Movies vs. Reality
Frank Borelli
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com
I was recently asked what my favorite movies are. The answer (we’ll discuss below) led into another conversation about whether or not the primary characters in the movies I like set good examples or not. That led into an entire conversation about the differences that can exist between right and legal, and wrong and illegal.
So, one of my all time favorite movies is “Running Scared” - the original one with Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal. They play two detectives who are fairly well known for their, ah, eccentricities. Let’s just say that they’re not so good at following the rules - although they don’t break the law. They just weren’t so good at always paying attention to policy and protocol; but they got the job done. Is that good or bad? The person I was in conversation with felt that if I liked the movie and found the characters entertaining, I might also use their FICTIONAL behavior as an example for my own in the real world. Hmmm… Maybe. You still can’t beat the scene where they’re walking through an alley with a bad guy in ‘cuffs and a briefcase with $50K in cash in it when too idiots try to rob them with zip-guns. Seemingly without fear Crystal agrees to give up his cash and credit cards if the bad guys will let them keep “our wallets and our badges.” I laughed SO hard when Hines looks at Crystal and asks, “Point guns at police officers; can we shoot them for that?”
Another one of my favorite movies is “Die Hard”. An off-duty cop WAY out of his jurisdiction gets caught in the middle of a huge kidnapping / robbery event and he ends up fighting the 12 bad guys all by his lonesome. He gets dirty, bruised, abraded, lacerated, shot and in general tore up. But he never quits and, in the end, he wins. What appeals to me about it? The way he seems to almost be having FUN as he turns the tables on the bad guys and gradually hunts them until only the boss bad guy remains - and he ends up going out a 30-story window. Oh, darn. The person I was in conversation with felt that my appreciation for this type of outlook and behavior on the part of a FICTIONAL police officer might make me want to imitate his behavior. Just for the record, I’ve never tossed anyone out a 30-story window. There was this THREE-story apartment window once… but that’s a different story.
The last favorite movie I’ll cite is “Wyatt Earp” starring Kevin Costner. Far from being a pure and innocent individual Wyatt Earp is probably the best known historic lawman in United States’ history. The movie portrays him as fearless and dedicated to the law. Although he had his obvious flaws he also did his best to serve the law and justice and didn’t over-step any boundaries until his family became targeted by The Cowboys. Even then, what he did was within the law. Few people realize that Wyatt Earp didn’t die until 1929. What do I admire about him? How well he did his job under horrendous conditions. The person I was in discussion with couldn’t find a way to readily criticize that, but managed - after considerable thought - to criticize how the movie portrayed Wyatt Earp as almost eager to commit acts of violence. I debate the difference between “eager” and “willing as necessary”, but I’ll leave that alone. At that point I realized that there was no way I was ever going to convince the person I was in discussion with that some fictional cop characters are worthy examples of proper police behavior. So we agreed to disagree.
And then I went home and watched Running Scared followed by Die Hard. I felt all better… but I know for a fact that other individual is still stewing because he didn’t manage to convince me that there was something wrong with the fictional heroes I enjoy watching in movies. I wonder how he feels about Walker, Texas Ranger?
Heat was a good movie remenisant of the LA shoot out. an interesting television series was Jericho wich was based on a terrorist attack with in the United States. It also had its private military contracting company involved. it sort of reminds me of the recent statements from vice president Chaney saying we are going to be hit soon!
I also enjoyed the Die Hard movies who can forget the schools being threatened in one and the Russian belsan take over . It is scary to think are writers are giving terrorists lots of ideas.
I concurr on the movies. All Classics. However, I also fear how life imitates art. Anyone else read the Tom Clancy books? All I have to say is “The Sum Of All Fears”. What was the name of the book about John Clark? That has got to be the police officer’s favorite.
Eric: Thanks for the comment.
Jon: “Without Remorse” was the first one that focused on him and then “Rainbox Six” was a book almost purely about the international response team he led.
As to Clancy’s books: “Debt of Honor” is one that should get everyone’s attention and - because of Mumbai - we should probably be thinking about “Tail of the Tiger” - even though the book, on the whole, wasn’t very good.
“Hot Fuzz,” the scene where after the carnage, car chases, shootouts, and general mayhem the officers are all sitting around filling out mountains of paperwork.
I don’t see anything wrong with sitting back and watching the plucky hero winning against the odds. It makes you feel good. It makes you feel even better when said hero tosses someone out a window.
