StarDestroyer.Net BBS

So I've discovered recently that I really like cop movies (The Departed, Gone Baby Gone, The French Connection, Bullitt, even The Dark Knight, which was close enough for government work). I'd like to watch more, but the genre is huge and I have no idea where to start. So, a request: recommend for me one and only one cop movie, the cop movie you think anyone who loves the genre must see.

Setting and era don't matter to me and I'm not afraid of subtitles. If you think the best cop movie ever is a silent movie from 1923, tell me. If you think the best cop movie ever is in Japanese, let me know. Movies where the protagonist isn't actually a cop, such as a detective film, are fine, as long as the basic formula "law and order good guys try to catch/stop criminals" is in play.

Note that I'm not interested in movies where the protagonist/antagonist is a cop, but his job isn't central to the plot--i.e., the "cop terrorizes innocent person/battered wife" movie, or a movie where a cop is getting married, or something like that. For the purpose of this exercise, I'm also not looking for movies where the criminals are the protagonists and the police are the antagonists. Antiheroes are fine, as long as they're cops. No animated films of any kind, please (unless you can make a case that it's really awesome), and science fiction/fantasy only if it's something like Blade Runner, where the conventions of the cop movie are transported to a fantastic setting.

That's it; have at it. I'm looking forward to having some good movie nights.

If you like The Departed, there's always Infernal Affairs. It is what Scorcese used to make his movie. Many obvious similarities but there are enough difference to make it a movie to stand by itself.

Honestly I enjoyed the pacing more in IA as well as the characters. The Departed, Scorcese tries to hard for us to love one while hating the other, IA for me did a better job of you making that choice, as well as dealing with the consequences of what said characters did. IA wasn't as neat and clean either, and in that I found it a superior movie.

L.A. Confidential (2002) is at the top of my list. The movie poses one question at the beginning: "How can you have organised crime in a city with the best police force in the world?" and takes off from there.

He Walks By Night (1948) is another: Richard Baseheart plays a very intelligent and dangerously psychotic cop killer who uses his knowledge of electronics to elude a mass police dragnet. Look for a very young Jack Webb (pre-Dragnet) as a police forensics technician.

Serpico (1974) is one you can't miss: the biopic of New York police officer Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) struggling for a slot in the detectives' bureau and against his fellow corrupt officers in the department; hated and shunned and in the end set up for his own murder by his fellow brothers in blue who can't trust him because he won't take dirty money.

By all means, DO NOT inflict Prince Of The City (1981) upon yourself; paralysingly boring and the only film I've ever walked out on in my life.

I would have said L.A. Confidential, but Patrick beat me to it. So instead I'll recommend Heat.

Silence of the Lambs and Manhunter.

Edit: Hard Boiled, Die Hard, Speed and Hot Fuzz are the best of the 'silly' action laden cop movies.

Christopher Nolan's Insomnia is a good flick.

I'll Go ahead and Recommend Heat as well if you haven't already seen it. You have professional crooks led by Robert DeNiro up against the major crimes unit in LA led by Al Pacino. Excellent shoot outs as well.

I'll go ahead and add to the chorus sayingLA Confidential is excellent, because it is.

I just finished watching STREET KINGS and it was pretty damn good.

COLORS with Sean Penn and Robert Duvall is another classic cop movie. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is a newer good cop movie, well sort of. WE OWN THE NIGHT is supposed to be good, I have not seen that one yet. THE UNTOUCHABLES is another classic. ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (the remake) is decent, and I hear the 1976 version is pretty good. Someone mentioned THE CORRUPTOR as a good one. And of course TRAINING DAY is great.


If you want to take a break from serious cop movies then try SUPER TROOPERS and HOT FUZZ.

The one thing you will notice that almost all of those movies are about police corruption... which is really not as rampant as Hollywood makes it out to be, it is just makes for better drama than the real world.

But that is just off the top of my head, I may be able to come up with some more...

Oh yeah, I forgot to add that while I have not seen it yet, Righteous Kill is in theaters now and has De Niro and Pacino, so it is probably great too.

Righteous Kill is shit, don't watch it.

