JohnDeborgio Does anyone remember or know the name of the Trailer or Movie preview, or Short or Skit that was shown before the actual movie Fingers began playing in the theater? I remember couples as contestants on a game show, at one point they were naked, then they were farting back and forth. It was pretty funny from what I remember. Maybe it was X rated? I don't know, I was a kid and I remember me and my friend were taken there by his older brother who snuk us in that's why we had access. It may not have been X rated, I only suggest that due to the nudity - this was 1978. I have no idea how to track it down. Internet searches based on descriptions of a nude farting game show proved futile. If someone knows the name or remembers what it was from, please comment I only have a foggy memory of it and that it was damn funny, a lost gem. Thank-you, JOHN

Scott LeBrun "Fingers" is the offbeat, intriguing study of one dysfunctional character, Jimmy (Harvey Keitel), a man who straddles two distinct worlds. In one, he's the reluctant debt collector for his mobster father Ben (Michael V. Gazzo), and a man who won't hesitate to use violence to get the job done. However, he's also an obsessive music lover, and talented pianist with the lofty ambition of performing at Carnegie Hall. He puts off what will prove to be a brutal confrontation at the end to pursue the spaced-out Carol (Tisa Farrow). Writer / director James Toback's unique little movie is more than just the typical NYC gangster picture. It does feature excellent use of NYC locations, and it does have some very brutal moments, but is a decidedly laid back rather than intense experience, with deliberate pacing. The movie is marked by a very erotic quality, whether Jimmy is making the acquaintance of the sexually charged club owner Dreems (Jim Brown, in a captivating low key portrayal), or having an encounter with Julie (Tanya Roberts). We even get a glimpse of Keitel nudity, 14 years before he bared all in Abel Ferrara's "Bad Lieutenant". The movie has a serious, somber mood, yet at the same time is not without some humour. It's a very good vehicle for Keitel, who really throws himself into the twisted main role; other familiar faces such as Danny Aiello, Ed Marinaro, Marian Seldes, Lenny Montana, Tom Signorelli, Frank Pesce, and Zack Norman comprise the supporting cast, and the movie is now notable for co-starring two future 'Sopranos' regulars, Tony Sirico as young mobster Riccamonza and Dominic Chianese as Arthur Fox. But Keitel is truly the one to watch playing an obviously flawed, yet compelling individual with more than his fair share of psycho sexual problems, a certain arrogance, and a tendency towards explosive behaviour who also wants something more out of life. Film fans looking for something a little off the beaten path and deserving of more attention are advised to check out "Fingers", as it refrains from ever being too predictable and tells its story in a very straightforward manner. It's gritty and provocative and rather memorable as well; it's not for all tastes but is rewarding for those who seek it out. Seven out of 10.

sol ****SPOILERS**** Outlandish motion picture that tries to cover too much ground and in the end gets buried under it. Harvey Keitel, Jimmy "Fingers" Angelelli, comes across as a borderline psycho who's about to explode, which is just what he does at the end of the movie. Jimmy is pressured by wanting to become a Carnegie Hall caliber Bach playing pianist and at the same time doing his job for his dad Ben, Michael V. Gazzo, a Mafia loan shark. Jimmy who's very sexually active with the ladies he even seems to be interested in men as well. We get to see Jimmy early in the film making eye-contact with an obviously gay waiter at a restaurant as if he wanted to pick him up. Jimmy unfortunately has a very severe prostate condition that becomes inflamed and unbearable when ever he has sex. It turns out that having sex for Jimmy is more like rape and his prostate condition drives him almost out of his head. I did like the brutal mobster, debt collector, contrasted by the sensitive artist, pianist, angle of the movie. This contradiction stems from Jimmy's gangster father Ben and pianist mother Ruth, Marian Seldes, who we later see in a hospital ward suffering from a mental breakdown. Writer/Director James Toback seemed to add something in "Fingers" straight out of the movie "Taxi Driver", which Harvey Keitel also stared in, into the story. We have Jimmy falling in love and then wanting to save Carol (Tisa Farrow) who's, when we first see her, a sculpture. Later when we meet Carol's boss or pimp Dreems, Jim Brown, we realize that Carol is hooker which makes her a combination of both Iris & Betsy in "Taxi Driver". You begin to think that Jimmy like Travis Bickel in "Taxi Driver" will in the end dispatch Dreems and his henchmen and save Carol from her life of sin and have her back living with her parents and family. Instead the movie just can't make up it's mind and as it comes to it's brutal conclusion Carol and her pimp Dreems are totally written out or forgotten about! It's as if they were put in the film just to fill in some time to make it a full-length 90 minutes motion picture!I felt that Jimmy's unrestrained brutality in the movie was more due to his failure to become a concert pianist then to his painful sexual experiences due to his prostate condition. Since his prostrate is treatable with medication but his failure as a concert pianist isn't. It's just that Jimmy can't mentally get it all together whenever he's on stage playing th piano and being judged by music critics. We see Jimmy in action early in the film when he cold-cocks the massive and powerful pizza store owner Luchino, Lenny Montana, who owed his lone shark dad Ben money that he lent him. But as the movie goes on it's obvious that Jimmy is getting more and more out of control because his both uncontrolled and painful sexual urges. Jimmy virtually rapes Julie, Tanya Roberts, in order to intimidate mobsters Riccamonza's, Tony Sirico, girlfriend who also owes Jimmy's dad money. Later Jimmy forces himself on Carol who you thought up until then he was trying to rescue from a life on the streets and practically rapes her as well. The worst and most sickening act by Jimmy is when as an act of revenge he savagely beats and murders Riccamonza who had Jimmy's father killed. Jimmy murders Riccamonza by blowing his eyes out of his eye-sockets like he said that he would do earlier in the movie; luckily for Riccamonza he was already dead when that happened! As the movie "Fingers" ends we see Jimmy stark naked playing the piano in his apartment with absolutely no musical skill at all and obviously insane. All alone in the world, everyone that he loved and cared for have either died or left him, Jimmy is just waiting for the men in the white suits to take him away in handcuffs and a straight-jacket.

Infofreak 'Fingers' is the kind of movie that makes me value the 1970s over any other decade. A complex portrait of Jimmy Fingers, an ex-debt collector turned wanna be concert pianist (Harvey Keitel, in one of his top five performances), who finds himself drawn back into his old line of work as a favour to his aging gangster father (Michael V. Gazzo, 'The Godfather 2', 'Fear City'). Fingers isn't the most likable character, is obsessed by sex and music, both doo wop (which he plays at top volume on a boom box) and classical, and is obviously doomed to fail. Keitel is absolutely mesmerizing on screen, and the movie is filled with a supporting cast of interesting faces, including Jim Brown ('Slaughter'), Tisa Farrow (Fulci's 'Zombie Flesh Eaters'!), Danny Aiello ('Do The Right Thing', 'Jacob's Ladder'), future "Angel" Tanya Roberts, and at least two Sopranos. I don't know why 'Fingers' isn't mentioned as much as the more celebrated 1970s crime movies of Scorsese and Coppola. Godard and Tarantino are both fans of this movie, and you will be too if you give it a look. Great stuff!