tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7539700916676246998.post3875277081064792228..comments2024-03-13T10:58:10.011-07:00Comments on Streams of Unconsciousness: Introducing Chaos to the Ordered World of CrimeRichard Hourulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12354136203258901360noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7539700916676246998.post-20468551855854030202008-07-31T14:27:00.000-07:002008-07-31T14:27:00.000-07:00A really enjoyable analysis. I saw this when it fi...A really enjoyable analysis. I saw this when it first came out and then again about a year or so ago. It's still my favorite Scorsese film that I've seen. One interesting thing is that Harvey Keitel plays the lead and de Niro plays a supporting part, yet it was de Niro who became the bigger star. De Niro's impression of a Dead End Kid with a screw loose is sure an attention grabber, but Keitel's more shaded character is perhaps the more impressive acting achievement.<BR/><BR/>One thing that impressed me on seeing it a second time was what a modern European feel the film has to it, even though the setting and story are American, or perhaps about the attempt to perpetuate European traditions in America. Speaking of the music, I'd forgotten that it was this movie that made "Be My Baby" (which was at least 10 years old then) my favorite rock song ever.<BR/><BR/>One thing that struck me when I saw it again was that it is virtually a two-hour condensation of several seasons of "The Sopranos." Many of the main elements of that show are present: the restaurant, the business mixed with racketeering, the constricting family ties and patronage (Keitel and his uncle), the repressive roles for women, the narrow-mindedness inherent in such rigid adherence to tradition (the attitude toward the epileptic cousin), the loose cannon characters like Johnny Boy, even the moral dilemmas of Keitel, the battle between projecting strength and masking inherent sensitivity and intelligence, resemble in some ways those of Tony Soprano.R. D. Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.com