Save your money for something good and enjoyable

People are voting emotionally.

Absolutely brilliant

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Richard Beck is a NYPD cop with some old school views regarding women, especially concerning sexual assault. Victims sometimes bring things on themselves, a lack of understanding as to why victims often have trouble identifying & prosecuting attackers (as compared to victims of other crimes), and of course a categorization of assaults as more or less important dependent on the circumstances (a date rape maybe more a misunderstanding in Beck's view, not the same as the serial attacker who grabs you off the street or invades your home). Those attitudes, however are put to the test when he himself is assaulted.Richard Crenna won an Emmy for his outstanding performance as the chauvinist cop turned victim in this film. We see Beck early on as more of a low rent Dirty Harry type, a good guy who isn't always bound by conventional rules, such as when he's about to go off duty but stops three street thugs from hassling a homeless man (and decides to teach one of them a lesson about being bullied). We also see him risk his life to save a hostage in pursuit of murder suspect, then take the armed killer down and into custody. We see Beck off duty, clearly in love with his ex wife, unhappy they aren't together but reluctantly letting her life on her own (and date someone new who seems to be spending significant time with his two kids). Becks as a father seems interested in his daughter's musical pursuits and enjoys taking his son fishing on weekends, often with his dad, a retired cop in his own right. It's all designed to show Richard Beck as a decent human being at heart, not a one dimensional male chauvinist jerk with no compassion or concern for others. Crenna does a marvelous job straddling the line between the outdated and misunderstood misogynist and the more normal cop and dad, a drama movie version of Archie Bunker, who's attitudes on race left a lot to be desired but at heart wasn't an uncaring or unsympathetic man who deeply loved his wife and daughter.All of this makes Beck's transformation to a more enlightened man believable after he is assaulted while pursuing (foolishly without back up) two felons. We see Beck faced with same life or death situation many female rape victims face, the shock and disbelief following the attack, as well as the invasive and almost dehumanizing post assault investigation conducted by medical personnel, none of which is like anything victims of other types of crimes endure, a fact that until now has eluded Beck's conscious. Of course, it would be silly if Beck "saw the light" right away, and he doesn't, as we watch him withdraw from work and family unable to process what has happened, which isn't uncommon in sex assault victims regardless of gender or any pre conceived stereotypical attitudes. Beck also deals with the questions surrounding many victims related to whether or not their behavior caused the assault, made worse here for dramatic effect because of Beck's reputation as a rogue in the field and the way he has rubbed some higher ups in the Department and DA's office the wrong way through the years, a classic case of "prosecuting the victim".The supporting cast is strong, particularly Francis Lee McCain as Beck's ex wife, who plays a key role in helping him regain his dignity and re connect with his kids after his self imposed post assault exile. Meredith Baxter plays a rape counselor who in the past who crossed paths with Beck, but despite their differences she offers him support in the end, as well as a lead in possible serial rape case that Beck agrees to follow up on which involves a suspect he let walk on a bench warrant when trading information on another case (maybe not the best choice he could have made). Some of the individual scenes are gut wrenching, including the actual assault, Beck's initial rape exam in the hospital, his being brought to tears as the DA questions whether he was at fault for the assault, and great scene where Beck, trying to get his life back to normal, resumes his weekend fishing trips with his son and father, only to have his dad turn on him, humiliating him in front of his child, furious his son the cop would even engage such criminals without back up and unable to understand how his son could "let" an assault like this happen (you start to see where some of Beck's preconceived opinions have come from). Crenna is outstanding start to finish, despite some very challenging material, and deservedly won an Emmy Award For Best Leading Actor for this film (this was a busy time for him as he also received two Golden Globe nominations, one for this film and one for his role in the Matt Dillon film "Flamingo Kid"). This is one TV movie that stands the test of time and remains compelling no matter when it's viewed.

