Generally when movies get selected for remake treatment, it’s to take advantage of potential commercial aspects of the property. Why, then, might someone want to remake a movie as aggressively non-commercial as BAD LIEUTENANT?
But TV guy William Finkelstein (NYPD BLUE, LAW & ORDER) and producer Ed Pressman (THE CROW) plan to do just that. The original 1992 Abel Ferrara flick featured Harvey Keitel as a bottom-feeding, genuine bastard city cop engaging in profuse amounts of gambling, promiscuity, drug abuse, and unwelcome full-frontal nudity, before finding faith while investigating the rape of a nun. It’s a real blinding burst of sunshine!
The plan for the update is apparently to continue with similar lurid behavior while exploring more of the character’s backstory. Keitel reportedly won’t be involved… and since the original film hinges on his fearless performance, it certainly calls the purpose of remake into question.
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