Beverly Hills Cop (film series)

Infobox Film
name = Beverly Hills Cop series


image_size =
caption =
director = Martin Brest ("BHC")
Tony Scott ("BHC II")
John Landis ("BHC III")
producer =
writer = Characters
Daniel Petrie, Jr.
Danilo Bach
narrator =
starring = Eddie Murphy
Judge Reinhold
John Ashton
Ronny Cox
music = Harold Faltermeyer
cinematography =
editing = Billy Weber
distributor = Paramount Pictures
released = 1984 - 2010
runtime = 310 mins. (approx)
country = USA
language = English
budget =
gross = $ 735,534,503
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =

"Beverly Hills Cop" is a series of Academy Award-nominated action-comedy films, with characters written by Daniel Petrie, Jr., Danilo Bach and starring Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold and John Ashton, the latter who would not appear in "Beverly Hills Cop III". Harold Faltermeyer produced the now famous Axel F theme song heard throughout the films. All the films in the series so far have been distributed by Paramount Pictures. To date, the films have made a total of $735,534,503 world wide. A fourth film in the series is reported to be in development.

eries

"Beverly Hills Cop" (1984)

Axel Foley is introduced as a Detroit cop who after the murder of his friend travels to California to investigate and track down the killer, who he believes operate an arts dealership as a cover in Beverly Hills. He teams up with two reluctant detectives from the Beverly Hills police force who were supposed to keep a watch on him, especially after seeing Foley's different approach to tackling the situations which is not acceptable by the chief of the local police.

"Beverly Hills Cop II" (1987)

Axel Foley returns to Beverly Hills, after finding out that Captain Andrew Bogomil was shot. He once again teams up with Detective Billy Rosewood and Sgt. John Taggart, who, reluctantly and against the police chief's orders, help Foley to find out the person responsible for Bogomil's shooting. Axel, Billy, and Taggart soon discover that the alphabet robberies, a series of robberies that have been going on in the area, are masterminded by weapons kingpin Maxwell Dent. With this information, Axel, Billy, and Taggart try to find Dent and Karla.

"Beverly Hills Cop III" (1994)

Eddie Murphy's character, Axel Foley returns to Beverly Hills once again. During an assignment, his boss, Inspector Todd gets killed, and certain evidence points towards an amusement park called "Wonderworld". Upon arriving in Beverly Hills, Axel looks up his old friend, Billy Rosewood who has attained the title of DDOJSIOC (Deputy Director of Joint Special Inter Operational Command). Taggart and Bogomil have retired and a new detective called Jon Flint (played by Hector Elizondo) is Rosewood's new partner.

"Beverly Hills Cop IV" (2010)

A fourth "Beverly Hills Cop" film is reported to be in development. The first news arrived in 2006. [ [http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=17753 Murphy Back for Beverly Hills Cop IV] at ComingSoon.net] Producer Jerry Bruckheimer had stated his intention to resurrect the franchise, but eventually gave up his option to produce the film. Lorenzo di Bonaventura was slated to produce the film. [ [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117954765.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 Murphy back for more 'Beverly Hills Cop'] at "Variety"] Several scripts had reportedly been produced, the latest a fusion of several of the previous versions. The film had officially been given a greenlight, and the film was said to be still in development. [ [http://www.cinematical.com/2006/11/30/beverly-hills-cop-iv/ Beverly Hills Cop IV!] ] The latest news on the project was that Murphy was reportedly happy with the current outline, which was described as an attempt to recapture "the feel of the original". [cite web | author= Clint Morris | url=http://www.moviehole.net/news/20060502_beverly_hills_cop_4_finally_un.html | title= Beverly Hills Cop 4 finally underway? | publisher=Moviehole.net | date=2007-05-02 | accessdate=2007-10-24] In May 2008, Brett Ratner was officially named director for the project. Also it was stated that there were no writers for the project as of yet, and that they were still looking. Eddie Murphy is set to reprise his role as Detective Axel Foley. It is unknown whether Judge Reinhold or John Ashton will return to reprise their roles. [ [http://www.moviehole.net/news/20080529_axel_foley_smells_a_rat.html Axel Foley smells a Rat!] ] Inspired by the success of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", Paramount Pictures is said to be aiming for a 2009 production start, in time for a 2010 release. [ [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117986558.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 Eddie Murphy back in 'Beverly Hills'] ] Director Brett Ratner was reportedly hoping that the film would get a PG-13 rating. [ [http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/06/03/beverly-hills-cop-4-may-be-geared-towards-kids-says-brett-ratner ‘Beverly Hills Cop 4’ May Be Geared Towards Kids, Says Brett Ratner] .] Ratner later dismisssed the statement, insisting that the film would be getting the franchise's standard R rating. [ cite web |url= http://www.moviehole.net/?p=13794 |title= Axel to keep it real! |accessdate=2008-07-02 |work= |publisher= Moviehole.net |date= July 1 2008 ] In a recent interview with "Extra" TV, Eddie Murphy has expressed doubt in returning as Foley as "the movie wasn't ready to be done." [ [http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2008/06/eddie_murphy_retiring.php Eddie Murphy not interested in BHC4] ] However, in a later interview with MTV, Murphy stated he was not retiring and that he would be returning for the fourth installment. One reason he stated was that "the third "Beverly Hills Cop" was horrible!" and that he "didn't want to leave it like that". [ cite web |url= http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1590230/story.jhtml |title= Eddie Murphy Quashes Retirement Rumours |accessdate=2008-07-02 |work= MTV Movies |publisher= MTV.com |date= July 1 2008 ] [ cite web |url= http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?vid=253956 |title='The Third 'Beverly Hills Cop' Was So Horrible' |accessdate=2008-07-02 |work= |publisher= MTV.com |date= July 1 2008] Michael Brandt and Derek Haas were hired as screenwriters for the film. [cite web|url=http://screenrant.com/beverly-hills-cop-4-writers-filmnerdjamie-3262/|title=Writers Attached To Beverly Hills Cop 4|last=Williams|first=Jamie|date=July 31, 2008|publisher=Screenrant|language=English|accessdate=2008-09-10] Harold Faltermeyer's Axel F is reported to be returning for the fourth installment. Director Brett Ratner has been quoted as saying "It'll be back but it'll be a whole new interpretation." [cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0564611/|title=Axel F Tune Will Be Back For Beverly Hills Cop IV|date=September 10, 2008|publisher=The Internet Movie Database|language=English|accessdate=2008-09-12]

