It's all about a guy, who digs a gang, that has a big family thing going.The cop character played by Roth becomes so enamored of his crime family, he goes pure Stockholm syndrome. You can see it on his dopey smiley drunken face from the first round table scene that precedes the credits, which has the payoff in the very last scene when he comes clean to the Harvey Keitel character because he can't live with the knowledge it was his job to betray, and get this gang. Resevoir Dogs
It IS a pure attitude movie. I have always wondered about the ACTING "talent" of all of these guys, except maybe for Roth, who is really terrific. Madson has played basically the same guy as well as Keitel forever and Lawrence Tierney--he WAS a handful of "bad guy" forever in real life as well as on the screen.
For the past fifteen posts, you guys are all been droning on, about how this movie doesn't make it in my left ear, and how this is the greatest film in history in my right. Tarentino this, Tarentino that, never forget, this guy was a seller renter of VHS tapes whose love of 70's movies caused him to create a whole slice of moviedom devoted to the period.
Now cough up your opinion like everyone else, ya cheap bastids. Whattya mean you don't tip?

one of my favorite movies, the greatest!