Cop Land
Tags: neo noir, murder, dramatic, cult, violence, flashback

Plot synopsis:
In the fictional town of Garrison, New Jersey, located across the Hudson River from New York City, a number of residents are NYPD officers. Local sheriff Freddy Heflin (Sylvester Stallone) is secretly in love with Liz Randone (Annabella Sciorra), whose life he once saved after a car accident. Her rescue cost him the hearing in one ear and made him ineligible to become a New York City cop, as so many of his peers did, including Liz's abusive and unfaithful husband Joey Randone (Peter Berg).One night, Murray "Superboy" Babitch (Michael Rapaport), nephew of Lt. Ray Donlan (Harvey Keitel), is driving across the George Washington Bridge when his car is sideswiped by a couple of African-American teens. Babitch attempts to force them to pull over. The passenger points what Babitch thinks is a weapon and then the front tire of his car goes flat. (Superboy had run over a bottle leaving a nightclub in Manhattan.) Believing they have fired at him, Babitch shoots back. In an ensuing accident, the teens are killed. Jack Rucker (Robert Patrick) removes the steering wheel lock that Babitch mistook for a weapon from the hands of one of the dead teens and is caught trying to plant a weapon in their vehicle to justify the shooting.Worried about the repercussions on his career of having shot unarmed black teens, Babitch is persuaded by Donlan to fake his suicide. Ray pretends that Babitch has jumped off the bridge. Other corrupt police officers, including Detective Leo Crasky (John Spencer) and Frank Lagonda (Arthur Nascarella), fear that Babitch will resurface and testify about their corruption to Internal Affairs.Internal Affairs investigator Lt. Moe Tilden (Robert De Niro) asks if Heflin will provide information on the corrupt cops who live in his town. Heflin is intimidated by the New York City cops and is reluctant to betray them, derailing Tilden's investigation. Superiors in the department, related to the corrupt cops, order Tilden to shut down the investigation.Although the Babitch cover-up appears to be initially successful, Ray is told by Patrolmen's Defense Association President Vincent Lassaro (Frank Vincent) that without a body, the case will not stay cold. Ray reluctantly decides that his nephew must be killed. During a loud party held by Ray at his house, Babitch is tipped off by his aunt Rose (Cathy Moriarty). Ray, Jack and Frank try to drown Babitch in Ray's hot tub. When Joe Randone arrives at the party late, he hears the shots Babitch fired to stop his drowning -- Babitch flees in to the night and goes to Freddy's house looking for help, but when he sees Freddy's friend (and fellow NYPD cop) Gary "Figgsy" Figgis (Ray Liotta), he flees. Later at the bar the police all hang out at, Joey disagrees with Ray over his plans to find & eliminate his nephew.Later that evening while on patrol, Joey Randone gets into a fight with a violent suspect and is thrown off a rooftop. While he is clinging to an aerial and calling for help, Donlan sees him but fails to render assistance, in revenge for Randone's affair with Donlan's wife. By the time the cops get to the roof, Randone has fallen to his death.When Freddy realizes his mistake, he visits Tilden and is angrily told that the case was blown by his failure to co-operate sooner. As he leaves, Freddy sees a number of NYPD case files on the corrupt cops and steals them. He studies the files and realizes the extent of his friends' corruption. Deputy Cindy Betts (Janeane Garofalo) decides to leave Garrison, frustrated by the New York City cops having turned the town into their own personal fiefdom.Freddy returns home to find Figgsy packing to leave, not wanting to be further involved. Freddy finds out that Figgsy burned down his own house for the insurance money, accidentally killing his crack-addicted girlfriend Monica (Mel Gorham). Heflin manages to convince Rose to reveal where Babitch is hiding, then takes him to Garrison's jail. Heflin generously permits Deputy Bill Geisler (Noah Emmerich), who is nervous about protecting Babitch, to go home and take care of his pregnant wife.Heflin attempts to bring Babitch to New York City to turn over to Tilden there, but Lagonda, Donlan and Rucker ambush him. Rucker cruelly fires a gun next to Freddy's good ear, deafening and disabling him. Babitch is taken, presumably to be killed.On foot and almost totally deaf, Heflin follows them to Donlan's house, where a shootout commences. Heflin kills both Jack and Frank. Heflin is then shot in the shoulder by Leo Crasky, but is saved by the arrival of Figgsy, who kills Crasky. In the house, Babitch is trying to escape through a window. Donlan sneaks up behind Heflin, but before he can fire, Figgsy shoots. Barely hearing the shot, Heflin turns and shoots. As Donlan lies dying on the floor, he mutters obscenities, to which Heflin replies simply: "I can't hear you, Ray."Figgsy and Heflin personally take Babitch to New York City and to Internal Affairs, refusing to allow any other cop to do the job. Tilden takes the prisoner into custody. After the scandal has been investigated and indictments handed down, Heflin, who has recovered hearing in his good ear, ends up looking at the New York City skyline from across the Hudson River. Deputy Geisler notifies him about a jack-knifed truck and Freddy goes back to work.

Review: Stallone's performance in Cop Land shows vulnerability, anger, admiration, fear and many other emotions that were rarely present in any of his movie except Rocky.
I thought that Stallone would have been upstaged by all his great co-stars like Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta and Robert De Niro, but I was wrong.
In many ways Stallone's performance is far superior to that of his co-stars as he exhibits more depth and character development than any of them.Cop Land is a somewhat unknown gem that many people overlooked for the wrong reasons.
Do you think that it's an accident that his performance overshadows De Niro's and Keitel's appearences?I believe that if Stallone did a movie like that right after his first 2 triumphs he could be leading a career similar to the one of De Niro's.
Cop Land is written and directed by James Mangold with an ensemble cast featuring Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Robert Patrick, Peter Berg, and Michael Rapaport.
There's healthy helpings of action and drama, but it's the dialogue driven confrontations that entertain the most; where we get the pleasure of watching acting heavyweights battle for supremacy.With a slow burn sense of doom hanging over it from the off, Cop Land very much feels like a throwback to the adult westerns and film noirs from the 1950s.
I owe the great Stallone a big apology for not seeing his gift of acting before now.Everyone in this film, including Robert DeNiro, Harvey Keitel, Janeane Garofalo, and Ray Liotta, gave stellar performances as well.
Mangold's second film, the corruption drama "Cop Land" stars Sylvester Stallone as Freddy Heflin, the much-denigrated sheriff of tiny Garrison, New Jersey, a community which - thanks to a technicality - is populated almost entirely by members of the New York City Police Department.When young cop Murray "Superboy" Babitch (Michael Rapaport) becomes embroiled in a controversial shootout which leaves two black youths dead, he apparently commits suicide rather than face the wrath of an official investigation.
A rich, complex film about redemption, "Cop Land"'s portrayal of Freddy's struggles to prove his worth mirrors Stallone's own return to thoughtful, character-driven drama after years of vacuous action roles.
Speeding through the town of Garrison the next day NYPD policemen Ray Dolan & Jack Rucker, Harvey Keitel & Robert Patrick, are stooped by the towns Sheriff Freddy Heflin and his deputy Cindy Betts, Sylvester Stallone and Janeane Garofalo.
The acting, especially that of Sylvester Stallone, more then made up for that and that's what makes "Cop Land" one of the best movie about police corruption ever made..
I didn't really know what to expect from "Cop Land".You have some expectations when actors like Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel star in this movie - but could Stallone be the quiet Sheriff?
The answer is yes, Stallone did well in this movie, he showed that he isn't just an action star, he is a great actor."Cop Land" had a nice story, but I think it had more potential.
All the actors, even the ones not mentioned do a fine job.What also makes this movie a fish out of water role for Sylvester Stallone is how human the story makes him look.
However the middle section is good, as it relies on the characters and the actors to develop the story - although there is probably too much history to squeeze into a short time.Stallone proves that he can act, being excellent in a particularly unglamorous role, carrying extra weight for the part and looking like he took lessons from De Niro.
