Cop (film)

Last updated
Cop
Copsmovieposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by James B. Harris
Written byJames B. Harris
Based on Blood on the Moon
by James Ellroy
Produced by
Starring
CinematographySteve Dubin
Edited byAnthony Spano
Music by Michel Colombier
Distributed by Atlantic Releasing Corporation
Release date
  • March 11, 1988 (1988-03-11)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5–7 million [1]
Box office$1.9 million [2]

Cop is a 1988 American neo-noir [3] crime suspense film written and directed by James B. Harris, starring James Woods, Lesley Ann Warren and Charles Durning. It is based on the 1984 book Blood on the Moon , by James Ellroy. Harris and Woods co-produced the film, a first for their careers.

Contents

Plot

LAPD detective Sgt. Lloyd Hopkins is a troubled cop, with a high arrest record but a notoriety for refusing to follow procedure. After taking a tip from a man reporting a murder, he visits the given address and discovers a woman's mutilated and bloodied body, proceeding to collect evidence on his own without informing his superiors. Afterwards, he returns home and argues with his wife, who is concerned about the influence he is having on his 8 year old daughter. He calls on his partner Dutch Peltz to engage in a stakeout, which culminates in Hopkins shooting and killing the suspect. Hopkins then proceeds to flirt with the suspect's date, and asks Dutch to stay at the scene and take care of the situation while he drives the woman home.

Hopkins tracks down Joanie Pratt, an unsuccessful actress turned drug dealer and escort, through classified ads discovered at the victim's apartment, and meets her at a cafe for information. Back at the station, Hopkins finds a poem that was sent to the victim and written in blood, whose content leads Hopkins to suspect that the murderer has killed before. When he returns home, he finds a farewell note from his wife, who has left with their daughter. Pratt phones Hopkins, and he goes over to her place to have sex, unaware that someone is watching them.

After sorting through a trove of cold case murder files, Hopkins summons Deputy Sheriff Delbert "Whitey" Haines to a diner and brusquely interrogates him about two suicides that took place on the same date a year apart on his beat. Afterwards, Hopkins breaks into Haines's apartment and discovers a wiretap that has captured evidence of Haines dealing drugs. While searching for leads, Hopkins visits a feminist bookstore run by Kathleen McCarthy, who agrees to accompany him to a party at Dutch's house. During the evening, which culminates in a lengthy discussion at McCarthy's house, she discloses a high school incident in which a group of boys hostile to her feminist poetry club sexually assaulted her. She reveals to Hopkins that an anonymous suitor has been sending her flowers and a poem every year. Hopkins discovers a picture of Whitey and a male prostitute nicknamed "Birdman" in her old yearbook, whose name is mentioned in the surveillance tapes made at Whitey's apartment.

When Birdman turns up dead in a motel room, Hopkins finds a message written in blood at the scene, which turns out to be the motto of the high school McCarthy attended. Hopkins returns to Whitey's apartment and surprises him as he comes home, carrying Birdman's police file. Whitey claims Birdman is his snitch, but Hopkins reveals his knowledge of Whitey's involvement with drugs and male prostitution by way of Birdman. An irate Hopkins threatens Whitey and coerces him into confessing to raping McCarthy during their high school years. Whitey feigns having to use the bathroom, but goes to retrieve a shotgun; Hopkins is ready for him, however, and kills him. Afterwards, Hopkins learns via a message on his home phone that he has been suspended and is under investigation by Internal Affairs.

Pratt calls Hopkins again, desiring another hookup, but when he arrives at her apartment, he discovers she has been murdered and her body propped up in the kitchen, where they had previously had sex. At the police station, Hopkins and Dutch persuade McCarthy to examine the yearbook in order to cross-reference suspects, but they are interrupted by their police captain, who reminds Hopkins of his suspension and orders him to leave. When Hopkins returns to the interrogation room, he sees that McCarthy has left and run to a phone booth across the street. She calls Bobby Franco, another member of her high school poetry club, to warn him that Hopkins might harass him, but Hopkins shows up at the phone booth and causes Franco to reveal that he is not only the person who has been sending McCarthy flowers and poems, but also the killer. Franco demands that Hopkins meet him at the high school to settle the score.

At the high school, Franco lures Hopkins into the gym, and a shootout occurs. Eventually, Hopkins overpowers and disarms Franco, who surrenders. Franco taunts Hopkins, reasoning that as Hopkins is a cop, he is obligated to arrest him. Hopkins responds that he has been suspended & does not "give a fuck," and kills Franco in cold blood.

