Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- bleak
- harrowing
- oppressive
- gritty crime night
- 1970s cinema marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly recognize the film's strong performances and socially pointed urban crime framework while sharply disagreeing over its excessive, graphic violence and oppressive tone.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The investigation and gang pursuit unfold amid conflict between Black gangs, Italian organized crime, and racially divided police perspectives in Harlem.
Location shooting in Harlem and other distressed New York neighborhoods reinforces the film's oppressive, unglamorous atmosphere.
The thieves, the NYPD investigators, the Italian Mafia, and Doc Johnson's gang independently hunt or investigate the same robbery and its perpetrators.
The film is explicitly identified with blaxploitation cinema and centers Black characters, Harlem street life, and racialized power structures.
Films like Across 110th Street, and why
Shaft
shared blaxploitation tradition, urban crime melodrama, racial tension, and hard-edged police investigation
The French Connection
shared 1970s urban crime setting, organized-crime conflict, police procedural elements, and gritty social atmosphere
In the Heat of the Night
shared interracial police partnership, institutional tension, crime investigation, and racial conflict
Mean Streets
shared brutal crime melodrama, impoverished urban locations, gang rivalries, and morally compromised law enforcement
Movie Details
- Director
- Barry Shear
- Release Date
- 1972-12-19
- Runtime
- 102 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (142)
Cast
- Anthony Quinn
- Yaphet Kotto
- Anthony Franciosa
- Paul Benjamin
- Richard Ward
- Antonio Fargas
- Gilbert Lewis
- Norma Donaldson
- Gloria Hendry
- Marlene Warfield
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, ScreenPix Apple TV channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, ScreenPix Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Across 110th Street about?
- A brutal Harlem crime chase pits desperate thieves, organized-crime factions, and two radically different detectives against one another.
- What is Across 110th Street like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Across 110th Street as brisk, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Across 110th Street violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Across 110th Street as graphic.
- What did critics think of Across 110th Street?
- Critics broadly recognize the film's strong performances and socially pointed urban crime framework while sharply disagreeing over its excessive, graphic violence and oppressive tone.
- Which films are like Across 110th Street?
- Films with a similar feel include Shaft, The French Connection, In the Heat of the Night, and Mean Streets.
- How long is Across 110th Street?
- Across 110th Street runs 102 minutes.
- Where can I watch Across 110th Street?
- In United States, Across 110th Street streams on Amazon Prime Video, ScreenPix Apple TV channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, ScreenPix Amazon Channel .
