Cruising

Director - William Friedkin

Cast -  Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino

Distributor - Arrow Video

Number of discs –  1

Reviewed by - Scott MacDonald

Date- 08/20/2019

   Cinematic New York in the late 70's and early 80's, was truly a sleazy and violence place.   Especially when viewed in the context of films like Maniac, Driller Killer, Basket Case, Vigilante, New York Ripper, and William Friedkin's 1981 thriller Cruising, which is just now seeing its debut Blu-ray release from Arrow Video.

   Cruising follows rookie cop Steve Burns (Al Pacino) as he goes undercover in the New York City gay community in order to track down a violent killer who has been stalking that scene. In order to do this he gets an apartment close to the action, and begins to dive into the customs of the 1980's New York gay scene as well as the surrounding culture.

    Cruising has an atmosphere of a sleazy American giallo, much in the same way that Brian DePalma would be inspired by the notable Italian genre in films like Dressed to Kill.   This sleazy atmosphere really benefits the film, and makes it stand out from typical police procedurals. The lead performance by Pacino is excellent (of course).  The film has a great soundtrack that features bands like The Germs, and feature small parts by fantastic character actors of the era such as Joe Spinell (MANIAC).  Cruising has been criminally underseen, and is just now in 2019 getting a director's approved Blu-ray release. WIth that I'd like to specify that although Friedken approved this release of Cruising, it was not manipulated by Friedken in the way a few of his films were for home video.

    Cruising is presented by Arrow Video in an excellent 1:85:1 1080p AVC encoded transfer that restores the original moody darks and coldness of Cruising while at the same time giving it a definitive HD look with organic film grain, and excellent detail.  Audio is handled by 2 HD audio tracks 5.1 and 2.0 both are well balanced and clear without any obvious issues. The Blu-ray extras include 2 featurettes and an excellent commentary by Friedken. Cruising is an amazingly sleazy American giallo film that has needed a quality Blu-ray release, and has been given one by Arrow Video. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.