Crime Story

1986

Seasons & Episodes

  • 2
  • 1
  • 0

8.3| 0h30m| TV-PG| en
Synopsis

The hard-boiled saga of hair-trigger cop Lieutenant Mike Torello and his obsessive pursuit of ruthless gangster Ray Luca.

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Reviews

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!
StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.
Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Romeo Garcia I remember too see this series in the late 80's (the other favorite of mine was WISEGUY) and i just simply was stick to the TV.This series was unique in the 80's because the style and the look of the 50's something like i never see before,the cars,the music,the girls,the food,the action,the cops,the criminals...Everyhting was handle with a great direction and the scripts was incredible.Of course the cast was amazing.Dennis Farina (RIP) was like always incredible,Bill Smitrovich,Steve Ryan,Bill Campbell and Stephen Lang was incredible too...The chemistry between this guys was amazing and still miss all this characters in the TV.Simply one of the best cop series i ever see in my life and when i mention to people if they remember this series EVERYONE says:"oh men!! what a AWESOME series!!! They don't make series like this!!!" and you know what?...They are right!!!
starfox-4 This always had great cars, music and other technique's until the series on T.V came but overall it was in the time when they did Miami Vice which is now a game, but crime story is fantastic mainly if you like all the 80'S cop stories. As well there is a Chinese crime story with Jackie Chan in which is not the same.The series really kicks into high gear when Luca makes a move to Vegas, heading up the Starlight Casino it's a licence to print money, naturally there are a hundred crooked scams a guy like Luca could pull here, but oddly he doesn't have designs on any of them. Aside from skimming from the slot machines to keep the bosses happy Luca wants to run a clean casino, much to the chagrin of the higher ups. As adept as he is at the criminal lifestyle Ray isn't happy being under the constantly scrutinising eye of the police, his plan is to completely legitimise their operations within ten years, seeing as they own so many profitable businesses as it is, there really isn't any point continuing to flirt with serious jail time. That isn't a view that everyone agrees with though, most of the bosses feel that they are untouchable, they may get all the money but they keep their hands otherwise clean, so some major power struggles ensue. While Mann had creative control over the series as producer he only directed one episode, with the series using many different directors, including Abel Ferrara who directed the two hour pilot episode. His influence is clear, the pilot is somewhat darker than the rest of the series, and it's obvious he was pushing the limits of what was acceptable for television then along with striving to get the most from his budget. A series like this made today would obviously be more brutal, and the tight reign kept on Torello's language is in rather stark contrast to the rest of his character, but this isn't a series that pulls too many punches. A lot of characters aren't going to make it to the end, and even our heroes aren't the most law abiding men, Torello in particular is a man who'd clearly be a crook if he wasn't a cop – never feeling the need to flash his badge to get a little cooperation when flexing a muscle or two will get the job done. Not just when he's dealing with criminals either, the poor soul that refuses to deliver his dining table on time only just lives to regret things, along with waking up to a Molotov cocktail or two on his doorstep. Crime Story is an impressive series, according to the sleeve notes the New York Times called it 'one of the best television series you've probably never seen' and they're right, I hadn't heard of the series before its release, which seems strange given how much influence it has had over both Mann's movies and many popular TV series today. They certainly weren't wrong about the quality either, as Crime Story manages to pack just as many gripping story elements into its series as the likes of NYPD Blue and Homicide: Life on the Street, along with being an intriguing examination of the thin line between the two sides of the law.
jeannie626 I miss it, and it's been nearly 20 years! I'm just surprised there is not a bona-fide cult following for this show! If anyone reading this disagrees, well speak up!! The show premiered when I was a teenager, and I thought it was cool as sh%#! Of course, I was also watching Pee-Wee's playhouse, Joes Bob Briggs Drive-In Theatre, going to see Roy Orbison in concert one last time. And while the addition of cast member Andrew Goldman (Dice-Clay) may not have done much in retrospect for the show, I'll be damned if it didn't prove that he could actually act! I'm not kidding, he did a fine job! Dennis Ferrina, the Maimi Beach widows dream, so my (much older) ex used to tell me... I've been rooting for him ever since this show. (And Midnight Run paid off!)Not sure yet on Law & Order.....
Alex-372 Crime Story was a strange, hard and often inspired tv series from the mid-eighties. It was made by the producer of Miami Vice, Michael Mann, and the cast is stocked with Michael Mann regulars - Stephen Lang, Bill Smitrovitch, Ted Levine and Dennis Farina (all except Ted Levine are in Manhunter). Although Farina and his crew throughout the series chase after their arch nemesis, Ray Luca and his gang (Pauli Taglia, Frank Holman), the story comes in two parts. The first part, allegedly set in Chicago, the second set in Las Vegas. Throughout the series, the director tries for a fifties, early sixties feel, even though that's tough to maintain. Great music, every episode is introduced by Del Shannon's "Runaway". However, very often the focus is the psychological dynamic between Mike Torello (real-life Chicago cop Farina) and Ray Luca (played with a psychopathic coldness by Anthony John Denison). Torello may be on the right side of the law, but there is an equally uneasy quality about the doggedness with which he keeps going after Luca. What would his life be without him? Torello is also frequently tempted to cross the line and behave in a more effective, but illegal way himself. If you haven't seen it, and you like Wise Guy, or the feel and look Michael Mann gives to his productions, don't miss this series. As this is a classic 80s series, there are also lots of cameos from familiar actors and actresses.