Fort Apache, the Bronx (1981)

Best movie ever!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Ah, nothing like watching a movie that is beholden with cop movie clichés. Fort Apache, the Bronx is a film that depends on its cop clichés to move it along. That being said, I still enjoyed the heck out of this movie. The movie works based on acting and the atmosphere alone. The plot, riddled with clichés, doesn't work as well as it could have been. If your movie stars Paul Newman, Edward Asner, and others, then it is still worth a watch no matter the plot. Here in 2018, I live in the South Bronx. Boy, do times change! The depiction of the Bronx in this 1981 movie is bleak, raw, and violent. It is hard to fathom that the Bronx was like how it was shown here in the movie. But as I am told, the authenticity of this film is spot-on. From the look of the urban wasteland to the shots of pimps beating up hookers to the police force not being able to do much with all the crime. In 1981, this movie was made as if to enlighten the public to the suffering of its citizens and the increasing frustration of the police. Daniel Petrie's movie depicts life in the South Bronx in the precinct of "Fort Apache," as the police officers call their infamous station. The movie follows Officer Murphy (Paul Newman) who gives an outward appearance of a tough cynic, but instead is on the path for justice for himself and the police force in general. A reason why this movie works very well is due to the cast. The cast is phenomenal, and it makes for a lovely heartfelt drama. Paul Newman is great in his role as usual and you can easily see his commitment to making life better for people in the Bronx. Edward Asner does a wonderful job as Chief Connolly, barking orders nonstop. I just wish he had more screentime. There is Ken Wahl as Newman's younger partner with a sense of optimism, and Pam Grier as a deranged hooker. Fort Apache, the Bronx is a good film, but can be hard to watch sometimes due to its bleakness and realistic violence. This is not a film for sensationalism or crazy car chases, so do not go into the movie expecting anything over-the-top. The human drama relies on cop clichés a little too often, but the cast is able to elevate this story!My Grade: B+

Paul Newman is an Irish cop with eighteen years on the force and Ken Wahl is his younger Italian partner and sidekick. Newman is kind of philosophical about the rotting neighborhood of the 41st Precinct in the Bronx. There must be people who are only trying to survive but, as usual, the police don't have much to do with them and must deal with the raggedy and treacherous hoi polloi.There's the sour taste of exploitation about this movie. That it's designed to shock us by showing us the lunatic asylum that the South Bronx was in 1980 (and it really WAS) is apparent in the opening scene, in which two rookie police officers are shot to death in their car, and the bodies are ransacked and robbed by local teen agers. In quick succession there follows a foot race, a car pursuit, and a crazed cross-dresser threatening to jump off a roof unless he's interviewed by a famous newscaster.We also get to see another disheveled bum threatening a dozen people with a knife. The way Newman disarms him is by turning his cap backwards, making funny face and gloopy chipmunk-like noises, and approaching him while doing a spastic dance, until he can gently remove the knife from the hypnotized guy's hand. After the chaos and killing we've been witness to, it's an embarrassment because it's just silly and unbelievable.Ken Wahl, as Newman's partner in anti-crime, looks a great deal like Chris Noth of "Law and Order." He plays the same role and even wears the same leather coat. In fact I believe they are one and the same person. No? Let me ask you, have you ever seen both of them in the same room at the same time? I thought not.When a role engages Newman he can really deliver, as he did in "The Hustler." When it doesn't, we get "Torn Curtain." Here, he gets to go from cheerful and ironic to brooding but with few ornate moments. He does squeeze in a few seconds of believability with his girl friend on a park bench, and again when he performs the requisite ritual of turning in his shield.The film features two beautiful and alluring women. Pam Grier, out of her mind and half out of her bodice, has a hair-raising scene as a deranged killer who kneels before one of her victims -- who cooperates willingly -- and goes into this slurred riff about, "Have you ever seen a snake in the woods?", before letting the pink tip of her tongue slither out from between her lips. And Rachel Ticotin, with her throaty intonations and black-lashed eyes, is the essence of femininity.Nobody can save the film though from mediocrity. Harold Gould, the writer, has produced a screenplay that seems to have no idea of where it's going. Ed Asner is the new police chief who is determined to run the precinct by the book. Is he a paragon of rectitude or is he a moron? Is he something in between? When he's introduced, we don't know, nor do we know at the end. And when the police station is surrounded by an angry neighborhood activist group armed with baseball bats and throwing garbage at the thin blue line, why is Newman at the window, happily egging them on by shouting, "Free the Brothers!", a cry that the crowd takes up. What the hell does he think he's doing? The director, Daniel Petrie, does nothing to help. Lots of pointed shots of falling buildings and piles of garbage, as if we needed it spelled out. The locker room banter has no wit or sparkle yet everyone is laughing out loud. Entire scenes seem forced and overdone.It's too bad because the milieu is an interesting one. Many of the elderly residents, mostly white, were justifiably afraid to leave their apartments. The 1970s and 1980s were hard times in the cities. White flight to the suburbs had depleted their tax base. New York was close to bankruptcy. And the baby boomers of all races and ethnic origins were at an age when the crime rate was highest. I disagree with almost every one of Tom Wolfe's values but no one can fault him when it comes to reportage. For a realistic glimpse of life in the Bronx in that period, go to Wolfe's "The Bonfire of the Vanities."

It may have the look of a TV movie, as stated by contemporary reviewers, but here's a movie you can't miss. There are no small parts, it's been said, but small actors... Newman and Asner absolutely sparkle here, and the supporting cast follows suit. For those of you who don't know it, there is a healthy dose of late 70's/early 80's reality of what the South Bronx had become. Burning buildings, burnt out people on the edge of despair and madness, and underpaid/overworked police officers who were almost all on the same edge, trying to do their job. Corruption was rife and as Duggan says, "nobody's getting' rich up here". The film portrays, unforgivingly, this bleak landscape. Pam Grier is just priceless as the hooker, she just staggers through the role with panache. Ticotin is marvelous as the nurse, her scene at the end, stumbling down the street, is absolutely unforgettable and really disturbing. One of Newman's most singular performances, he really let his hair down for this role. Asner's curmudgeonly captain is very entertaining as well as powerful. All in all a great experience.

I was a bit taken aback when reading through the external reviews and seeing notable critics like Roger Ebert generally panning this movie. Not that it's a high water mark of film making, but a stylish, gritty, well-constructed movie, certainly.The one major distracting element is Paul Newman. His performance is not at fault by any standards, in fact he was very good, but in this dark look at inner city dwellers and how they're prisoners of the crime and poverty that surrounds them, one of Hollywood's most notable actors just sticks out like a sore thumb. Again, not through any misstep that Mr. Newman might have made, but just simply because he is who he is: Too big to fit into a movie about little people.Regardless, the movie is highly recommended for anyone wanting a unique look at inner city blight, the people who live in this setting and the men and women who try to protect them. There is nothing quaint about this movie, it is real and rough.