Grow a beard, grow a conscience. This week itâs 1973âs Serpico, Sidney Lumets portrayal of an honest real-life New York City cop against a corrupt system. Neophyte officer Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) is determined not to let his job get in the way of his individuality. Despite his colleaguesâ leery reactions, he keeps one foot firmly planted in the counterculture, sporting a beard and love beads while living in bohemian Greenwich Village. Serpicoâs peers genuinely ostracize him, however, when he refuses to take bribes like everybody else. Appalled by the extent of police corruption, Serpico goes to his superiors, but when he discovers that they have ignored his charges, he takes the potentially fatal step of breaking the blue wall of silence and going public. Serpicoâs revelations trigger an independent investigation by the Knapp Commission, making him a marked man, and permanently changing his life. Shot on location with a gritty emphasis on documentary-style realism, Serpico presents a city in decay both literally and morally, as everybody is in on the take, and the cops and criminals are almost interchangeable. Released in late 1973, Serpicoâs true story of bureaucratic depravity touched a cultural nerve, and the film became a hit with both critics and audiences, particularly for Pacinoâs complex performance as the honest, long-haired whistleblower.
How do we end this one? Our Top 3 Movie Beards! Absolutely.
Please feel free to use and play the show. The guys here at The Q ask only that if you play the show on a radio station, please give us a shout at theqfilmcast@gmail.com so that we can add you to the growing list of listener stations!
![<?php echo $config['site_title']; ?>](/static/images/rp-navimg.gif)
![Support the <?php echo $config['site_title']; ?>](/static/images/support.png)
