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Master Rank #208

Serpico

1973

GCML Total8.9640% Greatness · 40% Engagement · 20% Ease

Directed by Sidney Lumet

CastAl Pacino · John Randolph · Jack Kehoe

USAEnglishCrime / Drama129 minR
GCML CuratedNarrative FeatureModerate pace
Find Where to Watch
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List
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Spoiler-free premise

New York officer Frank Serpico refuses routine bribes and struggles to expose corruption inside his own police department.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

Idealistic patrolman Frank Serpico discovers that bribery and protection payments are normalized throughout the New York Police Department. His refusal to participate isolates him from partners and superiors as he searches for officials willing to investigate.

Why it belongs

Changing precincts, street texture, and Pacino's increasingly isolated body make Serpico's institutional corruption lived and dangerous.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Under Sidney Lumet, location shooting, crowded rooms, plain procedural exchanges, and Serpico's changing hair and clothing chart years of resistance—Pacino's nervous directness shows integrity as exhausting daily behavior rather than a clean heroic pose.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Golden Globes1 win1974 · official film record ↗
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama1974 · Al Pacinoofficial film record ↗

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

Good for
Date NightFilm Club
Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.

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