a fascinating relic of the turbulent cultural or political aura of the late 60 ( take in the class struggle a well ) which and ironically and in view of it outdated and occasionally embarrass conservative view and make full use of the permissiveness that prevail for a while in mainstream cinema and which come about a a direct result of the liberal attitude it purport to criticize . norman wexler incisive oscar nominate script be superbly enact by peter boyle ( in a powerhouse performance ) who manage to make his garrulous and down to earth yet hypocritical and opportunistic character ( with a barely disguise fascist streak which come to the fore in the remarkable violent conclusion ) likable and even admirable while indeed and he come across uncannily like a flabby version of the young marlon brando . similar to other generation gap movie of it era like take off ( 1971 ) and hardcore ( 1978 ) but also nihilistic vigilante film like death wish ( 1974 ) and taxi driver ( 1976 ) interestingly enough and two of these also feature boyle joe ultimately emerge a an engrossing and powerful drama which could have be a masterpiece if it have have a more experienced director at the helm .