002

Set during the Rodney King riots, a robbery homicide investigation triggers a series of events that will cause a corrupt LAPD officer to question his tactics.

Magnum Force

Magnum Force

Drama · 1973

"Dirty" Harry Callahan is a San Francisco Police Inspector on the trail of a group of rogue cops who have taken justice into their own hands. When shady characters are murdered one after another in grisly fashion, only Dirty Harry can stop them.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Sidney Lumet

Written by

Waldo Salt · Norman Wexler

Al Pacino

Al Pacino

Officer Frank Serpico

John Randolph

John Randolph

Sidney Green

Jack Kehoe

Jack Kehoe

Tom Keough

Biff McGuire

Biff McGuire

Captain McClain

Barbara Eda-Young

Barbara Eda-Young

Laurie

Cornelia Sharpe

Cornelia Sharpe

Leslie Lane

Tony Roberts

Tony Roberts

Bob Blair

Court is in session

Put Serpico on trial.

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

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.