Cruising
Directed by William FriedkinA serial killer brutally slays gay men in New York's S&M bars. The young police officer, Steve Burns, goes undercover to find the murderer. Working almost completely isolated from his department, he has to learn and practice the complex rules and signals of this little society. But the work starts changing him.
Where to Watch Cruising
Cruising Ratings & Reviews
- Kevin WardJuly 2, 2025This one’s been on my watchlist for a while. Really loved it. R.I.P William Friedkin. In the meat packing district (seriously) of NYC, a killer is seemingly targeting gay men in the leather / s&m subculture spots. Al Pacino’s detective Steve Burns is sent undercover to potentially lure out the killer. Received with some controversy around the time of release, I was somewhat surprised at how much I loved this and how it’s probably aged better other films from the 80’s. (with the exception of the interrogation scene where Pacino gets slapped. Haha wtf was that?) I loved how much ambiguity is imbued into the film. Is Pacino’s character losing himself in his faux identity? Or had he just been closeted? Is there one killer, multiple killers? Really love the final shot, of course, as well. Really great detective drama / crime thriller.
- cultfilmlikerJune 3, 2025🎶 *Rihanna’s “S&M” plays* 🎶 (That song literally played in my head essentially the entire film) Well….i know this wasn’t the best timing but I’ve been wanting to see this for a while. That first stab gave me a good jump. Reminded me of how Vox Lux almost gave my mother a heart attack. Hilarious that Joe Spinell was in this and wrote and starred in Maniac which was released the same year. Also that his partner is the large mob guy in Dumb and Dumber. Wild how Sorvino’s grey hair makes him look older in this than he is 10+ years later in Law & Order. Also apparently got demoted in that time Sooo many NYC actors I love it Love the “nursery rhyme.” Reminds me of The Innocents bc I just watched it but really it reminds me of the killer in M The entire backstory and Friedkin’s research is absolutely nuts. Both an incredible film with a tough, complex backstory, and also slightly problematic in that it could contribute to “gay panic” and homophobia as a whole
- ChrisDecember 29, 2024“There’s a lot you don’t know about me” - Steve Burns One of Friedkin’s worst and still a stellar film. One reason Friedkin is one of my favorites directors. I believe this is also one of Al Pacino’s best roles. 🔪🔑💬
Cruising Trivia
Cruising was released on February 15, 1980.
Cruising was directed by William Friedkin.
Cruising has a runtime of 1h 42m.
Cruising was produced by Jerry Weintraub.
A serial killer brutally slays gay men in New York's S&M bars. The young police officer, Steve Burns, goes undercover to find the murderer. Working almost completely isolated from his department, he has to learn and practice the complex rules and signals of this little society. But the work starts changing him.
The key characters in Cruising are Steve Burns (Al Pacino), Capt. Edelson (Paul Sorvino), Nancy Gates (Karen Allen).
Cruising is rated R.
Cruising is a Mystery, Drama, Thriller film.
Cruising has an audience rating of 4.9 out of 10.
Cruising had a budget of $11M.
Cruising has made $19.8M at the box office.