Speaking of which, Frank, you never did finish that story. Do tell!
I loved the Bar scene in “Code Of Silence” when the two mutts tried taking down the Cop Bar. The comment “They’re making dumber everyday” had me laughing for days. I still get a chuckle every time I think about it.
I love the movie Running Scared! One of my all time favs. I have also tried to explain the way the police mind thinks due to the situations we are put in. Only we can understand it because we have been there.
Martin, I love that scene! “Which of you is the brains of this operation?”
Jason, you are right.
Running scared, funny as hell, and frankly my former partner and I kinda acted that way. Made our day go faster and more enjoyable and made us less think about what rotten things we saw that day in Detroit.
I have to go with True Grit, Tombstone, The Unforgiven, Open Range and The Untouchables. I guess I was born in the wrong era.
Sorry, I got carried away and forgot to say that I also think Running Scared is VERY funny (unless you don’t like petite marshmellows in your hot cocoa) and I got a kick out of Stake Out, as well. Reminded me of some I have been on; minus the bulldog, Rosie O’Donnell and the gorgeous principle target. (Oh, sorry…I guess bulldog and Rosie are one in the same)
I think I prefer Tombstone to Wyatt Earp. Released the same year and the supporting characters are much more vivid. Always love Die hards and Robocops. Unforgiven and 310 to Yuma are great as well.
I like the movie Heat with Al Pacino. It show how police work takes a terrible toll on cops’ marriages. Al Pacino’s character is a dedicated cop, and you have to admire him for hunting and taking down the criminals. I also like it when he told that Albert’s cousin that he was not in Albert’s cousin’s pocket and that he was not going to help Albert eliminate his competition in return for information just because the cousin “was acting like a good citizen.”
However, you have to have sympathy if not empathy for his wife because she marry him but doesn’t like it when she feels that she is nothing but a mistress because the job comes first, and they really have hardly have any social life. If she was a cop, then maybe just maybe they could have a better marriage, since she would know and see all the stuff that her husband goes through. You really can’t blame her for wanting to make the marriage work. After all, she did fall in love and marry him even though he did warn her about the costs of marrying a cop.
Right now, in Japan, the divorce rate is going up because many Japanese husbands are retiring from the workforce; however, their wives are getting phyiscally and mentally getting sick from them because now they really have to live and communicate with each other when formost of their adult life, the husbands spent long hours at work and hardly seeing the wife and kids let alone talk to them. You wonder if the same thing will happen in America when couples leave the workforce.
Apart from the movie Heat, I also like the movie Year of the Dragon with Mickey Rourke for several reasons:
1) The movie shows that the United States has failed to resolve the racial, ethnic, economic, and social problems. Because of the various forms of discrimination, people born in this country (like mobster Al Capone) or who come from other countries (Joey Tai in Year of the Dragon) have to resort to crime in order to make a living Some things have not change in the last 100 years. In the movie, The Untouchables, there was some racial slurs made by Sean Connery’s character Malone. In the movie Year of the Dragon, there was remarks on the Chinese by Mickey Rourke’s character Captain White. Captain White’s superiors did not seem to care about the people in Chinatown and accuse Captain White of selling them out by having an affair with a young Chinese American female reporter.
2) The movie shows how politics both inside and outside the police department hampers good police work. Captain White was told by his superiors to lay off Joey Tai because he contributes money to the politicans in New York City. If Joey Tai was a corrupt business man, Captain White would still have been told to back off. His superiors only care about their reputations and pensions. Captain White’s superiors also tried to smear White’s reputation by saying that there was no Chinese marfia, and the concept of such an Asian organized crime organization was all in his head.
3) The movie shows how cops believe they could change the world, but they found out they could not. Captain White told his girlfriend reporter that maybe his superiors were right in that he was a fool in chasing a dream to bring down Joey Tai and trying to bring about positive change in Chinatown.
3) Like the movie Heat, the Year of the Dragon show the emotional toll of police work on a cop’s wife.
4) Finally, Year of the Dragon like The Untouchables show how bad corruption can be on the police force. Captain White had to move into his girlfriend’s apartment to do his police work because of the old saying “the walls have ears” just like in the movie The Untouchables. New York City Police like the Hong Kong Police both experiences police scandels in the 1970s of cops being on the take. The other different was that many Chinese Hong Kong cops were members of the Chinese mob. In the book Year of the Dragon, the head triad was once a staff sergeant on the Hong Kong police force.