Sylvester Stallone, Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro and Harvey Kietel star in this amazing movie which deals with the story of crooked cops.
Everyone comes down on stallone for being just an action star, saying his only good acting performance comes from Rocky and Rambo..well if you all believe that just check this movie out, Stallone will really impress you.
The names might draw people into the theater but it just wasn't a good enough story to attract more fans.Only small-town sheriff "Freddy Heflin" played by Sylvester Stallone, is a good guy while the others, all New York City cops, are shown to be crooked.
With Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Robert Patrick, Peter Berg, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra and others, this should have done better.Having said all that, I go on record as saying I enjoyed the film, finding it intense in parts and it kept my interest.
A superb performance by Sly. Slightly deaf soft spoken Freddy Heflin (Sylvester Stallone) is a sheriff of the New Jersey town of Garrison, that transient New York cops also live in.
It's a damn shame that this picture didn't even pick up an Oscar nomination as it's a more fully realized and better film than the same year's "L.A. Confidential" My Grade: B+ DVD Extras: Commentary with director/writer James Mangold, producer Cathy Konrad, and actors Sylvester Stallone and Robert Patrick; 2 deleted scenes with optional commentary by the same people as the main commentary; "Shootout" storyboard sequence; "Cop Land: The Making of an Urban Western" featurette; and a compilation Trailer for MiramaxEye Candy: A stripper is topless.
I suppose what I liked most about Cop Land was the role Sly Stallone played, as the half-competent town sheriff who was expected to look the other way when shady dealings involving the NYC cops who lived there came around.
Actors include Harvey Keitel, Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta, Isabella Sciorra.Saw the DVD version, fine picture, great sound, especially during the various crashes, good use of "surround" sound.
The cast was the best we had seen in any Hollywood film in years and there was no reason that this film could go wrong and even though it was a brilliant film I somehow felt quite disappointed when the film credits started to roll.I was looking forward to finally seeing Stallone show off his acting abilities as he has been very miss treated by the critics but looking at films like this and Rocky will just tell you that he can act.
Scorsese or Michael Mann would have been the best choice to make this film as they both know how to get the emotions going and the characters flowing, but like I said this movie still impressed me in many many ways, one is Sylvester Stallone.
I am yet to see the new directors cut but from what I heard there isn't much to notice as far as new scenes go but I will try and get my hands on it to see whether the movie has been improved but till then I will say that Copland has top notch flawless acting by everyone all round especially Liotta and Stallone and has a great story that could have gone much further but it didn't so I will leave it there.Very good.
Continuing my plan to watch every Sly Stallone movie in order, I come to 1997's Copland.Plot In A Paragraph: Freddy Heflin (Stallone) is the sheriff of Garrison, New Jersey, a small town that many NYPD officers call home.
Cop Land (1997) is a crime drama that is directed by James Mangold and stars Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, and Ray Liotta.
While surrounded by excellent performances by the likes of Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra and particularly Ray Liotta as a nefarious, but ultimately loyal to Heflin Garry Figgis, Stallone carries this film with a truly stand out, if not career best performance.
The first thing that makes this film jump out at you is the incredible cast assembled: "Sly" Stallone, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Janeane Garofalo, Cathy Moriarty, Frank Vincent, Michael Rapaport, John Spencer, and Robert Patrick.
It has a very good concept with excellent actors and while it doesn't come together perfectly (sometimes in might also be a tad far fetched), I think it should appeal to the masses.The film has Sly as a local NJ sheriff (grow a little fat there, Rocky?) who looks the other way when bad things start to go on with his fellow cops, until the advise of cop De Niro steps in.
The movie does keep falling to patches of ordinary, as it's not the best pick off the shelf, but definitely watch this good acting over story, especially when the films heralded by Stallone's really impressive acting you gotta witness..
In their only joint film Sylvester Stallone and Robert DeNiro star in Cop Land, a story about Garrison, New Jersey a small town where an overabundance of NYPD officers reside.
