Weekend Buff

The New Centurions (1972)

The New Centurions (1972)

The New Centurions should be required watching for anyone considering a police career.  It might be the darkest cop film of all time.  It contains many lessons on what to watch out for to anyone starting a police job.  Police work, of course, isn’t all bad, but some of the worst elements of the job are on display here.  

The movie is based on the 1971 novel by the same name by Joseph Wambaugh, who was an LAPD cop.  It stars Stacy Keach as “Roy”, a newly minted LAPD cop with dreams of using his police paycheck to pay for law school.  The LAPD is a temporary job for him.  He is partnered up with Kilvinski, played by George C. Scott, an old LAPD veteran who is considering retirement after decades on the force. 

On its surface this film is about two partners and their adventures in a radio car patrolling the seedy streets of Los Angeles.  As the story progresses, we see the true meaning of the film: how police work transforms the two men.  One of the front end of his career, and one on the back.  There is a saying in policework, “the job changes you”.  This is on full display here in The New Centurions.

Roy quickly becomes emersed in his new job, working nights, making collars, and living off the adrenaline rush that police work gives you multiple times a tour.  He quickly changes his career goal, dropping out of school and focusing on policework to the detriment of his health, his sobriety, his ambition, and most importantly, his family.  The job is his life – cops have seen this story hundreds of times. 

Kilvinski imparts lessons on life and policing on Roy, trying to make him a better cop, but seeing the trap he is falling into.  Kilvinski doesn’t always take his own advice, as uncontrollable rage and violence bubbles to the surface on occasion.  He himself lives for policing and doesn’t seem to have much going on outside the job. Eventually Kilvinski must do what all cops do, he turns in his shield and retires.  As Roy takes on the weight of policing, Kilvinski must shed it.  Neither is a simple task, and the stress becomes too much for both men.

As we accompany the men on their tours of duty, the movie touches on many themes that are still important today: illegal immigration, gay rights, criminal justice reform, and police brutality.  Kilvinski provides some great quotes about policing throughout the movie. “The public doesn’t understand, lawyers, judges, - don’t understand.  They only see the criminals.  We (cops) see the victims. We know what crime does to people because we see them like no one else does.”  There is not a cop in the world who can’t relate to that statement.

The New Centurions runs about an hour and forty minutes.  It is not a feelgood movie, but it gives some insight into the pitfalls that can befall cops and the struggles of a job that is a front row seat to human tragedy.  An important insight for civilians and a more important lesson for cops - get help before demons get the better of you.  Check out The New Centurions this weekend and stay frosty. 

Thanks for reading The Ops Desk and stay safe!