Cast

Box office

The original 1984 film was a hit, grossing $15,214,805 in its opening weekend, and $234,760,478 in total domestically, while its foreign gross totalled $81,600,000. Together it made $316,360,478 worldwide. [ [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=beverlyhillscop.htm "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984)] at Box Office Mojo] The second film was also a hit, with its opening weekend grossing a total of $26,348,555 at 2,326 theaters. Its total domestic gross was $153,665,036, while the foreign cinemas brought in a total of $146,300,000. Together it made $299,965,036 worldwide. [ [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=beverlyhillscop2.htm "Beverly Hills Cop II" (1987)] at Box Office Mojo] The third film was critically panned, which my have let to it only making $12,426,169 at its opening weekend. The total domestic gross for the film was $42,614,912, and foreign office brought in $76,594,077. Together the film made a total of $119,208,989 worldwide. [ [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=beverlyhillscop3.htm "Beverly Hills Cop III" (1994)] at Box Office Mojo ]

Critical reception

The first film garnered an 82% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes. [ [http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/movie-1002239/?dvd_ver=7 "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984)] at Rotten Tomatoes ] 28 out of the 34 reviews were positive for the film. Movie critic Roger Ebert stated "Eddie Murphy looks like the latest victim of the Star Magic Syndrome, in which it is assumed that a movie will be a hit simply because it stars an enormously talented person." [ [http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/beverly_hills_cop/articles/1331657/ "Beverly Hills Cop" review] ] The second film, however did not fare as well, with a 48% rating, and, out of the 23 reviews for the film, 11 were positive. [ [http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/beverly_hills_cop_2/ "Beverly Hills Cop II" (1987)] at Rotten Tomatoes ] For the second film, Roger Ebert asked the question "What is comedy? That's a pretty basic question, I know, but Cop II never thought to ask it." As a result, he gave it a Rotten review. [ [http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/beverly_hills_cop_2/articles/1976/ "Beverly Hills Cop II" review] ] The third film in the series, again, was not met with much enthusiasm with a 7% rating, and only 2 out of 28 reviews were positive. [ [http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/beverly_hills_cop_3/ "Beverly Hills Cop III" (1994)] at Rotten Tomatoes ]

Awards and nominations

The first two films received a number of award nominations. The main awards included Academy Award and Golden Globes.

"Beverly Hills Cop" [ [http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0086960/awards Beverly Hills Cop (1984) Awards] ]

* Academy Award
** nominated for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen - Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie, Jr.
* BAFTA Awards
** nominated for Best Score - Harold Faltermeyer
* Golden Globe
** nominated for Best Motion Picture Musical/Comedy
** nominated for Best Actor Musical/Comedy - Eddie Murphy

"Beverly Hills Cop II" [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092644/awards Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) Awards] ]

*Academy Award
** nominated for Best Music, Original Song - Harold Faltermeyer, Keith Forsey and Bob Seger

*Golden Globe Award
** nominated for Best Music, Original Song - Harold Faltermeyer, Keith Forsey and Bob Seger

Theme

There is a recurring theme throughout the film series which can be heard, called "Axel F" which was composed by Harold Faltermeyer. [ [http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/catalog/soundtrackdetail.php?movieid=1172 "Beverly Hills Cop" soundtrack] ] The theme became popular with the audience, and has been remixed by Crazy Frog. [ [http://www.fetchfido.co.uk/games/crazy-frog/axel-f.htm Crazy Frog "Axel F"] ] A new version of the theme was heard in "Beverly Hills Cop III", with Harold Faltermeyer not returning for the film. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109254/soundtrack "Beverly Hills Cop III" soundtrack] ]

References

External links

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