Cruising
Short description
A series of murders in New York's gay underworld draws police attention. Because the victims share a physical type that matches his own, uniformed officer Steve Burns is asked to pose as a newcomer to the city and go undercover in the bars and clubs where the killer finds his targets. The assignment pulls him into the leather and sadomasochistic scene of the late 1970s, and the longer it runs, the more it unsettles his relationship with his girlfriend and his sense of who he is.
William Friedkin directed and wrote the screenplay, adapting Gerald Walker's novel of the same name, with Jerry Weintraub producing. Al Pacino plays Burns, heading a credited cast of thirty-six that includes Paul Sorvino as Captain Edelson, Karen Allen as Nancy Gates, Richard Cox, Don Scardino and Joe Spinell. The film was the fifth of sixteen features Friedkin directed, following Sorcerer in 1977 and preceding To Live and Die in L.A. in 1985.
Released in February 1980 on a budget of about 11 million dollars, it went on to take roughly 20 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.5 out of 10 from around 32,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.6 out of 10 from just over 600. A critics' rating of 6.3 out of 10 from 66 reviews places professional assessment close to the audience averages.
What's left behind the scenes
- To realistically portray the world of “leather” bars frequented by gay masochists, the filmmakers, including William Friedkin and Al Pacino themselves, visited such bars in New York.
- Filming was accompanied by protests from LGBTQ+ activists who disrupted the production in every way possible – thousands of them chanted slogans, whistled, and shouted, making location shooting impossible.
- Friedkin originally intended to shoot the film in black and white.
- The initial screenings of the film were extremely negative.
- The film had significant problems getting a rating. Ultimately, Friedkin managed to secure an 'R' rating, which wasn't particularly successful commercially.
- The film features unusual music. This is due to the fact that the film's composer, Jack Nitzsche, used sounds not produced by musical instruments, but, for example, the friction of two pieces of glass, when recording the soundtrack.
- To realistically depict the world of BDSM gay bars, the filmmakers, including William Friedkin and Al Pacino, visited such bars in New York.
- Filming was accompanied by protests from members of the gay community, who interfered in every way possible – chanting slogans, whistling, and shouting, thereby making location shooting impossible.
- William Friedkin initially refused the director's chair, but later changed his mind.
- Friedkin planned to shoot the film in black and white.
- The film's producer, Jerry Weintraub, bought the rights to adapt Gerald Walker's novel of the same name in the year of its release, despite the book not having significant commercial success.
- The film is distinguished by its unusual music. Composer Jack Nitzsche used sounds produced not by musical instruments, but, for example, by rubbing two pieces of glass together.
- According to many of the actors and the film's producer Jerry Weintraub, they do not know who the killer is.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
