Law & Order (TV Series) Sanctuary (1994) User Reviews

Don't confuse anyone with the facts

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 5 September 2017]

Michael Constantine a Jewish businessman cutting through Harlem to avoid traffic on the FDR Drive, strikes and kills a young black boy who ran out into the street. He does not stop but does report to the precinct and Jerry Orbach and Chris Noth are already assigned to the case. Which is a big nothing for them as Accident&Investigation clears Constantine of any criminal charges.

Not good enough for some of the rabblerousers like Reverend Tony Todd who get a nice riot going and a passing white motorist is dragged from his car and killed. Young Kevin Thigpen is the one caught on video and charged.

Oddly enough this reminded me of the Bensonhurst racial hate crime from a few years at least in the defense Lorraine Toussaint tries to mount. He was swept along in the frenzy of the moment by the mob. That's exactly what happened in Bensonhurst as all the white Italian kids rioted because a couple of black youth were in their neighborhood. One rather weak willed individual named Joey Fama brought a knife to the riot and stabbed Yussuf Hawkins to death.

To see how this works in the case of Kevin Thigpen as being prosecuted by Michael Moriarty watch this compelling episode.

A Thrilling Episode That's So Epic, It Feels Like a Movie

[Better_TV · 9/10 · 2 May 2018]

This one is up there, way up there, as far as L&O episodes go. The writing does not hold back - it probes deeply into the topic of American racism, and it brings out great performances from everyone involved - from Mr. "voice of God" himself Tony Todd to Lourraine Toussaint as legal aid lawyer Shambala Green.

There's even Emmy-worthy work from Michael Moriarty as EADA Ben Stone; he's never been more principled or committed to literalist conservative-Catholic morals and personal responsibility doctrine. While the show presents all sides of this riveting conflagration between NY's black and Jewish communities, if you take the position that the writers are speaking through Stone (he does get the last word, after all), then the show seems to be holding the same conservative political viewpoints he does. Food for thought!

While the final argument between Stone and Schiff will stay with you, everyone deserves praise here. Beatrice Winde, who has appeared in a few other episodes, is impassioned as the defendant's grandmother, Elaine Bromka is vulnerable and heartbroken as the wife of a Jewish murder victim, and Susan Blommaert takes no B.S. as the judge.

Like I said: everyone shines, and the script is cracking good. You gotta see this one.

It's 2020...

[prickly101 · 9/10 · 21 May 2020]

And to outsiders, it seems as though the USA is happily reverting-to-type. You know, the Emmett Till, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Amadou Diallo, Yvonne Smallwood, Randy Evans, Claude Reese, Clifford Glover, Keith Scott, Terrence Crutcher, John Crawford, Corey Jones, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell, the Charleston 9, Tamir Rice, Mike Brown, Aiyana Jones, Alton Sterling, Jordan Davis, Jordan Edwards, Stephon Clark, Jonathan Ferrell & Renisha McBride, Atatiana Jefferson, Botham Sean, Amaud Arbery, Sean Reed, Breonna Taylor type, with many victims being *blamed* for their own deaths.

It's heartbreaking. In this episode, of course the boy was wrong, guilty and deserving of punishment. Didn't even get the ethnicity right, for goodness sake (not that it would have been acceptable if he had). I'll probably get flamed for this, but I do understand the cry of: "how many times does one roll over?" Pre-1950s, 1960s America seems to be returning, encouraged and inflamed by those who jobs are to prevent the 21st century repeating the errors and cruelties of previous centuries.

Racial tensions

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 15 October 2020]

One reason to see "Sanctuary" is the subject matter, racism is such a brave and harrowing topic to explore and an important one to explore. Being something that has been such a big problem for decades and still is as big a problem. 'Law and Order', and the franchise, always did a fine job with it daring to tackle such heavy and still relevant themes and doing so in a not shying away way. The show and show also showed that it could tackle this topic very well indeed, evident in a Season 4 high point "Profile".

