This time capsule frames the the end of an era that we can all look back to. One can also learn what it meant to be an oppressed black man, a junior mobster or a tired NYC detective in that late sixties era. Insight to the workings of the black Harlem underground of the day and the viciousness of the Italian Mafia by night. So believable, the writer had to have lived some part of this classic. Unlike any movie before,I rooted for every character depicted. Anthony Quinns determination and Yaphets silence both show the past and future of the entities being played out. The bathroom scene between the two cops was a highlight for me. This is not a blaxploitation movie it is a NYC movie. This movie is a treasure and I thank God it has not been remade.