Cruising

1980
R
1h 42m

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

29K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer1:30

Serial Killer Crime Drama Mystery Thriller

A police officer goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.A police officer goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.A police officer goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.

Director
- William Friedkin
Writers
- William Friedkin
- Gerald Walker
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

29K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

4,115

699

Director
- William Friedkin
Writers
- William Friedkin
- Gerald Walker
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 5 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 1:30

Cruising

Photos242

+ 236

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Two of the notorious gay bars featured in the film - Mine Shaft and Eagle's Nest - eventually barred William Friedkin.

Goofs
When the first victim gets stabbed blood is shown running off his shoulder but the knife is spotless.

Quotes
Steve Burns: Hips or lips?

Crazy credits
The film only opens with the title in large letters, across the screen. It is only at the end where the filmmakers are credited.

Alternate versions
UK cinema and 1987 video versions were cut by 54 secs by the BBFC. The 1997 Maverick Directors video release was cut by 39 seconds to remove subliminal shots of anal sex during the murder scenes (one of which appears in the film though heavily darkened) and to edit a pan shot of a gay bar interior and shots of a knife being traced over a bound victims body. Although the uncut version was shown by Sky TV the film was resubmitted to the BBFC in 2003 for a FilmFour showing and many cuts were restored apart from a 1 sec edit to remove the subliminal shots. For the initial release on UK DVD in 2008 all the cuts were waived.

Connections
Featured in Sneak Previews: The Last Married Couple in America/Cruising/Just Tell Me What You Want/Hero At Large/Saturn 3 (1980)

Soundtracks
Three-Day Moon
Performed by Barre Phillips

User reviews202

Review

Featured review

7/10

The 80's had it

What strikes me while watching the film, is that truth to reality is really refreshing. No editing in the world can make up to a camera catching a dark, rainy street as they could back in those days when equipment was not developed. Aristoleles claimed that cruelty should be committed outside the scene, that is, in the background. The imagination of the spectator is far more imaginative than a view of the actual event. Therefore, leaving out is stronger in terms of storytelling than showing. Quite the contrary to contemporary movies, I'd say. The advantage of this story is thus the suspense built up on lack of knowledge. There is no flirting with the audience; you do not know in advance who dunnit. There is no flirting with the audience on the task of staging one of the protagonists as a gay either. This is not the greatest movie, but really worth seeing.