Auteur archieven: Jeppe Kleijngeld

TV Dungeon: The Sopranos

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘Meet Tony Soprano. If one family doesn’t kill him… the other family will.’

(1999 – 2007, USA)

6 Seasons (86 Episodes)

Creator: David Chase

Cast: James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Robert Iler, Dominic Chianese, Tony Sirico, Steve Van Zandt, Aida Turturro

For a period of eight blissful years, The Sopranos answered the TV-prayers of me and millions of other TV-maniacs. As a huge fan of GoodFellas, a quality series about a New Jersey mob family sounded like music to my ears. It delivered on its high expectations. No, it exceeded them by far.

Tony Soprano, family matriarch, mob boss and psychiatric patients. The perfect characteristics for a leading man of a drama show. This complex character is wonderfully portrayed by the now legendary James Gandolfini. He is a fat, bald ladykiller, He’s a murderer. You just couldn’t ask for a more captivating main character.

But it isn’t just Tony who delivers. The supporting cast is delicious as well. We all have our favorites (mine is Silvio Dante), but I give praise to all; the hilarious psycho Paulie Walnuts, shrink Melfi, money-grabbing Carmela, crazy uncle June. Too many to mention, but all marvelous indeed!

So, what gives this show its ridiculous appeal? The guns, the girls, the gabagool? I guess this I just one of those very rare productions in which everything fits in perfectly; the screenplays, the actors, the soundtrack, the look and feel…it is perfect. Brilliant even.

When talking about classic mob movies, The Godfather and GoodFellas always come up first. The Sopranos can now be added to the mix. Mind you, this isn’t some ordinary rip-off. Since the pilot episode it has stood on its own feet. It is a highly original and modern take on mobsters and the gangster genre. It placed mobsters with old values in the 21th century with all of its problems: depression, terrorism, capitalism, you name it.

For 86 episodes you are watching killers, who lack any form of empathy for their victims. Most of the time they are still a lovable bunch though. But very often the audience is reminded of who these people really are. So how does one cope with all these horrible crimes on his conscience? Being a sociopath helps, but otherwise there is therapy (Tony), the catholic church (Carmela) or drug abuse (Christopher). High concept TV at its best.

Creator David Chase, who in the past worked on shows such as Northern Exposure and The Rockford Files, has created a cultural phenomenon. The Sopranos must be viewed, loved and treasured. Seriously, you’d be a douchebag to miss it.

Donnie Brasco (1997)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘In 1978, the US government waged a war against organized crime. One man was left behind the lines.’

Directed by:
Mike Newell

Written by:
Joseph D. Pistone (book ‘Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia’)
Richard Woodley (book ‘Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia’)
Paul Attanasio (screenplay)

Cast:
Johnny Depp (Donnie Brasco / Joseph D. Pistone), Al Pacino (Benjamin ‘Lefty Two-guns’ Ruggiero), Michael Madsen (Sonny Black), Bruno Kirby (Nicky), Anne Heche (Maggie Pistone), James Russo (Paulie), Zeljko Ivanek (Tim Curley), Gerry Becker (Dean Blandford), Robert Miano (Sonny Red), Brian Tarantina (Bruno)

The imposing but low-ranking mobster Lefty (Pacino) meets Don the Jeweller (Depp). Donnie’s connections check out, so Lefty takes him in as a friend and associate. It turns out to be a mistake of historical proportions. Donnie is really an undercover FBI-agent named Joe Pistone, whose mission is to infiltrate the Mafia.

This movie is based on a true story. Joe Pistone managed to infiltrate a fraction of the New York Bonanno family in the late seventies and wrote a book about his experiences. The happenings in the book have been somewhat altered to create a more tense mob thriller. A choice that has turned out well. There are certainly moments of great tension, such as the scene where Donnie has to take his boots off in a Japanese restaurant in which he has hidden a microphone. Or the jail scene in which Donnie’s pals are discussing the way ‘the rat’ should be murdered when discovered.

The acting in this film is especially well performed. It is truly amazing how much sympathy Pacino arouses as the hapless mobster Lefty. We know he’s a cold-blooded killer (26 hits under his belt), but we almost cry for him when we see his desperate schemes tragically fail. Depp certainly holds his ground as Pacino’s partner in crime. It’s intriguing to see how he becomes more and more like a wiseguy, which is especially apparent when he acts alpha male around his wife and threatens a fellow undercover agent.

The film moves with great speed. In reality it took Donnie years to come close to the crew of Sonny Black (Madsen), but in the film this is done within two scenes. Some things have been dramatised such as Donnie’s relation with his wife Maggie (Heche), who understandably can’t deal with her husband’s absence. Also the ending in which Lefty is sent for (to get whacked), is done to dramatise the movie. In reality it was Sonny Black who got killed when Donnie’s identity was discovered. Mind you, these are only observations. All film making choices are well justified and every scene altered from reality gets the impact that it is aiming for.

The art-direction is another achievement that deserves mention. The New York scenery looks great, as well as all the terrible outfits that the wiseguys dress in. Altogether, Donnie Brasco is a remarkable movie that lost none of its impact over the years. It’s certainly not easy to just fuhgetaboutit.

