Fort Apache, the Bronx
Paul Newman stars in this harsh portrait of a police station in  a crumbling neighborhood. Newman plays John Murphy, a veteran policeman  who's been on the force long enough to be tired, but not so long that  he's lost his idealism. The plot is loosely tied to the arrival of  Connolly, the new precinct captain (Edward Asner). Is he a crusader  who's going to finally whip a corrupt, apathetic force into shape, or  an interloping by-the-book bureaucrat who can't possibly understand the  neighborhood and will do more harm than good? The movie is gratifyingly  ambiguous on this point and many others. While Newman's character is  almost by default the hero, he is far from perfect--most all the major  characters get complex personalities, just like real people. The Bronx  itself is given complex, thoughtful treatment as well, full of both  overwhelming problems and hope for the future.Fort Apache, the  Bronxalso has action sequences, but doesn't make the mistake of  reveling in violence. Here, black and white are far less defined and,  consequently, far more satisfying.--Ali Davis