2) The wonderful acting by Sigal Erez is likely to be the first outstandingthing that one notices in this film. Her character is created withintensity, partly by the amazing acting and partly by the well-writtenscript. But the entire cast is excellent, including fine performances byactors whose work I had not previously known–for example, Julio DolceVita,Carlos Carrasco, and Brian Bloom are especially good. Bloom’s anger andbrutality are as convincing as the reassuring humanity of Dolce Vita andCarrasco. (Bloom’s astonishing feat of leaping, in one fast action scene,is among the most dextrous film leaps that I’ve seen).

The story concerns the troubled lives of border-crossing Latinas andLatinos, and also the equally troubled history of the official responses tothese immigrants in the U.S. But the film is never preachy. The action isfast or tender, always moving, convincing, and shot with the art thatconceals art. Like the careful and and smart photography, the awareness ofthe film’s deeper resonance is likely to occur to you only later, when youreturn to it, which I have already done several times.

Movies with which to compare this one include THE BORDER, EL NORTE,andLONE STAR. Nowhere among these movies is any performance as subtle,skillful, and deep as what Sigal Erez achieves in ACROSS THE LINE. Andunder Spottl’s superb direction, this film is an outstanding contributiontothat line of good movies. Highly recommended–one of the very best recentfilms.

3) Seeing this film as a pre-screener for a film festival, I’m in no wayconnected to this film, which seems to be the suspicious case with theprevious two comments, especially the one from Texas. Not because ofwhereit was from, but in the virtual press release that it seems tobe.

This film is a well made potboiler, with good performances all around,although my suspicions about the lead actress not necessarily being thebestone they could find (I do freelance casting) were confirmed when i saw sheco-wrote and co-produced the film. She’s good, but I’m sure someone elsecould have been better. (Take note, Mr.Skin.com! She ain’t shy.)

The story held me, and Brad Johnson is extremely good. Hey Hollywood, gethim a new TV series or TNT western! And get Brian Bloom one, too. (Anexcellent villain.) But if you’re gonna use Charlie Daniels on thesoundtrack and give him a main credit, give him more than the title song.(If he wrote the score, it could have done with a little less Mexicanguitarduring the shootout scene. A little cliched.)

And how the heck did Adreienne Barbeau agree to such a nothing role? (Iwon’t give it away why it’s so short.) I just cast an indie film withstartalent attached, and I’m amazed they got her to do such a small role.(Cowboy)hats off to the casting director!

If anyone sees this in a video store, it’s a good 97 minutes to spend. Ifyou see it at a film festival, you could do worse. If you see it at atheater, don’t expect greatness. Just a well done good vs. evil filmmaking you root for the hero, and hiss the bad guys.

4) Across the Line (2000) is a truthful representation of both hope andcorruption, focusing on critical events transpiring at America’s borderwithMexico and known both to those who live on the "line" (physical andmetaphorical) and to those with the courage to cross it. Further it is afine example of the filmmaker’s art, featuring convincing portrayalsunderpinned by a convincing script and the directorial talent of MartinSpottl.

5) This is a fast-moving action film that has many twists and turns. It’s alove story, a vignette of life, and a powerful drama all in one. A bigbowlof popcorn and a few margarittas and you will have the time of your lifewatching this flick. Very well written, acted and directed.

• Factual errors: The scene on the evening before the record attempt, we see Donald Campbell picking up the phone and calling his wife. This was not correct. In fact, it was his wife who telephoned him. First she tried (through the operator) to reach him at the hotel, but he was not there. He was in the boathouse. So the operator connects her there. However, before the operator puts her through, he wishes Donald “good luck”for tomorrow.
• Factual errors: When we see Sarah Williamson’s report on Donald Campbell in her typewriter, it refers to Consiton as a “Cumbrian village”. In 1966 Coniston was in Lancashire. It did not become part of the newly created county of Cumbria until 1974.

Anthony Hopkins delivers a fantastic performance as Donald Campbell. Themovie is a good attempt in covering his final days but has been spiced upfor the screen. There are quite a few in-accuracies but i think that hasbeen done to draw a wider audience rather than just the die hard Campbellfanatics like myself. This film has been scrutinised by many experts forit’s inaccuracies, mainly down to the K7 Bluebird hydroplane. Wrongcolourfor starters.

There are 1000’s of people wanting this released on DVD but all requestsfall on deaf ears.

2) In terms of performances and production values this movie isfirst-rate. Only some of the 'dramatic licence' lets it down and couldgive a misleading impression of Donald Campbell's character.

Firstly, he didn't try to borrow money from an old friend to pay hisback taxes then terminate the friendship when he was refused help. Thecharacter here is fictionalised as 'Jack Stanley' but the real-lifeperson on whom the character is based tried to have this removed fromthe script as Donald had not done any such thing. He would have beentoo proud and independent to even consider it and would certainly notturn his back on a friend over money.

Second, Campbell did not have a fling with a female reporter who thenwrote a 'kiss-and-tell' piece about his inner demons, furtherundermining his mental preparation for breaking the record. Campbellwas a very active man sexually but this particular incident never tookplace.

On the other hand, the scene where Donald presents a tape-recorder to ayoung man who thought it was a Christmas present for someone else isboth true and in character (in fact the actual recorder was used forthe film).

The attitudes of the other journalists featured in the film do reflectthe aggressive scepticism surrounding press coverage of the recordattempt: Campbell was past it, he was too old, his nerve had gone,'Bluebird' wasn't up to running at 300mph-plus. The televisioninterview given by Donald at the boathouse is lifted almostword-for-word from the interview featured in the documentary 'The Priceof a Record'.

