BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Dave from Ottawa Long before either Robert DeNiro or Brian DePalma were famous, they teamed for this low budget satire on Urban Life in late 60s NYC. The resulting film was a mixed bag at best, with one truly brilliant sequence - the guerrilla theater piece "Be Black, Baby" - a few clever observations and a fair bit of dead time, where it seems as if nobody came up with much, and it got filmed anyway. DeNiro plays a Vietnam vet who wanders about NYC filming things 'peeping Tom' style, looking for a purpose in life or a personal mission. If this sounds like Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver) with a camera rather than a cab, it sure does, but unfortunately, DeNiro has less to do that is cinematically captivating here than in his "Are you talking' to me?" moments as Bickle. The character is less interesting on screen, less well-formed and thus less of a scene-stealer. Plus, DePalma was clearly so enamored of the film- making process that the viewer is supposed to find the voyeuristic act of simply filming stuff to be as orgasmic as the director thinks it is, even when nothing much very interesting is being filmed. I still recommend the movie but urge caution. The good parts here are really good. It would be a better movie, obviously, if there were more of them.

haildevilman I'm sure it all seemed like a good idea at the time.OK, it isn't bad. No, really. But it IS dated.DePalma's narrative has not improved over time actually. So it's a good thing his technique has. But fans of him or the future 'Taxi Driver' should see this on principle.You've got anti-racist rhetoric here. (Led by a young, bearded Gerrit Graham) Peeping tom and porno fantasies. And a seemingly confused Viet Nam vet. And this was 5 years BEFORE Travis Bickle.Sometimes it looked like this was 3 or 4 shorts blended into a film. The rawness is OK, but the haphazard timing can be infuriating at times.A continuation of 'Greetings' also by DePalma and with DeNiro. Give 'em some credit. They had to start somewhere.

tedr0113 I rated this movie in the middle only because I feel there were two distinct parts to the movie with an indecisive end. The first part, with Robert De Niro prominent is very funny, at time uproariously so. (The opening with Charles Durning is priceless.) The part with the theater of "Be Black Baby" was pretty strong stuff, even today. It was real and scary and had no relationship to the first part. This part was really tense and made me shudder several times.The problem I had was what did the De Niro part have to do with the "Be Black Baby" part. Maybe I am old-fashioned and wanted something more linear or, really, coherent. Perhaps the appeal of this movie is the lack of obedience to strictures. I do applaud that kind of freedom, but only when it works. I laughed and cringed during what felt like a double feature. Both parts work very well. But together they make an uneasy mix.

MisterWhiplash In this very late 60's irreverent, almost anarchic low-budget film, Brian De Palma defines more of his strange, given Hitchcock-like fascination of voyeurism, and attacks the issues of the day. The most prominent of which, both cringe-inducing and just plain funny, is when he focuses on the black-power movement (a black woman handing out fliers asking white people 'do you know what it's like to be black'), which is something that could only work for that time and place, not before or now.But one of the key things to the interest in the film is 27 year old Robert De Niro (not his first or last film with the director), who plays this character who sits in a room looking out through his telescope at women in their rooms, setting up phony deals, and in the end basically throwing bombs. Those who have said that De Niro can't act and just is himself in every movie should see this movie, if only out of some minor curiosity. A couple of times in the film it's actually not funny, as when there's a disturbance in a black-power meeting (filmed in a grainer, rougher style than the rest of the film).In the end it's capped off with a rambling monologue in an interview that tops De Niro's in King of Comedy. It's pretty obvious where De Palma's career would go after this, into slightly more mainstream Hollywood territory, but all of his trademarks are here; the dark, almost nail-biting comedy, the perfectly timed style of voyeurism, and interesting usage of locals. Think if De Palma and De Niro did a Monty Python film, only even more low-budget and in its New York way just as off-the-hinges, and you got Hi, Mom! It also contains an eccentric and funny soundtrack.