It's a Complex Story of Police Corruption on a Large Scale Set in a Small New Jersey Town where New York City Police Officers Reside.Everyone, it seems, is Lapping Up the Gravy and the Local Sheriff (Stallone) just Looks Powerless and is Unable or Unwilling to Match the Onslaught of Crooked Cops doing Crooked Deeds and Flaunting it in His Face.The Story is Full of Characters and Back Stories so Loosely Woven as to be Lousy with Plot-Holes and Question Marks.
An Above Average Drama/Thriller that is Filled with Too Much and Not Enough.Note...For Star-Watchers the Cast includes....Sylvester Stallone...Harvey Keitel...Ray Liotta...
In 1997 this was Director Mangold's first venture into big time Hollywood, and look at the cast, Robert De Niro, Liotta, Keitel, but the biggest surprise (even to himself) was Stallone.
The latter plays the overweight, overlooked sap of a Sheriff, Freddy Heflin, who is charged with looking after 'Copland', being the homes and families of the the 'real' cops who work over the river.This is an excellent ensemble cast that really shines in their roles, and Stallone, as I said before, is a revelation.
Bar far, I think, Stallone's best work, this film is complex on many levels as a little of things are at play here: the disappointment of a sheriff who feels he's left his potential behind him, the departmental bickering between municipalities and different precincts, and the disparity between clean cops and crooked ones to name a few.
Although Cop Land received a lot of good reviews, Sylvester Stallone never got the recognition he deserved for his role.
As evidenced in Cop Land, Sylvester Stallone shows audiences that he can act in a dramatic performance, and do it very well in the right movie.Sylvester Stallone plays against type as a mild mannered, partly deaf, overweight and slightly slow but good hearted Sheriff named Freddy Heflin who lives in a small town Garrison, New Jersey opposite New York City just across from the Hudson River.
Tony Sirico (famously known as Paulie in The Sopranos) appears in a photo only as Toy Torillo but does not have any speaking parts.Cop Land also introduced director James Mangold to Hollywood and would later go on to direct Girl, Interrupted, Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma and The Wolverine.In some ways, the film feels like a modern day Western in which the main character does nothing but sit idly until he must stand tall against the bad guys, fight back and become the hero of the day by getting his man.Besides the Rocky and Rambo movies, Cop Land is Sylvester Stallone's best movie and without a doubt his most memorable role.
Robert De Niro, Harvey Kietel, Ray Liotta, Robert Patrick and Michael Rapaport are great value and for all of them, this movie is a career highlight.It is a shame Cop Land never got the recognition it deserved, particularly for Sylvester Stallone however it's good to see the movie received a lot of high praise.
Cop Land is one of Sylvester Stallone's best films and performances!
Stallone played n.y/n.j local sheriff along with Ray liotta , who are just trying to do their job while Harvey keitel with Robert Patrick are officers of state police who have their dark side as ties to the underworld and are doing the things in their own way but in a corrupt manner , the most interesting part is here the appearance of Robert De Niro as an internal affairs operative trying to find a solid clue to apprehend the crook officials and for this he even tries to join forces with Stallone.
To me Stallone has 3 films he can stand by when he gets done with acting...Rocky...Rambo...Cop Land.
To blame this film on his lack of roles, I think he should re-watch it and see that he did a good job.Ray Liotta is one of those actors that's criminally overlooked.
The version I will be writing about is the Director's cut."Cop Land" is a underrated film.Plot: Sheriff Freddy Heflin (Stallone) is down on his luck.
Ray Liotta also delivers brilliantly in the depiction of the complex character of Gary 'Figgsy' Figgis who finds himself in a moral battle between his fellow officers and his friends.Movies of this caliber are rarely made anymore; a simple enough premise that requires closer investigation by the audience, complete with an exceptionally talented cast right down to the very minor supporting roles (i.e. Peter Berg, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, Mailk Yoba, Janeane Garofalo, John Spencer, Paul Calderon, Robert Patrick, etc).
Sylvester Stallone plays Sheriff Freddy Hefflin, a half deaf cop who brings down corrupt cops (played Harvey Keitel, Robert Patrick and more) in his small town where corrupt cops seem to get away with anything due to Hefflin's looking the other way.
