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Serpico

1973 · directed by Sidney Lumet · 129 min
25,165 feet · Prominence
445th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw62

Lifetime worldwide gross $31m, re-releases included; about $229m in 2026 money.

Rank1,519 of 11,051In 197311 of 48

How Draw works

Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.

Praise92

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics88 baseAwards68 signal → +4 lift

Oscars2 nominated Actor, Adapted Screenplay
Golden Globes1 won Actor2 nominated Best Picture, Lead acting
BAFTAs3 nominated Directing, Lead acting, Craft and other
How Praise works

Critics set the score; a tiered award record, Picture and Directing carrying the most weight, claims half the headroom above it. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since.

Legacy58

Judged directly: Pacino's beard, shorthand for whistleblowing cop.

Verdict58 of 100IMDb7.7 from 141kWikipedia25k views a monthAge53 years

Scored beside it · 618 of 4,039 films judged

If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.

How Legacy works

Legacy is a judgment, not a formula. A film can be adored by critics and culturally quiet, or lightly reviewed and permanently lodged in the culture, and no arithmetic over IMDb numbers tells the difference. Every signal behind it keeps updating.

draw 62 praise 92 legacy 58averages 71, placing it at25,165 ft
How the three become one number

Added, not multiplied, so a film transcendent on one pillar and weak on another is not zeroed out. A compression curve then squeezes the top, because the seven greatest films ever made should not be four thousand feet apart.

Whose apex this is

▲ Jack Kehoe▲ John Randolph▲ Biff McGuire

In these careers — elevation for this film

Al Pacino20,349 ftJohn Randolph18,169 ftTony Roberts18,107 ftJack Kehoe18,074 ftBiff McGuire17,994 ftJaime Sánchez17,752 ftF. Murray Abraham17,649 ftJudd Hirsch17,644 ftTony Lo Bianco17,641 ft