When Paul Newman says about one of the cops in Fort Apache The Bronx that 'he thinks I'm a liberal' he means liberal for the NYPD. I doubt if Paul Newman would have ever voted for Murphy the irreverent uniformed police officer if he ran for public office.Still Newman has got some real issues to deal with assigned to the infamous Fort Apache or as it is known officially in the film and in real life the 41 Precinct of the South Bronx. That neighborhood came into the public consciousness during a trip through it by President Jimmy Carter in his administration. The lawlessness of the South Bronx area became well known as well.Newman's been there and seen it all, he's even been a detective for a while, but his irreverent attitude got some guy with juice all bent out of shape with him and calls were made. He takes the neighborhood for what it is, his fellow officers for what they are, and people in general. It's really the right way to live. He respects the blue wall of silence about ratting out his fellow officers for infractions, minor and some major.The blue wall of silence however isn't a license to murder and when to of his fellow officers throw a young Latino man off an apartment roof during a riot, that's where it has to stop. Still it's not easy to snitch on any fellow officer for any reason.A big part of the problem is caused by the simultaneous murder of two uniformed officers at the same of an arrival of a new captain in the 41 played by Ed Asner. Asner's one hardnosed by the book type of cop who causes more problems than he cures. It's during a riot that his policies spark that the murder of the young man occurs. A key scene in the film is with Asner and Sully Boyar the captain he's replacing. Reminds me very much of when Humphrey Bogart took over the Caine from Tom Tully.Newman and Ken Wahl have a nice easy chemistry as the older and younger cops in the squad cars. Their scenes are little more earthy than what you might see on Dragnet or Adam-12, still they make for good viewing. Wahl's a decent young kid as well, sadly mindful of what snitching on fellow officers could do to his career and he's not as far along as Newman towards that pension.One major flaw of the film is that it doesn't show any of the decent citizens in the area. The bad guys and the rioters are all you see in the area. Even the one somewhat decent character, a Puerto Rican nurse played by Rachel Ticotin who gets involved with Newman, has a heroin habit. The film was rightly criticized by Hispanic groups, something that probably the very liberal Mr. Newman was taken aback with.A more balanced portrayal of the citizenry of the South Bronx could have made this film a classic.

For those who didn't know.... This movie was based on the real life experiences of Thomas Mulhearn and Paul Tessitore who are pictured in some of the stills. Murphy (Paul Newman's Character)was inspired by Tom Mulhearn, he is my sister's dad, and he's a pretty interesting guy. I've heard all kinds of funny stories from my mom whom we will refer to as "V", talking about how Rachel Ticotin stole her role (which she claims is based on her given the fact that she's Puerto Rican and that she was with Tom during the writing of the screenplay). Its true that the story behind the drama is always the most interesting.The point of this is... to let you guys know.. that the stuff in that movie, isn't even half of what i've heard really happened, and that those guys it was based on deserve props for being some of New York's Finest. I've heard that, it was a pretty tough neighborhood back then. Tom (part of the inspiration) is alive and well with a beautiful family to speak of. I'm not sure what happened to paul.

I was a bit taken aback when reading through the external reviews and seeing notable critics like Roger Ebert generally panning this movie. Not that it's a high water mark of film making, but a stylish, gritty, well-constructed movie, certainly.The one major distracting element is Paul Newman. His performance is not at fault by any standards, in fact he was very good, but in this dark look at inner city dwellers and how they're prisoners of the crime and poverty that surrounds them, one of Hollywood's most notable actors just sticks out like a sore thumb. Again, not through any misstep that Mr. Newman might have made, but just simply because he is who he is: Too big to fit into a movie about little people.Regardless, the movie is highly recommended for anyone wanting a unique look at inner city blight, the people who live in this setting and the men and women who try to protect them. There is nothing quaint about this movie, it is real and rough.

I love this film, it was the second video that I ever rented and it plays like a really gritty version of "Hill Street Blues", (I think they came out the same time). Everything to me, works in this film, it's a real ensemble piece, Ed Asner, Ken Wahl, Danny Aiello and a great turn by a then unknown Rachel Ticoton and although it takes a downbeat turn in the last quarter, the film has an uplifting ending that works really well. It's such a shame that Paul Newman's performance, which has to be one of my favourites, has been forgotten and I would love to see a better DVD version from Fox/HBO in the near future - it certainly deserves better. Cheers, Dan.