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Innocent people are brutally killed on the streets of New
York by a uniformed police officer. A young cop, Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell),
finds himself marked as the chief suspect after his wife is murdered. As
Lieutenant Frank McCrae (Tom Atkins) investigates these mysterious killings, the
death toll rises and he suspects a mysterious police cover-up. This "maniac" cop
must be stopped, but it might not be so easy! He isn't an ordinary man. He seems
inhuman... and ready to take on the entire police force, hell-bent on revenge!
Long considered a classic of the genre, MANIAC COP was written and produced by
Larry Cohen (PHONE BOOTH, CELLULAR) and directed by William Lustig (MANIAC,
VIGILANTE).
Cast
Trivia
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Although the film is set in New York City, it was only shot
there for three days.
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Three cameras were used to shoot the St. Patrick's Day
parade before the production began. Sam Raimi shot some of this footage,
which was shown to investors to secure the money to "complete" the film.
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Sam Raimi makes a brief cameo as the parade reporter.
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Jake LaMotta makes a brief cameo
as a detective. LaMotta is William Lustig's uncle and a famous boxer.
He was portrayed in the film Raging Bull as the main character by Robert De Niro.
- Dan Hicks from Evil Dead II fame has a cameo as a squad leader when Forrest is spotted and arrested at the parade.
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William Lustig (director of Maniac Cop) makes a brief cameo
as a motel manager.
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Richard Roundtree (Shaft) makes a brief cameo as
Commissioner Pike.
- The Coroner, played by Barry Brenner, was William Lustig's real-life doctor.
- Jill Gatsby is Larry Cohen's daughter and is killed in every one of his movies that she's in.
- William Lustig won the Best Director award at the 1988
Festival International de Paris du Film Fantastique et
de Science Fiction for Maniac Cop.
Goofs
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Continuity: When Jack Forrest is leaving his wife
behind to go on night duty, there is sunlight coming through the window.
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Revealing mistakes: When Theresa is trying to escape
the maniac while still handcuffed to the corpse of the police sergeant he's
just stabbed, the "corpse" helpfully moves out of the way so that she can
throw a stool through the window.
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Continuity: During the climactic Pier 14 sequence,
Cordell's extensive facial scarring is only seen in close-ups. In all the
medium shots his face is clearly unscathed.
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Revealing mistakes: When McCrae is looking through
the Cordell newspaper archive, you can momentarily see that the articles
themselves are completely unrelated to the story.
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Boom mic visible: When the maniac cop kills the drunk
driver, in the shot through the windshield the boom mike is visible.
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Continuity: During final chase scene the Chevy police
cruiser goes from a '79 to an '80 and back again. The SWAT van is also a
Chevy until it goes in the drink - then it becomes an International.
Bodycount
Cassie Philips - Neck-crushed simulating a hanging aka "deceleration"
Cool Kid - Throat slashed then thrown through car windshield
Musician - Handcuffed then has face placed in wet cement(hilarious novelty death)
Police Officer - Shot in the head by crazy woman
Ellen Forrest - Throat slit
Police Officer 2 - Hanged by his belt
Sally Noland -
Face repeatedly smashed against the wall
Police Officer 3 - Head smashed into bars
Police Officer 4 - Throat handcuffed to the bars
Police Officer 5 - Hanged
Police Officer 6 - Unknown. Body found at the bottom of stairs
Police Officer 7 - Unknown but could of been shot in the head due to the location of blood/gore
Police Officer 8 - Unknown. Killed off screen. Corpse is visible
in shadows in the same frame as the above victim
Frank McCrae - Thrown out of a window then lands on a parked taxi cab
Commissioner Pike - Stabbed in the chest
Captain Ripley - Stabbed in the chest
Fowler
- Stabbed in the stomach after some atrocious pick-up lines; later
comes back from the dead and sits up to move out of Theresa's way so
she can escape through a window. Assumed to have returned to the dead
shortly thereafter.
Pier 14 Security Guard - Hit by Cordell-driven police van; possible survivor
Police Officer
9 - Shot by shotgun that is jumpkicked out of Cordell's hand by Jack Forrest
Mayor Jerry Killium, New York's Fighting Mayor - Killed off camera
DVD/VHS/Laserdisc
To open the full images, click on the thumbnails below.
Region 1 NSTC DVD (Elite Entertainment)
Region 0 NSTC DVD (Synapse Films)
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Region 1 DVD (Legacy)
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Region 2 DVD (Optimum Releasing)
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Region 0 PAL DVD (Synergy)
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Region 2 DVD (Integral - France)
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Region 0 NTSC DVD (Garry's Trading Company - Hong Kong)
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Region 2 PAL DVD Red Edition (VCL/Laser Paradise - Germany)
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Maniac Cop Trilogy 3-Disc Region 2 PAL Steelbook
(Overseas Filmgroup/First Look)
To
see a clearer version of the front cover, click
here.
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North American VHS (Trans World Entertainment)
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North American VHS (Star Classics Inc.)
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North American VHS (Elite Entertainment)
Region 1
Laserdisc (Elite Entertainment)
Alternate Versions
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All UK cinema and video versions were cut by 5 secs by the
BBFC to edit some of the stabbing during the shower scene. The cuts were
fully waived in the 2004 extended Optimum DVD release.
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In the Collector's Edition at the end of the movie there are
scenes featuring the mayor and his aide.
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The Canadian DVD by Legacy Entertainment is 88 minutes.
Reviews
Retro Slashers review by Michael Keene
Oh, The Horror! review by Josh G
HorrorDVDs.Com review
Stomp Tokyo Review by Chris Holland and Scott Hamilton
Eccentric Cinema Review
Maniac Cop Review at Moria
BBC Review
Maniac Cop Review at Obscure Horror
Eat My Brains Review
DVD Talk Review
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