646f9e108c The true story of two New York City cops. Greenberg & Hantz fought the system, became detectives and were known on the streets as "Batman & Robin". Dave and Rob, fresh from the Police Academy, enrage their captain because they want to do more than controlling the traffic. As penalty they are sent to Brooklyn. However they don't give up, but develop their own methods to fight against dealers, criminals and corrupt colleagues. "The Super Cops" was surprisingly rare on video for a long time, and my first exposure of it was a grey-market copy of the 1982 MGM release on videotape. Allegedly available on laserdisc, also note there was a Super Cops comic book also released at the time. I just received what seems to be a legal release of this film on DVD, from New Star Video. It's still relatively hard to find, but the DVD features a slightly cleaner version of the print that I had previously. The colors in the film are passable, but this film would look far better if it were cleaned up. The DVD features above average cast bios/filmographies of Leibman and, but all in all is a pretty slim packaging. This is the third directoral outing of Gordon Parks, famed photojournalist/renaissance man best known for "Shaft" and "The Learning Tree." It's not his filmic acme, but one would hope that it might become available again as Parks' genius has not yet been fully celebrated.<br/><br/>This film lacks the vitality and edge of "Shaft", something that must have been a budget issue. Nonetheless, it's quick, good-hearted police action based on the L.H. Whittemore book of the same title. Whereas the book covered the late 60's/early 70's NYC crime scene very well, the film comes only halfway in detailing the true story depicted here. The plot is somewhat disjointed, with choppy arrest and pursuit scenes that do not build upon each other. By the end of the movie, one still has the interest in the characters, but no clue exactly how much they've endured. Still, it's a fun ride and good visually if one is familiar with the book. At best, a solid document of the time- a good cop story if nothing more.<br/><br/>The underrated Ron Liebman is excellent in one of the lead roles, cocky and enthusiastic. David Selby is more refined and cool, and many of the police superiors are great as gruff, cranky New York types. This story is begging for another attempt, with more detail and character development. But without the superb 70's environment and post-Serpico interest in police flicks, would it float?<br/><br/>A friend of mine to whom I screened the movie years ago met the great Gordon Parks a few years before Parks' death. He reports that upon mention of The Super Cops, Parks immediately responded, "I like that one!! …but Shaft was better." The Super Cops is a police drama along the lines of Serpico, which was released a year earlier, with more emphasis on action and humor and less on retaliation within the police force. It's an under-appreciated, almost-forgotten gem that's carried by the charismatic lead characters, played by Ron Leibman (now known as the voice of Ron Cadillac in the FX series Archer) and David Selby.<br/><br/>Leibman and Selbey play new cops Greenberg and Hantz who quickly tire of traffic duty and begin to solve crimes and bust crooks in their spare time. (No, really.) They accomplish this by thinking outside the rule book, in particular the one with the unwritten rules. They refuse to take bribes or grease palms. They receive assistance from convicted criminals. They stake out drug dealers in a giant cardboard box. All of this earns them some high profile busts and the enmity of pretty much every other cop in their precinct, particularly their new direct supervisor, Lt. O'Shaughnessy (Joseph Sirola).<br/><br/>I realize this sounds like what's now a typical buddy-cop movie: a pair bucks the system to do what's right. And it sort of is a progenitor to those films. But look here, this story, based on the book by L. H. Whittemore, was a bit more groundbreaking than all of those Lethal Weapon clones we've seen over the past two decades. The cops aren't always good guys? They can make mistakes and have lapses in ethics? No one wants to see Greenburg and Hantz succeed, not nobody, not no how! But they do their best anyway, even if it means no advancement. They'll work in a crappy precinct for a jerky boss, even on desk or traffic duty, and then work cases in their spare time. Their spare time! The other cops try hard to dissuade the dynamic duo – nicknamed Batman and Robin for their comic-book-like exploits – from messing around with their traditional system of not caring (particularly after the shift's over). Meanwhile, Greenburg and Hantz just want to clean up one of New York's worst crack-infested areas, The Man be damned. They're crazy like foxes, is what they are. How crazy? They try to take down one baddie while the building they're in is being demolished. Pretty awesome scene.<br/><br/>The Super Cops is available on DVD, finally. Seems the great Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) raved about this lost classic, and that somehow spurred the powers that be to release the movie to the public. So it's out there, and it's well worth your while.
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