Dragged Across Concrete
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''Dragged Across Concrete'' is a 2018
neo-noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...
crime thriller film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but al ...
written and directed by
S. Craig Zahler Steven Craig Zahler (born January 23, 1973) is an American filmmaker, novelist and composer. After beginning his career working briefly as a cinematographer, Zahler focused on screenwriting until he made his directorial debut with '' Bone Tomaha ...
. It stars an
ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...
that includes
Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...
,
Vince Vaughn Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. He is known for starring as a leading man in numerous comedy films during the late 1990s and 2000s. He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award ...
, Tory Kittles,
Michael Jai White Michael Jai White (born November 10, 1967) is an American actor, martial artist, and director. Though he has appeared in a variety of genres, White is best known for his Action film, action and martial arts films. His first major starring role an ...
,
Jennifer Carpenter Jennifer Carpenter (born December 7, 1979) is an American actress. Her early film roles include the cult comedy ''White Chicks'' (2004) and the supernatural horror '' The Exorcism of Emily Rose'' (2005), with the latter establishing her as a ...
,
Laurie Holden Heather Laurie Holden (born December 17, 1969) is an American-Canadian actress, producer, model, and human rights activist. She is best known for her portrayals as Marita Covarrubias in ''The X-Files'' (1996–2002), Andrea Harrison in AMC's ...
,
Fred Melamed Fred Melamed (born May 13, 1956) is an American actor. After spending most of his early career primarily as a renowned voice over artist, and occasionally playing small roles in films, notably in seven films directed by Woody Allen, he establish ...
, Thomas Kretschmann, and
Don Johnson Don Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series '' Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...
. The story follows two childhood friends and two police detectives who are suspended for police brutality who, in a desperate need for money, are embroiled in a robbery done by a professional thief. Zahler started working on ''Dragged Across Concrete'' right after he finished development of his previous film ''
Brawl in Cell Block 99 ''Brawl in Cell Block 99'' is a 2017 American neo-noir prison action thriller film directed and written by S. Craig Zahler and starring Vince Vaughn with Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Udo Kier, Marc Blucas, and Tom Guiry. The story follow ...
'', which also starred Vaughn, Carpenter, Johnson, and Kier. Vaughn recommended Zahler to Gibson, who he previously worked with in ''
Hacksaw Ridge ''Hacksaw Ridge'' is a 2016 epic biographical war film directed by Mel Gibson and written by Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan, based on the 2004 documentary '' The Conscientious Objector'' directed by Terry Benedict. Set in World War II, A ...
'', and Gibson agreed to star in the film, later followed by Kittles and White. Filming took place in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
between July and September 2017 under a production budget of $15 million. It premiered at the
75th Venice International Film Festival The 75th Venice International Film Festival was held from 29 August to 8 September 2018, at Venice Lido in Italy. Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro was the jury president for the main competition. Italian actor Michele Riondino hosted the o ...
on September 3, 2018, and received a limited theatrical and
video-on-demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting ...
simultaneous release A simultaneous release, also known as a day-and-date release, is the release of a film on multiple platforms—most commonly theatrical, home video and video on demand (VOD)—on the exact same day, or in very close proximity to each other. This ...
from
Summit Entertainment Summit Entertainment, LLC (formerly the Summit Group, Summit Export Group, Summit Entertainment Group Inc., Summit Entertainment Limited, Summit Films Limited, and Summit Entertainment N.V.) is an American film production label of Lionsgate Film ...
on March 22, 2019. It was met with a mixed to positive critical reception, with praise directed toward Gibson's performance as well as its dark setting and themes, although it was criticized for its runtime and excessive violence. The film received several nominations at the
45th Saturn Awards The 45th Saturn Awards, presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films and honoring the best in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other genres belonging to genre fiction in film, television, home entertainment, and lo ...
, but was also shortlisted for "Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property" at the 40th Golden Raspberry Awards.


Plot

In the fictional city of Bulwark, recent
parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...
e Henry Johns chastises his mother for returning to prostitution and taking drugs, before reuniting with his handicapped younger brother Ethan. Three weeks later, police detectives Brett Ridgeman and Anthony Lurasetti are suspended without pay by the police department after a video surfaced revealing them committing
police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...
on a drug dealer. Both detectives are desperate for money, with Ridgeman needing cash to move to a safer neighborhood for his family, while Lurasetti stalls in proposing to his girlfriend Denise. On a tip from Friedrich, a wealthy businessman with criminal connections, Ridgeman recruits Lurasetti to help him surveil and rob Lorentz Vogelmann, a professional thief. Vogelmann commits a series of violent robberies to pay for a customized bulletproof van. Henry and his childhood friend Biscuit are then hired by Vogelmann as getaway drivers for a bank robbery in which Vogelmann and his crew - Grey Gloves and Black Gloves - take employees and customers as hostages. A bank employee, Kelly Summer, who came back to work from her
maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity leave ...
, is executed by the bank robbers after preventing a colleague from notifying the police via email. The thieves
castrate Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmaceutical d ...
the bank manager and then escape with the
bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from ...
and a hostage, Cheryl, while being tailed by Ridgeman and Lurasetti, which Henry notices. Unsettled by Vogelmann and his henchmen's brutality, Henry and Biscuit are then forced to surrender their weapons. Realizing they may be killed, Henry chooses not to reveal to Biscuit or the thieves that they are being followed by the detectives. Lurasetti learns of the atrocities committed by the thieves and berates Ridgeman for not intervening sooner or notifying the authorities, but Ridgeman asserts that law enforcement would be too late, and only the two of them can deal with the thieves. Lurasetti opts against delaying his marriage proposal to Denise and leaves her a voicemail guiding her to the engagement ring. Arriving at a garage in the countryside, Biscuit leaps out of the van and is shot, as Henry wounds Grey Gloves with a hidden gun. Mortally wounded, Biscuit swallows the van's key, imploring Henry to take care of his mother, and is shot dead by the thieves. Cheryl is sent to pull Biscuit's body into the van and Black Gloves cuts the key out of Biscuit's stomach, as Ridgeman and Lurasetti arrive and ram the van, knocking it over. Cheryl is coerced by Vogelmann into faking an escape that lets her shoot Lurasetti, and she is executed by Ridgeman in turn. Ridgeman then quickly kills Black Gloves as he exits the van. Ridgeman hands the dying Lurasetti his phone and Lurasetti listens to a voicemail from Denise, declining his proposal, before he succumbs to his wounds. Ridgeman fills the van with
tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...
, and kills Grey Gloves just as he surrenders. Before Ridgeman can torch the van, Henry fires a warning shot and insists that the valuable contents of the van be spared. Ridgeman climbs on top of the van and kills Vogelmann before the latter can shoot him through the retractable slit. Henry shoots Ridgeman in the foot and reveals that he has recorded the entire incident on his cellphone and identifies Ridgeman as a detective. Disarming Henry, Ridgeman proposes they split the score, and together they load the bodies and the bullion in the getaway car. After towing Lurasetti's car to a dump site, Ridgeman reveals a hidden firearm and threatens Henry to get him to delete the video. Henry and Ridgeman both shoot at each other, with Henry mortally wounding Ridgeman. Henry agrees with the dying Ridgeman to bury Lurasetti and take care of Ridgeman's family, and later buries all the bodies, promising the deceased Biscuit that he will return and give a proper burial to his friend and the two detectives. Eleven months later, Henry lives in a lavish mansion with his mother and brother. He sends Ridgeman's family a package containing a share of the gold bullion.


