Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Prince of the City Blu-ray Movie Review

Rotten to the core.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 19, 2021

Sydney Lumet's dense, sprawling, ugly cop drama Prince of the City has finally been given new life on Blu-ray from Warner Archive, affording fans and first-timers the opportunity to (re)evaluate a prime piece of work that still feels relevant 40 years later. Our story is told from the eye level of Danny Ciello (Treat Williams, Deep Rising), a narcotics detective and part of the NYPD's Special Investigations Unit who, along with his partners Gus (Jerry Orbach, Dirty Dancing), Dom (Kenny Marino, Death Wish 3), Joe (Richard Foronjy, Midnight Run), and Bill (Don Billett, Ordinary People), is left mostly unsupervised as a reward for continuously great results. Unfortunately, the team has a long history of corrupt behavior including bribes and larceny, which includes supplying their informants with seized drugs. After an unsettling nighttime encounter with two junkies, Danny begins to have second feelings about his past actions and, with the help of assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Cappalino (Norman Parker, The Bonfire of the Vanities), agrees to root out other corrupt cops. But he has only one stipulation: Danny won't betray his partners.

It's a hard-drawn line in the sand that gradually fades as Danny goes deeper down the rabbit hole, in the process showing just how far a desperate person might go to protect themselves. It doesn't just apply to him, though: as Danny muddles through his semi-accidental crusade against police corruption -- while intentionally covering up most of his own misdeeds, some of which outnumber those of his targets -- his inner circle catches heat, but the fallout also extends out to judges, district attorneys, and other public servants. It's not long before Danny gets a few death threats, which warrants protective custody by armed guards and even an impromptu stay at his remote cabin in the Catskills. More than anything else, though, Danny's internal struggles seem to have completely bubbled over: he has more than one nervous breakdown, barely maintains composure at work and home, and knows that the situation has slipped through his hands. We don't get much in the way of clear-cut resolution after his wife Carla (Lindsay Crouse) and young son basically disappear before the 2/3 mark, and can assume the marriage didn't survive.

Much of the criminal activity on all sides of Prince of the City is not black and white. The misdeeds of its characters aren't glamorized, of course, but at the same time we can see how a handful of small infractions led to a downward spiral of bad decisions by mostly selfish people. We aren't even sure if we like Danny -- but neither was director Sidney Lumet, who admittedly struggled with his own opinion of the character while the film was being shot in early 1981. Clearly ahead of its time, Prince of the City bridges the gap between earlier fare like Lumet's own Serpico and more full-bodied productions such as Goodfellas, which arrived a full nine years later. It's only slight flaws are the excessive runtime -- not that its story doesn't warrant 167 minutes, but the punishing atmosphere is tough to digest at once -- and Treat Williams' lead performance. It's an incredibly demanding role and one that he almost pulls off flawlessly, but Danny's most intense emotional moments aren't always delivered with care; there's no unintentional laughter to be found in this mostly humorless affair, but some of his temper tantrums can't help but ring a little hollow.

All told, though, Prince of the City is a largely effective film: extremely tough to watch, but worth watching nonetheless. It underperformed at the box office and was only nominated for one Oscar that year (Best Adapted Screenplay, penned by Jay Presson Allen), but still holds up due to its strong fundamentals... and of course the subject matter, which feels as relevant now as it likely did when Robert Daley's 1978 book was first published. Luckily, Warner Archive has once again come to the rescue with another top-level Blu-ray, pairing a rock-solid AV presentation with a few bonus features ported over from its last home video release: a 2007 two-disc Special Edition from their parent company.

