Serpico
Many of his fellow officers considered him the most dangerous man alive - An honest cop.
Country
Production
Budget
$3 000 000
Revenue
$29 800 000
Director
Actors
Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire, Barbara Eda-Young, Cornelia Sharpe, Tony Roberts, John Medici, Allan Rich, Norman Ornellas
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Martin Bregman, Dino De Laurentiis, Dino De Laurentiis
Operator
Composer
Artist
Charles Bailey
Audition
Shirley Rich
Editing
Short description
Frank Serpico is an idealistic New York City cop who refuses to take bribes, unlike the rest of the force. His actions get Frank shunned by the other officers, and often placed in dangerous situations by his partners. When his superiors ignore Frank's accusations of corruption, he decides to go public with the allegations. Although this causes the Knapp Commission to investigate his claims, Frank has also placed a target on himself.
What's left behind the scenes
- Filming took place in reverse chronological order. First, Al Pacino filmed the scenes where he had long hair and a beard; then, in each subsequent episode, they were trimmed shorter. This was done to give the audience the impression that Al Pacino's character's hair and beard were growing naturally.
- Actors were allowed to improvise during filming. Al Pacino, in particular, improvised extensively during the filming of the scene of Serpico's last meeting with his former captain.
- According to director Sidney Lumet, during filming, the lead actor Al Pacino constantly remained in character, even when not on camera – sometimes having fun and rejoicing, and at other times taking his frustration out on everyone when the shooting schedule demanded it.
- Actors were allowed to improvise on set. Al Pacino, in particular, improvised a great deal during the filming of the scene featuring Serpico's final meeting with his former captain.
- Before filming began, Sidney Lumet and the producers auditioned candidates for 107 speaking roles in the film. The decision was made to mostly cast actors unknown to the public. According to Lumet, it's always better if viewers watch the film without associating the actors with their previous roles. Even Al Pacino, who had already starred in Francis Ford Coppola's 'The Godfather' (1972), was a young actor and therefore relatively unknown.
- The film was intended for release around Christmas 1973. Sydney Lumet had only four and a half months for filming, editing, and everything else (in his view, “an insane amount of time”). Therefore, editing was done concurrently with filming. Time was so tight that the footage was taken to editor Dede Allen immediately after completing a scene, and she had only two days to edit it before it had to be handed over to the sound engineers.
- Filming took place in reverse chronological order. Al Pacino first filmed scenes with long hair and a beard; then, in each subsequent episode, his hair and beard were gradually shortened. This was done to give the audience the impression that Al Pacino's character's hair and beard were growing naturally.
- On the first day of shooting, Sidney Lumet preferred to film minor details to give the actors and crew a chance to 'get used' to one another, though everyone understood that this relaxed pace would soon end and things would move much faster. It often happened that he would shoot only one take before moving immediately to another scene. The director claimed that this method allowed him to identify the weak links in the team. On the first day of filming this particular movie, he worked across three widely separated locations. At first, this greatly surprised Al Pacino, especially after the calm, measured pace of 'The Godfather,' but it wasn't long before he and the other actors realized that such a working tempo helped everyone involved in the production stay sharp.
- Before filming began, Sidney Lumet and the producers reviewed candidates for 107 speaking roles in the film. It was decided to cast mostly actors who were unknown to the audience. According to Lumet, it is always better if viewers watch a film without associating the actors with their previous roles. Even Al Pacino, who had already appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's 'The Godfather' (1972), was a young actor and therefore relatively unknown.
- Al Pacino immersed himself so deeply in the role of Frank Serpico that once, while returning from the set, he ticketed a driver for speeding.
- The film was scheduled for release by Christmas 1973. Sidney Lumet had only four and a half months for filming, editing, and everything else (which, in his view, was 'insanely little time'). This is why editing was done concurrently with filming. Time was so tight that the footage was delivered to editor Dede Allen immediately after a scene was finished; she had only two days for editing before the material had to be handed over to the sound engineers.
- The film was shot in 104 different locations, spanning nearly every borough of New York City.
- John G. Avildsen was originally set to direct the film, but he left the project shortly before filming began due to disagreements with producer Martin Bregman. Ultimately, Sidney Lumet became the film's director.
- Al Pacino became so deeply immersed in the role of Frank Serpico that one day, on his way home from the set, he fined a driver for speeding.
- Frank Serpico joined the New York City Police Department on September 11, 1959, at the age of 23.
- The real Frank Serpico spent a great deal of time with Al Pacino, helping the actor prepare for the role and embody the character, and later expressed a desire to remain on set during the actual filming. Producer Martin Bregman had to order him to leave the set so that his presence would not distract the actors.
- John G. Avildsen was originally slated to direct the film, but he left the project shortly before filming began due to disagreements with producer Martin Bregman. Sydney Lumet ultimately became the director.
- On the first day of filming, Sydney Lumet preferred to shoot minor scenes to give the actors and crew involved in the film a chance to “get to know” each other, while everyone understood that this relaxed pace would soon end and everything would move much faster. It often happened that he shot only one take before immediately moving on to filming another scene. The director himself claimed that this method allowed him to identify weak links in the team. On the first day of filming for this particular film, he worked in three locations far removed from each other. Al Pacino was initially very surprised by this, especially after the calm and measured work on “The Godfather,” but soon he and the other actors realized that this working pace helped everyone involved in the filming process stay in shape.
- The real Frank Serpico spent a lot of time with Al Pacino, helping the actor prepare for the role and get into character, and then expressed a desire to stay on set during filming. Producer Martin Bregman had to order him to leave the set so as not to distract the actors with his presence.
- The film was shot in 104 different locations, situated in almost all districts of New York.
- According to director Sidney Lumet, during filming, the lead actor Al Pacino remained in character even when he wasn't on camera—alternating between being cheerful and joyful, and taking his frustration out on everyone and everything, as required by the shooting schedule.
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Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
