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Bad Lieutenant

Gambler. Thief. Junkie. Killer. Cop.

1992 · 1h 36m · NC-17 Crime, Drama
Directed by Abel Ferrara

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Overview

While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
77%
Tomatometer
Rotten

Members of the gutter-al elite will be the sole survivors.

Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter
Fresh

Bad Lieutenant is finally a pulp parable of sin, addiction, and redemption, a movie that, like its subversive hero, revels in the pleasure -- and danger -- of going too far.

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
Fresh

Abel Ferrara's uncompromising Bad Lieutenant is a harrowing journey with a corrupt N.Y. cop sinking into the lower depths.

Lawrence Cohn, Variety
Fresh

There's an undeniable formal elegance in the way Ferrara, who coauthored the script with Zoe Lund, frames and holds certain shots, and Keitel certainly gives his all.

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Fresh

When Abel Ferrara calls something bad, better believe it: he means business.

Janet Maslin, New York Times

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