Prince of the City Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The rough, unglamorous Prince of the City still shines on Blu-ray thanks to Warner Archive's terrific new 1080p presentation. Although I don't own the older Warner Bros. DVD -- a two-disc Special Edition released in 2007 -- its 16x9 anamorphic image was nonetheless received very well. There's no chance it stands up to what we get here, though: a perfectly refined and film-like image bursting with fine detail, natural grain, and boldly saturated colors when the situation demands it. Even so, Prince of the City is a largely muted affair, with a few dimly-lit and seedy locations that you almost don't want to see in great detail. Sunlit exteriors and more luxurious offices are a different story, with wonderful textures showcasing the undeniable late 1970s and early 80s architecture, clothes, and signage. Skin tones and shadow details hold up exceptionally well too -- I couldn't imagine the latter looking like much more than a muddy, compressed mess in lower resolution, such as a handful of nighttime interior scenes and back alleys lit by nothing more than a stray street lamp. Speaking of which, as usual the show gets a beefy dual-layered disc mostly to itself, with the entire production playing back at a consistently high bit rate and showing no egregious signs of banding, artifacts, or edge enhancement, Likewise, its original source material was obviously in great condition (one very minor exception is mentioned below) and treated with care, as evidenced by the lack of dirt and debris. It's a true purist's dream, like the majority of Warner Archive's catalog releases, and undoubtedly worth an upgrade for that alone.

One odd defect occurs right around 1:34:40 in the form of a brief frame jump. I'm not sure if there was a problem with the source elements or if this occurred on the old DVD edition, but it's definitely not a bad edit -- the jump happens in the middle of an otherwise unbroken shot. In any case, it's short enough that it barely has time to register.

Prince of the City Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Prince of the City doesn't necessarily demand a complex audio mix, so its modest one-channel source (presented here as a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track, split evenly between the left and right speakers) is up to the challenge. This is a nearly three-hour, dialogue-driven drama broken up by a few bits and pieces of sonic excitement: a heavy downpour during Danny's nighttime meeting with two junkies, a few fistfights and other physical altercations, and of course the violent outbursts of angry men on both sides of the law. Within those boundaries, it's a clean and crisp presentation with no obvious damage and somewhat thin on the high end, but very well-balanced and almost always intelligible even without the optional English (SDH) subtitles. Bottom line: it's right in line with most films from the era and, though a stereo remix may have yielded more robust results, this is again a purist-friendly effort that fans will appreciate.

Another brief source material oddity: around 34:30, a brief conversation about a man nicknamed "Tiny" (spoken by Danny, and mentioned at least twice) obviously re-dubs that character's name over what was actually spoken... and if not for the optional subtitles, I might not have caught it. Again, not having the 2007 DVD on hand prevents me from saying if this "problem" happened before, but if any die-hard fans have any insight I'd love to hear it.

UPDATE 8/28 - Forum member drew1968 confirmed that this same audio anomaly is present on the DVD edition.

Prince of the City Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with original one-sheet poster artwork and no inserts. Both bonus features are carried over from Warner Bros.' 2007 DVD, although they've been given a bump to lossless audio.

• Prince of the City: The Real Story (28:37) - This mid-length documentary, produced by Laurent Bouzereau, serves as a capable behind-the-scenes piece while breaking down the actual events it was based on. Lots of key cast and crew members are interviewed as well including director Sidney Lumet, screenwriter Jay Presson Allen, author Robet Daley, production designer Tony Walton, actors Treat Williams, Bob Balaban, and Lance Henriksen, and many more. In the absence of a new retrospective piece, it's nice to see this one make the cut.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:40) - This surprisingly short vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

Prince of the City Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Police corruption is sadly still a very relevant topic, but films like Sidney Lumet's Prince of the City remind us that it's a complex issue that often starts small and seeps into other public service positions while destroying families and friendships in the process. Its characters are amoral, sympathetic, selfish, and thoughtful in equal measure, and the end result is something that you don't so much watch as you get swallowed by. This is no pretty picture, but Warner Archive serves up yet another top-quality Blu-ray with fantastic A/V specs and a few extras carried over from the 2007 DVD release. Firmly Recommended to fans and first timers, although it may not be something you'll revisit often.