Thanks for the memories!

A Masterpiece!

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Werner Herzog's version of 'Bad Lieutenant' is better crafted and might be better film altogether, but Herzog's camera will not bring the restless grittiness like Ferrara's guerrilla style work, and Nicolas Cage's craziness will not match Harvey Keitel's pure absence of morals. When Abel Ferrara titles his film 'Bad Lieutenant' then he means bad, like really bad. Harvey Keitel is awesomely sinister as nameless police lieutenant who spirals deeper and deeper into the world of drugs and gambling and obscene behavior (the scene where lieutenant pulls over the two girls with broken taillight probably shows best how messed up his thinking is).Ferrara has never been afraid of shocking the audience. Same goes with 'Bad Lieutenant' - the nudity, violence and grotesque images are so in your face that it elevates the film onto another level. Talking about unnecessary nudity used wright. Although the film mainly follows Keitel's character drinking, doing drugs or visiting hookers, and focuses very little on the detective work, 'Bad Lieutenant' has different layers talking also about forgiveness and finding redemption.Lurid and dirty, but done with such sincerity and bravado, 'Bad Lieutenant' remains one of the most impacting and influential cult films of the 1990s, and is worth to watch for Hervey Keitel's powerhouse performance alone.

I was looking for the link on the IMDb and I have found out that I have seen a modern reproduction of it with Nicolas Cage: The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009) At first I didn't want to watch it but when I saw my 8/10 score for the 2009 version, now I really want to see it! I wonder if the original will be as good as the remake.3 minutes - LOL I already love it! That's gonna be a wild movie... I can feel it.12 minutes - I love watching BAD alpha males doing what they do best, probably because I am such a wimp... + they spare nothing... and show everything, big kudos for the honesty 34 minutes - this movie makes the remake look like a cartoon for kids... definitely more raw and rough 1h 17minutes - there are more drugs in this flick than in Requiem for a Dream (2000) lol Damn... what a weird movie... I wasn't even bored for one minute but I don't know... I think it was pretty average... Maybe it's because of how old it is (almost 23 years) but I have seen even older ones and I loved them; Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). I can only imagine how controversial it must have been back in a day... some of the scenes were really harsh.tgchan's rating: 6/10

Bad Lieutenant would be one of Abel Ferrara's most powerful movies and best too. It's actually in another class, outside all his other flicks, which always powerfully shock as in the violence, especially his early deals. The shock matter of his films, is something you don't estimate, and this is one of his best examples, seen in the visual proof. Here's a sad tale about a lonely detective, lonely as inside himself, who's really hit rock bottom, with all the ugliness and crap around. He's kind of like the Travis Bickle character, but this one flies in a different direction, doing much more bad than good, where his good and justful deed near the end is something you don't expect, nor is his fate. This background description, is all inferred by the way he casually goes about his business through the movie, doing one unlawful thing, after another, one that's truly despicable, if not downright sick, when propositioning two young girls, into a lewd act, in exchange for letting them off the hook, for sneaking Daddy's car out. The heart of the story, amongst this other stuff, has Keitel, investigating the rape of a nun and the deformation of a church, that impels him to make what's wrong right, if claim a little bit of redemption. How the nun forgiving of these two young rapists, truly, like that proposition scene made me sick. Keitel fills a most challenging role, where he must take full bravado here, as well as a lot of bloody credit, in one of the most morbid films you'll ever see, one that totally stands alone. He's fantastic, and you got to take your hat off to him. Keitel's heroin addicted mistress is good too, where Harvey doesn't mind a ménage de trois, or taking his shirt off, and moaning pathetically to a song, in the film's funniest if guiltiest moment from the viewer's side. Although loosely remade 17 years later, if you want to be shocked, opt for this one, where for church people, whatever, as a forewarning, opt to watch another flick, may'be even the other Bad Lieutenant. The whole unhurried flow of the movie, I must say, moves beautifully through it's 93 minutes, where to this aspect, you can either like it or lump it. There's almost a brilliance in the combining of all the unlawful scenes, one after the other, where that avenging plot carries a small couple of other scenes, apart from some family ones, and some with his mate cop, warning him on the all too real consequences he'll pay, thanks to another vice. Again, I must say this film is unique, as check out why the end scrolling credits playing over a screen, without sound. A must for you sickie Ferrara fans. Mr Willing and able to shock Ferrara, you've come through again.

While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective (Harvey Keitel), with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness.Desson Howe called the Lieutenant "a notch nicer than Satan" in the Washington Post, and he cites Keitel's work as the film's saving grace, writing, "It is only the strength of Keitel's performance that gives his personality human dimension." This is completely the truth. The film could be exploitation, something that would not be a surprise from director Abel Ferrara after "Driller Killer" and "Ms. 45". But Keitel's performance is so strong, so authentic, that he adds a level of beauty to a character who is completely unlovable.According to Paul Calderon, the part was written for Christopher Walken, but he turned it down after meeting with Ferrara, and the project was put on hold until Keitel was picked to replace him. This turned out to be fortuitous. As Calderon has said, "Harvey's a tough nut. He's a great actor, and a really tough guy... He can be very intimidating on set. He's always on the verge of exploding." This energy is clearly visible on screen.