Lethal Weapon would have been my suggestion, since Heat, Training Day, Departed, and L.A. Confidential were already listed. I don't know about Street Kings, I'm probably going to be renting that for my date tomorrow, so I'll let you know then.

L.A. Confidential is an excellent movie. Definitely pick that one up. The performances and story are all top notch. It's got a pretty respectable literary heritage which shows through and the history that goes into it is excellent as well.

When I think good cop movie, this is the one.

Training Day is another good. Denzel Washington really does deserve the Oscar for this one. The story is pretty straightforward but is a little meandering (and the resolution is fridge logic). But still, it's a really good movie to catch if you haven't already seen it.

Check out the Dirty Harry movies too. A couple of them were turkeys, can't remember which, but there were some really good ones too.

Patrick Degan wrote:L.A. Confidential (2002) is at the top of my list. The movie poses one question at the beginning: "How can you have organised crime in a city with the best police force in the world?" and takes off from there.

Are you talking about the 1997 movie or the 2003 TV movie?

Stormbringer wrote:

Patrick Degan wrote:L.A. Confidential (2002) is at the top of my list. The movie poses one question at the beginning: "How can you have organised crime in a city with the best police force in the world?" and takes off from there.

Are you talking about the 1997 movie or the 2003 TV movie?

What TV movie and which 1997 movie are you referring to?

The 1997 movie he is referring to is L.A. Confidential (1997). And the TV movie he is referring to is L.A. Confidential (2003).

Death from the Sea wrote:COLORS with Sean Penn and Robert Duvall is another classic cop movie.

I'm going to second this. It's the LA gang movie before they got all popular in the 90s, and it's told from the perspective of the cops.

I also enjoyed We Own the Night.

Colors is pretty damn good.

For another great cop movie, you need to check out "To Live and Die in LA".

Hot Fuzz

It's a riot, some of the funniest shit I've seen... ever!

Oh yeah... Heat. I know a few people have said it, but it needs to be said over and over again.

Shroom Man 777 wrote:Hot Fuzz

Goddamn you. That's the only one (Other than "The Departed") that I wanted to recomend.

At any rate, it's an excellent movie, subverts a lot of cliches, has one of the most awesome finishes ever (Which is based on Real Life, and I have photos from a police station here to prove it ) as well as an excellent script, humour and direction.

Funny you should mention Japanese films, because one of the better cop movies I can think of is the Kurosawa film Stray Dog (1949). It's not much like the other cop movies mentioned here, but I think that's kind of the point.

Also, I think it's public domain right now, so you could even download it if you wanted and watch it.

I'll second Dirty Harry. A similar movie (and also in the vein of The French Connection etc) is The Laughing Policeman, really enjoyed it.

For something a bit more obscure try Memories of a Murder. Korean movie about the ROK's first ever serial killings. I loved it, at turns funny, heartbreaking and with a really strong story.

I know it's actually martial arts, but Police Story isn't a bad bit of pulp script, combining a period piece set in Hong Kong with Jackie Chan kicking the shit out of bad guys.

I will echo L.A. Confidential and Heat, both of which are in my opinion, some of the best movies made in the past two decades, especially L.A. Confidential.

Hot Fuzz is, as also said, excellent.

However, I must make mention of Tango & Cash, just because of how consciously self-mocking and over the top it is. But it's more of an action movie than a 'cop movie', however.

Which does remind me, I always wanted to see Cop Land, but never did, does anyone know if it's any good?

Busting and The Choirboys are dated, but pretty good cop/detective dramas. Although Choirboys is more a character piece, than a procedural.

Outland is basically a cop story...well, a sheriff story, since it's High Noon in outer space. Black Rain is fun, too.

I'd have to recommend:

Blue Streak (1999) - Martin Lawrence cop/robber/heist/comedy movie
Chinatown (1974) - This was one of the 1st movies where the bad guy got off scott free, as befits a film of the Nixon era
Kiss of the Dragon (2001) - (Jet Li as a Hong Kong cop that fights w/ acupuncture)

Those are my suggestions.

I'll put in another good word for Training Day and Heat, and I'll also recommend the film adaptation of Dragnet, starring Dan Akroyd as Friday.

Of course as soon as you run out of all these serious cop movies you can go on a Police Academy binge!