Scorsese's era-blurring blend of classic backstage musical and angsty domestic drama  remains one of his greatest, and certainly his most under-appreciated, films, and the same goes for De Niro's quicksilver portrayal of a many-mooded jazzman, which combines satin-smooth charisma with the spiky improvisatory fury of a Cassavetes performance. Critics at the time found the clash between De Niro's and the more heightened Liza Minnelli's performance styles jarring, but they actually brought out interesting new shades in each other -- as a result, De Niro never seemed more like a vintage, lightly varnished movie star than he did here. 

Nomination: Best Actor (Musical or Comedy), Golden Globes