Cast


Production


Development

On February 1, 2017, right after finishing production of his previous film ''
Brawl in Cell Block 99 ''Brawl in Cell Block 99'' is a 2017 American neo-noir prison action thriller film directed and written by S. Craig Zahler and starring Vince Vaughn with Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Udo Kier, Marc Blucas, and Tom Guiry. The story follow ...
'',
S. Craig Zahler Steven Craig Zahler (born January 23, 1973) is an American filmmaker, novelist and composer. After beginning his career working briefly as a cinematographer, Zahler focused on screenwriting until he made his directorial debut with '' Bone Tomaha ...
signed to direct ''Dragged Across Concrete'', a crime thriller based on
police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...
, from a screenplay he had written. The script is 162 pages long and remained unchanged at the time of filming, and was Zahler's favorite screenplay to write. The story is influenced from the film '' The Killing'' directed by
Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...
and the films ''
Dog Day Afternoon ''Dog Day Afternoon'' is a 1975 American biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, James Broderick and Charles Durning. The screenplay ...
'' and ''
Prince of the City ''Prince of the City'' is a 1981 American epic neo-noir crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet. It is based on the life of Robert Leuci, called ‘Daniel Ciello’ in the film, an officer of the New York Police Department who chooses, for id ...
'' directed by
Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...
, ''Prince of the City'' being one of Zahler's favorite films. Zahler states: "I’m aware there are lines and moments in my films and books and future movies that will land poorly for some people or get people to hate me. That is your right. I have a right to do my own vision and hope it’s enough to get me to the next one." In an interview with ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'', Zahler states that the intent of the film is not to address societal ills or invoke a provocation, but to explore "splitting hairs in terms of what the difference is" between the societal issues. Zahler exemplifies Brett Ridgeman, one of the characters in the film, is "an embittered guy, not really happy with his station in life, and with a heavy hand, and doing some stuff that he shouldn’t be doing, and he’s suspended" and trying to get himself out of the hole that he dug with all of these mistakes.
Vince Vaughn Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. He is known for starring as a leading man in numerous comedy films during the late 1990s and 2000s. He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award ...
, who plays Brett's partner Anthony Lurasetti, states that ''Dragged Across Concrete'' is "not an agenda movie" but a morality tale. ''Dragged Across Concrete'' has
slice of life Slice of life is a depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment. In theater, slice of life refers to Naturalism (theatre), naturalism, while in literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence ...
scenes not related to the plot progression, such as Jennifer Carpenter's character Kelly Summer not wanting to leave her child for work, Vince Vaughn's character Anthony Lurasetti eating a sandwich in a car, and Tory Kittles' character Henry Johns talking to Michael Jai White's character "Biscuit" about their childhoods, and are some of Zahler's favorite scenes in the film. Despite these scenes taking a lot of the running time in the film, Zahler believes that coupled with the atmosphere and the subsequent twists, the scenes result in the characters becoming more interesting than the plot. Keith Kjarval of Unified Pictures produced the film along with Zahler and Dallas Sonnier of
Cinestate Bonfire Legend, owned by Cinestate Holdings LLC, is an American film production brand began in 2021 by Dallas Sonnier. It was launched following the closure in 2020 of the CINESTATE film production brand that Sonnier started in 2016. Best known ...
, Assemble Media's Jack Heller, and Sefton Fincham of Look to the Sky Films, with Kjarval's Unified Film Fund financing. The project sought a distributor at the European Film Market at the
67th Berlin International Film Festival The 67th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 18 February 2017 with Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven as president of the jury. '' Django'', directed by Etienne Comar, opened the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded to the ...
in February 2017. In May 2017,
Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...
acquired the US distribution rights to the film, and would release it through its subsidiary,
Summit Entertainment Summit Entertainment, LLC (formerly the Summit Group, Summit Export Group, Summit Entertainment Group Inc., Summit Entertainment Limited, Summit Films Limited, and Summit Entertainment N.V.) is an American film production label of Lionsgate Film ...
.


