Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

Cruising

R Released Feb 8, 1980 1h 46m Crime Drama LGBTQ+ List
51% Tomatometer 63 Reviews 49% Audience Score 5,000+ Ratings
A psychopath is scouring New York City gay clubs and viciously slaying homosexuals. Detective Steve Burns (Al Pacino) is ordered to don leather attire, hang at the city's S&M joints and keep an eye out for the killer. But as Steve becomes immersed in club hopping, he begins to identify with the subculture more than he expected. Meanwhile, Steve behaves distantly around his girlfriend, Nancy (Karen Allen), the police force's homophobia becomes apparent and the killer remains at large. Read More Read Less
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Cruising

In Theaters Fandango at Home Prime Video Apple TV

Rent Cruising on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Cruising

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Cruising glides along confidently thanks to filmmaking craft and Al Pacino's committed performance, but this hot-button thriller struggles to engage its subject matter sensitively or justify its brutality.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (63) Critics Reviews
Anton Bitel Little White Lies Here Steve's 'undercover' status serves as a metaphor for his closetedness (and vice versa) - while murder is committed at the behest of an internalised paternal voice of authority that regards homosexuality as a guilt that must be bloodily expunged. Aug 19, 2019 Full Review Charles Champlin Los Angeles Times The principal complaint, artistically, about Cruising is that it is not very clear at the rudimentary level of exposition of character and event. The problem... is in a script that never seems sure enough what it wants to say or prove. Apr 29, 2019 Full Review Bruce McCabe Boston Globe William Friedkin's Cruising is a work of art. Apr 27, 2018 Full Review Felix Vasquez Jr. Cinema Crazed Might not exactly be one of Friedkin or Pacino’s best film, but it sure is a compelling one, as well as an important, evocative time capsule. Sep 8, 2023 Full Review Larry Wegner OUT FRONT Magazine (Denver) Al Pacino is brilliant... May 8, 2023 Full Review 5th Freedom Staff 5th Freedom (Buffalo) Altogether a very bad movie with its many uncertainties as well as nonexistent development of any of its characters. May 3, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (418) audience reviews
Jerod S If the cop from the village people were a serial killer. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/25/24 Full Review Alec B I hope one day, however unlikely, we will get to see the original 140 minute cut of the movie as it stands now it is a little too thinly drawn. That said this just doesn't deserve the scorn it continues to receive and when Friedkin is propelling the plot with his documentary style it can be quite compelling. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/10/24 Full Review Scott H Just, overall, a terrible film. Hard to believe that Friedkin directed this. Really dumb plot development at the end. Avoid. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 09/08/23 Full Review Steve D The nonsensical ending guts it. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/17/23 Full Review Michael This is a pretty bad film. Al Pacino, one of my favorite actors, is boring in this role, and it almost seems Iike he can't act. In one scene, for example, he just has to walk by a bench in a park, and it seems like the director just told him to walk by the bench, and he adds nothing to the scene in terms of interest or charisma. There is no chemistry with Karen Allen. Paul Sorvino looks like he decided to dye his hair and walk with a limp and act depressed. At least Sorvino is trying to act, even if I didn't buy it. And, it seems like the director really didn't like any of his characters or the subject matter. Almost everyone in this movie is uikeable or boring, except for maybe Pacino's neighbor, who gets horribly murdered. I found the voice over for the killer to be amateurish, and the climax of the film to be unsatisfying. I felt like I watched an unpleasant movie with a lot of boring characters being unpleasant to each other. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/12/23 Full Review Nawt W It is undeniably interesting to read that nothing in LGBT conduct has changed in almost 50 years since Cruising came out. They want movies to be made about them, but they don't want you to depict anything negative about any of them, even if it portrays a specific circle in which hardly any one of them is involved. Toe the line, or you're literally killing them. Today, that kind of intimidation would have definitely worked (even if the majority of it would be on Twitter). But what made them think back then that they could make a director who made Sorcerer bend a knee because of air horns? Regardless of that ancient pandemonium, this movie is one of William Friedkin's best. Great depiction of late 1970s New York squalor and club smut. Capturing S&M in such a raw state. Splendid soundtrack, sets, and cinematography. Al Pacino might not have been the best choice for the part, but he does an okay job. It's mostly the fault of the script, with that sudden shift at the drop of a hat from being visibly distressed to breaking into the suspected killer's apartment and then taunting him outside of his window. The constant switching of actors as killers and victims is a remarkable idea. I don't believe anyone would honestly be able to tell without outside sources at first glance. It adds so much to the ambiguous ending that it is much more sinister than underwhelming. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Cruising

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Dog Day Afternoon 96% 90% Dog Day Afternoon Mike's Murder 80% 45% Mike's Murder Busting 17% 55% Busting Thieves Like Us 84% 72% Thieves Like Us The Long Goodbye 95% 87% The Long Goodbye Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A psychopath is scouring New York City gay clubs and viciously slaying homosexuals. Detective Steve Burns (Al Pacino) is ordered to don leather attire, hang at the city's S&M joints and keep an eye out for the killer. But as Steve becomes immersed in club hopping, he begins to identify with the subculture more than he expected. Meanwhile, Steve behaves distantly around his girlfriend, Nancy (Karen Allen), the police force's homophobia becomes apparent and the killer remains at large.
Director
William Friedkin
Producer
Jerry Weintraub
Screenwriter
William Friedkin, Gerald Walker
Distributor
United Artists
Production Co
United Artists, Lorimar Film Entertainment
Rating
R
Genre
Crime, Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 8, 1980, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 21, 2016
Runtime
1h 46m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
Most Popular at Home Now