Movie · 1973 · Crime, Drama, History · 2h 9m · R · English
Curator score: 8.2/10 (316.8K ratings)
Many of his fellow officers considered him the most dangerous man alive - an honest cop.
Overview
New York cop Frank Serpico blows the whistle on the rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.2/10
IMDb: 7.7/10
Letterboxd: 3.92/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Metacritic: 83
TMDB: 7.5/10
Director
Sidney Lumet
Production
Artists Entertainment Complex, Produzioni De Laurentiis - International Manufacturing Company, The De Laurentiis Company
Cast
Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire, Barbara Eda-Young, Cornelia Sharpe, Tony Roberts, John Medici, Allan Rich, Norman Ornellas, Edward Grover, Albert Henderson, Hank Garrett, Damien Leake, Joseph Bova, Gene Gross, John Stewart, Woodie King Jr., James Tolkan, Ed Crowley
Where to watch
MGM Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, bruising 1970s corruption drama with a great Pacino performance and Lumet’s signature moral pressure-cooker style. It’s less a procedural than a character study about integrity becoming a form of isolation.
Best for
fans of gritty 1970s crime dramas
viewers interested in institutional corruption and whistleblowers
admirers of Al Pacino’s early career work
people who like morally serious, urban realism
Skip if
you want a fast, twist-heavy thriller
you prefer lighter or more entertainment-driven crime movies
you are not interested in procedural detail or workplace politics
you dislike bleak, downbeat endings
Overview
Serpico is one of the defining American corruption dramas of the 1970s, and it earns that status by refusing to treat its hero as a clean-cut icon. Frank Serpico is stubborn, charismatic, and increasingly alienated, and the film understands that telling the truth inside a rotten system can be its own kind of punishment. Sidney Lumet keeps the focus on pressure, compromise, and the loneliness of refusing to bend.
Worth noting
What lingers most is the film’s moral texture. It is not just about bad cops, but about the cost of conscience when an institution closes ranks. The New York setting feels lived-in and unsentimental, and the movie’s realism gives the story a constant edge of exhaustion and dread.
Bottom line
Pacino is magnetic throughout, balancing intensity with vulnerability in a performance that makes Serpico feel both heroic and painfully human. The film can feel methodical rather than propulsive, but that restraint is part of its power: it lets the corruption accumulate until the whole world seems contaminated.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Muriel (5★) · 6670 likes
of course i liked serpico, it has:
- al pacino with a beard
- al pacino with an earring
- al pacino wearing overalls and sandals
- al pacino with a puppy
- al pacino speaking italian and spanish
- al pacino riding a motorcycle
- al pacino trying to dance ballet
- al pacino with a ponytail
maria (4★) · 3335 likes
70s al pacino isn't just a snack; he's breakfast, brunch, lunch, supper, dinner, and dessert all at once even with that hobo/hippie look
Eric Hatch (4.5★) · 2667 likes
The NYPD pulls the old good cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop bad cop routine.
hannah (3.5★) · 2469 likes
al pacino trying to reform a corrupt system and slowly transforming into fashionable new york jesus while doing it made me feel some type of way
A sleek, adult corruption thriller centered on conscience, compromise, and professional isolation.
Topics
crime drama, political thriller, 70s cinema, moral dilemma, institutional corruption, urban grit, whistleblower, character study, procedural realism, bleak tone