Lee pays too much attention to the social context, the urban environment, instead of focusing on the moral dilemmas and compromised identity of his interesting central character, Strike, resulting in a diffuse, intermittently involving crime saga that lacks the momentum of Richard Price's novel.
Clockers (1995): Spike Lee’s Procedural Crime, Starring Harvey Keitel, John Turturro, Delroy Lindo, Mekhi Phifer, Isaiah Washington
February 18, 2008 by
Who’s That Knocking at My Door (1968): Scorsese’s Feature Directing Debut, Starring Harvey Keitel, Zina Bethune, Catherine Scorsese (his Mother), and Scorsese Himself in Cameo
January 15, 2007 by
Originally titled I Called First, Martin Scorsese's debut feature was made while he was an instructor at the NYU's film school. Like all of Scorsese's films, this small-scale drama, about an Italian-American youth, has strong autobiographical elements. It also shows what would become the director's forte: Strong, complex characterization rather than conventional plot.
