Is this the forgotten Scorsese? Gritty. Raw. Personal. It's still my favorite from the master. (Almost anti-Coppola) The use of Rock n' Roll music as a storytelling tool, now a trademark, makes the film feel alive. "Jumping Jack Flash" may be the musical cue of his career.
The characters of Johnny Boy and Charlie are grounded in flaws that we can all identify with. There are six degrees of separation from these characters' relationships and problems that people even not from an urban environment or NYC can understand. (Love that moment where Charlie mumbles aloud his usually internal monologue to God, cracking his friends up. /paraphrasing 'I'm trying, Lord. I'm trying'/ There's something moving in his sincerity; his genuine concern for his troubled friend and resulting conflict with family duty and neighborhood reputation/respectibility)
Talk about great performances-star-making if you will. Both Harvey Keitel and (especially) Robert DeNiro become generational icons through this movie. There was a desperate Method reality, a sense of danger, to DeNiro that's fascinating to behold. Not since Brando had an Actor been so revolutionary.
The phrase "No Future" was bantered about by the Punk movement by decade's end. That's perhaps the best way to describe the jarring and abrupt final moments of the film. Wow. Hits hard. Devastating.
So, anyone else love this film? When compared to the rest of Scorsese's crime dramas, is it fair to say it holds its own?
The characters of Johnny Boy and Charlie are grounded in flaws that we can all identify with. There are six degrees of separation from these characters' relationships and problems that people even not from an urban environment or NYC can understand. (Love that moment where Charlie mumbles aloud his usually internal monologue to God, cracking his friends up. /paraphrasing 'I'm trying, Lord. I'm trying'/ There's something moving in his sincerity; his genuine concern for his troubled friend and resulting conflict with family duty and neighborhood reputation/respectibility)
Talk about great performances-star-making if you will. Both Harvey Keitel and (especially) Robert DeNiro become generational icons through this movie. There was a desperate Method reality, a sense of danger, to DeNiro that's fascinating to behold. Not since Brando had an Actor been so revolutionary.
The phrase "No Future" was bantered about by the Punk movement by decade's end. That's perhaps the best way to describe the jarring and abrupt final moments of the film. Wow. Hits hard. Devastating.
So, anyone else love this film? When compared to the rest of Scorsese's crime dramas, is it fair to say it holds its own?
