No One Is Above The Law.
Freddy Heflin is the sheriff of a place everyone calls “Cop Land” — a small and seemingly peaceful town populated by the big city police officers he’s long admired. Yet something ugly is taking place behind the town’s peaceful facade. And when Freddy uncovers a massive, deadly conspiracy among these local residents, he is forced to take action and make a dangerous choice between protecting his idols and upholding the law.
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Character
Classical in form, earnest, grave and contemporary.
- classical in formformally daring
- earnestironic
- gravecomic
- contemporarynostalgic
- contemplativerelentless
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“Is Sylvester Stallone the best thing in Cop Land?”
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“Would a little humor have helped?”
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“Is this James Mangold's best work?”
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A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- Wuchakon TMDB · Sep 20247/10
**_Tough Cops of NYC living in a town across the Hudson River in Jersey…_** …where the half-deaf Sheriff (Sylvester Stallone) is basically a nice-guy tool of their arrogant leader (Harvey Keitel). When the angry cops engage in corruption concerning a cover-up, it attracts the attention of an Internal Affairs investigator (Robert De Niro), who tries to enlist the help of the Sheriff. Ray Liotta and Robert Patrick are also on hand. “Cop Land” (1997) is a crime drama with an ensemble cast, the second film of writer/director James Mangold. There are a lot of characters and so it’s wise to use the subtitles to keep track of who’s who. It’s one of those films where you have to pay close attention or you won’t be able to follow what’s going on and get frustrated. Siskel & Ebert’s review (available on Youtube) does a good job of pointing out the movie’s strengths and weaknesses: Siskel carefully followed what was happening and so praised the flick whereas Ebert got irritated by the overstuffed production. The first time I saw it, I felt the way Ebert did but, seeing it again recently, I lean more toward Siskel’s position. There’s a Director’s Cut, released in 2008, that adds about 14 minut
Read the whole review on TMDB - CinemaSerfon TMDB · Jul 20226/10
This has a really good ensemble cast, but the sum of the parts really don't add up to much of an whole. Sylvester Stallone is local sheriff "Freddy", in charge of policing a small town - Garrison - near New York that is largely populated by it's police officers. The television news reports and our frequent attendance at the cemetery soon demonstrate to us that being a cop has become an even more perilous affair. Just who is behind this new danger? Harvey Keitel ("Ray") is the kingpin sergeant who many believe is to be applauded for enabling many officers to escape the Big Apple itself and set up home for their families in relatively safe and secure surroundings, but is he really the altruist that he purports to be? The death of one officer leads "Tilden" (Robert De Niro) to lead an internal investigation, but when that is mysteriously shut down by the Mayor, it falls to "Freddy" to find the truth. There are just too many characters in this film, there is far too much dialogue and for the most part, really too little action. It shines a dimly lit light on police corruption, but to be honest most of these are pretty unsavoury characters who would stab their own mothers in the face fo
Read the whole review on TMDB - GenerationofSwineon TMDB · Jan 202310/10
Well, it has almost everyone that could really act in the 90s in it. That is a plus. And Stallone actually does a great job of being a washed up no-nothing out of shape small town sheriff. He rarely takes roles that actually require him to act so it's always a shock when you see films and realize that, no, Sly is in fact really a stellar actor. This is one of those movies. It's also one of those movies that stays with you as a classic. Not as well known as Chinatown, but the kind of movie where, after you forget about it, you get the chance to re-watch it and realize once more how great it actually was.
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Cast
- Sylvester StalloneSheriff Freddy Heflin
- Harvey KeitelRay Donlan
- Ray LiottaGary "Figgsy" Figgis
- Robert De NiroLt. Moe Tilden
- Peter BergJoey Randone
- Janeane GarofaloDeputy Cindy Betts
- Robert PatrickJack Rucker
- Michael RapaportMurray "Superboy" Babitch
- Annabella SciorraLiz Randone
- Noah EmmerichDeputy Bill Geisler
Crew
- James MangoldDirector
- James MangoldWriter
- Eric Alan EdwardsDirector of Photography
- Howard ShoreOriginal Music Composer
- Craig McKayEditor
- Cathy KonradProducer
- Ezra SwerdlowProducer
- Cary WoodsProducer
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Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
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Often watched with
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