Upon its release, famous film critic Pauline Kael basically denounced this as politically fascist and immoral. Then, somewhere in the middle of her review, she suddenly switched gears by acknowledging how well crafted the film was. Well, she got the second part right at least. Her criticism centred on Inspector Harry Callahan's circumvention of laws (established to protect ordinary citizens) in his quest to stop a psycho killer holding the city for ransom. All of Harry's reactions are in keeping…

Elliott Gould plays Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe unlike any actor has in the past. He's unkempt, makes goofy faces and seems purposely out of touch with reality, possessing a kind of witty sarcasm toward those he encounters, repeatedly saying "It's okay with me." I can see how those expecting this character or his reactions to be anything like past Marlowe's (in book or film form) can be hugely disappointed. I recall vividly the two completely opposing views of this film…

Robert De Niro is Travis Bickle, an ex-Marine, Vietnam War veteran, self-described as “God’s lonely man” who could not be in a more ideal, congested environment for nurturing feelings of isolation, frustration and cognitive hostility that will further assist him on his way to insanity. We feel his acute disappointment suffered from disconnects to those around him such as Peter Boyle's co-worker 'Wizard' (to whom he finally reaches out for help) or his fares (as in director Martin Scorsese’s passenger…