Serpico

film by Lumet [1973]

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July 23, 2026

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Serpico is a 1973 American crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino. The film is based on the 1973 book of the same name by Peter Maas, which details the true story of New York City police officer Frank Serpico.1

Serpico, an undercover cop, becomes disillusioned with the widespread corruption within the New York Police Department. His attempts to expose this corruption put his life in danger and lead to his isolation from his colleagues. The film was a critical and commercial success, earning Al Pacino an Academy Award nomination for his performance. Sidney Lumet was known for his psychological dramas that often explored themes of betrayal, corruption, and disillusionment.1

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Dino De Laurentiis
…films as the crime drama Serpico (1973)—the rights to which he acquired when the biography upon which it was based was only a 20-page draft—Death Wish (1974), Three Days of the Condor (1975), and King Kong (1976), as well as Ragtime (1981), a critically lauded adaptation of E.L. Doctorow
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…films as the crime drama Serpico (1973)—the rights to which he acquired when the biography upon which it was based was only a 20-page draft—Death Wish (1974), Three Days of the Condor (1975), and King Kong (1976), as well as Ragtime (1981), a critically lauded adaptation of E.L. Doctorow
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Sidney Lumet
The 1970s: Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, and Network
…was then his biggest hit, Serpico, and it began the director’s frequent examination of police corruption. The grim drama was adapted from the Peter Maas book about real-life undercover cop Frank Serpico (played by Al Pacino), whose life was endangered after he exposed graft and corruption in the New York…
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…was then his biggest hit, Serpico, and it began the director’s frequent examination of police corruption. The grim drama was adapted from the Peter Maas book about real-life undercover cop Frank Serpico (played by Al Pacino), whose life was endangered after he exposed graft and corruption in the New York…
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Al Pacino
Stardom: The Godfather, Serpico, and Scarface
…transients, and his roles in Serpico (1973) and Dog Day Afternoon (1975) displayed Pacino’s characteristic screen qualities of brooding seriousness and explosive rage. He also repeated the role of Michael Corleone for Coppola’s The Godfather, Part II (1974), a film that, like its predecessor, won the best picture Oscar.
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…transients, and his roles in Serpico (1973) and Dog Day Afternoon (1975) displayed Pacino’s characteristic screen qualities of brooding seriousness and explosive rage. He also repeated the role of Michael Corleone for Coppola’s The Godfather, Part II (1974), a film that, like its predecessor, won the best picture Oscar.
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