Busting

R

1974

1h 32m

Crime

Drama

List

17%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

55%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Los Angeles vice cops Michael Keneely (Elliott Gould), tall and hunched, and Patrick Farrell (Robert Blake), short and resentful, tidy up the streets from the drug dealers, prostitutes and petty thugs without fuss -- or much real interest. Goaded by the brash conceit of mobster chief Carl Rizzo (Allen Garfield), the eclectic partners go after him, earning not only his wrath but that of the their department superiors, who would rather that Keneely and Farrell stick to going after petty criminals.

Read More

Read Less

Audience Member

Underrated Elliott Gould and Robert Blake film from the 70s. Almost like a precursor to the buddy cop films of the 80s, both lead co-stars have great chemistry onscreen, often exchanging dialogue and jokes at an easy amicable pace.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Elliot Gould and Robert Blake are vice cops who find, after a series of their arrests are quashed by higher ups, that gangster Allen Garfield is behind most of the crime they encounter. They dedicate themselves to taking him down, even though nobody, including the police, seem to want him taken down. This flick has an extremely relaxed pace and amiable tone to it, and then kind of sneaks up on you as it gets increasingly intense. Gould and Blake feel like a really odd pairing on paper, but they play off each other really well. Sid Haig plays Garfield's main muscle guy, and Antonio Fargas and Michael Lerner also show up. This is the kind of film that seems underwhelming, but when it's done, you realize you really enjoyed it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Solid buddy cop movie from 1974. Good chemistry between Blake and Gould. Gritty but not excessive in its depiction of vice with liberal doses of humor and an interesting story. Gould's laconic, world weary performance reminded me of his turn in the Long Goodbye.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

If you like your cop stories realistic and filled with cynical wisecracking the you'll like this. Very 70's but interesting anyway even if it is episodic and filled with too many tracking shots.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

camille l

Busting est un film plutôt amusant pendant sa deuxième heure, lorsque l'intrigue se met réellement en route, grâce aux interprétations adéquates d'Elliott Gould, Robert Blake et Allen Garfield (particulièrement excellent). Avant ça, le réalisateur et son scénariste ne semblent pas savoir où ils veulent en venir et on s'ennuie poliment avant de rencontrer le grand bad guy. Ce ne serait pas si grave si le film de Peter Hyams ne souffrait pas autant de ses nombreux changements de ton et de ses gags un peu archaïques.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Elliott Gould and Robert Blake are perfect for this film. They remind me of gangsters with the way the talk and carry on.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Peter Hyams

Director

Elliott Gould

Vice Detective Michael Keneely

Robert Blake

Vice Detective Patrick Farrel

Allen Garfield

Carl Rizzo

John Lawrence

Sergeant Kenefick

Cornelia Sharpe

Jackie Faraday

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

83%

72%

Thieves Like Us

95%

87%

The Long Goodbye

43%

65%

Hoodlum

66%

69%

Death Wish

TRAILER

for Death Wish

64%

66%

Foxy Brown

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Steve Warren

The Barb (Atlanta)

This movie is indefensible on cinematic grounds.

May 9, 2023

Full Review

Gregory Mims

New Pittsburgh Courier

By itself, Busting exists as a tough little urban police drama with moralistic pretensions. However, in a longer view, from the field, the film is merely a combination of every city cop movie you've ever seen.

Dec 13, 2021

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

...in portraying life as a steaming cess-pit of prostitution, homophobia and general degradation, Busting lays the old, familiar story out in no short order...

Rated: 4/5

Sep 3, 2021

Full Review

Dick Lochte

Los Angeles Free Press

Moods are dissolved by off-hand joke punch lines.

Dec 17, 2019

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Jun 11, 2005

Full Review

Steve Crum

Kansas City Kansan

Forgettable Blake/Gould hippie generation flick

Rated: 1/5

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Los Angeles vice cops Michael Keneely (Elliott Gould), tall and hunched, and Patrick Farrell (Robert Blake), short and resentful, tidy up the streets from the drug dealers, prostitutes and petty thugs without fuss -- or much real interest. Goaded by the brash conceit of mobster chief Carl Rizzo (Allen Garfield), the eclectic partners go after him, earning not only his wrath but that of the their department superiors, who would rather that Keneely and Farrell stick to going after petty criminals.

Director: Peter Hyams
Screenwriter: Peter Hyams
Production Co: United Artists
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Runtime: 1h 32m