"Serpico"

A great movie that I have seen recently is Serpico. Serpico was directed by Sidney Lumet and starred the famous Al Pacino in 1973 (“Serpico”). The movie is pretty old. It was filmed in different parts of New York City like Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx, but for some reason they didn’t film in Staten Island.

Serpico is a true story which is about a former NYPD officer named Frank Serpico and the corruption of his fellow officers and the entire department in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Serpico was born in Brooklyn, 1936, and became an officer in 1959 (“Frank Serpico”).  F. Serpico was a good man and a real New Yorker. He refused to take bribes from criminals and corrupt officers. He blew the whistle when he couldn’t stand to see the blood money circulating through his department.

Al Pacino played this role to the key. One of his best roles throughout his career. The director Sidney Lumet did a great job expressing how New York City society was during the 60’s and 70’s. New York City is beautiful but it has had it’s dark days. This particular era was one of them. Most of the police force was corrupt and there was a lot of gang activity. Cocaine and heroine was also prominent during these times. You can get a pretty good feeling of what it was like watching the film. Let’s not forget the infamous Son of Sam. That also had a movie based on it.

If you haven’t seen Serpico, I’d advise you to grab some popcorn and soda pop, and go on a trip down memory lane. It would be a good chance to reflect on the past or if you are too young, you might learn something.

Work cited

“Serpico”, IMDb. IMDb.com, Inc. 1990-2014. Web. 29 March 2014

“Frank Serpico”, Bio. A+E Networks. 2014. Web. 29 March 2014