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Chicago police lieutenant Mike Torello (Dennis Farina,
Law and Order)
wages an epic battle against organized crime in Michael Mann’s arresting
combination of cops and robbers, prime time soap, and
film
noir. Like Eliot Ness and the
Untouchables, Torello and his Major Crimes Unit (MCU) have a formidable opponent
in Ray Luca (Anthony Denison, The Closer), a young, ambitious thug who will do whatever it
takes to claw his way to the top.
Set in 1963, Crime
Story starts off with a bang. A
hostage situation leads to an explosive car chase that culminates with a
dramatic shootout ... all before the opening credits! From here, the pilot takes us into a dark, brooding, brutal
world where “half the time, you don’t know which side the law is on.”
Cops like Torello shoot first and ask questions later--a mind-set that
was prevalent in the days before the Miranda
decision. “The attitude of these
guys was outrageous,” said Mann in 1986.
“They were out in the streets doing justice.
They were very passionate about nailing bad guys.”
The brutal tactics Torello uses might be shocking to
see today, but that’s the way
it was in the pre-Miranda
era. “You gotta remember,”
added Dennis Farina, “this takes place in 1963.
It’s pre-Civil Rights, and pre-a lot of things.”
Crime Story had
one of the most unusual premieres in TV history. Because the pilot
wasn’t available for screening during the annual summer press tour, NBC
arranged
for “sneak previews” of the two-hour episode at selected movie
theaters across the country. That
surely had to please Mann, who felt all along (and rightfully so) that the pilot
“had the look and feel” of a feature film.
Other
Crime Story links:
Crime
Story
Discussion Group on A&E
Crime
Story Episode Guide
Kevin
Spacey Guest Stars on Crime Story
Did
Crime Story Ever
Jump
the Shark?
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Crime
Story:
The Collector's Edition
featuring liner notes
by Ed Robertson
Crime Story:
Two-Hour Pilot Episode
Crime Story:
"For Love or Money"
and "Hide and Go Thief"
Crime Story:
"Final Transmission"
and "Shadow Dancer"
Crime Story:
"Old Friends, Dead Ends"
and "Justice Hits the Skids"
Crime Story:
"The St. Louis Book of Blues"
and "The War"
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