Adapted by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler from Peter Maas's book, Sidney Lumet's Serpico portrays the real-life struggle of an honest New York City cop who wages war against a corrupt system. Officer Frank Serpico (Pacino) keeps one foot firmly planted in the counterculture, sporting a beard and love beads and living in bohemian Greenwich Village. But when he refuses to take bribes like his fellow officers, he becomes determined to expose the corruption within his department. Serpico's information triggers an independent investigation by the Knapp Commission, but also make him a marked man.Shot on location with an emphasis on documentary-style realism, Serpico presents a city in literal and moral decay. Released in late 1973, shortly after revelations of Presidential malfeasance in the breaking Watergate scandal, the film's true story of bureaucratic depravity touched a cultural nerve, and the film became a hit among critics and audiences, drawing particular praise for Pacino's complex performance as the honest, long-haired whistle-blower. One year after his star-making triumph in The Godfather, Pacino was nominated for a number of awards (including an Oscar), and won his first Best Actor Golden Globe.
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