Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

LewisJForce People are going crazy for this film here: "one of the best films ever made", "lost classic" "10 star movie", etc, etc. When I finally got hold of a disc, I was wetting myself in anticipation.Friends, it ain't all that. It's watchable. Reasonably entertaining. Often feels like it's gonna go somewhere profound, though never does. Has lovely little moments. But it meanders, is unnecessarily technically inept (it was a major studio picture with people like the great Lucien Ballard involved) and somehow never has the courage of it's convictions. Cassavetes' similar film from the same period, 'The Killing Of a Chinese Bookie', is far better.I don't dislike the film. It has a great 70's texture and plenty of lovable eccentricities, such as the brief musical 'score'( anyway you look at it, it doesn't work, but I sort of enjoyed it for that reason). There's one scene I really liked: Cassavetes walks into an all-night candy store (as a Brit, the concept of that alone excites me) and tries to buy ice-cream. Nothing worth really talking about happens, but it's quirky and entertaining. It's that kind of movie.

allix-1 Very outdated film with awful, cliché-ridden and mawkish dialog and a very poor construction. In addition, Cassavetes and Falk overact constantly. A pseudo "good movie". It takes no time to discover how catastrophic this intellectual turkey is. The first scene is a total bore, filled with histrionics and hysteric exchanges. The sound is horrible. Camera movements are without imagination as is the building of characters. No poetry, no subtle psychology, no interesting shots. The actors smoke constantly and we see ads for beer beverages. Very cheap, indeed. (one exception : Ned Beattie"s nice and simple way of playing the hit man).

shepardjessica This totally underrated classic (in my Top 10 of all time) directed by Elaine May a few years before it's release is unbelievably gritty and a sad comment on the "American Dream" even for small-time mobsters. John Cassavetes was never better as Nick, a paranoid, intelligent, and street-wise guy. Peter Falk is equally impressive as his friend Mike who has problems of his own. This was probably the best Cassavetes-like film that he DIDN'T direct, but very similar to his style.A 10 out of 10. Best performance = John Cassavetes. a one-night (dusk to dawn) film that will grab you and never let go. Ned Beatty has an amusing supporting role, along with Sanford Meisner & William Hickey (well-known acting teachers). This movie never had a chance at the box office, but is now highly regarded in all circles. Don't miss it!

sfuss This is the movie that proves that you don't need script supervision, competent editing or a decent gaffer. All you need in order to make a great movie is well-drawn characters and great casting.Over the course of this film there are several awkward jump cuts, poor lighting, at least one instance of "jumping the line," inexplicable blackouts and a brief view of the sound guy in the hotel mirror when Falk and Cassavetes are supposed to be alone.But who cares? The whole cast is brilliant -- from Falk and Cassavetes to M. Emmett Walsh as a harassed bus driver, Ned Beatty as a sad-sack hitman and New York acting gurus Sanford Meisner and Bill Hickey (later so brilliant in PRIZZI'S HONOR) as the crime bosses -- and the relationship of the two central characters, childhood friends turned into gangsters and arriving at an eventual point of betrayal, is dead-on as old hurts surface and paranoia and anger are bound up with love.The women -- a mistress who puts on airs and two wives struggling to live normal lives with their petty criminal husbands -- also have excellent scenes to play. And there are dozens of excellent small roles. The candy store owner who keeps his hand on his gun, the jealous guy in the Black bar and the diner worker who refuses to give away creams unless Falk buys coffees to go with them all add small beautiful strokes to the overall canvas.The final moment -- Falk's scream of pain as Cassavetes is shot -- registers in a truly emotional way, free of the sentimentality that ends most such "buddie" pictures.