City Hall (film)

City Hall
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Harold Becker
Produced by	Harold Becker Kenneth Lipper Charles Mulvehill Edward R. Pressman
Written by	Kenneth Lipper Paul Schrader Nicholas Pileggi Bo Goldman
Starring	Al Pacino John Cusack Bridget Fonda Danny Aiello Richard Schiff David Paymer Martin Landau
Music by	Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography	Michael Seresin
Edited by	David Bretherton Robert C. Jones
Production company	Castle Rock Entertainment
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	February 16, 1996 (1996-02-16)
Running time	111 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$40 million
Box office	$20,340,204

City Hall is a 1996 film directed by Harold Becker, starring Al Pacino, John Cusack, and Bridget Fonda. According to the website Box Office Mojo, the film grossed an estimated $20 million in the U.S.

This was Becker's second collaboration with Pacino, having directed him in Sea of Love (1989).

Plot

John Pappas is the mayor of New York City and has far more grand ambitions, including the governor's office and the White House. His loyal deputy mayor is Kevin Calhoun, a young man from Louisiana who grew up loving politics.

One day, an off-duty police detective named Eddie Santos is ambushed by Tino Zapatti, a criminal with mob ties. They kill each other in a shootout, with a stray bullet also causing the death of an innocent small boy named James Bone.

An investigation leads to a question as to why Judge Walter Stern, an old friend of the mayor's, had set Zapatti free on probation for a recent crime rather than sending him to jail. Legal aid Marybeth Cogan, meanwhile, attempts to see that Santos' widow receives his full benefits, but there seems to be a conspiracy to paint the slain detective as less than honest.

While the mayor speaks at the child's funeral, Calhoun digs for answers. He is wary of Frank Anselmo, a Brooklyn politician who has connections to organized crime boss Paul Zapatti, the uncle of the cop-killer. Anselmo plants money at Zapatti's behest, to smear the detective's good name.

The deputy mayor and Cogan continue to seek the truth from a number of sources, including Santos' partner and another Zapatti relative. After the murder of probation officer Larry Schwartz, they ultimately conclude that Judge Stern had to be on the take.

Pappas agrees that Stern must resign. The scandal snowballs to the point where Zapatti instructs Anselmo to "take the pressure off" himself, by which he means commit suicide rather than become an informer or go to jail. To protect his family, Anselmo shoots himself.

The scandal is nearly at an end, but Calhoun knows one more thing—his idol, the mayor, is also involved. It is the mayor who put Stern together with Anselmo to receive a bribe and leave the young Zapatti on the street. Calhoun soon tells Pappas there is only one choice—to quit as mayor and leave politics for good. ("You're gonna take yourself out, John. You're gonna take yourself out.")

Cast

• Al Pacino as Mayor John Pappas
• John Cusack as Kevin Calhoun
• Danny Aiello as Frank Anselmo
• Bridget Fonda as Marybeth Cogan
• Tony Franciosa as Paul Zapatti
• Martin Landau as Judge Walter Stern
• David Paymer as Abe Goodman
• Richard Schiff as Larry Schwartz
• Harry Bugin as Morty the Waiter

Reception

City Hall received mixed reviews from critics and ranks 54% at Rotten Tomatoes, based on 24 reviews.

Box office

The movie debuted at number four at the United States box office.

External links

• City Hall at IMDb
• City Hall at Rotten Tomatoes
• City Hall at Box Office Mojo
• Mayor Pappas's Eulogy in Text and Audio from AmericanRhetoric.com