The performances in the film are all excellent. Anthony Hopkins is asconvincing a Donald Campbell as he was later a Richard Nixon – you feelyou are watching the *man* not a performance. Ewan Hooper is an equallyexcellent Leo Villa, Donald's engineer, friend and psychological prop.

It is incredible that such a high-quality, well-regarded production isnot available on DVD.

3) I have tried to find this film on DVD just on the off chance it wasever done. This film is brilliant and should be released so people cansee what a terrific person Donald Campbell was. This film is reallygood and had me gripped to the screen when it was shown years ago.Knowing what i know now about bluebird (my cousin is part of thebluebird supporting club) and Donald Campbell is truly amazing. So comeon lets have this on DVD. Seeing what his family went through to breakland and water records is amazing. Sir Malcolm Campbell and DonaldCampbell are true hero's of Britain. After meeting people who knew theCampbells and worked around them its a true shame this film isn't onDVD for sale.

4) This film is a real work of art, everything about the film isbrilliantly recreated as well as Anthony Hopkins producing one of whati feel the best on screen you will ever be likely to see.Its anextremely powerful film, especially with the climatic and cataclysmicturn of events that surround his final run down Coniston in 1967, thefilm enable us to ride the emotions and in demons that Campbellstruggled with, being in constant fear of superstition, underachievement and ultimately failure. Being a land and water speed recordfan, i would obviously give this film 10/10 but compared to the filmsand productions that we see today, Across the Lake is a real throw backto the way that films should be properly done and is certainly amongone of my top or even my best film that i’ve been lucky enough to see.

5) Fair wee movie,in response to other viewers comments- Bluebird K7-(thereal one) was many different shades of blue during it’s life and quitea few shapes as well!starting off in 1955 as a "smooth" design andending up due to various upgrades and rebuilds with the Tailfin from aFolland Gnat jet fighter grafted on the rear and vastly differentcockpit and front end- basically a work in progress.The replica K7 usedin the movie is now housed in a museum in the Lake district.As for themovie-I agree that for some strange reason it was never released in theUk and the only copies available are normally poor third generationcopies on auction sites- pity,after all it’s about one of the lastBritish Heroes-Donald Campbell.All in all the movie is a fair accountof Campbells life and the lead up to the events on 4th January.Perhapsa sequel may be made when the real K7 is finished being restored-if weget the funding!incidentially the replica used in the movie is a lotsmaller than the real k7 and is displayed at a museum in Coniston.

6) The true story of Donald Campbell who pursues the world water speed recordas his father, Sir Malcolm had chased and won the land speedrecord.

Despite many premonitions of death there’s little drama in this treatmentdue to a mediocre script.

However Hopkins is magnetic in the lead and England’s Lake District looksspectacular.

Incidentally his vessel, Bluebird is an extremely modern-lookingcraft!

2) Wow, I saw this movie at the Ft. Lauderdale Intl. Film festival tonightand was blown away with the stylish directing of this short film. Thelighting was beautiful, the camera work stunning, and the music broughtthe entire production to life. I kept thinking what a great full-lengthfeature this story would make in the hands of this very capabledirector. Finding out this was a first-time venture for this directorwas a big surprise considering the great care he used in bringing thisstory to life. If you get the chance, make sure you invest the 25 or sominutes to see this film. The actors were perfectly cast, and the storytruly believable. For a movie of this length, the surprises keptcoming, with most of them being very subtle. It's a great thriller withtons of style!

3) I saw this short at the Palm Springs International Festival of ShortFilms and was very impressed by this psychological drama fromfirst-time director Alex Merkin who wrote the story and edited the 25minute film as well. Kris Johnson, Jesse Mittlestadt and Julien Schwabcontributed to the screenplay. Andrew Carranza is the cinematographerwho uses great lighting and camera angles to bring the tension of thestory to life. Adrian Grenier from the HBO series Entourage stars asJulian who is taking a leisurely bath when he gets a call from his bestfriend Terry played by James Oliver who has discovered his girlfriendis cheating on him and he has followed her to a hotel she and her loverhave checked into. Terry has been drinking and has a gun with him.Oliver turns in a great performance in this role as the jealous,menacing boyfriend and I hope to see him in feature film roles. Onlytwo other on-screen roles in this small cast and they are Natalie Smykaas the cheating fiancée June and Jamie Benge as a porter in the hotel.This film gets your imagination going and throws a lot of surprises atyou. I would give this an 8.5 out of 10.

4) Probably one of the most entertaining short films of the 21st century.A young couple enjoys some quality time at an old-fashioned hotel.Things seem to be going smoothly until they learn who is staying acrossthe hall. The camera angles, the dialogue, the story premise, theacting, the cinematography, the suspense, and the overall reality ofthis film is superb. Compared to some of the surprisingly successfulfull-length movies that have been made the past few years, this 25minute film deserves more mainstream recognition from it's impressivescreen presence. If marginally-talented filmmakers can somehow squeezetheir way into the business, then the parties responsible for creatingthis film will undoubtedly be involved with full-length feature filmsin the future. I would love to see the Production staff and Directorcollaborate on another project.

2) Plot: A professional gambler on the run stumbles across and eventuallyjoins up with two orphaned children on their way to Oregon.

Good stuff: The film has some amazing scenery and even more amazingsceneswith animals. The performance by the actress playing the older sister ispretty good and there is some nice dramatic tension between her and RobertLogan’s character. The card game between Logan and the horse traders waspretty amusing.

