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Bad Lieutenant
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Metascore
67 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Harvey Keitel
  • Summary: A New York cop (Keitel) is hopelessy addicted to drugs, gambling, and sex, in this intense, hallucinatory portrait of sin and redemption. The film follows the lieutenant as he makes his way to various crime scenes, concerned only with taking bets from his fellow cops on the outcome of the ongoing National League playoffs. An investigation into the rape of a nun leads to his spiritual breakdown at the church crime scene, where he sees Jesus and the road to his salvation.… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 18
  3. Negative: 1 out of 18
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    It is not a "dirty movie," and in fact takes spirituality and morality more seriously than most films do. And in the bad lieutenant, Keitel has given us one of the great screen performances in recent years.
  2. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Corliss
    60
    A serious film about the gnawing of conscience and the thirst for redemption, but the tone is so dispassionately vile it may leave viewers shaken or sick. [16 Nov 1992, p.95]
    All this critic's reviews
  3. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    30
    Yes, you get to see Harvey Keitel's penis; the only surprise is that Jesus keeps His under wraps.

See all 18 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. JoshC
    10
    A hardcore scuzzmeister elevates himself to a new place with this startling, powerfully restrained portrayal of sin and salvation in godless NY. Keitel's inarticulate maudit philosopher is the most uninhabited performance in this disco inferno that also offers relgious hallucinations. As sordid as the material is, the movie isn't oppressive.… Expand
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