Cop Land
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Freddy Heflin is the sheriff of a place everyone calls “Cop Land” — a small and seemingly peaceful town populated by the big city police officers he’s long admired. Yet something ugly is taking place behind the town’s peaceful facade. And when Freddy uncovers a massive, deadly conspiracy among these local residents, he is forced to take action and make a dangerous choice between protecting his idols and upholding the law.
What critics thought
Cop Land earned generally favorable but divided notices, with most critics agreeing its ensemble cast and tense atmosphere were genuine assets while disagreeing sharply over whether the film had the depth to match its ambitions. Stallone's physical and emotional transformation was the central flashpoint — some found it revelatory, others saw a star competently dimming his own wattage without generating heat in return. The film's novelistic character portraits impressed more than its plotting, which several critics found snarled and overloaded.
“There is a rough balance between how long a movie is, how deep it goes and how much it can achieve. That balance is not found in Cop Land and the result is too much movie for the running time.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Dense, meandering, ambitious yet jarringly pulpy, this tale of big-city corruption in small-town America has competence without mood or power—a design but not a vision.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“the strength of Cop Land is in its hard-edged, novelistic portraits, which pile up furiously during the film's dynamic opening scenes ... Yet if the price of Mangold's casting ambitions is a story that can't, finally, match its marquee value, that value is still inordinately strong.”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
“His performance builds slowly but achieves a stunning payoff when Freddy decides to clean up his town... Freddy awakes to his own potential, and it's exhilarating to watch the character and the actor revive in unison. Nearly down for the count in the movie ring, Stallone isn't just back in the fight. He's a winner.”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
“He looks spiritually beaten and terribly sad. He looks like a real person, not a cult-of-the-body film star, and he uses the opportunity to deliver his best performance in years.”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
Genres
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Cast & Crew
James MangoldDirector
Sylvester StalloneSheriff Freddy Heflin
Harvey KeitelRay Donlan
Ray LiottaGary "Figgsy" Figgis
Robert De NiroLt. Moe Tilden
Peter BergJoey Randone
Janeane GarofaloDeputy Cindy Betts
Robert PatrickJack Rucker
Michael RapaportMurray "Superboy" Babitch
Annabella SciorraLiz Randone
Noah EmmerichDeputy Bill Geisler
Cathy MoriartyRose Donlan
John SpencerLeo Crasky
Howard ShoreComposer
Eric Alan EdwardsCinematographyCop Land
Freddy Heflin is the sheriff of a place everyone calls “Cop Land” — a small and seemingly peaceful town populated by the big city police officers he’s long admired. Yet something ugly is taking place behind the town’s peaceful facade. And when Freddy uncovers a massive, deadly conspiracy among these local residents, he is forced to take action and make a dangerous choice between protecting his idols and upholding the law.
What critics thought
Cop Land earned generally favorable but divided notices, with most critics agreeing its ensemble cast and tense atmosphere were genuine assets while disagreeing sharply over whether the film had the depth to match its ambitions. Stallone's physical and emotional transformation was the central flashpoint — some found it revelatory, others saw a star competently dimming his own wattage without generating heat in return. The film's novelistic character portraits impressed more than its plotting, which several critics found snarled and overloaded.
“There is a rough balance between how long a movie is, how deep it goes and how much it can achieve. That balance is not found in Cop Land and the result is too much movie for the running time.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Dense, meandering, ambitious yet jarringly pulpy, this tale of big-city corruption in small-town America has competence without mood or power—a design but not a vision.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“the strength of Cop Land is in its hard-edged, novelistic portraits, which pile up furiously during the film's dynamic opening scenes ... Yet if the price of Mangold's casting ambitions is a story that can't, finally, match its marquee value, that value is still inordinately strong.”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
“His performance builds slowly but achieves a stunning payoff when Freddy decides to clean up his town... Freddy awakes to his own potential, and it's exhilarating to watch the character and the actor revive in unison. Nearly down for the count in the movie ring, Stallone isn't just back in the fight. He's a winner.”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
“He looks spiritually beaten and terribly sad. He looks like a real person, not a cult-of-the-body film star, and he uses the opportunity to deliver his best performance in years.”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
Genres
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Cast & Crew
James MangoldDirectorSylvester StalloneSheriff Freddy HeflinHarvey KeitelRay DonlanRay LiottaGary "Figgsy" FiggisRobert De NiroLt. Moe TildenPeter BergJoey RandoneJaneane GarofaloDeputy Cindy BettsRobert PatrickJack RuckerMichael RapaportMurray "Superboy" BabitchAnnabella SciorraLiz RandoneNoah EmmerichDeputy Bill GeislerCathy MoriartyRose DonlanJohn SpencerLeo CraskyHoward ShoreComposerEric Alan EdwardsCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy