Buried in the depths of Nu Image’s catalogue is a tale of cops and corruption that’s ripe for reappraisal. Dave takes a look…

When Forbes Magazine dubbed him ‘The Godfather of Reality TV’, John Langley responded with a curt “I’m not taking responsibility for all the bastards that followed” [1]. Cops, which Langley co-created with Malcolm Barbour, first aired in 1989 and immediately changed the small screen landscape forever. Adopting the ‘ride along’ format, the show’s window into the lives of law enforcement officials drew praise for its verité style and dogged insistence on authenticity.

A one-time PhD student at the University of California, Langley’s path to success was a winding one that took him via Gene Roddenberry (he was a researcher for the Star Trek creator) to the drug trade and an acclaimed documentary, Cocaine Blues (1983). Langley practically went broke making it, but its success led to work with Geraldo Rivera on ABC which resulted in him having the cachet to deliver Cops to Fox.

Langley had always been keen to try his hand at feature films though – and by the mid ‘90s he found himself in the producer’s chair for Gunfighter’s Moon (1995) and Wild Side (1995). The latter, of course, led to the tempestuous collaboration between Nu Image and Performance (1970) and Demon Seed (1977) director Donald Cammell, whereupon the relentless meddling of Messrs. Lerner and Dimbort were believed to have been a contributing factor in the maverick auteur’s suicide. Nevertheless, for Langley, this newfound partnership with Nu Image yielded the opportunity to direct.

Unsurprisingly, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree when it came to the theme of DOGWATCH (or, as it’s occasionally presented, ‘Dog Watch’). Sam Elliott stars as Falon: a hardboiled plod with the personality hat-trick of xenophobia, homophobia and sexism who spends his downtime in a strip joint called The Cherry Lounge. One night, tragedy strikes. Falon stumbles out of the club to discover that his long-time wingman, Levinson (Mike Burstyn), has been killed, and the person he presumes to be the killer is standing over him. Consumed by rage, he beats the suspect to death and disposes of the body in a nearby river. With a new partner – and self-appointed moral compass – in tow (Esai Morales), not only is Falon faced with being the lead detective on a murder case that he himself is part of, but he has to contend with the knowledge that the man he shared a car with has been running drugs on the sly.

Langley’s film oozes class. A jazzy score from Clint Eastwood’s go-to composer, Lennie Niehaus, is perfectly suited, and the photography from Wes Anderson’s favourite cinematographer, Robert Yeoman, cements an air of indisputable quality. Even though this has a more contemporary feel, there’s comparisons to be had with Curtis Hanson’s L.A. Confidential (1997). Not only did both films commence shooting within a week of each other, but Dogwatch opts for a similar streak of shocking violence which is delivered with the same blistering ferocity, while the cops could easily inhabit the rumpled pages of a well-thumbed James Ellroy novel.

You’d know it without even having to put the tape in your top-loader, but the principal reason for recommending Dogwatch lies with Elliott. Spending the decade alternating between impressive cable TV westerns (The Desperate Trail (1994)) and cult classics (The Big Lebowski (1998)), the realm of direct-to-video was a rarely travelled road for the moustachioed icon. Falon is a difficult human being to watch, never mind like, but Elliott brings a mind-blowing intensity to the flawed lawman. In doing so, he renders Langley’s sole directing gig a hidden jewel in Nu Image’s already glowing crown.

USA ● 1997 ● Thriller ● 99mins

Sam Elliott, Esai Morales, Paul Sorvino, Dan Lauria, Mimi Craven ● Dir. John Langley ● Wri. Martin Zurla, Dan Lauria

[1] Talking Television with Cops’ John Langley by Lacey Rose, Forbes Magazine, 3^rd March 2010.