I have just seen this film as a late night slot, a time when the occasional gem shines amidst a field of c**p. This film is most definitely a gem. The scale and variety of the issues and problems the film attempts to address are perhaps too great, meaning that there is a sense that the film leaves certain areas underdeveloped or tantalisingly unexplored. However the grit and atmosphere of the city, along with the tired pathos which defines Newman's character, are powerful enough to allow a viewer not to become disenchanted.
The film, like the cityscape in which it is set, gives an overwhelming sense of sorrow and despair, there are few bright events in the life of any character and as the film progresses it seems an endless sequence of progressively worse crises threaten to drown what humanity there is left in the character of Murphy and the Bronx as a whole. Ultimately the viewer is left with the impression that the cops and society as a whole are powerless in the face of entropic decline.
Definitely not for those needing to raise their spirits and less powerful than the brilliant "Taxi Driver," "Fort Apache, the Bronx" is still a tale capable of making the viewer think, about himself and his society, and ultimately that is a noble end to achieve.
The film, like the cityscape in which it is set, gives an overwhelming sense of sorrow and despair, there are few bright events in the life of any character and as the film progresses it seems an endless sequence of progressively worse crises threaten to drown what humanity there is left in the character of Murphy and the Bronx as a whole. Ultimately the viewer is left with the impression that the cops and society as a whole are powerless in the face of entropic decline.
Definitely not for those needing to raise their spirits and less powerful than the brilliant "Taxi Driver," "Fort Apache, the Bronx" is still a tale capable of making the viewer think, about himself and his society, and ultimately that is a noble end to achieve.