Cruising (1980) - Steve Burns

Cruising is a thriller/horror film about New York City serial killer targeting gay men in the 1970s. The film directed by William Friedkin, based on New York Times reporter Gerald Walker's novel of the same name. The story based on the real series of murders of homosexual men that took place between 1962 and 1979 in New York City.

Cruising portray a series of gruesome killings, who the killer specifically targeting, slays, and dismembers several gay men through B&D (Bondage and Dominance) and S&M (Sadism and Masochism) scene, and dispose their body parts in Hudson River.

Steve Burns (Al Pacino), an NYPD officer, is recruited by Captain Edelson of the NYPD Homicide Unit to go undercover in search of the killer by mascarade as gay, because his body profile is fit the victims' profiles. He was sent to gay S&M leather bars in the Meatpacking District of the West Village.

The MPAA originally gave Cruising an X rating, and finally re-rated to R after 40 minutes deletion of footage from the original cut. The deleted footage consisted of graphic homosexuality that had no effect on the story or the characterizations.

Actual gay bars for men were used in the film that existed in New York City in an effort to make the scenes as real as possible. Movie extras were actual gay patrons of the bar recruited for the scenes a few days before filming began. They were instructed to act as they would normally act, but to tone down sexually-oriented activities. However, some obscured homosexual scenes remains visible in the film as released.

During filming, members of New York's gay community protested the production of Cruising, and one thousand protesters marched through the East Village demanding the city withdraw support for the film. But since the 1990s Cruising has generated some positive criticism and has been a cult movie among some gay audiences fans. Raymond Murray, editor of gay and lesbian films Images in The Dark writes that "the film is now part of queer history and a testament to how a frightened Hollywood treated a disenfranchised minority."

Along with Pacino, Cruising stars Paul Sorvino as Capt. Edelson, Karen Allen as Nancy, and Joe Spinell (Willi Cicci in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II) as patrolman DiSimone.


Cast:

Al Pacino ... Steve Burns
Paul Sorvino ... Capt. Edelson
Karen Allen ... Nancy
Richard Cox ... Stuart Richards
Joe Spinell ... Patrolman DiSimone
Don Scardino ... Ted Bailey
Jay Acovone ... Skip Lee
Barton Heyman ... Dr. Rifkin