Alicia I love this movie so much

Ehirerapp Waste of time

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Rexanne It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

a_baron I saw this film on video when it came out, and have published two reviews about it elsewhere over the years. Having read all the other reviews of it on this site I can say only that I am astounded both that anyone should think the ending is weak, and that no one seems really to understand it at all. Though Mamet is a Jew, and may have written this with a deliberately Jewish theme, this is a film that is ultimately not about Jews at all.There are two distinct strands to "Homicide", and they come together at the end. Detective Robert Gold is on the trail of a black gangster who has not simply blood but police blood on his hands. In addition to tracking down this guy he is given the task of looking into what appears to be an attack on an influential Jewish family. Gold resents this not because they are Jews but because he has a more important task at hand, and doesn't like people higher up the food chain pulling wires to curry favour at his expense - as he sees it. However, this alleged attack is quickly linked in his mind as in other people's with the murder of a lowly, elderly shopkeeper who as well as being Jewish has a semi-secret past. When he finds a piece of paper on a rooftop, a piece of paper with a strange word written on it, he becomes convinced there is a conspiracy at work, and without realising it, becomes drawn into an entirely different conspiracy himself.Robert Gold is first and foremost a police officer, a specialist hostage negotiator, he realises at the end of the film that this rather than his ethnic or lapsed religious identity is what defines him, and that he has betrayed his own kind. Alas, he is not the only one, because the man he is hunting has been betrayed after a fashion, by his own mother. And when Gold learns the prosaic truth about the murder of the shopkeeper and the true significance of that piece of paper, he realises the extent of his own folly.Truly a masterpiece.

athena24 I have deliberated whether to give it a 6 or a 7. From my point of view it should be somewhere around 6.5, but I think that a score of 7 would be to high for it.The good about 'Homicide' is the story and the fine act. I always found Joe Mantegna to be a good actor, playing smart, talkative characters. The plot is nice (though have some flaws).The main problem of the movie, in my opinion, is the slow pace. It takes about an hour till things start rolling. Its' pace and the twist at the end reminded me of Francis Ford Coppolas' 'The Conversation'. But its' shorter, and not as satisfying as the latter.

Maziun *SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS"Homicide " is a movie from David Mamet that feels like a movie , instead of stage play like his other movies. It's surprising well directed . It has a dark , gritty feel . The dialogue are great , after all it's a trademark of Mamet. The actors are allowed to show emotions and they gave energetic performances.Joe Mantegna is great in the main role , even better than he was in "House of games". Of course he plays now a different character and is the main star. His character is tough and independent , yet his also a good man . Mantegna shows the transformation of his character in a very believable way . I was also surprised and delighted to see William Macy as a tough guy for once instead of his usual "shy guy" role. Ving Rhames gives a good episode. Anyway the acting is rally good here and even Rebecca Pidgeon (Mamet's second wife) is watchable."Homicide" is a good drama about identity , about discovering one and losing another . It's a sad , bitter and very real life movie. The final exchange of looks between Mantegna and the prisoner reminds us how evil very often comes from the need to do good.The main problem is the ending . It works as a drama , but from logical point of view it's one big plot hole. 1) Was there a Secret Jewish organization or not ? I have seen this movie two times and it's still a confusing thing . Personally I think they were arms dealers. 2) It really doesn't matter who they were . The point is that the whole operation was a trick to convince Mantegna to give them the list . The problem is that a) they couldn't be sure that Mantegna will find it (he did find it very accidentally) , b) he couldn't give the list to them , because it was locked in police headquarters. I thought (the first time I've seen the movie) that "Homicide" will end with Mantegna stealing the list from the headquarters and getting fired. They were able to blackmail Mantegna with photos , but they couldn't be really sure that Mantegna will care so much to personally destroy the shop. 3) In the end the Jews failed because Mantegna is fired from police and he won't be able to steal the list , even if he would want to. So the lists lies in the police headquarters and they are left with nothing despite so much work…I give it 7/10.

rowmorg David Mamet delivers a solid police procedural with an interesting side-light on the ID crisis of Robert Mantegna's detective Bob Gold. William H. Macy plays is Bob's cop partner, a 1991 break-through for this player. The Jewish angle that distracts Gold from his prime goal and brings him down is curious, considering that he might easily have encountered such situations before. Anyway, it's a different way to carry off a police procedural, and Mamet pulls it off nicely.This DVD is a Criterion publication, and it's been cleaned up, bringing out the good photography. Of course, I can't talk about the plot in detail, but suffice it to say that it does not quite turn out as expected.