Bad stuff: I thought the film ended rather abruptly. While there is aresolution of sorts, it would have been interesting if the film could havegone on for maybe another 15 minutes. In addition, Robert Logan seems fartoo pleasant to play the self-centered gambler character.

Overall, not a great film, but one good enough to keep your attention andthe attention of the kids.

3) In 1976, at the height of the John Denver phenomenon, all us college kidsflocked to the theatres to see the awesome Rocky Mountain scenery. Thestorydid not appeal nearly as much then, as it does now, watching my kids watchit. In midlife I have come to enjoy it in totality. The scenes (Utah andBritish Columbia) are breathtaking. The child actors are spunky and yetcharming. Logan is inimitable in his mannerisms. After a while you aredrawninto the situation as though you are part of it. Sit down with the kids orgrandkids and enjoy it over and over.

4) Holly and Jason Smith (Heather Rattray and Mark Edward Hall,respectively)are a brother/sister combo out on the open trail. Trying to get to Oregonbefore their miserly uncle claims some land that is rightfully theirs,thekids run across a kind-hearted gambler, Zachariah Coop (Robert Logan).Although they get off to a rocky start, their relationship together growsout of necessity of their dependence on each other. They slowly learn totrust one another, and as a team make steady progress to Oregon. DirectorRaffill has directed quite a few of the outdoor, family adventure filmsasof late, and his love for nature shines through his lens. `Across theGreatDivide’ had a few gratuitous `fear for your life’ moments, but definitelyholds its own against other outdoor adventure films made in the 1970’s.Forviewers looking for films with good morals, this also has lessons learnedout the wazoo. Rating: 25/40

5) This is a good film for family or an easy watch. The plot is not verycompelling and the acting is remote. However, this was filmed in Utahand Canada, and the critters are very present, often at odds to thedesires of the main party. The wolf scene is quite dramatic. Obviouslythe film makers were equipped to shoot outdoors as the colors anddetails are quite good for the time period. About 3/4 of the waythrough the movie, the party passes a lake. I am guessing it is thefamous Peyto Lake in Canada’s Banff NP, a truly spectacular place. Ifyou like a wholesome movie, with lots of critters and big wild landsthis movie is worth a view. Nice dog, too!

6) Another great family film and it was the first of four starring RobertLogan who in this film plays the role of Gambler Zachariah Coop,Heather Rattray plays the role of Holly Smith and Mark Edward Hallplays the role of Jason Smith. Coop who's on horse back is running from6 men who are looking to skin him alive. After Coop loose, his horse heruns into Holly and Jason Smith who's on their way to Oregon. Cooptries to hook up with the kids but they don't trust him. Therefore,Across the Great Divide the kids go with Mr. Coop following them. TheKids deal with many hazards while on their way and the only questionthat remains, do they make and is Mr. Coop with them. The movie it'sself I would give a six however, when you add in the country and itsbeauty through out the movie then this movie jumps to a 9. This was thefirst of three films that Heather Rattray did with Robert Logan andRattray when on years later to play Victoria Newman on the Young andThe Restless Soap Opera.

7) I guess you could watch this with your family, but it won’t be enjoyedtoomuch. The movie is slow and boring. Whenever it has something with thepotential to be interesting, it ruins it somehow. The movie wasn’t wellacted, but you couldn’t expect much I guess! 2 out of 5

2) I have seen this film on festival in Vermont. I was pleasantlysurprised as I was expecting some propaganda. Usually films with such atheme or in that fact, from that region (Balkans) are in my opinion,full of misinformation's, half-truths etc. The background story is lovebetween pilot and ordinary girl. The very first title card stated thatthis is indeed love story. As film progress one can see that actors arenot professionals but rather commonplace people. All of it takes placein Canada (I guess) and on the Balkans, as pilot chooses to go into warand leaves his pregnant wife. In war he deliberately bombs the bridgewith the passenger train on it and from that point develops nightmaresand bridge crossing fear. He returns back home but is unable to locatehis wife as she wanted. He deals with his war nightmare and tries toovercome his bridge fears with help of the professional. I assume thatthis film was shoot on small or no budget at all. Later I've foundedthat film was on couple dozen festivals around and won some. Also, filmis a bit long (35 minutes) for my taste but generally, not bad anti-wardocumentary with sort off happy end.

3) This movie was absolutely horrible. The only marginally affecting partwas the stock footage, which was bookended by terrible acting, cheesyeffects, and an absolutely ridiculous story. Instead of documenting atragic and immoral bombing of a civilian train, the bulk of the movieis spent following a veteran's struggle to cross a bridge after cominghome from the war and losing his wife. Whether this character is basedon a real person is never explained, but I sure hope not. After workingthrough his bridge fears with a bizarre psychiatrist, he seems to takeup bridge crossing as a hobby. He eventually runs into his missingwife, and everything is miraculously resolved with several minutes ofwhat looks like a home movie of a fireworks show. I assume it's meantto be an anti-war piece, but the message it conveys is more along thelines of "Civilian casualties sure are bad, but everything will workout in the end!"

• The dog was credited in the main titles as “Dolores”, the name of the character. It was found in a dogs’ home in Liverpool. Its trainer gained enough publicity from the film that he was able to set up the Dolores Dog Home.

I can remember seeing this excellent thriller only once many years agobut it certainly made a lasting impression on me. The interplay betweenSteiger and his highly intelligent canine co – star was quite riveting.

This shamefully overlooked movie provides even more proof that you CAN,occasionally, find buried treasure if you’re prepared to wander off thebeaten track from time to time.

2) I saw this film only twice on television in the late 1960s, and I havenot seen it listed too frequently. The plot is from a Graham Greeneshort story, and like so many of his works Greene questions what weregard as good and evil in the world.