Cop Land is a complex and riveting drama that doesn't have lots of action but does have an interesting story with three dimensional characters that make the overall movie far more interesting than what you would expect from a 90s Stallone movie.
Sylvester Stallone is in rare form as he delivers an outstanding performance as the local sheriff in "Copland.""Cop Land" is the type of movie that would probably appeal only to certain people such as those who like a certain actor or enjoy thrillers.I happen to be a member of both categories because I like all the actors and I enjoy thrillers.
Stallone did such a great job he proves that he is more than an action star.Supporting Stallone in "Cop Land," are Ray Liotta, Robert Patrick, Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro.
Talking about Cop Land this was a good movie, Sly once again as an underdog but this time with some physical lacks which makes it much more interesting to watch..
And he does not only act well, he is surprisingly good.Sheepish, lame and somewhat dumb, Stallone's character is truly credible - for the first time in Stallone history, and I have to say that you tend to forget his hitherto career.I'm glad to say that most bad actors can make up for their sometimes hideous performances (in Stallone's case, watch "Daylight" or "Cliffhanger" to see what I mean), and Stallone comes back with a vengeance in this film.Other actors are pretty good, especially DeNiro (as always), but it's Stallone that makes this movie happen..
And it is starting from Sylvester Stallone's character, sheriff Freddie Heflin, that we notice that "Cop Land" will talk about blame, pain and sadness, about the fears that haunt us, and the hard road which takes to reach the redemption, when showing a man's fight,a person who needs to look for forces inside of himself and to face the latent corruption which dominates the small city of Garrison.Deaf of a heard and sad, Heflin spent all his life in Garrison, and he saw the woman he loved most (and for whom he lost the audition, when trying to save her from a car accident) get married with another policeman.
I'm glad though that we have the honest people in law enforcement like the sheriff that Sylvester Stallone plays in Cop Land.
I appreciated it more this time."Cop Land" is brimming over with talent, basically boasting an all-star cast with its central character being played by Sylvester Stallone.
That's when an investigation by internal affairs gets started, led by Robert de Niro in a supporting role.Probably the best performance by Sylvester Stallone ever.
In Cop Land, Stallone leads a very good and well-acted cast.
The cast also includes Harvey Keitel, who plays one of the corrupt cops and the leader, Robert Patrick, and Ray Liotta.
Back when he did the first 2 Rocky movies, F.I.S.T. and movies like that his movies had a lot more depth to him then when he was doing shallower less challenging roles like Tango & Cash, Judge Dredd, Demolition Man. Not to say I didn't enjoy those movies of his but they're not really movies you say, "wow that was that was a great acting performance".In Cop Land, Stallone isn't afraid of losing a few ego points from playing an out of shape small town cop who's half deaf.The movie also has a great supporting cast with the likes of Harvey Keitel, Robert DeNiro and Ray Liotta, amongst others.
The local sheriff, "Freddy Heflin" (Sylvester Stallone) goes about his business totally unaware that bad cops, led by "Ray Donlan" (Harvey Keitel), have sold out to the mob and look the other way while certain crimes are being committed in New York.
I also liked the performance of Robert De Niro as the Internal Affairs officer, "Moe Tilden" and Ray Liotta as one of the crooked cops named "Gary Figgis" who just wants out.
Of course it has star power like Stallone(best performance since 1981's Nighthawks), DeNiro, Keitel(plays a great "bad" guy), and a great performance from Ray Liotta, whom I rarely seen since, but I digress; I also enjoyed Robert Patrick's performance as a dirty cop and his scenes were mainly entertaining.
COP LAND 1997 (SYLVESTER STALLONE, HARVEY KEITEL, RAY LIOTTA, ROBERT DE NIRO) DIRECTED BY: JAMES MANGOLD ~ THE RUNDOWN: A great and under-appreciated film showcasing excellent character development and quite worthy of its cast.
Gritty and tough, this movie has solid acting, lots of star-power (Keitel, DeNiro, Stallone, Liotta), and a good script.
Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, and Robert Deniro, just to name a few.