Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Martin Brest

Writers:

Danilo Bach (story)
Daniel Petrie Jr. (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 December 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

In Detroit a cop learns to take the heat. In L.A. he learns to keep his cool. [Theatrical Australia]

Plot:

A freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills.

Plot Keywords:

Gallery | Police | Murder | Art Gallery | Detective

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Eddie Murphy	...	Det. Axel Foley
Judge Reinhold	...	Det. William 'Billy' Rosewood
John Ashton	...	Det. Sgt. John Taggart
Lisa Eilbacher	...	Jeannette 'Jenny' Summers
Ronny Cox	...	Lt. Andrew Bogomil
Steven Berkoff	...	Victor Maitland
James Russo	...	Mikey Tandino
Jonathan Banks	...	Zack, Maitland's Thug
Stephen Elliott	...	Police Chief Hubbard
Gilbert R. Hill	...	Insp. Douglas Todd
Art Kimbro	...	Det. Foster
Joel Bailey	...	Det. McCabe
Bronson Pinchot	...	Serge
Paul Reiser	...	Jeffrey
Michael Champion	...	Casey

Also Known As:

Beverly Drive (USA) (original script title)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | Dolby Digital (Dolby 5.1)

Certification:

Finland:K-14 (re-rating) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-16 (1985) | Portugal:M/12 | Netherlands:12 | Canada:18A | Brazil:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:G (Quebec) | Chile:18 | Ireland:15 | Norway:16 (1985) | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills Civic Center - 19606 450 Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Inspector Todd of the Detroit Police was played by then Detroit City Commissioner Gilbert R. Hill.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: As Foley walks across a tiled floor in Maitland's mansion, his shoes make the sound of men's business shoes, or even women's high heels, but he's wearing running shoes. A Foley error.

Quotes:

Axel Foley: [outside the crime scene in front of Axel's apartment building after Mike is killed] Look, I heard a rumor that you're gonna use Rand on this case, and, between the two of us, the guy doesn't know the time of day.
Inspector Douglas Todd: Don't mess with me now, Axel.
Axel Foley: It's the first time he's left his desk in 12 years!
Inspector Douglas Todd: At least he's had 12 years. Anyway, it's a homicide case and it belongs to Rand. Now go to the hospital!
Axel Foley: Well, you don't mind if I ask around a little bit, do you?
Inspector Douglas Todd: Don't do a damn thing! It's Rand's case. Your ass is skating on thin ice as it is!
Axel Foley: Hey, look, we're talking about a friend of mine, here!
Inspector Douglas Todd: Yes, we are, aren't we! Now, let's take a close look at that. One, a hoodlum friend. Two, a professional hit. Three, in a cop's apartment. This whole thing stinks to high heaven!
Axel Foley: How do you know it was a professional hit?
Inspector Douglas Todd: I didn't just walk into this town from the cotton fields! Whoever killed your friend wasn't worried about your little narrow ass. If they were, you'd be lyin' beside him in that meat wagon. Just don't do a damn thing. Stay out of this!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 50 Greatest Comedy Films (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Rock 'N' Roll Me Again

This is my favorite Eddie Murphy movie.

Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is a sassy, streetwise Detroit detective who travels to Beverly Hills to track down the men who murdered his old friend (James Russo).

That's the simple setup for the most entertaining movie Eddie has ever done (in my opinion). This is a rather easy picture to review because it's so successful it would be hard to find its flaws. It works in many areas: laughs, action, casting, chemistry between the actors, music, and execution.

Axel Foley was truly one of the best roles Eddie's ever had, and the comic is at the top of his game, indulging in a little improvisation as Axel manufactures scams in order to manipulate the people around him and get what he needs. It truly is a pleasure to watch these performers work together. Harold Faltermeyer's electronic pop score is instantly catchy, and the songs are good too. Some bits, notably the 'bananas in the tailpipe', and the 'supercops' story, are inspired.

It's also worth it to see future comedy stars like Paul Reiser (as an amusingly annoying colleague of Axel's), Bronson Pinchot (stealing his two scenes as the art gallery employee Serge), and Damon Wayans (with hair!) as the young guy who gives Axel the bananas.

Why can't Eddie make movies like this nowadays? For every good movie that he does (the "Dr. Dolittle" movies, "Daddy Day Care"), his failures ("Showtime", "Pluto Nash", "I Spy") set him back. To date, his first three movies ("48 HRS.", "Trading Places", and this one) remain his best.

Now that I've seen the special edition version of the videotape, I've learned that for a while the movie was intended to be a serious, non-jokey cop movie starring Sylvester Stallone! How fortunate that it ended up the way that it did.

If you want to see Eddie Murphy at his best, watch this and the other two movies that I mentioned. They are SO worth it.

10/10