Busting

Busting
Directed by Peter Hyams
Produced by Robert Chartoff
Irwin Winkler
Written by Peter Hyams
Starring Elliott Gould
Robert Blake
Allen Garfield
Antonio Fargas
Sid Haig
Michael Lerner
Music by Billy Goldenberg
Cinematography Earl Rath
Editing by James Mitchell
Studio United Artists
Release date(s) 1974
Running time 91 min.
Country United States
Language English

Busting is a 1974 film directed by Peter Hyams, starring Elliott Gould and Robert Blake as Los Angeles police detectives.

Plot

The film is episodic, depicting the two detectives teaming on several different cases, with varying degrees of success. The main focus of the movie centers on them trying to bust one main criminal, an LA crime king-pin named "Rizzo" (Allen Garfield).

The film is extremely cynical, strongly implying that crime does pay ... and that the biggest criminals in society are corrupt politicians and businessmen who will never be punished for their crimes. The film ends with an unusual soundtrack flash-forward. While we see Gould attempting to arrest a powerful figure who will ultimately walk free, we also hear something which hasn't happened yet: Gould's character quitting the police force and applying for a civilian job.

Production notes

Busting is similar to the movie Freebie and the Bean, although the latter was more comedic, and was actually delayed in release so as not to specifically compete with Busting. Busting did not do as well at the box office as the later Freebie and the Bean, arguably due to its harder, more cynical style / tone.

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