Al Pacino stars in William Friedkin's (THE EXORCIST, THE FRENCH CONNECTION) notorious neon-lit time capsule, CRUISING, a polarizing crime thriller that stirred controversy when it was released in 1980 due to both its depiction of the gay community and its thematic exploration of identity and sexuality.

The film follows Detective Steve Burns (Pacino) who goes undercover to infiltrate New York City's seedy subculture to lure a vicious psychopathic serial killer who is scouring New York City's gay clubs for victims out of the shadows. To do this, he is ordered to don leather attire, hang at the city's S&M joints, and keep an eye out for the killer. But as Steve becomes immersed in club-hopping, he begins to identify with the subculture more than he expected. Meanwhile, as Steve begins to behave distantly around his girlfriend, the police force's homophobia becomes apparent and the killer remains at large. With Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Richard Cox, Joe Spinell.

"The film is ugly and mean, but art is fundamentally a search for the truth, and when the vision starts to become unpalatable, is it suddenly right for us to complain?" (Washington Blade)

"At its best, this William Friedkin effort is an American giallo and a document of a community just before HIV/AIDS came along and demolished it." (Nashville Scene)

"William Friedkin's 'Cruising' is a work of art." (Boston Globe)

"It's a lurid, twisted film that brings you into its world and completely works you over." (San Francisco Chronicle)

"'Cruising' is a mediocre thriller but an amazing time capsule -- a heady, horny flashback to the last gasp of full-blown sexual abandon, and easily the most graphic depiction of gay sex ever seen in a mainstream movie." (Village Voice)

Wednesday, July 30
Doors 9:00 pm | Movie 9:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

CRUISNG (William Friedkin, 1980 / 18A / 102 mins) A police officer goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.