Steiger is a crooked financier on the lam. He boards a train andexchanges identities with another passenger who died on board. Hereaches a Latin American country, and crosses the boarder. But theauthorities at home are still after him. He did not realize the personwhose identity he stole was sought by the U.S. authorities for murder.

Steiger has plenty of money in a suitcase, but he soon discovers thatthe local authorities see him as something to bleed dry. Everyone jacksup prices for his normal living expenses from the police on down. Andthe money is slowly running out. The only creature who befriends him isa dog. It remains his only real friend in this town of vultures. Heconsistently refuses to return to the U.S., where police officerBernard Lee tries to get him to return. But he realizes that they thinkhe is the murderer, not an embezzler, and he can't return. Moreover, heresents the pressures that are being put on the local authorities topush him back. They are using these to squeeze more cash out of him.

The character Steiger begins as is a selfish crook, but as the filmprogresses (as is typical of Greene's work) the defects of those aroundthe anti-hero are such as to make us increasingly sympathetic to thatfigure. As he is stripped, step – by – step of everything, Steigergains our reluctant pity, and his relationship with the simple dogmakes him … in the end… tragically heroic.

Definitely a wonderful film – hopefully they will show it again soon.

3) I was impressed with the originality of the film and story, and theeffectiveness of the portrayal. Rod Steiger does a tremendous job ofperforming in this film, from start to finish, showing us a dramaticperformance in a very interesting story. Ken Annakin is very adept atcontrolling your emotions, with ease making you feel estranged from themain character when he feels, and at other times making you feelextremely intimate.

The symbolism used is also impressive with the use of the dogrepresenting what he traditionally does (loyalty, fidelity). With theextensive use of symbolism and vivid, personal capturing of thedownfall of a business tycoon, we have our emotions beautifully twistedand find ourselves with one of the better endings that one can have toa film.

Although at times throughout the film I sometimes felt lost and that itdragged on, overall it was still a good film that I would recommend toanyone. A very worthwhile film from Ken Annakin.

4) Across the Bridge has one of those titles that makes it sound like anArthur Miller play but is actually based on one of Graham Greene'sguilt-racked stories. And it's a corker, with a great premise thatreminds you that before he moved on to guilt, infidelity andCatholicism, Greene wrote cracking pulp thrillers like A Gun for Sale.Rod Steiger is powerful and shady financier Carl Schaffner, on the runfrom the British police in America and trying to cross the border intoMexico before he can be extradited. So he does what any one of us woulddo – kills another person who looks vaguely similar to steal hisMexican passport and travel unhindered on that. Naturally, things gowrong. He finds himself saddled with the dead man's dog. The dead manturns out to be a killer wanted by the Mexican police. And the dead manturns out not to be dead. And that's not the least of it, as theunexpected plot twists mount while Schaffner starts to look like theleast corrupt person in the film compared to the strokes Noel Willman'spatiently greedy Mexican police chief and Bernard Lee's determined butless than ethical Scotland Yard man are willing to pull to either gethis money or lure him across the bridge…

Ken Annakin's film may be shot on location in Spain, but it has aresolutely British studio look to both its photography and its interiorwork (as well as its rather over-emphatic James Bernard score) – youcan take the British out of Britain but not the Britishness out oftheir films, it seems. Not that that's a complaint: indeed, it givesthe film a strange texture that you don't naturally associate with thiskind of material that adds to its anonymously professional uniqueness.Steiger's performance is at once theatrical (while contained enough notto descend into the ham of later roles) yet convincing – and theexistence of similar fraudsters like Robert Maxwell only adds to thecredibility. But more than that, as he is stripped of everything, heattains a genuine heroic quality. That it manifests itself in an almostpathetic act to repay the only soul in the world that does not betrayhim only makes this shambling, ungainly figure all the more tragic. Andwho can blame him – one look into Dolores' eyes and you'd do the same.

5) Well, I haven't seen this movie since I was 7 years old but I havenever forgotten it either. The first reviewer is right about this beingone of those movies that seems almost forgotten… probably because themessage is so downbeat… disturbing and very sad (But then somebodywill remember it after 49+ years) This is one of those movies thatcouldn't have been done in color because it is so bleak. I am going tolook for a copy of this movie and see it again before I can reallyreview it… I thought "Old Yeller," was the world's best movie until Isaw it again as an adult and it might be this way with Across theBridge as well.

6) Like some others here I had seen this movie once many years ago, I wasvery young and came upon it at least 30 minutes into the film. Over theyears I forgot the title of it, but never the plot and Rod Steiger andof course Dolores. I never saw it TV again. I would ask people about itdescribing the plot but no one seem to remember it.It wasn’t until Iwas looking over Steiger’s filmography that I found out the title. Ibought the DVD and watched last night and memories of years and yearscame back over me.The music the photography, the hopelessness. Sobeautiful, so sad.If you have not seen it yet, please do so. One of themost forgotten movies and one of the best performances Rod Steiger evergave.

7) Like other reviewers, I, too, have not seen this remarkable film in many,many years since . The fact that I still remember it demonstrates what atruly terrific film this is. How unfortunate that it seems to have beenforgotten over the years. However, two days ago, on February 24, a DVDedition of the film was released in the U.S. and I’m now about to finallysee this great film again after so many years. The loyalty that candevelopbetween man and dog is surely put to the test by events that take place inthis story which was originally written by Graham Greene. No one shouldpassup an opportunity to see this film which, unfortunately, has never beengiven the recognition it deserves.