Cast

Production

Filming began on March 9, 1987 in Los Angeles under the working title Blood on the Moon. [1]

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 83% based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 5.6/10. [4]

Linda Rasmussen of AllMovie gave the film three out of five stars and described the film as a "grim, brutally violent, darkly humorous modern-day film noir," whilst noting the film's "violent and exciting conclusion". Rasmussen also noted "Cop is completely absorbing because of Woods' chillingly effective performance. Few actors can make an amoral, clever, sardonic, and vicious character as appealing as Woods. As Hopkins, Woods combines complex contradictions with ease, showing the various sides of his character's personality. Cop, while singularly unpleasant is always insightful and fascinating." [5]

Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, writing "Anyone without a history of watching James Woods in the movies might easily misread Cop. They might think this is simply a violent, sick, contrived exploitation picture, and that would certainly be an accurate description of its surfaces. But Woods operates in this movie almost as if he were writing his own footnotes. He uses his personality, his voice and his quirky sense of humor to undermine the material and comment on it, until Cop becomes an essay on this whole genre of movie. And then, with the movie's startling last shot, Woods slams shut the book. It's as if Woods and Harris watched a Dirty Harry movie one night and decided to see what would happen if Harry were really dirty." [6]

Jay Boyar of the Orlando Sentinel gave the film three out of five stars, under the conclusive headline "Cop is Dirty Harry with a human touch." [7]

Author James Ellroy was not a fan of the adaptation of his novel, placing it in the "Films to Flee" part of his website. [8]

Janet Maslin, writing for The New York Times, did not care for the movie, giving an overall mixed review, noting that "the plot leaves a lot to be desired, especially since it devotes no more than 30 seconds' thought to the killer's motive or his history," and that aspects were not believable, including some of the police work, all the scenes of Woods with his family, and those of Charles Durning professing feminist views. She felt the directing was "workmanlike and somewhat flat." She did praise Lesley Ann Warren for being "charming in an idiotic role," and James Woods for being "far and away the best thing" in the movie. [9]

Rob Salem for the Toronto Star reviewed the film upon its release, stating "The best thing that can be said of Cop is that it reunites three veteran screen cops - Woods, Charles Durning and Charles Haid, who previously served together (under happier circumstances) in The Choirboys over a decade ago. Of course, the performances aren't the problem here. No one could make sense of the movie's confused message - if in fact there is a message here to make sense of." [10]

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution gave a favorable review and described the film as a "crackling good mystery-thriller, powered by the live-wire presence of James Woods in the title role." [11] Los Angeles Times gave the film a favorable review too and stated "Cop represents a career-high for James B. Harris, best known as Stanley Kubrick's early producer, who's directed infrequently but always provocatively over the years - if not always with success. Contributing to "Cop's" crisp, understated style is a standout supporting cast headed by Charles Durning, Michel Colombier's ominous, plaintive score and Gene Rudolf's carefully detailed realistic production design. "Cop" stirs up such a strong visceral appeal one can only hope that audiences will think about it after the lights go up." [12]

USA Today gave the film a mixed review and stated "Despite lapses into predictability, Cop boasts brisk pacing and intriguing performances by Woods - is he getting more handsome? - and Lesley Ann Warren, who deserves better than the bizarro she plays here." [13] Newsday (Long Island) also gave the film a favorable review.

The film was broadcast on February 10, 1989, on American TV and The Madison Courier gave the film a two out of four star rating in their film listings. [14] The film was also broadcast on February 21, 1992, on American TV and the Ludington Daily News gave the film a two out of four-star rating in their listings. [15]

Related Research Articles

<i>L.A. Confidential</i> (film) 1997 film by Curtis Hanson

L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American neo-noir crime film directed, produced, and co-written by Curtis Hanson. The screenplay by Hanson and Brian Helgeland is based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel, the third book in his L.A. Quartet series. The film tells the story of a group of LAPD officers in 1953, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity. The title refers to the 1950s scandal magazine Confidential, portrayed in the film as Hush-Hush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Ellroy</span> American writer (born 1948)

Lee Earle "James" Ellroy is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a telegrammatic prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, staccato sentences, and in particular for the novels The Black Dahlia (1987) and L.A. Confidential (1990).

