Cruising (DVD)

Academy Award-winner William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection) directs Al Pacino as an undercover cop pitched into New Yorks seedy underbelly in Cruising. New York is caught in the grip of a sadistic serial killer who is preying on the patrons of the citys underground bars. Captain Edelson (Paul Sorvino) tasks young rookie Steve Burns (Pacino) 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 Walkers 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 Pacinos haunted lead performance as its magnetic centrepiece.