X
  • 1992
  • R
  • Aries Films
  • 1 h 36 m
  • 1992
  • R
  • Aries Films
  • 1 h 36 m

Summary A New York cop (Keitel) is hopelessy addicted to drugs, gambling, and sex, in this intense, hallucinatory portrait of sin and redemption. The film follows the lieutenant as he makes his way to various crime scenes, concerned only with taking bets from his fellow cops on the outcome of the ongoing National League playoffs. An investigatio...

Directed By: Abel Ferrara

Written By: Zoë Lund, Abel Ferrara

  • 1992
  • R
  • Aries Films
  • 1 h 36 m
  • 1992
  • R
  • Aries Films
  • 1 h 36 m

Bad Lieutenant

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 19 Critic Reviews
70
User Score Generally Favorable Based on 49 User Ratings
6.7
My Score
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Where to Watch

Summary A New York cop (Keitel) is hopelessy addicted to drugs, gambling, and sex, in this intense, hallucinatory portrait of sin and redemption. The film follows the lieutenant as he makes his way to various crime scenes, concerned only with taking bets from his fellow cops on the outcome of the ongoing National League playoffs. An investigatio...

Directed By: Abel Ferrara

Written By: Zoë Lund, Abel Ferrara

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 19 Critic Reviews
70
74% Positive
14 Reviews
21% Mixed
4 Reviews
5% Negative
1 Review

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 19 Critic Reviews
70
74% Positive
14 Reviews
21% Mixed
4 Reviews
5% Negative
1 Review

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
It is boldly NC-17, but unlike most exploitation cinema, Ferrara can’t seem to help himself from making the film a personal, frightened psychic diary, a pitiful shriek for help, and a powerful statement about how even the damned can achieve a moment of fleeting grace.
By Jeremiah Kipp FULL REVIEW
91
For all its scenes of degradation (five minutes of which have been shorn for an R-rated cut; we recommend the original NC-17 version), Bad Lieutenant is a deeply moral movie. It's not pretty-it's not even very realistic-but it does matter.
FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 49 User Ratings
6.7
71% Positive
35 Ratings
12% Mixed
6 Ratings
16% Negative
8 Ratings

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 49 User Ratings
6.7
71% Positive
35 Ratings
12% Mixed
6 Ratings
16% Negative
8 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

80
There's an undeniable formal elegance in the way Ferrara, who coauthored the script with Zoe Lund, frames and holds certain shots, and Keitel certainly gives his all in this 1992 entry in the Raging Bull redemptive sweepstakes.
By Jonathan Rosenbaum FULL REVIEW
75
For Keitel, this is the Scorsese film that Scorsese never gave him, in which he gets to elbow Robert De Niro away from center stage and take the best part for himself. He seizes the opportunity: Bad Lieutenant immediately becomes one of the defining roles of his career. [22 Jan 1993, Friday, p.C]
By Dave Kehr FULL REVIEW
70
Harvey Keitel gives an astonishing performance here... Though hardly a film for all sensibilities, Bad Lieutenant has the courage of its own convictions, and follows them to the bitter end.
FULL REVIEW
50
It's the first film to include both a cameo appearance by Jesus and a full-frontal nude shot of Harvey Keitel dancing in a drugged stupor. [20 Nov 1992, Life, p.4D]
By Mike Clark FULL REVIEW
30
Yes, you get to see Harvey Keitel's penis; the only surprise is that Jesus keeps His under wraps.
FULL REVIEW
See All 19 Critic Reviews

Details

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Production Company Bad Lt. Productions
Release Date Nov 20, 1992
Duration 1 h 36 m
Rating R
Genres
Tagline Gambler. Thief. Junkie. Killer. Cop.
View All Details

Awards

Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
Fantasporto
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
• 1 Nomination

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