A new season ofTulsa Kingmay be a ways off, but Paramount+ has a very different Sylvester Stallone project for your viewing pleasure. The 1997 dramaCop Landis streaming now on the service as of July 26, 2025.
Cop Landwas written and directed byJames Mangold, who was coming off the success of his 1995 indie drama,Heavy. For his first studio film, Mangold was inspired by his own hometown of Washingtonville, New York, which had a high population of NYPD officers. Stallone’s career was in a downturn at the time, following a string of flops likeJudge DreddandAssassins; he gained forty pounds to play the lead role in the film and received some of his best reviews in decades for his performance. The film was a success for Miramax, making $63.7 million USD on a $15 million budget, and heralded Mangold’s arrival as a major director; his latest project, theBob DylanbiopicA Complete Unknown, is in theaters now.
What Is ‘Cop Land’ About?
Cop Landrefers to Garrison, New Jersey, a town that’s home to a cabal of well-connected NYPD officers led by Ray Donlan (Harvey Keitel). The law in Garrison is Sheriff Freddy Heflin (Stallone), who lost the hearing in one ear while saving a woman as a teenager, and is thus ineligible to join the NYPD. However, it all comes crashing down when Donlan’s nephew Murray “Superboy” Babitch (Michael Rapaport) panics and shoots two unarmed Black motorists; Donlan and his cohorts fake Babitch’s death and smuggle him into Garrison. Internal Affairs officer Moe Tilden (Robert De Niro) is on the case, but Garrison’s cops stonewall him at every turn - meanwhile, Freddy’s friend Figgsy (Ray Liotta) has fallen out of favor with the group. When Freddy finds incontrovertible evidence that the men he idolized are corrupt, it’s all going to come down to a final showdown. The film boasts an impressive supporting cast, includingCathy Moriarty,Robert Patrick,Janeane Garofalo,Noah Emmerich, andDeborah Harry. It also features a number of actors who would go on to garner fame onThe Sopranos, includingEdie Falco,Annabella Sciorra,Frank Vincent, andJohn Ventimiglia.
Despite its critical and financial success,Cop Landdidn’t do much to reverse Stallone’s fortunes in the eyes of film critics and audiences. However, when he reprised his most famous role in 2008’sRocky Balboa, he earned excellent reviews - and with its 2017 followup,Creed, he earned his first Oscar nomination in almost forty years.
Cop Landis streaming on Paramount + now. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
Watch on Paramount+
