| Beverly Hills Cop | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Martin Brest |
| Screenplay by | Daniel Petrie Jr. |
| Story by |
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| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Bruce Surtees |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Harold Faltermeyer |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 105 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $13 million[2] |
| Box office | $320 million[3] |
Beverly Hills Cop is a 1984 Americanbuddy copaction comedy film directed byMartin Brest, with a screenplay byDaniel Petrie Jr., and story byDanilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr. It starsEddie Murphy asAxel Foley, a street-smartDetroit detective who visitsBeverly Hills, California, to solve the murder of his best friend.Judge Reinhold,John Ashton,Ronny Cox,Lisa Eilbacher,Steven Berkoff,Paul Reiser, andJonathan Banks appear in supporting roles.
This first film in theBeverly Hills Cop franchise shot Murphy to international stardom, won thePeople's Choice Award for "Favorite Motion Picture", and was nominated for both theGolden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy andAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1985. The film was released on December 5, 1984, byParamount Pictures. An immediateblockbuster, it received positive reviews and earned $320 million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing film released in the U.S. in 1984. In December 2024, around the time of the film's 40th anniversary and three months afterJohn Ashton’s death, the film was selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry by theLibrary of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[4]
Adjusted for inflation, it is the highest-grossing R-rated film in the U.S. since 1977, with a total box office gross of $730,714,743 in 2024.[5]
Axel Foley is aplainclothesDetroit police detective whose latest unauthorizedsting operation goes sour when two uniformed officers intervene, resulting in a high-speed chase through the city that causes widespread damage. Axel's superior, Inspector Douglas Todd, reprimands Axel that, despite his potential to be a great detective, Axel’s continued reckless behavior will cost him his job should another costly instance occur.
Axel arrives at his apartment to find it has been broken into by his childhood friend, Michael "Mikey" Tandino. Mikey had done prison time for a car theft the pair had committed in their youth, but has since landed a job as asecurity guard inBeverly Hills thanks to mutual friend Jenny Summers. Mikey reveals he has someGermanbearer bonds but does not explain how he obtained them. Returning to the apartment after going to a bar, Axel and Mikey are taken by surprise by two men, Zack and Casey, who knock Axel unconscious, confront Mikey about the bonds, and murder him.
Due to Axel’s close friendship with Mikey, Inspector Todd assigns another detective to handle the Tandino case and warns Axel not to get involved. Axel asks Todd to go on vacation, which Todd allows. However, Todd warns Axel should he interfere with the Tandino investigation, he will be fired. Axel, under the guise of vacation, travels to Beverly Hills to begin investigating Mikey’s murder. Jenny learns about Mikey's ties to Victor Maitland, owner of the art gallery that employs her. Axel goes in disguise to Maitland's office to question him about Mikey, but is ejected by Maitland's bodyguards and arrested. Axel meetsBeverly Hills Police Department Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil, as well as Detective Billy Rosewood and Sergeant John Taggart. Bogomil tells Axel he’s called Inspector Todd and relays Todd’s earlier warning about investigating the Tandino case to Axel. Bogomil then assigns Billy and Taggart to follow Axel, who humiliates them with various pratfalls, including one that disables their car's exhaust with a banana. Billy and Taggart's initial dislike of Axel changes to mutual respect when they co-operatively foil a robbery at astriptease bar.
Axel infiltrates one of Maitland's warehouses, where he finds evidence of drug smuggling and is arrested after a scuffle with Zack at Maitland'scountry club. Beverly Hills Police Chief Hubbard, who has learned of Axel's private investigation, orders him escorted out of town. Axel convinces Billy to take him and Jenny to the warehouse, where he expects another shipment to arrive. Axel and Jenny break in and discover several bags ofcocaine but are discovered by Maitland, Zack and Casey. Maitland takes Jenny and orders Axel killed before admitting to Mikey's murder. Billy rescues Axel after a brief gunfight during which he kills Casey.
To rescue Jenny, Taggart tracks Axel and Billy to Maitland's estate where they wipe out four of Maitland's men, including Zack. Axel kills Maitland with Bogomil's help. Bogomil fabricates an explanation for their unauthorized actions to Chief Hubbard. Realizing Inspector Todd will likely fire him upon his return to Detroit, Axel asks Bogomil to smooth matters over with Inspector Todd, whilst wanting to stay in Beverly Hills as aprivate investigator. Bogomil agrees to talk to Inspector Todd.
Taggart and Billy pay Axel's hotel bill for him and they agree to a farewell drink together.