Casting

Vince Vaughn starred in S. Craig Zahler's previous film ''
Brawl in Cell Block 99 ''Brawl in Cell Block 99'' is a 2017 American neo-noir prison action thriller film directed and written by S. Craig Zahler and starring Vince Vaughn with Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Udo Kier, Marc Blucas, and Tom Guiry. The story follow ...
'' as the lead character Bradley Thomas. Vaughn gave the script of ''Dragged Across Concrete'' to
Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...
, who worked with Vaughn in the 2016 film ''
Hacksaw Ridge ''Hacksaw Ridge'' is a 2016 epic biographical war film directed by Mel Gibson and written by Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan, based on the 2004 documentary '' The Conscientious Objector'' directed by Terry Benedict. Set in World War II, A ...
'' as the film director, asking him to star in the film and recommended him to watch ''Brawl in Cell Block 99''. Zahler was able to contact Gibson through Vaughn and hoped that he would star in the film. On February 1, 2017, Gibson signed on to the film, with he and Vaughn starring as police officers that are suspended due to committing
police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...
. On August 2, 2017,
Jennifer Carpenter Jennifer Carpenter (born December 7, 1979) is an American actress. Her early film roles include the cult comedy ''White Chicks'' (2004) and the supernatural horror '' The Exorcism of Emily Rose'' (2005), with the latter establishing her as a ...
and
Don Johnson Don Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series '' Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...
, who had worked with Zahler in ''Brawl in Cell Block 99'', signed onto the film, followed by Tory Kittles,
Michael Jai White Michael Jai White (born November 10, 1967) is an American actor, martial artist, and director. Though he has appeared in a variety of genres, White is best known for his Action film, action and martial arts films. His first major starring role an ...
,
Tattiawna Jones Tattiawna Jones is a Canadian television and theatre actress. Early life and education Jones was born in Manitouwadge, Ontario, Canada. She graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a stand ...
, and
Laurie Holden Heather Laurie Holden (born December 17, 1969) is an American-Canadian actress, producer, model, and human rights activist. She is best known for her portrayals as Marita Covarrubias in ''The X-Files'' (1996–2002), Andrea Harrison in AMC's ...
. Since Vaughn and Gibson are both well-known
conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
in Hollywood, ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'' claimed this may hinder the financing of the film. However, Zahler believes they are the perfect match for their respective roles, and the studio was willing to fund the film's production after Vaughn and Gibson's casting. Zahler praised Gibson for his collaboration and acting in the film. Gibson previously played a police sergeant in the ''
Lethal Weapon ''Lethal Weapon'' is a 1987 American action film directed by Richard Donner and written by Shane Black. It stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover alongside Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, and Mitchell Ryan. In ''Lethal Weapon'', a pai ...
'' franchise but the films had no bearing on the script nor the casting changes of ''Dragged Across Concrete''.


Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
on the film began in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, British Columbia on July 17, 2017 and wrapped on September 16, 2017. Zahler wanted ''Dragged Across Concrete'' to be seen as realistic by the audience, filming an actual car collision on set for one of the scenes rather than supplemented in the editing room. Shooting of the film was extremely challenging due to complex and dangerous stunts when filming a broken window, a car crash, or someone being shot. ''Dragged Across Concrete'' is less violent than Zahler's previous films '' Bone Tomahawk'' and ''
Brawl in Cell Block 99 ''Brawl in Cell Block 99'' is a 2017 American neo-noir prison action thriller film directed and written by S. Craig Zahler and starring Vince Vaughn with Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Udo Kier, Marc Blucas, and Tom Guiry. The story follow ...
'' due to the difference in weapons and fighting styles utilized by the characters.


Music

The film's soundtrack was composed by
S. Craig Zahler Steven Craig Zahler (born January 23, 1973) is an American filmmaker, novelist and composer. After beginning his career working briefly as a cinematographer, Zahler focused on screenwriting until he made his directorial debut with '' Bone Tomaha ...
and his friend Jeff Herriott, having previously worked together in ''Bone Tomahawk'' and ''Brawl in Cell Block 99''. The duo wrote several
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
pieces and recruiting the
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
group
The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in summer 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appea ...
to sing the songs. Zahler was influenced by jazz musicians such as
Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...
and
John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...
in creating the soundtrack.
Lakeshore Records Lakeshore Village Entertainment, LLC was an American independent film production, finance, and former international sales and distribution company founded in 1994 by Tom Rosenberg and Ted Tannebaum. Lakeshore Entertainment is headquartered in Bev ...
released the soundtrack on March 22, 2019, in CD,
digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...
, and
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
formats, which coincided with the release date of the film. Pat Padua of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' called some of the music pieces "slightly jarring, but they contribute to a sense of reality that is at once familiar and unsettling."