<i>F/X</i> 1986 film by Robert Mandel

F/X is a 1986 American action thriller film directed by Robert Mandel, written by Gregory Fleeman and Robert T. Megginson, and starring Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Diane Venora, Cliff De Young, and Angela Bassett in her film debut. The film follows a special effects expert who is hired by the U.S. Department of Justice to stage the murder of a mobster about to enter the Witness Protection Program, but complications arise when he is targeted for murder himself; meanwhile, an NYPD detective becomes suspicious of the circumstances of the case.

<i>Dark Blue</i> (film) 2002 film by Ron Shelton

Dark Blue is a 2002 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Ron Shelton and written by David Ayer, based on a story written for film by crime novelist James Ellroy and takes place during the days leading up to the Rodney King trial verdict. The film stars Kurt Russell, with Ving Rhames and Brendan Gleeson in supporting roles.

<i>Child of God</i> 1973 novel by Cormac McCarthy

Child of God (1973) is the third novel by American author Cormac McCarthy. It depicts the life of a violent outcast and serial killer in 1960s Appalachian Tennessee.

<i>Pacific Heights</i> (film) 1990 film by John Schlesinger

Pacific Heights is a 1990 American psychological thriller film directed by John Schlesinger and written by Daniel Pyne. The film stars Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine, and Michael Keaton.

<i>Flushed Away</i> 2006 animated adventure comedy film

Flushed Away is a 2006 animated adventure comedy film directed by Sam Fell and David Bowers, produced by Cecil Kramer, David Sproxton, and Peter Lord, and written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan and Will Davies. It was the third and final DreamWorks Animation film co-produced with Aardman Features following Chicken Run (2000) and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), and was the first Aardman project mostly made in CGI animation as opposed to starting with their usual stop-motion – this was because using water on plasticine models could damage them, and it was complex to render the effect in another way. The film stars the voices of Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Shane Richie, Bill Nighy, Andy Serkis and Jean Reno. In the film, a pampered fancy rat named Roddy St. James (Jackman) is flushed down the toilet in his Kensington apartment by a sewer rat named Sid (Richie), and befriends a scavenger named Rita Malone (Winslet) in order to get back home while evading a sinister toad (McKellen) and his hench-rats.

<i>The Big Nowhere</i> Novel by James Ellroy

The Big Nowhere is a 1988 crime fiction novel by American author James Ellroy, the second of the L.A. Quartet, a series of novels set in 1940s and 1950s Los Angeles.

<i>Blood on the Moon</i> (novel) 1984 novel by James Ellroy

Blood on the Moon (1984) is a crime novel by James Ellroy, initially published in the US by The Mysterious Press, with the first UK edition being published by Allison and Busby. Blood on the Moon is the first installment of Ellroy's Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy. It was followed by Because the Night (1984) and Suicide Hill (1985). Although the novels are written in multiple perspectives and narrated omnisciently, the main character in all three is Lloyd Hopkins. Ellroy has stated that Blood on the Moon is his only novel that he is embarrassed by.

<i>Red Dragon</i> (novel) 1981 novel by Thomas Harris

Red Dragon is a psychological horror novel by American author Thomas Harris, first published in 1981. The story follows former FBI profiler Will Graham, who comes out of retirement to find and apprehend an enigmatic serial killer nicknamed "the Tooth Fairy". The novel introduces the character Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer whom Graham reluctantly turns to for advice and with whom he has a dark past.

<i>F/X2</i> 1991 film by Richard Franklin

F/X2 is a 1991 American action thriller film directed by Richard Franklin and starring Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy. It is a sequel to the 1986 film F/X, and follows special effects expert Ronald "Rollie" Tyler and former NYPD detective Leo McCarthy as they investigate the suspicious death of one of Rollie's friends.

<i>Sharkys Machine</i> 1981 film by Burt Reynolds

Sharky's Machine is a 1981 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Burt Reynolds, who stars in the title role. It is the film adaptation of William Diehl's 1978 novel of the same name, with a screenplay by Gerald Di Pego. It also stars Vittorio Gassman, Brian Keith, Charles Durning, Earl Holliman, Bernie Casey, Henry Silva, Darryl Hickman, Richard Libertini, Rachel Ward and Joseph Mascolo.

<i>Birdman of Alcatraz</i> (film) 1962 film by John Frankenheimer

Birdman of Alcatraz is a 1962 American biographical drama film directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Burt Lancaster. It is a largely fictionalized version of the life of Robert Stroud, who was sentenced to solitary confinement after having killed a prison guard. A federal prison inmate, he became known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz" because of his studies of birds, which had taken place when he was incarcerated at Leavenworth Prison where he was allowed to keep birds in jail. Although known as "The Birdman of Alcatraz", Stroud was never allowed to keep any birds after his transfer to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in 1942.

The Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy consists of the three crime fiction novels written by James Ellroy: Blood on the Moon (1984), Because the Night (1984) and Suicide Hill (1985).

<i>L.A. Confidential</i> Novel by James Ellroy

L.A. Confidential (1990) is a neo-noir novel by American writer James Ellroy, the third of his L.A. Quartet series. It is dedicated to Mary Doherty Ellroy. The epigraph is "A glory that costs everything and means nothing"—Steve Erickson.

<i>The Choirboys</i> (film) 1977 film by Robert Aldrich

The Choirboys is a 1977 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Aldrich, written by Christopher Knopf and Joseph Wambaugh based on Wambaugh's 1975 novel of the same name. It features an ensemble cast including Charles Durning, Louis Gossett Jr., Randy Quaid, and James Woods. The film was released to theaters by Universal Pictures on December 23, 1977.

<i>Identity Thief</i> 2013 film by Seth Gordon

Identity Thief is a 2013 American road comedy film directed by Seth Gordon, written by Craig Mazin from a story by Mazin and Jerry Eeten. It stars Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, Jon Favreau, Amanda Peet, Tip 'T.I.' Harris, Genesis Rodriguez, Morris Chestnut, John Cho, Robert Patrick, and Eric Stonestreet. The film tells the fictional story of Sandy Patterson, a man whose identity is stolen by a female con artist. After the police tell him that it will take up to a year to solve the case, Sandy embarks on a cross-country road trip to find her and clear his name.

<i>Birdman</i> (film) 2014 film by Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Birdman, stylized as BİRDMAN or , is a 2014 American dark comedy-drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. The film stars Michael Keaton as a washed-up Hollywood actor, best known for playing a superhero named Birdman, and follows the struggles he faces while trying to make a comeback by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway adaptation of Raymond Carver's short story "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love". The film's supporting cast includes Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone, and Naomi Watts.

<i>Good People</i> (film) 2014 American film

Good People is a 2014 American action thriller film directed by Henrik Ruben Genz and written by Kelly Masterson, based on Marcus Sakey's 2008 novel of same name. The film stars James Franco, Kate Hudson, Omar Sy, Tom Wilkinson, and Sam Spruell and tells the story of an American couple, Tom and Anna Wright, living in London who fall into severe debt while renovating their family's home. The film was released in select theaters and on demand on 26 September 2014.

<i>Cop Car</i> (film) 2015 independent thriller film by Jon Watts

Cop Car is a 2015 American independent road-thriller film co-written and directed by Jon Watts and starring Kevin Bacon, Shea Whigham, Camryn Manheim, James Freedson-Jackson, and Hays Wellford. The film follows two young boys and juvenile delinquents who come across and hijack the abandoned police car of a corrupt sheriff. It premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was released in the United States on August 7, 2015 by Focus World. The film received mainly positive reviews from critics but was commercially unsuccessful, earning $143,658 on a $5 million budget.

References

  1. 1 2 "AFI Catalog - Cop (1988)". American Film Institute . Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Cop (1988) - Financial Information".
  3. ↑ Silver, Alain; Ward, Elizabeth; eds. (1992). Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style (3rd ed.). Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press. ISBN   0-87951-479-5
  4. ↑ "Cop (1988)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Cop (1987) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast". AllMovie. 1988-01-08. Retrieved 2012-12-09.
  6. ↑ "Cop :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews". Rogerebert.suntimes.com. 1988-03-04. Retrieved 2012-12-09.
  7. ↑ Boyar, Jay (1988-03-15). "Archives - OrlandoSentinel.com". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2013. Retrieved 2012-12-09.
  8. ↑ "Film". James Ellroy. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  9. ↑ "'Cop,' a Thriller," Janet Maslin, New York Times, February 5, 1988
  10. ↑ "Cop loves shapely corpse". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1988-02-19. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved 2012-12-09.
  11. ↑ Ringel, Eleanor (1988-04-29). "NewsBank for AJC | www.ajc.com". Nl.newsbank.com. Retrieved 2012-12-09.
  12. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (1988-02-05). "Los Angeles Times: Archives - MOVIE REVIEW 'Cop' Makes for Arresting Detective-Thriller". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved 2012-12-09.[ dead link ]
  13. ↑ Britt, Donna (1988-02-05). "Woods' wired 'Cop'". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved 2012-12-09.[ dead link ]
  14. ↑ "The Madison Courier - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  15. ↑ "Ludington Daily News - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.