Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- gritty
- intimate
- sincere
- classic cinema deep dive
- scorsese retrospective
What critics said
Critics broadly recognize a technically fluid, intense, and sincere debut with striking moments, while finding its structure uneven and its drama underdeveloped.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
J.R.’s desire to marry is destabilized when he learns about the woman’s rape, and his Catholic guilt shapes his response.
J.R.’s social life unfolds through loosely connected street scenes, friendships, drives, fantasies, and romantic encounters.
Dream material and sexual fantasies, including the girl in the dream, punctuate J.R.’s everyday life.
J.R. and his friends navigate New York streets through Italian-American social bonds and shared Catholic culture.
Films like Who's That Knocking at My Door, and why
Mean Streets
urban character study, Catholic guilt, masculine insecurity, and early independent filmmaking
Marty
Italian American community drama shaped by religious guilt, sexual morality, and conflicted male identity
The Pawnbroker
psychological romantic drama about sexual trauma, shame, and emotionally constrained masculinity
Movie Details
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
- Release Date
- 1968-09-08
- Runtime
- 90 min
- Rating
- 6.0 / 10 (224)
Cast
- Harvey Keitel
- Zina Bethune
- Anne Collette
- Lennard Kuras
- Michael Scala
- Harry Northup
- Tsuai Yu-Lan
- Saskia Holleman
- Bill Minkin
- Philip Carlson
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Who's That Knocking at My Door about?
- A restless Italian-American New Yorker confronts the corrosive collision of romantic desire, sexual trauma, and Catholic guilt.
- What is Who's That Knocking at My Door like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Who's That Knocking at My Door as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Who's That Knocking at My Door violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Who's That Knocking at My Door as moderate.
- What did critics think of Who's That Knocking at My Door?
- Critics broadly recognize a technically fluid, intense, and sincere debut with striking moments, while finding its structure uneven and its drama underdeveloped.
- Which films are like Who's That Knocking at My Door?
- Films with a similar feel include Mean Streets, Marty, and The Pawnbroker.
- How long is Who's That Knocking at My Door?
- Who's That Knocking at My Door runs 90 minutes.
- Where can I watch Who's That Knocking at My Door?
- In United States, Who's That Knocking at My Door streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max.
