because he knew I was a novice, and kind of watched after me. And Chuck Norris was just a delight to work with, a hell of a nice guy. That film was a nice break for me." "When you talk about actors, Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier are actors", said Norris. "They can do anything. Then you have your personalities, Burt Reynolds, Sylvester Stallone, Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, me. When they deviate too much from what audiences expect, they don't do very well, do they?" Reception Box office The film was released by Orion Pictures in early May 1985. It debuted at number 1 with an opening weekend total of $5,512,461. According to Film Comment the film earned $8,9 million by the end of the year. The film went on to gross a total of $20,345,361, making it the second most successful Chuck Norris vehicle at the time behind Missing in Action (1984). Critical response The film received generally positive reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes retrospectively collected 20 reviews and judged 70% of them to be positive, with an average rating of 6.1/10. Metacritic gave the film a score of 64% based on reviews from 6 critics. It is considered by fans and critics as Chuck Norris's best film to date. Vincent Canby of The New York Times said "it could well prove to be his breakout picture". Roger Ebert, in his Chicago Sun-Times review of May 3, 1985, wrote: "This is a heavy-duty thriller, a slick, energetic movie with good performances and a lot of genuine human interest...a stylish urban action picture with sensational stunts." He gave the film three-and-a-half stars of a possible four. Janet Maslin's review in The New York Times on the same day alluded to the film being "Norris's bid for a wider audience, and it succeeds to a considerable degree." Gene Siskel in the Chicago Tribune also praised the film, writing: "Chuck Norris takes a big leap in his film career with Code of Silence...it's been a long time between cop pictures that have any kind of gritty feel. Clint Eastwood's last two Dirty Harry films were cartoonish by comparison." The film earned Norris his best reviews to date. "I really appreciate the acclaim", he said after the film's release. "I've worked hard these last nine years to get critics to look at me in a different light. They're usually more concerned with things