I saw this film, based on a Graham Greene story, 30 years ago on NorwegianTV. Rod Steiger plays a crooked businessman on the lam, who flees acrosstheborder into Mexico. The U.S. and Mexican authorities collude to ensurethathe won’t have access to funds. With nowhere to stay, he is followed by asmall dog, whom he first resents; they end up in the desert, where the dogsaves his life. A wrenching portrayal of a man who is progressivelystripped, first of what he previously valued, and then of everything.

9) In this film, which my ex-English teacher lent to me to show me whatkind of cinematic experiences I’ve been missing out on, I was soconfused until the very end about which actor was Rod Steiger. Afterseeing Mr. Steiger in Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront, I was convincedthat he was only that. But it was when the end credits came up that Iwas utterly taken aback and mortified by the way it said CarlSchraffner………..Rod Steiger! It was indeed the man with the funnyaccent and the simply blended performance that was one of my personalfavorites. This is indeed a hidden cinematic masterpiece and is highlyunderrated, and deserves a lot more credit than it got. I can’t believethis didn’t even get nominated for an Oscar. I thought the overallproduction was fantastic, all of the actors, especially Rod Steiger,and the direction were fantastic! The writing could’ve been upped anotch, but otherwise, this film left me speechless and yearning formore. But one thing that I didn’t like was the dissatisfaction in theend.

10) A truly memorable, but curiously forgotten film (not on video or DVD)thatdeals with an absorbing theme — how to disappear using an assumedidentity.A rare example, I think, of the film version’s being just vastly superiortoits orginal source (a slight, if taut short story by Graham Greene).

The plot is brilliantly simple (a la Hitchock). Carl Schaffner istravellingon a train. He’s trying to escape from something dreadful and threatening(not specified) and is terrified.In desperation he decides to bump off a fellow passenger, assume hisidentity and take his documents. He intends to leave the train at theotherend, get through the official formalities and disappear safely fromwhateveris chasing him.He goes to a lot of trouble to darken his moustache, get the clothesrightetc.The train reaches its destination. Passengers alight. He gets off,strollsdown the plaform. It all seems to be going like clockwork.

Then the guard shouts at him: "Hey! Don’t forget your dog!"

It seems his victim had a dog and boarded it in the guard’svan.The rest of the film fascinatingly details the developing relationshipbetween Carl and his newfound canine companion while he continues toattemptto survive and escape detection.It is highly original and gripping throughout. It has thrills and pathos.Superb acting by Rod Steiger as Carl and a really professional actor asGloria, the dog.Very evocative black and white photography and rich, sympatheticdirection.I saw this as a student in 1957 and never forgot it. I have seen it onceonTV.It MUST come out on DVD!

2) This is a violent urban thriller about a corrupt old white cop and an honest young black cop chasing three black robbers-cum-murderers who ran away with $300,000 that belonged to the Italian mob. The police must find them before the sadistic Mafia henchman Nick D’Salvio reaches them first.

A trade of drug money is occurring between two Italians (from the South of 110th street in New York) and three blacks (from Harlem to the North of 110th Street). Suddenly, two men (Paul Benjamin & Ed Bernard) uniformed as police officers knock on the door. When they enter one of the two men dressed as cops holds the drug dealers hostage with a machine gun. When one of the black hostages reaches for his pistol, the man shoots everyone in the room to death, except his partner. When the two killers rush out with the drug money, they hop in a car with their driver (Antonio Vargas). When the driver nervously hits a few of the cars around them, it attracts the attention of an African-American cop, who is shot to death by the man with the machine gun before he realizes what’s going on. Another cop (this one white) comes upon the situation and pulls his gun, but is fatally hit by the getaway car.

Seemingly before the cops are aware of the situation, the two crime syndicates are aware that they’ve been ripped off. Mafioso Nick D’Salvio(Anthony Franciosa) is coached by his Don (who is also his father-in-law) that this is an opportunity to keep the blacks in check and that he must severely punish the men responsible for the robbery and the murder of the two Italians. D’Salvio pays a visit to the black crime boss in Harlem, Doc Johnson (Richard Ward). Johnson promises to put his main henchman, Shevvy (Gilbert Lewis), on the the trail of the thiefs. But D’Salvio threateningly intones that, while Shevvy may find them, the punishment must be left to the Italians. Johnson, unintimidated, taunts D’Salvio as a "punk errand boy", causing D’Salvio to try to attack him. However, D’Salvio’s henchman hold him back and calm him before they leave.

The police have finally arrived and are all over the building where the drug theft and massacre occurred. Aging Cpt. Mattelli (Anthony Quinn) arrives prepared to oversee the investigation. However Mattelli’s chief lets him know to his chagrin that the much younger (and African-American) Lt. Pope (Yaphet Kotto) will be leading the investigation. Pope mistrusts Mattelli because he rightly believes Mattelli to be a drunk, a racist, and a crooked cop who doesn’t hestitate to beat up suspects or even crime witnesses.

The mostly black residents in the surrounding neighborhood of the crime (although we know many of them witnessed the crime) refuse to disclose information to the police. However, they gladly let Doc Johnson know the vehicle that was used in the getaway. Shevvy and D’Salvio use this track down it’s new owner, Henry J. Jackson, who we recognize as the getaway driver of earlier. Meanwhile, tipped off to the vehicle’s location, Mattelli and Pope have the car pulled out of the Hudson River. However, before they can figure out who was driving, Shevvy and D’Salvio have tracked down Jackson to a whorehouse. D’Salvio smashes Jackson in the face with a glass and then beats him to the floor until Jackson is a bloody pulp. Before they leave, Shevvy is given Jackson’s clothes and finds a note from a dry cleaners. The police find Jackson tied up in crucifixion and that he’s been castrated. Pope and Mattelli try to get Jackson to tell them the identity of his killer in an ambulance, but Jackson is only able to scream in agony before he dies.