In 1977,Paramount executiveDon Simpson came up with a movie idea about a cop fromEast L.A. who transferred to Beverly Hills.[6] ScreenwriterDanilo Bach was called in to write the screenplay. Bach pitched his idea to Simpson and Paramount in 1981 under the nameBeverly Drive, about a cop fromPittsburgh named Elly Axel.[6] However, his script was a straight action film and Bach was forced to make changes to the script, but after a few attempts the project went stale.[6] With the success ofFlashdance (1983), Simpson saw the Beverly Hills film as his next big project.[6]
Daniel Petrie Jr. was brought in to rewrite the script and Paramount loved Petrie's humorous approach to the project, with the lead character now called Axel Elly, from Detroit.[6] ProducerJerry Bruckheimer claimed that the role of Axel Foley was first offered toMickey Rourke, who signed a $400,000holding contract to do the film. When revisions and other preparations took longer than expected, Rourke left the project to do another film.Martin Scorsese was offered to direct the film but turned it down as he felt that the film's concept was too similar toCoogan's Bluff.[7]David Cronenberg was also offered to direct the film but also turned it down.[8]
Sylvester Stallone was originally considered for the part of Foley.[9] Stallone gave the script a dramatic rewrite, removing all the story's humor and turning the film back into a standard action movie.[10][6] In one of the previous drafts written for Stallone, the character of Billy Rosewood was called "Siddons" and was killed off half-way through the script during one of the action scenes.[11] Stallone had renamed the lead character to Axel Cobretti, with the character of Michael Tandino being his brother and Jenny Summers playing his love interest.[6]
Stallone has said that his script forBeverly Hills Cop would have "looked like the opening scene fromSaving Private Ryan on the beaches of Normandy. Believe it or not, the finale was me in a stolenLamborghini playing chicken with an oncoming freight train being driven by the ultra-slimy bad guy."[6] Producer Don Simpson let it be known they did not want to move forward with Stallone's revisions; since Stallone was not willing to negotiate the rewrite, Simpson asked writer Charles "Chip" Proser if he could return the script to previous iteration, while leaving most of Stallone's character revisions intact. However, Proser found the task (and turnaround time) preposterous.
"They offered me the rewrite when it was nothing more than Sylvester Stallone and an exotic gun—which was pretty ridiculous", remembered screenwriter Chip Proser, who would later write [an uncredited rewrite of] Simpson and Bruckheimer'sTop Gun.[10]
According to co-producer Don Simpson, Stallone's new script spent too much time on the star 'soaping down his muscles.'[12] Stallone ultimately dropped out two weeks before filming was to start, ostensibly to concentrate on his next picture, the 1984 filmRhinestone.[10] Stallone later used the bulk of these ideas as the basis for the 1986 filmCobra.[13]
Don Simpson would later tell friends a story—impossible to corroborate—about how he finally got Stallone off the project and got the project back on track: He and Stallone had a mutual interest in "youth treatments" and Simpson knew of a Swiss doctor who was experimenting with injections of a sheep hormone that increasedtumescence. Simpson managed to get Stallone's name "put at the top of the list", Simpson boasted to a friend, for an appointment with the very exclusive doctor. Stallone flew toSwitzerland, and Simpson promptly continued working onBeverly Hills Cop without him.[13]
Two days later, the film's producers, Simpson and Bruckheimer, convinced Eddie Murphy to replace Stallone in the film, prompting more rewrites as Murphy felt the original script "was not funny".[14][15] Besides Stallone and Rourke, other actors who were considered for the role of Axel Foley includedRichard Pryor,Al Pacino, andJames Caan.[16]Harrison Ford was offered the role of Axel Foley but turned it down.[17] The final shooting draft of the script, which was extensively revised with Murphy's input, was not completed until the day production began.[18]
The film was budgeted at $14 million, including $4 million for Murphy, and was completed for around $13 million.[2] Production began in May 1984 and continued into the summer, taking place mostly in and around Los Angeles. The opening sequence was filmed over several days in Michigan, in Detroit and nearbyWayne.[18] Many scenes set in Beverly Hills were shot inPasadena, as the city of Beverly Hills prohibited filming after 10:30p.m.[18]
The soundtrack was released onMCA Records and won theGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (1986). It featured three top 10 singles on theBillboard Hot 100, the instrumental title tune, "Axel F", composed and performed byHarold Faltermeyer, theGlenn Frey song "The Heat Is On", and "Neutron Dance," performed by thePointer Sisters. The soundtrack also had twoPatti LaBelle hits, "New Attitude," which hit the top twenty on the US, and the Grammy Award-winning "Stir It Up."[19]
