Review of Prince of the City

Prince of The City - Sidney Lumet's overlong melodrama about a cop who turns informant is out on DVD.This 1981 Big Apple corruption flick features great performances by Jerry Orbach and Bob Balaban- but focuses around Treat Williams.The first third of the movie features most of the action-including a heart-breaking sequence where Treat helps a snitch score drugs(look for a cameo by a young Cynthia Nixon) and an action packed big score with his squad.But doom is looming in the air- hell the sound design in the first scene leaves no mistake that foreboding and bad tidings are in the offing. I have not seen this flick since it ran on TV in the 80s.The agonizing last 2 thirds of the movie is a mix of speeches and screaming about lies,morals and trust and it is an unrelenting parade of mental hopscotch as the protagonist tries to to protect his friend's from the long arm of the law and his testimony.The DVD has a decent featurette about the movie and the book and has the person the movie is based on.A good movie is lurking in this package- too bad the editor sabotaged the deal with leaving almost everything in(167 minutes). C+