Joe Logart (Bernard), who we recognize as one of the thieves dressed as a cop at the beginning, nervously sees the TV report of Jackson’s murder. He is an employee at the same dry cleaner that Jackson had a note from. He goes to see the other, more trigger happy thief, Jim Harris (Benjamin), to let him know that he’s going to try and leave the area. Logart suggests that Harris should escape as well, but Harris refuses and wishes Logart well. We find that Harris lives with his girlfriend and has told her about the robbery. Harris is a 42-year-old ex-con and tells her that there’s no way he could make money other than by crime.

Mattelli takes Pope to Doc Johnson’s office. Mattelli warns Johnson "no more crucifixions!" However, Johnson is again unfazed and denies involvement in Jackson’s murder. For Pope’s benefit, Johnson announces that Mattelli has long since been paid off by Johnson for looking the other way in numerous crimes. Mattelli nearly attacks Johnson but sadly backs away. Johnson makes it clear that he no longer wants to deal with Mattelli and offers Pope to take his place. However, the honest Pope tells Johnson to take his money and "stick it up your ass". When Shevvy tries to manhandle Mattelli out of Johnson’s office, Mattelli assaults him and beats him badly. However, Pope manages to pull Mattelli away.

Logart, bags all packed, hails a cab. The cab driver acts suspicuously and calls into say that this be his "last fare of the night". Suddenly, two cars, containing D’Salvio, Shevvy and their henchmen, pull in front of the taxi. The cab driver runs off, but Logart manages to jump to the driver’s seat and drive off. He runs down one of Shevvy’s men and shoots another. Logart speeds off, but hits traffic with the two cars coming after him. Logart abandons the taxi and runs into an empty high rise being built. He manages to kill a couple more henchman, but Logart is soon surrounded and overpowered on one of the highest floors. D’Salvio and his men hang Logart by his ankles and swing him off the edge of the building. They threaten to let him fall to his death if he doesn’t disclose the identity of his crime partner. He eventually does tell them about Harris, but D’Salvio still lets Logart die.

Mattelli and Pope go to visit Jackson’s estranged wife. They let her know that Jackson has been killed, but Pope claims it was in a car accident. When they question her about Jackson’s associates, she recalls Jim Harris’s name. Going through police records, Mattelli and Pope narrow the various suspects down to the most likely "Jim Harris". Mattelli soon offers to confess to his various illegal activities so Pope can take his position, but the angry Pope refuses, saying he wants to become Captain on his own terms.

Harris leaves his girlfriend’s apartment to go to an abandoned hideout nearby. However, he seems to have forgotten his medicine and goes into a seisure. When his girlfriend rushes to his hideout to give him his medicine, she is followed (without her knowledge) by Shevvy, who concludes that she must be going to see Harris. Shevvy and Johnson tip off D’Salvio to Harris’s location, after which Johnson claims to know how this situation is going to turn out.

The next morning, D’Salvio and a few henchmen go to the building where Harris and his girlfriend are hiding. D’Salvio knocks on his door and claims to be police. Harris immediately opens fire through the door, killing one of D’Salvio’s henchmen. D’Salvio returns fire into the apartment, shooting and killing Harris’s girlfriend. D’Salvio and Harris shoot it out through the hideout door. Harris eventually shoots D’Salvio and then knocks him over with the door, sending D’Salvio down the stairs to smash his face through a window . D’Salvio dies screaming. Harris goes out the street and mows down all of D’Salvio’s henchmen with his machinegun. When a cop car pulls up, Harris also guns down both cops inside.

Soon, the building is surrounded by cops, including Mattelli and Pope, and Harris takes refuge inside. The police trade fire with him until he is cornered on the roof. We see an unnoticed Shevvy crouched on the roof a nearby building, armed but seemingly enjoying the violent spectacle. Although Harris kills a few more cops, some snipers shoot him in the side and the arm. Harris throws his bag of hard-fought drug money over the side of the building into a crowd of onlookers, who fight over it. Mattelli climbs up to confront Harris, but lose his footing and is soon at Harris’s gun point. However, before Harris can kill Mattelli, Pope arrives, shooting and finally killing Harris. Shevvy sets up his sniper gun on a mount and then shoots Mattelli. Mattelli falls into Pope’s hands and dies.

• Crew or equipment visible: About 18 minutes into the movie, a cameraman can clearly be seen in the mirror.

Tough police veteran Captain Frank Mattelli (Quinn) resents theintrusion of Lieutenant Pope (Kotto), a black detective, in the case,while Mafia boss Don Gennaro (Frank Mascetta) sends his paranoidson-in-law, Nick D'Salvio (Anthony Franciosa), to reassert control overthe Harlem branch and see that the money is recovered…

The black syndicate, headed by Doc Johnson (Richard Ward) and hisassistant Shevvy (Gilbert Lewis), rejects D'Salvio, while promisingonly token help, and accuses Mattelli, who has been on the take fromJohnson for years…

Anthony Quinn plays well the ageing detective who has long agoperceived that all his efforts are not going to do more than raise thevery small part of the cover of crime, but he is not above taking abribe from a racketeer… His method of dealing with a reluctant witnessis to hit hard first and ask questions later…The rigorously legalapproach to police work, as exemplified by Yaphet Kotto, is not forQuinn… This is his territory, his little kingdom, and he keeps thepeace as best he knows…

2) This movie sweats. Early on in the mostly pandering "blacksplotation"film cycle of the seventies, came this incredibly violent, hate filleddrama of three small time crooks who stumble on a big score and theirhopeless attempt to survive it. The film is utterly dark and featuresnary a cheap shot or moment of easy cynicism.

