This $63 Million Thriller Brilliantly United Sylvester Stallone & Robert De Niro 27 Years Ago

Twenty-seven years ago, Cop Land united Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro on screen for the first time. Although it doesn’t necessarily innovate on its tried-and-true genres, the neo-noir crime thriller is a solid entry, especially because of its stars. In fact, it’s probably Stallone’s most underrated movie. Joined by other crime-drama mainstays like Harvey Keitel (Pulp Fiction) and Ray Liotta (Goodfellas), Stallone and De Niro bring a ton of charisma to their respective roles of Sheriff Freddy Heflin and Lieutenant Moe Tilden. Still, it’s hard to believe Cop Land was their first joint outing.

Stallone, one of only two actors to have starred in box office-topping films across six consecutive decades, had his big break in 1976 with the pop-cultural phenomenon Rocky. The Oscar-nominated sports drama launched the Rocky movie franchise and opened the door for the Rambo star’s rise as an action hero. De Niro, meanwhile, also hit it big in the mid-70s thanks to his Oscar-winning role in The Godfather sequel. Although De Niro continued to pursue dramatic roles and Martin Scorsese collaborations, there’s no denying the intriguing overlap between the two actors’ rather legendary careers.

Cop Land Starred Sylvester Stallone & Robert De Niro – Here’s What It’s About

Corrupt New York City Police Officers Take Center Stage In James Mangold’s 1997 Crime Drama

Most well known for directing genre-spanning films like Logan, Walk the Line, and Girl, Interrupted, James Mangold’s best movies also include 1997’s Cop Land. Although the film made a modest $63.7 million at the box office against it’s $15 million budget and received solid reviews from critics, it’s something of an underrated gem nearly 30 years after its release. In Cop Land, Stallone plays Sheriff Freddy Heflin, a small-town New Jersey lawman. Exploiting a loophole, a group of corrupt NYPD cops, helmed by their ringleader Ray Donlan (Harvey Keitel), live in Heflin’s Jersey town.

Deaf in one ear, Heflin is unable to join the NYPD, so he comes to idolize Donlan. When Moe Tilden (De Niro), an Internal Affairs investigator, tries to build a case against the dirty cops, Heflin isn’t initially interested in helping him. However, things take a darker turn when Donlan’s nephew, Officer Murray Babitch (Michael Rapaport), murders two Black teenagers. Donlan helps Babitch cover up his crimes and fake his death. Terrified of his uncle, Babitch tries to go to Heflin for help, which pulls Stallone’s sheriff directly into the corrupt cops’ messy schemes.

Cop Land Made Great Use Of Both Stallone & De Niro

The Movie’s Leads Play The Types Of Roles That Have Come To Define Their Careers

Cop Land plays to both of its stars’ strengths in different ways. Still, the actors, both known for some of the greatest portrayals of boxers in movie history, shine in Cop Land. De Niro plays a character who is right in his crime-drama wheelhouse, though it is refreshing to see him on the just side of the law as opposed to playing a mob boss or gangster. Stallone, who’d just come off a string of comedic roles, received praise for his performance, with critics noting that Stallone successfully sheds his movie-star gloss to play a more everyday character.

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This $44M Sylvester Stallone & Robert De Niro Movie Comedy Paid Off A 33-Year-Old Movie Dream

An under-the-radar comedy film featuring Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro actually pays off another 33-year-old sports movie dream for viewers.

Stallone & De Niro’s Second Movie Together Wasn’t As Good, But Is Still Worth Watching

Grudge Match Sees Stallone & De Niro Squaring Off In The Boxing Ring

Grudge Match

Directed by Peter Segal, Grudge Match is a Sports Comedy film starring Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, and Kevin Hart. The plot sees two retired boxers having a grudge match to settle a long-time rivalry.

Director

Peter Segal

Release Date

December 13, 2013

Studio(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributor(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Writers

Tim Kelleher , Rodney Rothman

Runtime

113 Minutes

Budget

$40million

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In 2013, Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro reunited on the silver screen once more in Grudge Match, a sports comedy film that casts the duo as rival aging boxers who climb into the ring for one last match. The whole conceit of Grudge Match hinges on its stars’ past roles as boxers: Stallone starred in the Rocky movies, while De Niro nabbed an Oscar for Scorsese’s sports drama Raging Bull. Although Grudge Match isn’t a great movie by any stretch, it’s worth watching for the meta link between its two leads, but only after the far superior Cop Land.

Cop Land is streaming on Paramount+; Grudge Match is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.