'The Rape of Richard Beck" combines elements of "Dirty Harry" and "Deliverance" in a message-oriented, urban crime melodrama about two hardcore homosexual hoodlums that sodomize an off-duty police detective at gunpoint when he cannot produce any back-up. Basically, it's a rape movie for guys about guys that espouse a callous, chauvinistic attitude toward female rape victims. Neither former ballet dancer-turned-director Karen Arthur nor producer-scenarist James G. Hirsch deviate an iota from the social problem/crime drama formula in this outstanding role-reversal rape movie. No, they don't depict the actual simulated sodomy between the cop and his two thuggish assailants, played with menace by Nicholas Worth and M.C. Gainey. Most of the action that takes place between Beck and his assailants occurs in close-ups and medium shots. The act itself takes place off-camera so that everybody retains their dignity. After all, this was a prime-time network featured 1985 made-for-television movie. Nevertheless, the impact of the rape on the cop's life evokes a reevaluation on his part about helpless women raped because he thought that they brought it on themselves. By the end of the action, Beck is teaching sensitivity training classes to cadets at the police academy."The Rape of Richard Beck" takes an obnoxious, hard-boiled cop and forces him to endure sodomy and then live with the consequences. Mind you, this isn't something you want to sit around and watch with a bunch of drunks. Detective Richard Beck's transformation when he loses his gun is 180 degrees. Indeed, at the beginning of "The Rape of Richard Beck," the filmmakers make a subtle point that perhaps Beck is a little too big for his own britches by trying to be a one man army. Beck compares modern-day cops to 'tribal warriors' of another age going out on 'safari' in 'the jungle' to apprehend criminals. Meanwhile, Beck's partner Blastig (George Dzundra of "Basic Instinct") thinks that Beck is crazy to jeopardize their lives when they are off-duty, especially because he has 37 months left until he receives his pension. If anything, Beck's hubris is that he's supremely overconfident about himself. He thinks that he is larger-than-life and exempt from all the rules. Indeed, he makes up Beck's Police Rules about being a cop. Ironically, the very same thing that Beck had accused women of doing by bringing her rape on themselves, he does himself when he embarks on his so-called 'safaris' to nab lawbreakers.Aside from this horrific twist, "The Rape of Richard Beck" is a well-made but standard, police procedural that argues a good case about misguided (male) perceptions of rape (women) victims. Earlier, Beck felt that female rape victims brought this molestation on themselves and then did help matters by refusing to identify the suspect and prosecute. By having the unthinkable happen to an abrasive, masculine cop who has trouble coming to terms with himself after the fact gives this film its dramatic punch. Richard Crenna, better known for his comedy TV role on "The Real McCoys" and his supporting bits in the "Rambo" movies, received an Emmy for his first-rate, top-notch performance as the violated detective. This performance is a far cry from his spaghetti western "A Man Called Noon," his French crime thriller "Un Flic," and his turn as a criminal in "Wait Until Dark." The sodomy for the sensation minded doesn't occur into about 40 minutes into the plot. Earlier, we learn that Beck is divorced. His son Joey (Jonas Marlowe of "Children of the Corn") and his daughter live with their mother Carolina Beck (Francis Lee McCain of "Patch Adams") and Beck comes around to take his son on fishing trips with his father Chappy Beck (Pat Hingle of "Hang'em High"). Beck spoils his son and his ex-wife doesn't appreciate his shenanigans. We only see Beck's current girlfriend once after the rape occurs and Beck suffers from a nervous breakdown and destroys the dinner that she had carefully prepared. Indeed, in the underground room where the crime transpires, we only see unsavory tough guy Nicholas Worth of "Heartbreak Ridge" and a younger, thinner M.C. Gainey of "The Dukes of Hazzard" corner a cop, disarm him, batter him, then seize him by the hair and pull his head back as one character reaches to unzip himself. Later, we learn that a janitor witnessed the rape in its entirety and refused to interfere for fear that he would receive similar treatment from them. Initially, Beck behaves like a female rape victim. He lives in the land of denial, but rape counselor Barbara McKee (Meredith Baxter Birney of "Ben") sees through his masquerade. Eventually, these two who had never tolerated each other join sides to catch a rapist."The Rape of Richard Beck" is one of the few TV movies or theatrical features that examines the impact of rape on a man, but the grim subject matter and prime time sensibility prevented the filmmakers from delving too deeply into any man's worst nightmare. You'd think that a TV movie of this magnitude would have merited a better presentation on DVD, but the copy that I bought appeared under a different, more generic title "Deadly Justice" on a twin-bill with an early Mark Harmon adventure opus "Tuareg: The Desert Warrior."

This movie truly is remarkable. I know the title might sound a little off-putting to some but if you stick with it you're in for a real cinematic pleasure.It tells the story of Richard Beck, a no nonsense police officer in America. Throughout the early stages of the film, we see him reacting to various sexual assaults in a light manner. He doesn't think it's possible that someone could actually feel stress, humiliation or even shame at being anally sexually abused. However, eventually some young hoods take his anal-virginity leading to Richard Beck feeling at constant unease around other men.It's such an eye opener that Beck really was raped that made him an enlightened human being. Thank god this man was raped, for otherwise he would be stuck in his old ways and we can now all sleep easy knowing that he knows that rape is wrong.

A tv movie with Richard Crenna,playing a hard nosed cop who,supposedly,gets raped by two men and goes through all the drama of the after effects of the rape. Feminist wet dream of putting a tough masculine straight man in the position of a woman when handling the emotional and psycological problems brought upon them by a rape. You know a man can go through the same thing a woman can go through when they are met by any kind of violent crime,being shot,getting carjacked,being robbed at gun point,getting mugged,it is always hard on the victim no matter who it is. The Rape Of Richard Beck wants people to see men get their just deserts by having a man get raped and having this man seen as a representation of the rough masculine type who would be seen as the last person expected to suffer through a crime like this. Rape is seen as the female victim's violent crime and for a man to suffer through rape's humilation is the type of show liberal feminist Hollywood want to see in and want to present to the general public at large. Rape is hard on its'victims.Including the relatives and family members and friends of the victims,most of whom are men.The Rape Of Richard Beck is a typical example of pure tainted Hollywood liberal rot sending a terrible message to a gullible public.