Prince of the City Movie Review

Before there was The Departed, before there was Donnie Brasco, there was this tale of cop corruption and undercover work, directed by a down-the-rabbit-hole Sidney Lumet. Based on a true story, Prince features a rather bland Treat Williams as Danny Ciello, who goes undercover to expose corruption in (where else) the NYPD. Naturally, he soon learns that just about everyone is on the take, including his own partners. Eventually, Ciello himself becomes suspect for his prior drug use. The film starts off strong as Ciello starts delving into the underworld of corrupt cops, but eventually starts to repeat itself and bog down as it hits its third hour. Fortunately, numerous supporting stars keep it largely worth watching.

The new DVD is heralded as a two-disc special edition, but alas I didn't think that would mean the movie would be split across two discs. (At 167 minutes, it could've fit on one.) A historical featurette is also included.