“The artiness of Coppola’s aesthetic ultimately becomes an ethic as Pacino, in somber profile, emerges more victim than villain, more a melancholy Dane than a bloody Macbeth.”
“Since 'The Godfather' is about as unkind to the Mafia as 'Mein Kampf' is to Adolf Hitler, it is hard to understand why the local little Caesars didn’t pay a commission for all the free publicity.”
“What ‘The Godfather’ is trying to peddle us is that turning to crime was not a choice but a necessary absorption in order to get along in a hostile country. Thus it is an ode to impotence and a grave insult to the Italians”
“New York’s gay milieu, and for that matter, New York itself, has never seemed so vile, sordid, dispiriting, and degrading. One can almost smell the piss in the doorways, the massive body odors on the steamy city streets.”
“We homosexuals cannot improve our world for ourselves and for those who follow us — and improving it is a duty we should all feel — if we ban the exploration of our problems.”
"It marks the first time a citizens' protest has been mounted against a film before it's in the can. And it has brought the gay community its most potent organizing tool since the murder of Harvey Milk"
“William Friedkin, his crew, and his star, Al Pacino, invaded Jones Street August 10. Residents on the block hadn’t received prior notification. Nor had they been asked how they felt about ‘Cruising’ being shot on their block.”