Beverly Hills Cop was released on December 5, 1984, in 1,532 theaters.[3] It debuted in first place at the US box office, making $15,214,805 in its first five days of release. It expanded on December 21 into 2,006 theatres.[3] The film stayed at number one for 13 consecutive weeks and returned to number one in its 15th weekend making 14 non-consecutive weeks at number one tyingTootsie for the film with the most weeks at number one.[20]
The film earned $234,760,478 in the United States, and $316,360,478 worldwide, being the highest-grossing film released in 1984.[21] Adjusted for inflation, it is the third highest-grossing R-rated film of all-time behindThe Exorcist andThe Godfather.[22] For nearly two decades,Beverly Hills Cop held the record for having the highest domestic gross for an R-rated film until 2003, when it was taken byThe Matrix Reloaded.[23]
Adjusted for inflation, it is the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time at the U.S. box office, with a total box office gross of $730,714,743 in 2024.[5]Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold over 67 million tickets in the US.[24]
In retrospective reviews,Beverly Hills Cop has been appraised by newer critics for its blend of action and comedy, and they have noted its enduring popularity.[25]
On review aggregation websiteRotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 83% from 53 critics with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's consensus reads, "The buddy cop movie continues its evolution unabated with this Eddie Murphy vehicle that is fast, furious, and funny."[26]Janet Maslin ofThe New York Times wrote "Beverly Hills Cop finds Eddie Murphy doing what he does best: playing the shrewdest, hippest, fastest-talking underdog in a rich man's world. Eddie Murphy knows exactly what he's doing, and he wins at every turn."[27]
Richard Schickel ofTime magazine wrote that "Eddie Murphy exuded the kind of cheeky, cocky charm that has been missing from the screen sinceCagney was a pup, snarling his way out of the ghetto."[28] Axel Foley became Murphy's signature role and was rankedNo. 78 onEmpire magazine's list ofThe 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.[29]Entertainment Weekly magazine rankedBeverly Hills Cop as the third best comedy film of the last 25 years. According toChristopher Hitchens, the British novelist and poetKingsley Amis considered the film "a flawless masterpiece."[30]
John Simon ofNational Review calledBeverly Hills Cop "a truly contemptible film."[31]Gene Siskel andRoger Ebert seemed to agree, giving the movieTwo Thumbs Down for "wasting a good pretext and cast on an idiotic plotline."[32]
In 2003, the film was picked byThe New York Times as one ofThe 1000 Best Movies Ever Made.[33]
Beverly Hills Cop is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
The film shipped a record 1.3 million videos in the United States on its initial release.[34]
| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Danilo Bach andDaniel Petrie Jr. | Nominated |
| BAFTA Awards | Best Score | Harold Faltermeyer | Nominated |
| Edgar Allan Poe Award | Best Motion Picture Screenplay | Daniel Petrie Jr. | Nominated |
| Golden Globe Award | Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical | Nominated | |
| Best Motion Picture Actor - Comedy or Musical | Eddie Murphy | Nominated | |
| Grammy Award | Best Score Soundtrack Album | Marc Benno,Harold Faltermeyer,Keith Forsey,Micki Free, Jon Gilutin,Howard Hewett,Bunny Hull, Howie Rice, Sharon Robinson,Danny Sembello, Sue Sheridan, Richard Theisen,Allee Willis | Won |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Hall of Fame – Motion Picture | Inducted | |
| People's Choice Awards | Favorite Motion Picture | Won | |
| Stuntman Award | Best Vehicular Stunt (Motion Picture) | Eddy Donno | Won |
American Film Institute Lists
The film spawned afilm series with three sequels,Beverly Hills Cop II,Beverly Hills Cop III andBeverly Hills Cop: Axel F, all starring Eddie Murphy. Judge Reinhold reprised his role for the sequels. John Ashton returned for the second and fourth film, but not third. The second film met with mixed reviews but was a box office success, while the third film was unsuccessful, both critically and commercially.
In 2013, a television series was reported to be in the works forCBS.[39] The pilot was written byShawn Ryan and directed byBarry Sonnenfeld.Brandon T. Jackson was cast as Axel Foley's son.[40] The series was not picked up, but Ryan reported that it tested well enough for Paramount to put a fourth film into production.[41]
On November 14, 2019,Deadline Hollywood announced that Paramount Pictures made a one-time license deal with an option for a sequel toNetflix to create thefourth film.[42] In April 2022,Mark Molloy was announced as the film's director, whileWill Beall penned the script.[43] The official teaser trailer for the fourth film was released on December 14, 2023. The film was released in July 2024.[44]
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