Ok, dig it, daddio, I get the deal here; this movie is "innovative."
Improvised? Check.
Influential on later filmmakers like Scorsese? Check.
Blend of italian realism with the emerging French new wave? Check.
Filmed in the raw? Check.
Cutting mini-satirical scenes of walk-up pseudo-intellectuals? Check.
Cool Beat jazz score of its time? Check.
But that's not all. Awkward acting? Check. The look of student actors doing over-long improv scenes? Check. Basement-budget glarey, shadowy lighting? Check. Dialogue that means little if anything at all? Check. Exaggerated emotional displays that don't make sense? Check. The editing is rough and sometimes doesn't make sense, like they lost a few frames and had to just tape it back in off-rhythm.
Let's call a shovel a shovel, here. This is interesting mostly because Cassavetes went on to become famous.
What did I like most about this? It's a real-life snapshot of what NYC looked and sounded like in 1957. That's not easy to find in movies. You can almost smell the stale piss in the alleyways.
But that's not all. Awkward acting? Check. The look of student actors doing over-long improv scenes? Check. Basement-budget glarey, shadowy lighting? Check. Dialogue that means little if anything at all? Check. Exaggerated emotional displays that don't make sense? Check. The editing is rough and sometimes doesn't make sense, like they lost a few frames and had to just tape it back in off-rhythm.
Let's call a shovel a shovel, here. This is interesting mostly because Cassavetes went on to become famous.
What did I like most about this? It's a real-life snapshot of what NYC looked and sounded like in 1957. That's not easy to find in movies. You can almost smell the stale piss in the alleyways.