The gritty 1974 cop drama Busting is a feast for the eyes. While the story is sometimes lacking, the cinematography, handled by its director Peter Hyams, shows true creative ability and keeps the viewer engaged even when the story doesn't.
The film centers around two Los Angeles vice cops: Michael Keneely (Elliott Gould) and Patrick Farrell (Robert Blake). They use unconventional (and often dangerous) methods to clean the LA streets of petty criminals, drug dealers, and prostitutes. The film doesn't outright play as anti-sex work, but with all the prostitutes the duo entraps it isn't hard to infer. The two soon uncover that many of the crimes they're investigating are protected and controlled by crime lord Carl Rizzo (Allen Garfield, whose actions in the film are nowhere near as heinous as his godawful sideburns).
The film does well in exposing the corruption and buffoonery of the police force Keneely and Farrell work for, and how it often bends the rules to let people like Rizzo slide. The plot is sometimes murky, but Hyams shows true ability through the use of inventive, striking camera work. There are several tracking shots that demonstrate a real creative genius, and while the story itself (including some incredibly homophobic and transphobic scenes) may be lacking, there is a real cinematic technique at play here. Suitable for 1970s sections in classic film collections and crime library shelves.