In one scene Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto go to the apartmentof one of the crooks lovers, already slain, to look for information andbreak the news. This is one of the most heartbreaking scenes ever put onfilm, a model of restraint and economy in a film that is busting at theseams. Actors who were probably barely in another movie give magnificentperformances. The neglected Kotto was never better.

A very disturbing film that demands to be seen; art.

3) This very good urban thriller was perhaps the best of the films madeduring the blaxploitation era. The story is grim, bleak and violent andthe grit and grime of Harlem is present in every scene. The movie’stheme is black vs. white with no subtle shades of gray. Three black mensteal money from the Mafia, who control Harlem and do a lucrativenumbers business in that community. The robbers are disguised aspolicemen but that ruse eventually comes to light, and the Mafia searchfor the men, not only to reclaim their money but to teach the brazenthieves a savage, brutal lesson. Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto are thepolice officers with quite different agendas. Quinn’s Capt. Mattelli isan aging, bigoted veteran cop who resents having to defer to the youngnewcomer, Kotto’s Lieutenant Pope. Their relationship is one of mutualdislike. Anthony Franciosa is over-the-top as the Mafia lieutenant whogets even for crimes against the family. Richard Ward is a gritty,gravel-voiced Harlem crime boss who stands up to the Mafia thugs with abrash defiance, and Bobby Womack does a nice job with the film’svocals.

4) Whether you regard ‘Across 110th Street’ as a genuine blaxploitation movieor not (I don’t) there’s no denying it’s one of the toughest and mostpowerful crime movies of the early 1970s, easily as good as the better known’Serpico’ or ‘Dirty Harry’. Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto both giveexcellent performances as the NYC cops who have different approaches totrying to bring to justice some petty crooks who have ripped off the Mob. Iwas also impressed by Tony Franciosa who I knew from his later work inArgento’s ‘Tenebre’. I love that movie but always thought Franciosa was itsweak point. In this movie he is one of the strengths. Paul Benjamin is alsovery good as one of the thieves. In fact, this movie is full of greatacting, a tough and realistic script, taut direction from Barry Shear (whoalso made the 60s exploitation classic ‘Wild In The Streets’), and awonderful theme song from Bobby Womack, later recycled by Quentin Tarantinofor ‘Jackie Brown’. Highly recommended.

5) The significance of 110th Street in New York is that it is the linewhere Central Park ends and Harlem begins. This ultra-violent ’70s copthriller wastes no time in painting the streets of Harlem as a hard,gritty, unforgiving pit where the law has little meaning and the onlyway to earn respect is by fear or money. While the years have slightlydiminished the film’s power to startle, there’s still no denying thatfor its time this is indeed a strong, raw, bleak piece of cinema.

Three down-at-heel blacks – Jim Harris (Paul Benjamin), Joe Logart (EdBernard) and Henry J. Jackson (Antonio Fargas) – disguise themselves ascops and storm into a Mafia-controlled numbers bank where they proceedto steal $300,000. However, the heist turns violent and the threerobbers end up killing everyone in the room, including a few Mob guys,several blacks, and even a couple of real cops who happen by. The Mobsend in a small-time hood with big-time ambitions, the violent andtrigger-happy Nick D’Salvio (Antony Franciosa), to find the threecrooks. Meanwhile, Harlem gang lord Doc Johnson (Richard Ward) puts hisown guys on the trail of the trio of robbers. Caught up in the hunt tooare cops Frank Mattelli (Anthony Quinn) and Det-Lt. Pope (YaphetKotto), the former an aging hard-nut who uses violence and intimidationto get results, the latter a young and honest black officer who prefersdiplomacy wherever possible.

Rarely has New York been portrayed as such a living hell, certainly forthose living in poverty and squalor. Initially, the viewer is repulsedby the three robbers for what they’ve done, but quickly they are madeto look positively sympathetic as the truly repulsive supportingcharacters are introduced – Franciosa, chillingly psychopathic; Ward,ruthless and manipulative; and Quinn, totally lost in corruption andaggression. Only Kotto’s character shows any grain of decency andoptimism in this ugly society. Viewed nowadays, the film has a slightlydated feel to it which lessens the relevance of some of the socialcomment being explored. Quinn and Kotto don’t get enough time on-screeneither, which is a shame as their volatile working-relationship isn’texplored as much as it could be and the twist ending lacks impactbecause their characters haven’t been sufficiently developed. However,Across 110th Street still deserves to be seen for its ground-breakingviolence, its hard-boiled action, and its relentlessly damning views ofNew York’s ethnic wasteland in the early ’70s.

6) The real crime involved in this movie is the bare bones dvd release.Thoughthe print is great this movie really deserves a revival and a specialedition….its begging to be re-discovered!!!This film would have to be one of the greatest crime flicks ever. No onedimensional characters here…all of them struggle with good and bad insidethemselves and the motivations are clear. Totally unpredictable and full ofincredible exciting scenes with great thoughtful dialogue. Not a typicalblack cop/ white cop movie this breaks rules and has scenes Ive never seenbefore… you cant do better than this flick.great theme song too which wasre-done and updated again by the original composer Bobby Womack for JackieBrown.check it out!You wont be dissapointed….

