mark.waltz "What a dump!", Bette Davis once said. But that small hamlet she lived in was a far cry better than the third world country look of the Bronx seen here, showing the lowest of the low lives, of every race and gender, and that includes the alleged third gender. It's a city of the worst that humanity has to offer, even those allegedly on the right side of the law. The city streets themselves become like real characters, although it's obvious that the streets like many of the real archetypes here will not survive or move onto better days. Fifty year old Paul Newman plays a character who acts more like 13, not at all a mature or respectable police officer, although he does have his moments. Obvious rookie cop Ken Wahl is far more likable than him, trying to calm Newman down every time he acts irresponsible. Of course, with an outgoing police chief and a new one coming in (Ed Asher), the whole Bronx force is in disarray.At the center of this exploitative look at a rough time in Bronx history is the sudden assassination like killing of two rookie cops, committed in calm, devil possessed fashion by strung up hooker Pam Grier. She's probably one of the great screen villains here, basically a prostitute version of Hannibal Lector, minus the livers and Chianti. There's unnecessary romantic subplots for Newman and Wahl which take on half an hour too much footage. Filmed in location when and where this took place, it can be looked on as a historical document as to life in a world turned upside down, but a lot more shock value utilized than real life drama.

Uriah43 Set in the South Bronx, the 41st Police Precinct goes by the nickname of "Fort Apache" because the police feel like they are in a fort in hostile territory. The story revolves around two police officers, "Murphy" (Paul Newman) and his partner "Corelli" (Ken Wahl) as they patrol the area from day to day. At the same time, a new police commander named "Connolly" arrives from headquarters to take over the precinct. Unfortunately, rather than listen to anybody at the precinct he decides to make decisions that have disastrous consequences for everyone. At any rate, rather than divulge the entire story I would just like to add that this film captures the despair and dismal atmosphere that people in places like the South Bronx have to live in. Illegal drugs, prostitution and violent crime are everywhere. And while this may sound depressing to watch, this movie is still interesting in its own right. Paul Newman performs in an excellent manner as does Rachel Ticotin as the nurse named "Isabella" who works at the local hospital. And be sure to keep an eye out for the prostitute named "Charlotte" (Pam Grier) as she definitely adds her own brand of drama to this volatile environment.

bkoganbing When Paul Newman says about one of the cops in Fort Apache The Bronx that 'he thinks I'm a liberal' he means liberal for the NYPD. I doubt if Paul Newman would have ever voted for Murphy the irreverent uniformed police officer if he ran for public office.Still Newman has got some real issues to deal with assigned to the infamous Fort Apache or as it is known officially in the film and in real life the 41 Precinct of the South Bronx. That neighborhood came into the public consciousness during a trip through it by President Jimmy Carter in his administration. The lawlessness of the South Bronx area became well known as well.Newman's been there and seen it all, he's even been a detective for a while, but his irreverent attitude got some guy with juice all bent out of shape with him and calls were made. He takes the neighborhood for what it is, his fellow officers for what they are, and people in general. It's really the right way to live. He respects the blue wall of silence about ratting out his fellow officers for infractions, minor and some major.The blue wall of silence however isn't a license to murder and when to of his fellow officers throw a young Latino man off an apartment roof during a riot, that's where it has to stop. Still it's not easy to snitch on any fellow officer for any reason.A big part of the problem is caused by the simultaneous murder of two uniformed officers at the same of an arrival of a new captain in the 41 played by Ed Asner. Asner's one hardnosed by the book type of cop who causes more problems than he cures. It's during a riot that his policies spark that the murder of the young man occurs. A key scene in the film is with Asner and Sully Boyar the captain he's replacing. Reminds me very much of when Humphrey Bogart took over the Caine from Tom Tully.Newman and Ken Wahl have a nice easy chemistry as the older and younger cops in the squad cars. Their scenes are little more earthy than what you might see on Dragnet or Adam-12, still they make for good viewing. Wahl's a decent young kid as well, sadly mindful of what snitching on fellow officers could do to his career and he's not as far along as Newman towards that pension.One major flaw of the film is that it doesn't show any of the decent citizens in the area. The bad guys and the rioters are all you see in the area. Even the one somewhat decent character, a Puerto Rican nurse played by Rachel Ticotin who gets involved with Newman, has a heroin habit. The film was rightly criticized by Hispanic groups, something that probably the very liberal Mr. Newman was taken aback with.A more balanced portrayal of the citizenry of the South Bronx could have made this film a classic.

Nazi_Fighter_David In the war zone of the South Bronx, the police of the 41st Precinct have the worst absentee record in the city, the most disability record claims, the least conviction per arrests, and there's nobody doing anything and the men aren't motivated… The first petition of the new captain Dennis Connolly (Ed Asner) was to make it clear that there is zero progress on the investigation on the murders of two policemen (killed on the opening of the film by an addicted hooker played nicely by Pam Grier). For the good officer the case must be cleared even if his men have to take extraordinary measures to clear it… Murphy (Newman) comes from three generations of cops… All his friends are cops… He gets drunk every night… He is essentially honest and he doesn't trust anyone but his partner, Corelli (Ken Wahl). He is attracted to Isabella (Rachel Ticotin) who happens to be a heroin addict… The film turns dramatic first when a body is discovered after a fire… Death was caused by injuries sustained in a fall… Murphy and his partner witnessed the officer Morgan (Danny Aiello) throwing an innocent kid off the roof… And second when narcotics dealers took a bunch of doctors, nurses and patients hostage… Paul Newman's performance is vulnerable, masking his sensitivity with arrogance and showing a flash of charm and humor… It is a story of an ordinary cop finding the courage to stand up and be counted… As portrayed by Newman he is touchingly believable