I spent the first 35+ years of my life hearing about how great this movie is, and I finally get around to watching it and now I know why.
It isn't because it's a good movie. It's because it has a tranny in it. Or maybe they're just gay, or a gay cross dresser? idk because I half tuned it out by then and started playing video games while I watched out of the corner of my eye.
I saw it fairly recently. The tranny stuff didn’t bother me, and I felt it served to show how messed up Pachino’s character was. Also, it is part of the true story the movie is based on.
Personally, I think it’s a solid piece of entertainment, but it’s not great. I wouldn’t compare it to “Citizen Kane”, “All That Jazz”, or even “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”.
What a brilliant film -- I remember some reviews from way back in the day that trashed the film for being incoherent and a bit of mess, but I thought it was a great encapsulation of a semi-biographical pic that was quite layered, and Roy Scheider was a force in that film.
It is great. It wouldn’t make my top ten, but just barely. Top 15 for sure.