Release

In May 2017,
Lionsgate Films Lionsgate Films (spelled as Lions Gate until 2005, and formerly Cinépix Film Properties until 1998) is a Canadian-American film production and distribution company founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on June 15, 1962. It was owned by Lionsga ...
acquired the US distribution rights to the film, and would release it through its subsidiary,
Summit Entertainment Summit Entertainment, LLC (formerly the Summit Group, Summit Export Group, Summit Entertainment Group Inc., Summit Entertainment Limited, Summit Films Limited, and Summit Entertainment N.V.) is an American film production label of Lionsgate Film ...
. The film's
world premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film ...
was at the
75th Venice International Film Festival The 75th Venice International Film Festival was held from 29 August to 8 September 2018, at Venice Lido in Italy. Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro was the jury president for the main competition. Italian actor Michele Riondino hosted the o ...
on September 3, 2018. ''Dragged Across Concrete'' was then given a theatrical and
video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...
release in the United States on March 22, 2019. ''Dragged Across Concrete'' was released on digital download,
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
and
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
disc in the United States under
Lionsgate Films Lionsgate Films (spelled as Lions Gate until 2005, and formerly Cinépix Film Properties until 1998) is a Canadian-American film production and distribution company founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on June 15, 1962. It was owned by Lionsga ...
on April 30, 2019, including two special features, a short featurette titled "Moral Conflict: Creating Cinema That Challenges" and a forty-minute 3-part featurette, "Elements of a Crime". Studio Canal released it in the UK on August 19, 2019, across all three formats.


Critical response

''Dragged Across Concrete'' received positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, with praise directed towards Gibson's performance, worldbuilding, and the dark themes and criticism directed towards the runtime and excessive violence. Reception was more polarized on the film's treatment of racism and police brutality. On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, ''Dragged Across Concrete'' holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's consensus reads, "As grim and grinding as its title, ''Dragged Across Concrete'' opts for slow-burning drama instead of high-speed thrills — and has just the right cast to make it work." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has an average score of 60 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
Kevin Maher Kevin Andrew Maher (born 17 October 1976) is a former professional footballer and coach who played as a midfielder. He is head coach of National League side Southend United. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland international ...
of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' gave the film four out of five stars, writing: "in this new, bleak and often unexpectedly grand genre movie (it’s essentially a
buddy cop Buddy cop is a film and television genre with plots involving two people of very different and conflicting personalities who are forced to work together to solve a crime and/or defeat criminals, sometimes learning from each other in the process. ...
flick, but with operatic ambitions), the thread out of place, both irritably scratching and strangely arresting, is Mel Gibson."
Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...
of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' also rated ''Dragged Across Concrete'' four out of five stars, stating: "this is a long film, but there is something so horribly compelling about its unhurried slouch towards the precipice." David Fear of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' awarded the film a three and a half out of five stars, praising Gibson's performance and the world-building: "''Dragged Across Concrete'' is apt to send crime-film fanatics, especially ones who prefer their pulp nasty, brutish and incredibly long, into frothing fits of glee." Kieran Fisher of
Film School Rejects Film School Rejects is an American blog devoted to movie reviews, interviews, film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, prod ...
praised the dialogue interactions between the detectives, Kittles' performance, and Zahler's intention to challenge the moral position of the audience, while acknowledging that the film will attract controversy: "Still, if you just want to see a great crime epic that cares more about telling a great story than promoting an agenda, you’ll want to check out ''Dragged Across Concrete''. It’s going to be a contender for the best of 2019 when it’s all said and done, even if some viewers will feel guilty about enjoying it so much."
Armond White Armond Allen White (born 1953) is an American film and music critic who writes for ''National Review'' and ''Out''. He was previously the editor of '' CityArts'' (2011–2014), the lead film critic for the alternative weekly '' New York Press ...
of ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
'' praised it as a conservative action film, writing that it "vividly conveys the feeling of suffering, bitterness, and struggle"; later rating it among the 20 best films of the decade.


Accolades

At the 40th Golden Raspberry Awards, ''Dragged Across Concrete'' was nominated in a new category, "Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property." ''
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'' criticized the nomination, saying that it "feels as though voters just wanted to nominate '' Joker'' for the enormous social media publicity it would generate, and then shaped a dubious awards category around it. ''Dragged Across Concrete'' is an even weirder pick, though, both because of its low-budget nature and the fact that there's not that much carnage in it.
Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget high-concept action films with fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special eff ...
's '' 6 Underground'' is clearly a far worthier nominee than either of those films, given how much obvious human collateral damage is racked up amid the chaotic action sequences."


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* * * {{Portal bar, Film, United States, Canada, Crime, 2010s 2010s American films 2010s English-language films 2010s heist films 2018 action thriller films 2018 films American action thriller films American heist films American neo-noir films Films about organized crime in the United States Films directed by S. Craig Zahler Films shot in Vancouver Summit Entertainment films English-language crime films English-language action thriller films