Overview: Legendary director William Friedkin brings together Al Pacino, the 70’s New York gay scene and a searing punk-rock soundtrack in this one-of-a-kind serial killer thriller, finally restored to its long-unavailable original theatrical version in 4K.

New York is caught in the grip of a sadistic serial killer who is preying on the patrons of the city’s underground gay scene. Young rookie cop Steve Burns (Pacino) is tasked with infiltrating the S&M subculture to try and lure the killer out of the shadows, but as he immerses himself deeper and deeper into the underworld, Steve risks losing his own identity in the process.

Taking the premise and title from reporter Gerald Walker’s novel, Cruising was the subject of great controversy at the time of its release and remains a challenging and remarkable movie to this day, with Pacino’s haunted lead performance as its magnetic centerpiece.

With hours of brand-new bonus features, including never-before-seen material from the deepest recesses of the studio archives, you’ve never seen Cruising like this.

4K Blu-ray Verdict: First and foremost, Cruising is not a film about gay men in general. Friedkin explains this perfectly on the archival audio commentary. Moreover, it is a murder mystery of a cop going undercover that just happens to have a gay element in it.

To those familiar with the 70s Italian giallos, Cruising is a U.S. giallo - a successful combination of murder mystery, sex, alternative lifestyles and subcultures with that, and how getting into something too out of your element can affect you. Unlike the Italian giallos that often featured a gratuitous lesbian tease, Cruising gave us a masculine leather theme instead.

The controversy and protests surrounding Cruising were based on misinformation and unfairly gave the film a bad reputation, though lately many critics that originally panned it have since recanted their negative comments, finding more to appreciate about the film.

Two things factored into why people were uncomfortable with Cruising: First, the murder story was not the real reason. Frankly, they saw not effeminate stereotypes, but masculine gay men dancing, kissing, and experiencing S&M activities. When gay characters are weak and fey, many heterosexual men feel safe. They want non-threatening characters that will be kept in their place. The disclaimer that once appeared before the film was set there to appease gay men that felt the film would be perceived as a representation of the whole gay community.

If that’s the case, then films like The Birdcage and TV’s Will & Grace should still to this day have disclaimers also, stating that not all gay men are effeminate finger-snappers that watched Desperate Housewives, or are drag queens, nor are FABulously well-groomed clean-shaven cutie boys!

Second, the locations and activity in the bars was as it actually was (and still is to a degree) in many places. The characters and extras were real for this story ie: bearded leather men enjoying what they do, instead of buffed party circuit boys dancing to the latest diva tunes.

To add to the darkness and mood of the story the bars were blasting with serious hard-driven songs by Willy DeVille, John Hiatt, Rough Trade, The Germs, The Cripples and others instead of loopy diva dance music. Some gay men as well as straight had a problem with this, thinking it was not a decent representation of what gay men should listen to. To date this is still one of the coolest soundtracks around, and I personally cherish my vinyl LP copies of it!

Yes, this film was brutal. It will leave an impression on you. THAT’S A GOOD THING! It’s what film is supposed to do. Amidst all this the journey of Al Pacino’s out of his element slip into a different mindset was a great touch. It affected his whole being; his treatment of his girlfriend, his whole outlook.

And it wasn’t just because he got to dance with some leather men, it was because the murder investigation he was doing was so horrifying. What, you were expecting a sweet ending? The only reasons Pacino distanced himself from this film was because footage was cut that he felt fleshed out his character better, and the protests during filming distressed him.

And think of it this way, for if this were a film about lesbians, it would be hailed by hetero guys as an erotic masterpiece. But when it’s about masculine gay men, it seems hard for some of them to handle it. This may sound cliché, but I know many straight guys that actually understood Cruising and have told me they thought it was quite a cool film.

I digress, because after all these years, Cruising still packs a punch and does what it sets out to do: unnerve you. It’s a taut thriller and a mindblower in its complexities. That’s quite an achievement in and unto itself, and while many films are forgotten, this one still seems to be well remembered no matter what. I for one LOVE this film and think Friedkin and company deserve much praise for their effort.

4K Limited Edition Special Features:
Original Theatrical Trailer
Exorcizing Cruising - archival featurette looking at the controversy surrounding the film and its enduring legacy
The History of Cruising - archival featurette looking at the film’s origins and production
Archival audio commentary by William Friedkin
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Newly remastered 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio supervised by William Friedkin
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Brand new restoration from a 4K scan of the original camera negative, supervised and approved by writer-director William Friedkin

Cruising Original Trailer (William Friedkin, 1980) HD