Crime Story

1986

Seasons & Episodes

  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
8.3| TV-PG| en| More Info
Released: 19 September 1986 Canceled
Producted By: New World Television
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

The hard-boiled saga of hair-trigger cop Lieutenant Mike Torello and his obsessive pursuit of ruthless gangster Ray Luca.

Genre

Drama, Crime, Mystery

Watch Online

Crime Story (1986) is now streaming with subscription on Freevee

Director

Production Companies

New World Television

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime.
Watch Now
Crime Story Videos and Images
View All

Crime Story Audience Reviews

Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.
filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
S.R. Dipaling I watched this show faithfully practically from the first show and throughout its run. When this show premiered in 1986,I was a freshman in high school and hadn't yet gotten access to my own car,so my social life was kinda limited. Knowing that,many of my Friday nights(when they,NBC,first plugged this show into their line-up)were "freed up" to watch television and I was usually between this show and the even shorter-lived ABC series "Starman". Ordinarily,I wouldn't ever suggest that one should eschew a social life in order to watch television,but I have to say that,where this show is concerned,I'm kinda glad I didn't have much of a social calendar.Producer Michael Mann,flush with success in the mid-eighties from his white hot popular,MTV-fueled crime show "Miami Vice",created this show,a change of pace from the slick,'80s "Vice": cold,rough Chicago of 1963,where pre-Miranda warning cops battled tough,old school mobsters and rising,ambitious hoods. In this setting we watch as a war is brewing between two particulars:tough,no-nonsense Major Case squad Lt.Michael Torello(Dennis Farina,actual Chicago cop turned actor,excellent) and rising young-ish hood Ray Luca(Anthony Denison,so good here he's become somewhat prone to typecasting). As Luca's climb in the outfit continues to rise,the body count of people he uses(including some friends of Torello's)rises,and this fuels the drama further still. Famously,the show's producers,by the end of 1986-87 had reasoned that the relatively low ratings had doomed the show to cancellation,this prompting the last episode to feature two of the main characters(I won't say which ones,since I'm certain that not EVERYONE knows about this show)were offed by a nuclear bomb detonation. So when the show's loyal fan base demanded the show to be brought back by a semi-reluctant NBC,the show,already changed of scenery to glitzy Las Vegas and the Chicago cops now Marshalls of the Department of Justice,had to undergo a fair amount of writer change and the storyline began to become stranger and more stilted,yet I still found the show very compelling. Many of the actors on the show have gone on to many other--and much more famous and successful--projects,but I still remember them from their stint on this show. This show was also a launching pad for then-unknown actors such as Lorraine Bracco,Gary Sinise,Stanley Tucci,David Caruso and Julia Roberts.I think it's a testimony to a show's potency when it can be off the air almost twenty years and STILL inspire plenty of interest on its IMDb site and on various TV and video websites.Heck,even the THEME SONG(Del Shannon re-doing his hit "Runaway")I thought set the mood and tone for the show,further adding to the enjoyment. Having seen all of the episodes at least twice,I feel like I may be inclined to buy the eps on DVD yet. While it may seem a little dated,restrained and hokey by today's TV crime drama standards,I'd still recommend one--if one can run across this show--to give "Crime Story" a look.
cubman59 This show,and it's 1940s companion(also on NBC)"Private Eye",certainly made 1980s TV watching quite fun.I really enjoyed the exploits of Mike Torello and his group of crime fighters,and the scenery of Chicago and Las Vegas each and every week!!If you love shows like "The Untouchables",and "The Rookies",then you should give this one a try,you won't be sorry.Now that this series is available on DVD,it will finally be seen for the work of art that it is.I enjoy any series that re-creates a decade well,and "Crime Story"is no exception,the look and the feel of the show is pure 1960s,and the acting is excellent,in fact,so good that you find yourself rooting for the good guys without realizing it.All in all,a tour-de-force of the small screen!
alexmachine This tv show had it all, great characters played by a fantastic cast, some of the coolest cops and villians you could ever ask for, great music, the cars, the atmosphere and dialogue, and a plot that went way beyond any single episode! It's the story of one cop named Michael Torello (Dennis Farina) who makes it his life's mission to bring down a "ruthless hood" named Ray Luca (Anthony Denison) who is quickly working his way to the top of the Chicago organized crime syndicate. Along the way, you're introduced to other key figures, like Andrew Dice Clay's character Max Goldman and a performance by Joseph Wiseman as Manny Weisbord that stands just as strong as anything The Godfather produced (in my absolutely biased opinion, of course). Don't forget Pauli Taglia, Ray's henchman, and rockin' Frank Holman (the same guy who plays Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs), who bears an intriguing resemblance to the Rev. Horton Heat! The series started in Chicago, migrated to Las Vegas about a third of the way through, and ends in Latin America of all places. I won't give anything away here, but I will warn you that if you see the pilot, you'll want to get your hands on the rest of the series. Unfortunately, that's not as easy. The tapes show up on ebay regularly but aren't cheap. Good news is that Anchor Bay is releasing all the episodes on dvd really soon, so it's probably just better to wait for that. Alot of the tapes were copied in SLP mode anyway, and don't have the best quality. This series has a severe cult following now, even though it only aired for two seasons in the '80s. I introduced my girlfriend at the time to this show, and while she was skeptical at first, by the end she insisted we had to get the rest of the series. You'll watch it over and over again and pick up on stuff you miss everytime, not to mention the stories are just classic and filled to overflowing with one-liners and scenes! Michael Mann is a genius for making this show happen. I hated Miami Vice, but this was just "the greatest thing, since bullets"---Yikes!!!!, I could write on and on about the merits of this series!! It's hard to believe how few people know about Crime Story! Don't be one of those people, check it out!
SquirePM I admit it's redundant to add my review to all these others. Theyare all correct in their various forms of praise for this show. But Ican't help myself. This was just SUCH A GREAT SERIES that Ihave to add my kudos. The cast list is jampacked with stars andstars-to-be. Just click on each of them and see all the terrificentertainment they've given us. Together in this show, withwonderful writing and directing, they eclipsed every crime dramathat has ever appeared on our TV sets, including The Untouchables andMiami Vice. All the cops here were wonderful, but I can't helpsingling out the cast of bad guys. They really drove the show to itsgreatest heights. Among so many of them, I must mention theawesome performances of Anthony John Denison, AndrewDice Clay, Ted Levine and Jay O. Sanders. Each embodied thedarkest evil, and each in his own unique way. Oh, I *SO* wantedthem brought to justice!