Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

spitfire2356 Rod Steiger is under the lens in this classic study of a man zombified by life events. Adjusting to losing family, country and way of life proves impossible even after 25 years. He grudgingly supports his brother's family to expiate the gnawing acid guilt of survival. The black and white stark cinematography, weather and drudgery of pawnbroking work combine to infuse a suffocating dead- end atmosphere. The bleak city neighborhood and down at luck faces of the crowded inhabitants are a continuation of the concentration camp. The walk- in wounded seeping into the shop with hard-life stories, are dealt summarily by the walking dead Scrooge shop-owner. Despite this they still try again - they have not been beaten by the system. Yet. We build up some hope that his over enthusiastic Latino assistant stands a chance of scratching the surface but we get suddenly disappointed when his modest dreams get cruelly rebuffed. A lonely woman reaches out but is repeatedly and very coldly spurned. His second wife suffers and hopes but is left clutching at empty air. The pimp (an excellent Brock Peters) reads him too well. He expertly carries on where the Nazi's left off. There is no let up for him. He is condemned to suffer all his life in a concentration camp. How much of it is self- imposed? He asks for a release in death, and even that is denied him. The death of his assistant takes time to jolt feelings of excruciating agony from him. He does open his mouth but no sounds come out. We are not sure what the emotion actually is however. The shocking realization that he had cruelly let down a person that had looked up to him - and that person has just given up his life for him. He suddenly and desperately wants to start feeling something, anything again. Even pain is better than nothingness. Another explanation is that he wants to kill himself, but only manages to hurt himself. It feels too little, too late. Open to interpretations like all the best endings. Definitely not a feel good film

Winduct ''The Pawnbroker'' is a gripping and somewhat controversial for its time film about a Jewish genocide survivor struggling to adapt in society while facing his personal traumas. Directed by Sidney Lumet, the film is an outstanding character study with a magnificent performance from its lead.Lumet's direction has been often criticized for incorporating a rapid flashback editing influenced from the French New Wave. This is true, as the film's editing proves to be very annoying with its sudden and unexpected cuts which somehow block the characters from developing their performances further as well distracting the audience from the film's force. Most scenes are cut short, or at least shorter than they should have been which limits the audience from immersing themselves into the characters' situations. It could be said that the experimental editing doesn't work out and chokes the film rather than letting the story progress. Despite the messy editing, Lumet directs the film meticulously and manages to bring to life a truly heartbreaking story with great realism and suspense.Morton S. Fine and David Friedkin, who worked on the adaptation, do a very good job on capturing the original novel's essence, paying close attention to each character's development, meaning that all characters are very well written instead of being just ''creatures'' as Nazerman (Steiger) sees them.Concerning the technical aspects, the film works very well with its minimalistic sets and decoration, giving the audience a firm representation of reality. As mentioned above, the editing is messy but the film's black and white cinematography (praise goes to Boris Kaufman) contributes essentially to the film by revealing the main protagonist's inner psychology (Nazerman is still imprisoned by his traumas which is implied by the shadows of the bars which fall on his face at the pawn shop). Quincy Jones' score, in short, is distracting and unfitting. He uses a jazzy score which seems out of place and kills the film's suspense. While the film itself succeeds in seizing the audience's attention, Jones' score does the exact opposite. It's not a bad musical score but certainly a strange and unfitting one for the film which turns out as a very bad selection.Leaving the best for last, Steiger delivers one of the finest performances in cinematic history. Watching the film ,it's truly hard to believe that Steiger is actually acting since he is overwhelmingly believable and honest in everything he does: from his facial expressions to the way we walks, Steiger is spellbinding, making us feel the pain he has been bearing. From the first moment he appears on screen, he truly makes us believe that this character has been through a lot of difficulties and by the end of the film we've seen how much Steiger has transformed into this man who has lost everything and how far he has gone as an actor. It's one of those performances which make you shiver when you see him suffer because it's performed in such a realistic and sincere way. Simply a towering performance by Steiger in a career-turning role.''The Pawnbroker'' is considered to be a rather significant film in American history, being the first to deal with the Jewish genocide from the viewpoint of a survivor. It serves as a deep examination of a character's psychology and tackles a very devastating and sensitive subject. But above all, it is Steiger's supreme performance which makes this film unforgettable.

mike dewey Might be Rod Steiger's most morose and bleakest role. As an Auschwitz survivor whose family were raped and tortured there, he feels a veritable menagerie of despair because of the guilt he feels for his inability to extricate them from the camp and for the guilt he feels because he somehow managed to make it out. His job as the titled pawnbroker does nothing but fuel more fire to his dire situation in life as he is cast among the severest cases of poverty in his store's Harlem neighborhood. Added to that, he has to front his store for a despicable vice lord (Brock Peters) so that he can at least make a modicum of income.Sounds and is grim but is, to me, the quintessential ground breaker of the ultra-realistic urban life dramas that were to unfold in the latter 60's and early 70's. Rod plays his part to perfection as a lifeless, embittered old man who has seen too much in one lifetime. The aforementioned Brock Peters along with Ray St. Jacques, Jaime Sanchez (his apprentice) and others flavor this dramatic pot even more so with their poignant portrayals of their respective characters, each of whom has fallen victim to the scourges of his ghetto habitat.I shall not offer up where and how the redemptive transformation occurs in our principal, except to say watch the entire movie and see for yourself how it all unfolds. Truly, a time-tested masterpiece!

kai ringler Rod Steiger delivers the performance of a lifetime in this sad movie. the story is about a man who lives in New York runs a laundry mat,, and starts having flashbacks of the War when he was in the Concentration Camps. the story has some flashbacks, and they are very poignant. the old man takes on a younger partner in the Laundromat,, but later on Sol finds out that the money used to run the business also comes from a brothel.. there's not a lot of action in this,, but it doesn't need to have action,, this movie is based on pure raw emotion,, hatred, greed, and all of the things incorporated in a great drama. it's sad to see the detioration of Sol as the movie winds along. this is a very powerful and shocking movie, not to be watched by the lighthearted, i'm German so i will definitely watch this again.