7) Barry Shear directed and Luther Davis wrote (after a novel by Wally Ferrsi)Across 110th Street in 1972 and the film stars Anthony Quinn as Mattelli andYaphet Kotto as Pope. Pope and Mattelli are two police detectives, Mattelliwhite and Pope black, who investigate a bloody machine gun murder that tookplace in Harlem, in a location in which there rarely are any white peopledoing something else than business. Somebody stole big amount of Italianmafia’s money and it all ended up in the bloody shoot out, and only thethieves got away alive. The two lead characters try to solve this thingbefore it is too late, since the mafia is willing to use violent ways inorder to get its money back..This is a premise for this classicfilm.

I really love the atmosphere in this film since it is something that totallylacks in most of today’s films. The setting in Harlem is very ugly, dirtyand gritty and therefore true to life. This film doesn’t hide anything, itshows the true faces of life in this big city and all the diseases fromprostitution to murder that live inside it. This film is pretty close to DonSiegel’s masterpiece, Dirty Harry (1971) which also showed very gritty urbansetting without any bit of humor or something to ease the realistic andmerciless atmosphere. The photography is also very great and technicallythere are no worth mentioning flaws in this film. The action scenes areexciting – albeit not too plenty – and everything in this film is aspowerful and effective as the director and screenwriter intendedto.

The most tragic character is Quinn’s Mattelli, who is 55 and not so willingto continue his life in police and with all this scum. Kotto’s character isyounger and still willing to keep on, but at the end of the movie, he mayhave another thoughts about his life, too. The end scene is very powerfuland memorable mostly because it is so tragic and sad and also intelligentand thought-provoking. The whole last 10 minutes is very remarkable as thetension is in top and no one knows how this will end and, more importantly,who will be alive at the end. Bullets when fired do their jobs and neverleave anyone alive in this violent and greedy world.

The performances are totally wonderful, and I personally like Quinn the mostin this difficult film. He acts very convincingly and has some hard scenesand segments, which show his abilities as an actor. The violence despitebeing brutal in mental way, is very strong physically, too, as the mafiatortures people without remorse in order to reach its target, but also theyshould have finished before it became too late. Violence and crime neverpays, and this is again one movie to depict and tell about it. This film maynot be too "graphically violent" by today’s video game and R ratingstandards, but compared to most of today’s films, violence is far strongerand emotionally challenging in this honest film, which never glamorizes itsbrutality with stupid one liners and humor efforts. This is among the mostrealistic crime films I’ve ever seen. The moneybag at the end leaves somehope for tomorrow, even though the hope is for most of the protagoniststhemselves too late.

Across 110th Street has some pretty non-believable scenes and segments,which are not explained too carefully and seem little unconvincing, but theyare very few and are easy to forgive after all the merits and positivethings this film gives. This film is as classic as Dirty Harry and I givethis 9/10 rating and recommend it very highly for lovers of gritty gangsterand crime films, which never have any stupid efforts to amuse and entertainthe audience with humor or other popcorn methods.

Richard Ward as the proud Harlem gangleader and Paul Benjamin as JimHarris the steel of a trio of smalltime thieves who get in over theirheads are the stars of this movie which has gotten lumped into theblaxploitation category. Though Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto are thestars along with Tony Franciosa as a middling hood given his lastchance to become somebody of respect in the New York Mob get topbilling its the above mentioned actors who carry this excellent crimedrama which is a far bloodier and grimmer version of The Killing. DocJohnson isn’t anybody’s flunky and Jim Harris would slaughter all thecops on Law and Order and NYPD Blue combined plus pistol whip the CSIcrew too. Top rate.

9) Paul Benjamin, Ed Bernard, and Antonio Fargas disguised as policemenraid a mob numbers bank and rip it off to the tune of $300,000.00. Butthe getaway is pretty bloody. Five gangsters and two real policemenwind up dead.

The film is a race against time because two parallel manhunts are atwork for these perpetrators. The captain of the local police precinctAnthony Quinn is under pressure to bring in these cop killers. It's notclear whether Quinn's connection to the local black gangster crew whorun the operation for the mafia is going to help or hinder hisinvestigation.

In the meantime the local Don has sent his son-in-law Anthony Franciosato head his own manhunt for the robbers. Of course they have sourcesthat the cops don't have.

Of course the methods aren't too much different. Miranda warnings werea new thing at the time and Quinn is an old timer who really doesn'tbelieve in them. The way Quinn and Franciosa interrogate doesn't leavetoo much room for difference, except that Quinn's subjects were stillbreathing after it was over.

This film probably has more bad people in it than any other that camealong until Goodfellas came out. Yaphett Kotto as a cop sent fromheadquarters to monitor the situation is probably the only decent oneamong the principal players.

The best performances in the film are by Tony Franciosa who is neverbad in anything and Richard Ward who may work for the Italian mob, butis by no means a lackey. He's determined to wind up a winner no matterwhat happens to Quinn and Franciosa.

It's a gritty look at the seamy side of law enforcement and its alsogangsters without the Godfather glamor.

10) This time capsule frames the the end of an era that we can all lookback to. One can also learn what it meant to be an oppressed black man,a junior mobster or a tired NYC detective in that late sixties era.Insight to the workings of the black Harlem underground of the day andthe viciousness of the Italian Mafia by night. So believable, thewriter had to have lived some part of this classic. Unlike any moviebefore,I rooted for every character depicted. Anthony Quinnsdetermination and Yaphets silence both show the past and future of theentities being played out. The bathroom scene between the two cops wasa highlight for me. This is not a blaxploitation movie it is a NYCmovie. This movie is a treasure and I thank God it has not been remade.