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One of my all time favorites.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Fantastic!

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It's a bit unengaging. De Niro phones in a Pupkinesque pastiche of a performance from a lackadaisical, pointless script. Lange is OK, but has precious little material to work with. Ultimately, it's not entertaining to watch. For De Niro completists only.

The second time I saw this film, and again it was doable. De Niro's role is contradictory; on the one hand Harry Fabian lies and cheats, but the more you get to know him, the bigger his heart turns out to be. He wants to make his big score, more as a personal victory than just making money. Then there's some other sidelines, like his relationship with a waitress (who is actually with the man who becomes key in his new plans...) and a new friend/partnership with a retired boxer (who has a dangerously bad ticker...). It doesn't take a genius to figure that things will not turn out so great for Harry, but predictability isn't always a bad thing.Otherwise, the story is pretty decent, although it takes a while to really get started and some scenes could have easily been cut shorter. But the big disappointment is the finale - lacking any form of suspense, drama or humour it pretends to have. I díd enjoy most of the acting though, beside De Niro I find Lange, Warden and Gorman especially worth mentioning.It's about time I tried the original, I suppose. 6 out of 10 for this one.

The picture deals an ambitious, fast-talking lawyer named Harry Fabian(Robert De Niro, Richard Widmark role) in N.Y.C., he's a hustler with several money-making schemes . Harry concocts a plot as boxing's small-time promoter . But he makes erroneous friends, the old boxer's brother(Alan King), a tough gangster. Harry is the role who fills completely the movie , he survives as person who reports false crime in the trials. Harry becoming involved with mobsters and an affair with his barman's spouse(Jessica Lange). But his plans go awry and he's on the run for his life. The story terminates with a persecution excellently filmed with all its rawness .This noir urban/drama packs good performances though Robert De Niro is overacting. Nice interpretation by Jessica Lange , the only character who shows a bit of kindness on Harry. Supporting casting is frankly well, as Cliff Gorman, Eli Wallach, Jack Warden, Barry Primus, Michael Badalucco, among others , furthermore cameo role by Richard Price, screenplay's author. Dark cinematography by Tak Fujimoto and atmospheric and effective musical score by James Newton Howard. This version about Harry downfall lacks punch and dramatic weight, it results to be much better the classic adaptation (1955), a real masterpiece, set in London with Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney and Herbert Lom. This inferior new version is dedicated to Jules Dassin, the magnificent director of the original picture and adapted from the novel by Gerard Kersh. The motion picture is regularly directed by Irwin Winkler, usual producer of Robert De Niro films and occasionally filmmaker.

The only reason I saw this movie was its filming locale, Boxers on West 4th Street in NYC. (Ironically, the bar had nothing to do with "Boxers" as in pugilists). Its not Boxers that I will remember, its the predecessor on this corner, Boxers decor was the same as the lamented JIMMY DAYS that graced this corner from about 1970 until 1989 or 1990. When Jimmy was forced out by escalating rents, Boxers moved in, keeping the exposed brick ceiling decor the same. Soon, this movie may be the only permanent record of a great NY neighborhood bar known as JIMMY DAYS. There is a Margot Kidder independent movie from the 1970s that was filmed here when it was Jimmy Days, called Willie and Phil.