Fort Apache - The Bronx (1981) DVDrip.x264.mkv

In a bombed-out wasteland stands a police station less a precinct house than a fort in hostile territory. Outside its walls are the murders, the riots, the drugs, and the everyday lives that texture the bleak urban landscape. Inside, amidst corruption and indifference, each officer does what he must to survive his tour of duty in "Fort Apache, The Bronx."

Paul Newman stars in this harsh portrait of a police station in a crumbling neighborhood. Newman plays John Murphy, a veteran policeman who's been on the force long enough to be tired, but not so long that he's lost his idealism. The plot is loosely tied to the arrival of Connolly, the new precinct captain (Edward Asner). Is he a crusader who's going to finally whip a corrupt, apathetic force into shape, or an interloping by-the-book bureaucrat who can't possibly understand the neighborhood and will do more harm than good? The movie is gratifyingly ambiguous on this point and many others. While Newman's character is almost by default the hero, he is far from perfect--most all the major characters get complex personalities, just like real people. The Bronx itself is given complex, thoughtful treatment as well, full of both overwhelming problems and hope for the future. Fort Apache, the Bronx also has action sequences, but doesn't make the mistake of reveling in violence. Here, black and white are far less defined and, consequently, far more satisfying. --Ali Davis