Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £4.99 a month
Bad Lieutenant
Abel Ferrara's disturbing character study of a corrupt N.Y.C. cop and his slide into insanity, starring Harvey Keitel in a career-best performance.
Director: Abel Ferrara
Overview
Harvey Keitel stars as the (unnamed) NYPD lieutenant whose crack-fuelled lifestyle of gambling, violence and thievery make him almost indistinguishable from the criminals he's supposedly chasing.
Seemingly in a pit of despair and nihilism, his life takes a turn when a young nun (Frankie Thorn) is raped on the altar of a local church, and he's drawn to a final desperate attempt to find the true depths of human sin and the power of mercy. Keitel is sensational in one of his most raw and soul-baring roles, in this unflinching and powerful story of vice and redemption, which arrived in the middle of a run of knockout '90s features from cult director Abel Ferrara, working at the height of his game (see also King of New York and The Addiction). Released in the UK merely a few weeks after Reservoir Dogs (which also starred Keitel) in 1993, the film also briefly became ensnared in one of Britain's perennial moral panics about the extent of cinematic violence, and was even banned outright at the time in the Republic of Ireland.
Related
The Kingdom The Kingdom
Crime 2024 111 mins Director: Julien Colonna
A teenager is taken to a Corsican villa where her fugitive mob boss father is hiding, before an assassination attempt forces them to go on the run.
Sex & Fury Sex & Fury
Crime 1973 89 mins Director: Norifumi Suzuki
This wildly violent ‘70s Japanese sexploitation film about a gambler hunting her father’s killers was a key influence on Tarantino’s Kill Bill series.
G.B.H. Grievous Bodily Harm G.B.H. Grievous Bodily Harm
Thriller 1983 73 mins Director: David Kent-Watson
A bouncer is enlisted to fight off a mob boss, in this barmy, shot-on-video cult actioner from famed Mancunian hardman Cliff Twemlow.
Nightcrawler Nightcrawler
Crime 2014 118 mins Director: Dan Gilroy
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a crime journalist scouring the streets of after-dark LA in a stylish thriller that examines the morals of mass media.
Benny's Video Benny's Video
Crime 1992 110 mins Director: Michael Haneke
Michael Haneke’s drama explores a teenager’s obsession with screen violence, and his inability to distinguish between reality and fiction.
El Mariachi El Mariachi
Crime 1992 82 mins Director: Robert Rodriguez
A travelling mariachi is mistaken for a murderous criminal, in Robert Rodriguez’s infamous ‘no budget’ exemplar of DIY action cinema.
King of New York King of New York
Crime 1990 103 mins Director: Abel Ferrara
Christopher Walken is the dogged drug-lord determined to keep his empire together, in Abel Ferrara's brutally gritty crime thriller.
Pharaoh Pharaoh
Historical drama 1965 146 mins Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
Dazzling epic, in which the young Pharaoh Ramses XIII clashes with Egypt's clergy over influence on the affairs of the state and its coffers.
Je t'aime, je t'aime Je t'aime, je t'aime
Drama 1968 95 mins Director: Alain Resnais
A mysterious time-travel experiment becomes a warped voyage through memory, in this mesmerising sci-fi from acclaimed director Alain Resnais.
Desire: The Carl Craig Story Desire: The Carl Craig Story
Documentary 2024 91 mins Director: Jean-Cosme Delaloye
An intimate portrait of legendary techno producer, DJ and record label creator Carl Craig and an ode to his beloved city, Detroit.
La Reine Margot La Reine Margot
Historical drama 1994 158 mins Director: Patrice Chéreau
Sumptuous historical drama starring Isabelle Adjani and Daniel Auteuil; a thunderous yarn full of dastardly plots, familial hatred and perverse desire
Scrubbers Scrubbers
Drama 1982 93 mins Director: Mai Zetterling
1980s borstal drama – billed as the female Scum – featuring Amanda York and Kathy Burke as inmates in a ruthless women’s prison.
Mona Lisa Mona Lisa
Gangster 1986 100 mins Director: Neil Jordan
An ungainly cockney chauffeur navigates the seedy streets of London, gradually falling for the elegant and mysterious prostitute who is his passenger.