Despite vivid playing by Robert De Niro as the wildest and most self-destructive of them, relationships are not developed very far. Violence finally swamps them -- a brutal slaying which tries to elevate banal characters to some kind of heroic status.

Freeze frames, casual violence and conversation are there in service of a story about two apprentice hoodlums...

For all its raw, exhilarating energy, it’s a film that can always break your heart.

It was this picture that allowed Martin Scorsese to position himself as one of the most notable of the exciting new directors making their mark on Hollywood during the explosive ’70s.