SERPICO is a crime film set during a period in film history known as "New Hollywood." It emerged in the late 1960s and lasted until the early 1980s. It was a consequence of the decline of the "Golden Age" of American cinema, when the production of films based on well-defined genres and featuring actors and actresses specializing in specific types of stories brought stability and prosperity to the industry.

The Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War, along with the natural decline of the production model, paved the way for a more realistic cinema featuring antiheroes of all kinds and backgrounds. Films with almost natural lighting became the voice of a disillusioned generation, eager to create and find new role models in which to see themselves reflected.

Although the protagonist of SERPICO isn't an antihero, the corrupt world he confronts is shown without embellishment or compromise. Director Sidney Lumet masterfully and understatedly crafts an urban drama in which Al Pacino displays the talent that made him the star he is today. Simply put, SERPICO is the story of the small rodent who takes on the elephant and sometimes wins, though not always unscathed.