Not to brag, but I haven’t seen Night Falls On Manhattan since attending the U.S. Premiere. I’m still not sure why director Sidney Lumet brought the movie down to Raleigh, North Carolina since it wasn’t about the area and they didn’t fake Manhattan in Wilmington. Instead having the event inside a theater, the movie ran on an outdoor screen on the side of the North Carolina Art Museum. Perhaps Sidney Lumet needed to let the film breath. I don’t remember any of the stars attending. During the event, Lumet signed his Making Movies book for me. While the premiere was fun, watching outside had a few drawbacks including not being able to hear the dialogue. Getting a chance to rewatch the film on Blu-ray finally allows me to hear this legal thriller.
Two narcotics detective Liam Casey (Alien‘s Ian Holm) and Joey Allegretto (Get Shorty‘s James Gandolfini) are staking out an apartment building in Harlem. When their snitch lets them know their drugpin target is inside, they head inside to bust Jordan Washington (Profiler’s Shiek Mahmud-Bey). The dealer as no desire to open the door and get cuffed. He fires through the door and puts Liam down. Cops swarm the building. Jordan flees down a shaft into the basement where he kills two cops, steals a uniform and escapes in a patrol car. He eventually turns himself into the police by his lawyer Sam Vigoda (Jaws‘ Richard Dreyfus). District Attorney Morgenstern (The Hot Rock‘s Ron Leibman) appoints Liam’s son Sean Casey (The Godfather Part III‘s Andy Garcia) to handle the case. Sean doesn’t have much experience, but Morgenstern doesn’t trust his main prosecutor Elihu Harrison (Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould‘s Colm Feore) to not use this case to run against him for the D.A. office. Can Sean overcome Vigoda’s defense that Jordan was being shaken down by cops who wanted him dead for not giving them a big enough cut of his drug money since his dad might be part of the scandal?
Night Falls On Manhattan has aged well. There’s been quite a few dirty cop cases over the year that reflect what happened here. When I originally saw the movie, the part where Sean runs for the District Attorney’s office with only one real case under his belt felt unrealistic. The last few decades have proven me wrong as plenty of unqualified people have been elected.
While Lumet wanted to make a statement about the cops and legal system in Manhattan being rather gangstery, I’m guessing he had no clue that quite a bit of his cast would become the most famous mobsters on TV. James Gandolfini in 1999 would become internationally famous as Tony Soprano who bribed cops like the one he played here. Judge Dominick Impelliteri might look more familiar if actor Dominic Chianese had worn thick glasses. You’d realize it was Junior Soprano. Vincent Pastore had a small cop role here before becoming Big Pussy on Tony’s crew. Frank Vincent plays a police captain. He would be Tony’s rival at the end of the series. Night Falls On Manhattan‘s casting does show cops and mobsters are interchangeable. If you’re a fan of The Sopranos, you should experience Gandolfini on the other side of the law.
As I was wrapping this up, I realized the reason Night Falls On Manhattan dropped by Raleigh was a semi-local name in the credits. Producer Thom Mount was from nearby Durham. He also produced Bull Durham. A few days later was a big Manhattan premiere that was probably crawling with the stars and future Sopranos members. I appreciated getting to meet Lumet at the museum and now I appreciate his film a bit more.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The 2K transfer brings out the rough nature of the New York City locations. You’ll be able to make out plenty of graffiti. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 5.1 and LPCM 2.0. You can pick what direction you want to hear the bullets flying in the opening scene. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary with Sidney Lumet starts with him talking about the opening title sequence. He has all praise for the designer since it matches the pace and tone of the film. Sidney passed away in 2011, so this is great that he gets to guide us through the film. He points out that the Municipal Building in New York City is the only building he’s repeatedly used in his films. He shares details on what an assistant district attorney goes through. It’s great to hear Lumet recount the film and how it deals with his Manhattan. Lumet recorded his track shortly after the premiere since he praises James Gandolfini without mentioning Tony Soprano.
Audio Commentary with Andy Garcia, Ron Leibman, Josh Kramer & Thom Mount was recorded a year after they shot the film for the DVD that came out in the early days of the new technology. Thom Mount & Josh Kramer were the producers and talk about getting the first script from Sidney Lumet. He also gives a summary of the original court case that inspired the novel. Garcia talks about having two weeks rehearsal because Sidney hates to do second takes. Ron Leibman talks about hearing about Lumet from Al Pacino and his wife (Archer‘s Jessica Walter). Lumet films the rehearsals and rough edits to know what to do in production.
The Directors: Sidney Lumet (59:40) was from a TV series that aired in 2002. The retrospective includes Night Falls On Manhattan and talks with Andy Garcia and Ron Leibman. Other stars include Jacqueline Bisset, Dyan Cannon, Ossie David, Jack Lemmon, Rod Steiger and Christopher Walken. Lumet also gets to chime in on his various films. You’ll want to be get your hands on his previous films.
On Set Interviews with Andy Garcia (3:30), Richard Dreyfuss (2:46), Lena Olin (2:01), Ian Holm (3:12), Ron Leibman (4:53) and Sidney Lumet (5:26). Lumet ties the film in with his other film about cops in New York City. He sees this as more ambiguous than his previous films.
Behind the Scenes (12:47) shows how Sidney Lumet works on the set. He’s next to the camera and not watching the video feed.
Trailer Gallery includes the Theatrical Trailer (2:06) that flashes through clips of Network, Serpico, The Verdict and Dog Day Afternoon until we see his latest. They give away a bunch of the movie in a short time. Three TV Spots (1:33) about the law being compromised.
Arrow Video presents Night Falls On Manhattan. Directed by Sidney Lumet. Screenplay by Sidney Lumet. Starring Andy García, Ian Holm, James Gandolfini, Lena Olin, Richard Dreyfuss, Shiek Mahmud-Bey, Ron Leibman, Colm Feore, Dominic Chianese, Paul Guilfoyle, Vic Noto, Vincent Pastore, Frank Vincent & Bobby Cannavale. Running Time: 114 minutes. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: May 7, 2024.
