Sidney Lumet returns to the complex and interwoven worlds of New York City police and criminals in his grand-scale film PRINCE OF THE CITY. The cops from the Special Investigative Unit are known as Princes of the City, working out of uniform and closely together, like a renegade family, peppering their drug-fighting duties with payoffs and behind-the-scenes drug deals of their own. Lumet's complex and operatic film commences with just such a deal, with Danny Ciello (played with swaggering magnetism by Treat Williams) and his squad busting a group of Colombian drug lords and netting themselves a clean $48,000 on the side. When Ciello is called in for questioning by the Chase Commission investigating police corruption--like Serpico before him--the seeds of doubt and guilt lead him into a dangerous game of truth and lies as he begins to inform on his colleagues. At first the adrenaline gleaned from the illegal activities of the SIU carries over to the equally dangerous tasks of ensnaring his fellow cops; however; as the countdown to redemption and revenge becomes fever-pitched, Ciello's resolve begins to crumble, so does his carefully constructed world of family, informants, stool pigeons, and partners.

Based on a true story, Prince of the City stars Treat Williams as Danny Ciello, a conflicted New York cop who reluctantly decides to go undercover for the feds to ferret out police corruption. At first, he recklessly gets off on the danger, but as the feds tighten the screws, the guilt-wracked Ciello is forced to compromise his partners and friends, and his own checkered past inexorably catches up with him.

Sidney Lumet, who also directed Networkand Dog Day Afternoon, is esteemed as an actor's director. This film is prime evidence. The peerless ensemble, including Jerry Orbach, Bob Balaban, and a duty roster of great New York character actors, is flawless. If there was any justice in Hollywood, Prince of the City would have been Treat Williams's star-making breakthrough, his Serpico (which Lumet also directed). But this film couldn't get arrested at the box office and was criminally snubbed by the Academy. Due to its length and gritty, profane dialogue, it is severely compromised when broadcast on network TV. For fans of NYPD Blue, Law & Order and Homicide, here is a movie ripe for discovery on home video. --Donald Liebenson

• Treat Williams
• Jerry Orbach
• Richard Foronjy
• Don Billett
• Kenny Marino

• R (Restricted)

• Label - Warner Home Video
• Binding - DVD