Fort Apache, the Bronx (1981)

"I liked this movie!." Kristl said while she leaned back into the couch as the credits rolled. She laid her black combat boots on the raised woodwork that Henry recently had made in front of the screen to enhance the mood of them being in a regular movie theater.It was part of Henry's ongoing project to turn their garage-turned- cinema into a movie theater for real. That is why the walls had people like Katherine Hepburn, James Coburn and Humphrey Bogart staring into the room from old movie posters that adorned the walls. Kristl had remarked something about being subjected to the scrutiny of dead people.Behind them were lines of those folding movie chairs, which were non functional, as that had made them cheap, but still gave the feel that at any one time the room could be filled with a throng of people carrying big bags of popcorn and soda pops."It was an engaging movie. I mean I sort of could connect with Paul Newman. And it gave me a feeling that what you saw was real. Not embellished or made to look heroic or just distorted for the sake of getting a message across.""Hmm." Henry said."Are you going to say…. that you did not like it?" Kristl said."I feel pretty depressed." Henry said."Well, it seems to have been a depressing place. The south Bronx.""There isn't really anything heroic. Not even the main lead is. I mean.. where does this all go? I feel a bit like when we watched The Road. Utter bleakness.Grey on grey.. and nothing is going to get better.""Well, there is this human story of Paul Newman. Who as a veteran cop, still remains a cop, even after all what happened.""Yeah.. but it felt like: you are no good for anything else, so what else are you going to do but be what you already are: a loser cop stuck in a dead end job, with an attitude and mostly shady colleagues for friends. And most of them are no good, being racist, scumbags, lazy shifts and so on. At some point that new commissioner remarks how many of them are not doing their jobs. It is a dead end place. It is where the dirt is gathering because it can't slide deeper.""The new commissioner. That was Ed Asner. I think that it was around that time he played Lou Grant. It was nice to see him act.""Never heard of him.""It was before your time.""It definitely was. That's a movie from 1981.""I was a teen then.""No less. And did you already have those white spikes for hair?""Not exact, they were blue or pink at the time.""Geesh. You did not change much overtime.. except for getting older..." Henry wisely avoided in saying: more portly.."Actually I did. I got older and I changed back to what I was.""I see. A trip to nostalgia.""Perhaps.""Most of what you see in the movie I did see before. I think they call that a cliché. The good cop - bad cop thing. The new commissioner that wants to clean up the precinct. The bad cops killing people. The cocky bad guy." "Perhaps that is true, but maybe it is because much of those ideas became cliché in hindsight?""Maybe..""It does seems to focus on the cops..if there are any other people those are either criminals or dope-heads. When you say that the police station is called Fort Apache because it is like a fort in the wilderness that protects the 'good' citizen, it would be nice if you got an idea of who they are protecting..""I think I would rather see an action movie in which the good guys win and the bad guys lose." Henry said, "Much more uplifting.""But in a way it is uplifting. I mean the end is that the bad cop is arrested. The good cop stays on. There is even a sort of understanding between the commissioner and the main guy. And finally his colleague says he will stick with the good cop when he 'rats' on the bad cop.""Hm.. I still feel depressed. I feel like I am in a sinking ship and the only thing I can do is to bail out the water with a paper cup. You could say: cool.., a paper cup is better than nothing, but I think it is not much better. It does not make you feel very happy.""Is that the purpose of a movie? Make you feel happy?""You don't mean to say it should make you feel unhappy?!""uhm.. I mean it can be meant to make you think or give you insight into the life of someone else. A glimpse of their life.""A dim glimpse."Kristl nodded."I go for a beer." Henry said.www.meritcoba.com

Paul Newman gives a great performance in this picture,, his partner played by Ken Wahl. (Wiseguy) is the perfect fit for the seasoned veteran.. Ed Asner plays the new Police Chief, Pam Grier is pretty good as well as the junkie hooker who kills a pair of cops,, and Rachel Ticotin plays a love interest. The 41st precinct in the South Bronx is a warzone,, the new chief almost immediately upon arrival incites a riot when he tear gasses the crowd. The pair of cops are after some the person or persons who killed a pair of cops.. during the movie,, the cop played by Danny Aiello throws an innocent man off of the roof,, and I was like omfg really ,, wow very powerful.. Newman character struggles between right and wrong,, should he be a rat and turn in Aiello, or look the other way,, so he can finishing out a couple of more years and collect his pension,, hard hitting police drama not to be missed.

I was a bit taken aback when reading through the external reviews and seeing notable critics like Roger Ebert generally panning this movie. Not that it's a high water mark of film making, but a stylish, gritty, well-constructed movie, certainly.The one major distracting element is Paul Newman. His performance is not at fault by any standards, in fact he was very good, but in this dark look at inner city dwellers and how they're prisoners of the crime and poverty that surrounds them, one of Hollywood's most notable actors just sticks out like a sore thumb. Again, not through any misstep that Mr. Newman might have made, but just simply because he is who he is: Too big to fit into a movie about little people.Regardless, the movie is highly recommended for anyone wanting a unique look at inner city blight, the people who live in this setting and the men and women who try to protect them. There is nothing quaint about this movie, it is real and rough.

I enjoyed it, looking at the Bronx that i remember as a kid. But the characters are all 1 dimensional. The criminals are stupid as hell, Pam Grier is a serial killer for absolutely no reason at all. The heroin dealers are bumbling idiots.There are 2 characters with any depth at all, Newman and his partner. They are developed characters and you root for them, but the story leads you no where.Why is Pam Grier killing cops and everyone else? Just because shes high? The dope dealers take the gun that she used to kill the cops but we never see the cops figure that out.What is the point of the movie? We hear about police corruption but never see it? Why is there so much crime? How can the problem realistically be tackled?I don't know, the movie just took me on a journey to nowhere. Murphy's girl is a dope fiend, but why? Where is her family? How do they react? The movie needed more than it gave me. but i was good enough for me to watch it to the end.