I saw this movie when it first came out. I was in high school and the son of a cop. I later became a cop myself and other than the setting (Los Angeles) this movie, while flawed, shows a side of policing that people rarely see, or at least then. Up until this time, with few cinematic exceptions, police officers had either been comic buffoons or squared-jawed emotionless men who always got their man. Here we have a young man who became a cop to pay for law school. He is introduced to an old veteran who only knows police work, nothing more. Together they become partners then friends. SPOILER: The scene of Kilvinski's (Scott) death is griping, but not unexpected. He was a lonely man who did not have his life (police work) any more. Juxtapose that with Fehler's (Keach)death. His life had hit a bumpy road but was upbeat and hopeful when he died.END SPOILER.
There are no heroes in this movie, but it does show the heroism of these officers going to work and doing their duty as best they can under trying and sometimes deadly circumstances. A good movie but a better book. If you have a chance, read all of Wambaugh's novels. He nails police work as it was in the 60s and 70s.
There are no heroes in this movie, but it does show the heroism of these officers going to work and doing their duty as best they can under trying and sometimes deadly circumstances. A good movie but a better book. If you have a chance, read all of Wambaugh's novels. He nails police work as it was in the 60s and 70s.