Straight cop Steve Burns (Al Pacino) goes undercover to solve the serial killing of gays in NYC's S & M and leather clubs in the 1970's. Body parts of gay men are showing up in the Hudson River. Burns has to learn the complex rules and signals of this subculture to find the killer. He rents an apartment in the Meatpacking District of the West Village and befriends a neighbour, Ted Bailey (Don Scardino), a young gay man. His undercover work takes a toll on his relationship with his girlfriend Nancy (Karen Allen) and leads him to question his own sexual orientation. Burns mistakingly leads the police to investigate waiter Skip Lee (Jay Acovone), who is forced to strip and masturbate in front of detectives to provide them with a semen sample. Burns is disturbed by this, and believes that the police are motivated by homophobia. Outraged, he almost quits his job. However, his boss (Paul Sorvino) convinces him to continue the investigations. Near the end of the film Burns thinks he has found the serial killer, a gay music student, who attacks him with a knife in Morningside Park. Burns brings the man into custody. Soon afterwards, the severely mutilated body of another gay victim, Ted Bailey, the neighbour of Burns, is found and the case remains unsolved. In the ambiguous finale, Nancy tries on Burns' leather cap and he wipes off his make-up and looks directly at the camera.
When first released, "Cruising" was universally reviled by gays, critics, and the viewing audience. In fact, throughout the summer of 1979 members of NYC's gay community protested the production of the film. Gays were urged to disrupt filming, and gay-owned businesses to bar the filmmakers from their premises. People attempted to interfere with shooting by pointing mirrors from rooftops to ruin lighting for scenes, blasting whistles and air horns near locations, and playing loud music. One thousand protesters marched through the East Village demanding the city withdraw support for the film. Now "Cruising" is considered one of director William Friedkin's best films. It is loosely based on the novel of the same name by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker.
When first released, "Cruising" was universally reviled by gays, critics, and the viewing audience. In fact, throughout the summer of 1979 members of NYC's gay community protested the production of the film. Gays were urged to disrupt filming, and gay-owned businesses to bar the filmmakers from their premises. People attempted to interfere with shooting by pointing mirrors from rooftops to ruin lighting for scenes, blasting whistles and air horns near locations, and playing loud music. One thousand protesters marched through the East Village demanding the city withdraw support for the film. Now "Cruising" is considered one of director William Friedkin's best films. It is loosely based on the novel of the same name by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker.
