Night Falls on Manhattan

"In a city of nine million people is there room for one honest man?"

1997 1h 53m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 150

DramaCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A newly elected District attorney finds himself in the middle of a police corruption investigation that may involve his father and his partner.

“In a city of nine million people is there room for one honest man?”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Andy Garcia
Sean Casey
Ian Holm
Liam Casey
James Gandolfini
Joey Allegretto
Lena Olin
Peggy Lindstrom
Shiek Mahmud-Bey
Jordan Washington
Colm Feore
Elihu Harrison
Ron Leibman
Morgenstern
Richard Dreyfuss
Sam Vigoda

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sidney Lumet
Writers: Sidney Lumet
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 99% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

29 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sidney Lumet, shot by David Watkin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Mark Isham. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Sam O'Steen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Andy Garcia and Ian Holm and James Gandolfini carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "In a city of nine million people is there room for one honest man?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0119783 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sidney Lumet directs. David Watkin behind the camera. Mark Isham scores. Sam O'Steen cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 99% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
229 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Sidney Lumet, shot by David Watkin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Mark Isham. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Sam O'Steen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Andy Garcia and Ian Holm and James Gandolfini carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "In a city of nine million people is there room for one honest man?".
8IMDB entry: tt0119783 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: David Watkin
Original score: Mark Isham
Editing: Sam O'Steen
Production design: Philip Rosenberg
Costume design: Joseph G. Aulisi
Makeup / hair: KG Ramsey
Stunt coordinator: Jack Gill
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $10,000,000
Box office: $9,889,670
Return: 99% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Night Falls on Manhattan (1997)

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Sidney Lumet

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-02-26
★ 6/10
This film starts and ends with some lovely jazz, thereafter it is all rather an unremarkable crime thriller. When a drug dealer kills three cops and then escapes in a patrol car, the District Attorney "Morgie" (Ron Liebman) announces that when the perpetrator is apprehended, he is going to be prosecuted by the newly qualified lawyer (and ex-cop) son of one of those officers seriously injured by the attacker. "Casey" (Andy Garcia) is that man, and after a curiously far-fetched turn of events finds himself facing the killer in court and next thing, he is DA himself and party to an investigation into police corruption that might well lead to his own nearest and dearest. To be honest, I found this whole thing all just too convenient. It's all just a bit too "nice" and the courtroom scenes at the start which also feature Richard Dreyfuss are really underwhelming. The plot is messy and the conclusion really lacks, well, substance. It looks good and combined with the score is effective at creating a New York that is seedy and immoral - but Garcia just hasn't the gravitas to pull this off and Ian Holm (his father "Liam") is no great shakes either. It's watchable on the telly on a wet winter's evening, but that's about the height of it, sorry.

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