Sometime it seems that Hollywood stopped making good movies in 1970's. I was not familiar with this movie before I stumbled upon it in my local independent video store. What a wonderful surprise. This is a crime movie like no other. It doesn't make allowances to anybody. We see Mafia, and black gangs from Harlem, and cops both crooked, honest and those in between. In this dirty and hard world violence is an everyday occurrence and the movie is filled with ugly, horrible things. The director Mr.Shear doesn't use violence to excite or repel the viewers. That's just how it is in this desperate world full of broken people.