"Sanctuary" is another one of Season 4's best. It is such a powerful and engrossing episode with a lot of tension and emotional impact, the handling of racism not just being hard-hitting and intelligent but also non-biased and not laying it on too thick. Shall elaborate a little more upon this later. Everything that is so good about 'Law and Order', especially when at its best, is present in "Sanctuary" and its boldness is to be applauded. Would have applauded it anyway for even daring to tackle the subject regardless of whether the execution succeeded and failed.

Cannot fault the production values, it's slick and gritty as ever and is one of the better shot episodes of the season. It's intimate with the action but doesn't get claustrophobic. The music doesn't get intrusive and suits the mood well. The direction is understated but provides some great tension in the second half of the episode especially.

The writing is some of the season's very best. It is very tightly structured and is so intelligently written, it provokes a lot of thought and takes no prisoners without being hateful. The story is as bold and hard-hitting as the subject, with an ending that stays with forever for a long time and is not remotely unrealistic, with much emotional impact. It did this without being preachy or resorting to over-obvious messaging (i.e. no beating around the head of racism being bad), and also while not taking sides.

It is one of the few times film or television related that depicts the issue from all sides, and certainly in a way executed as wonderfully and insightfully as it is. Actually saw the issue and the moral dilemmas that come with it in a whole new light. The characters are strongly written and carry the story beautifully, the character of Shambala Green was always welcome and part of me has always wished that she was in more episodes. The acting from lead and support is dead on, Michael Moriarty being a riveting and suitably authoritative and conflicted presence in the latter stages. Tony Todd is typically formidable, Elaine Blomka is affecting and Lorraine Toussaint is again remarkably nuanced.

To conclude, outstanding and one of Season 4's best. 10/10

One of the best

[torr59 · 10/10 · 28 April 2011]

I always thought this was the best episode ever made of Law and Order. Long before they went down the path of ending an episode neatly by having unrealistic confessions or discoveries, LAO made well-written, excellently acted episodes that made you actually surprised this was on television. Usually shows like this are left-leaning propaganda machines, and its ironic that Michael Moriarty would leave the show for just that reason, but this is an example of all sides of a volatile issue getting a fair look. No show since the airing of this one episode in 1994 has come close to depicting fair insight into the number one issue in the USA.

Provocative if simplistic

[lor_ · 5 July 2023]

"Law & Order" is based on a torn from the headlines approach to tis weekly subject matter, so one would expect this episode concernng reace relations in New York City would have become date 30 years later. Unforutnately, no.

There are plenty of issues raised here, perhaps too many to treat in one big fat gulp of an episode. But the treatment is well-written and acted, overcoming the inherent difficulty of "solving" complicated matters ad neatly as a police procedural solves a case evrey week on the tube.

Within its limiations, a quality hour of televsion was delivered, sensationalist as Dick Wolf always is, but not hysterical or over the top.

Do the Right Thing

[safenoe · 7/10 · 14 November 2023]

Spike Lee should have written and directed Sanctuary, as he would have given it the edge that Sanctuary deserved following the real-life events that this episode was based upon. This episode isn't for everyone, but if you liked Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing or Jungle Fever, then Sanctuary is worth watching, especially with the ramifications of slavery, police brutality and racial injustice and indifferent cops.

It's kind of timely that I saw Sanctuary for the first time today, when the world is on the point of exploding with events elsewhere. Anyway, what is racial justice and what is justice?

Gaslight City

[ummajon2003 · 1/10 · 13 October 2021]

How can anyone not see how awful this episode is? It portrays Black people as ONLY scary, vengeful, irrational, angry, victims, and the cause of racism itself! Pure reverse psychology crap. We get Stone actually lecturing the Black attorney and leaving her at a loss for words. Not even one reasonable Black character other than the usual Van Buren who barely chimes in. The episode leaves nothing thoughtful about the true injustice that Black people have experienced at the hands of White people. Oh, poor White folks who just want fairness and truth! Thank you savior Ben! Eyeroll to the max.