Night Falls on Manhattan

Great story and geat acting by Andy Garcia, Richard Dryfus, and others.

Loved Andy Garcia, Richard Dreyfus, James Gandolfini. Great story.

Great movie. Real life situations

Excellent movie with my new favorite tough guy ANDY GARCIA. A hard to find fine movie which is similar to SERPICO in theme.

I love the start of this film. Paul Guilfoyle gives a speech to new lawyers working for the New York district attorney. He says all of them are just there as a steppingstone to a high paying job so none of them care about justice. He said they will be facing judges that don’t care and cops and lawyers who just want to see how many hours they can wrack up to earn cash from cases not to mention the criminals they will be trying. It explains a justice system that just wants to keep the machine running and nothing else. That’s the major theme of the movie how the system is dysfunctional. It turns out to be about the district attorney’s office that only cares about power and politics and corrupt cops. Andy Garcia is the star. He’s a bit too self-righteous in some scenes. His dad played by Ian Holm and his partner James Gandolfini are more interesting. The bad guy at the start is Sheik Mahmud-Bey who has one of the worst hairdos I’ve ever seen. Ron Liebman as the scheming district attorney also has some good parts.

you kind of know after a little while that the protagonist is going to face some very difficult personal decisions, and will likely involve his dad. well written script as we watch each character wrestle with the choices they have to make, and how they reconcile some of their past actions with their own morals. how to place their personal beliefs in the context of their professional obligations, and promises they have made. the acting is first rate as is the script.

I remember when I did my internship before entering law enforcement. I was sitting in a Sheriff's Office listening to the Judge, the Prosecutor, the Sheriff, and the Public Defender go through the upcoming days cases. I remember how I was shocked to learn that the cases were tried in the office and the trials were more show than anything. These were just minor cases but I had an idealistic view of what it was supposed to be! Years later when I was working in a city far away, I learned that the Prosecutor had been convicted of his fourth DUI in one year and was convicted of felony DUI. The Sheriff who had gone on to federal law enforcement was fired because he was caught with an underage girl. Nobody's perfect and there are always a few bad cops, attorneys and judges... thankfully very few!This movie introduces you to the complexities of the judicial system. It starts with the idealistic view and then slaps you in the face with reality. It leaves you to make the choice of what is right and what is wrong. You'll have to decide for yourself what is or would be justice. From the politics, the backroom deals and the downright corruption it's all there. It certainly isn't pretty because nobody's perfect. The acting is great but I've always felt Andy Garcia is a fine actor. The entire cast was well chosen and you feel their emotions and believe them as their character. The story moves along well and there are enough twists to keep you interested. This isn't a movie that leaves you cheering for more. It does however make you think about the complexities of justice. When your outside looking in things always look different than when you are inside looking out.

This is one of those very rare films where the good guy is faced with difficult moral challenges - the kind that real people in the real world all face. Not only is he unsure who around him is clean or dirty, he's conflicted, as are we, about what the honorable course of action is.Hollywood typically offers us only two choices in crime dramas. Scenario no.1 offers us a heroic good guy who, despite dealing with lazy, corrupt peers, overcomes all obsticles to defeat evil. (Dirty Harry). We can relax and enjoy the action precisely because the unwritten rule of this genre is that the hero will never face any moral quandries.Scenario 2 ensures that our moral sensibilities won't be challenged by simply abandonning any notion of right and wrong. It invites us to cheer for the protagonist, without "judging" him or her. (Good Fellas, Bonnie & Clyde).Night Falls on Manhattan tosses the rule book. The hero (Andy Garcia) is a good guy, trying to do the right thing - but under circumstances where there are no good options. The audience, like Garcia's character, is deeply conflicted over what he should do, what the outcome will be, and what outcome we want.If there's a flaw, it's that the movie never quite gets off the ground emotionally. We are not deeply invested in the characters; the courtroom scenes never develop a sense of tension; even the shootouts lack drama.That said, the combination of first-rate acting, engaging dialogue, and a refreshingly willingness to break the Hollywood rules earn this a 4.5.

All the action takes place in the first few minutes, the rest is the slow remorseless drive of a film that knows that it is impossible to apply the law as one would love, but how to take it where one can. Andy Garcia here is excellent and the film is surely one of the better ones that he has appeared in. Compare this early example with, for example Outlaws, one of the most pro-catholic church films of recent years and although he acts well in Outlaws, the story is out of kilter. Night Falls On Manhatten shows the limitations of the legal process and what it requires to overcome those limitations. An example of intelligent film making so seemingly impossible to make these days.

Sidney Lumet directing and a young Andy Garcia! - what could go wrong? Well, the film. It's okay, but it's rather boring actually, not helped by a terrible saxophone score which just drags and sends you to sleep. (I fell asleep.) Ultimately I couldn't invest in this long drawn out talkie. If there had been some stand-out scenes that would have been something, but Lumet shows his age here, and this film was about thirty years out of date when it was made. Now it feels so dated it's painful.On the plus side the DVD is choc full with extras, including a director's commentary and docos/interview. Surprising for a DVD of this age, but very welcome for viewers who like to dig deeper.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Areal life story that makes you sit on the edge of your seat.

I will be brief. Night Falls is a lovingly crafted film. Great acting all round, great dialogue. All the characters behave realistically and the everything element of the film is raw and convincing.Andy Garcia, a up and coming lawyer discovers corruption in his fathers precint and is forced into a moral dilema. The first ninety minutes are wonderful with great scenes telling a good story. The film avoids the potential cliches of courtroom drama and crime story with utter excellence. It is clearly made by people who really know what happens in court and in police stations.What the film doesn't do is forfill one of the golden rules of entertainment, always save the best for last. The film doesn't so much as climax as fade away. If that doesn't bother you than go for it. If you think all great films should end with on a powerful note look elsewhere.

Not for UK unless you have a region free DVD player.