Rating:

Quote:
LEFTY: “Sit down there. You were gonna walk out on me? You don’t walk out on me. I walk out on you.”

Trivia:
The newspaper picture of the murdered boss is the famous picture of murdered mob boss Carmine Galente, who was killed in a Brooklyn restaurant in 1979.

Vanishing Point

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Richard C. Sarafian
Written by: Malcolm Hart, G. Cabrera Infante
Cast: Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, Dean Jagger, Victoria Medlin

Year / Country: 1971, USA
Running Time: 94 mins.

This classic carsploitation movie really has two main characters; Kowalski and a 1970 white Dodge Challenger. That’s right, the same Dodge Challenger used by Tarantino in Death Proof. Kowalski is a born driver who has no real purpose. Except to bring the Dodge from Denver to San Francisco. He drives across Colorado, Nevada and California with the police on his tail who want to bust them for some minor felonies.

Kowalski is assisted by the DJ of a radio station named Super Soul, who provides him with police frequency info. He also entertains his listeners with a groovy rock soundtrack. Through flashbacks we learn more about the cool Kowalski. How he is a Vietnam vet, a former cop, and a professional road racer. Over the years he has lost everything, including his girlfriend. The flashbacks also offer some sort of explanation for his unexpected action at the end, though it remains mysterious.

The excellent race scenes and car stunts alone make this film worth your while. But apart from that, it offers an interesting view on existentialism. It’s about a guy who just drives and only stops to tank, buy some speed or meet the occasional strange and colorful character like an old snake catcher, a pacifist biker and two weird hitchhikers’ who want to rob him. The beautiful landscapes also help in making this a very enjoyable road trip.

Rating:

Biography: Richard C. Sarafian (1930, New York – 2013, Santa Monica) was an American screenwriter, actor and director who started his long career by directing episodes for successful western and crime series. In 1981 he produced what is probably his greatest success; The Gangster Chronicles, an emmy-winning TV series about the rise of Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky. He also portrayed real-life gangsters Jack Dragna and Paul Castellano himself in the films Bugsy and Gotti.

Filmography (a selection): Maverick (1961, TV episode), Bronco (1961, TV episode), The Roaring 20’s (1961, TV episode), Cheyenne (1961/62, TV episodes), Terror at Black Falls (1962), Lawman (1961/62, TV episodes), The Gallant Men (1962/63, TV episodes), 77 Sunset Strip (1962/63, TV episodes), The Twilight Zone (1963, TV episode), Andy (1965)
Ben Casey (1963-65, TV episodes), The Wild Wild West (1965, TV episodes), Batman (1966, TV episodes), Jericho (1966, TV episodes), The Iron Horse (1967, TV episode), The Guns of Will Sonnett (1967, TV episodes), I Spy (1966-68, TV episodes), Gunsmoke (1965-68, TV episodes), Run Wild, Run Free (1969), Fragment of Fear (1970), Vanishing Point (1971), Man in the Wilderness (1971), Lolly-Madonna XXX (1973), The Next Man (1976), The African Queen (1977, TV), Sunburn (1979), The Gangster Chronicles (1981, TV series), The Bear (1984), Wildside (1985, TV episodes), Eye of the Tiger (1986), Street Justice (1989), Solar Crisis (1990)

Death Race 2000

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Paul Bartel
Written by: Ib Melchior (story), Robert Thom, Charles Griffith
Cast: David Carradine, Simone Griffeth, Sylvester Stallone, Mary Woronov

Year / Country: 1975, USA
Running Time: 84 mins.

A future race takes place annually whereby the contestants have to kill pedestrians to score points. This is the latest gladiator-like event to please the bloodthirsty crowd.

The main character Frankenstein (Carradine) is a great anti-hero. He’s the most popular driver due to winning a number of previous editions of the race. After losing a few limbs, he has mechanical parts fitted in him that make him an even more efficient racer. With his black cape and mask he looks like a pre-Star Wars Darth Vader. His arch rival Machine Gun Joe is portrayed by a young Sylvester Stallone, who got his name by unloading his machine gun in the audience.

This cult gem from the seventies is produced by Roger Corman, king of the B-movie cheapies. The carmageddon concept works well, and you get to enjoy the characters that go by names of Nero the Hero and Herman the German. The makers obviously had a lot of fun shooting this film, and they never forgot what they were making; a funny, violent action B-movie with some inventive dialogues and situations. Watch this film and you’ll have a great time for sure!

Rating:

Biography: Paul Bartel (1938, New York – 2000, New York) majored in theater arts at UCLA and studied film directing in Rome. After getting his first work experience with Roger Corman he directed a number of low budget cult films. He also worked as a writer and an actor. He died in 2000 from a heart attack.

Filmography: The Secret Cinema (1968, short), Naughty Nurse (1969, short), Private Parts (1972), Death Race 2000 (1975), Cannonball! (1976), Eating Raoul (1982), Not for Publication (1984), Lust in the Dust (1985), The Longshot (1986), Amazing Stories (1986/87, TV episodes), Shelf Life (1993), The Comic Strip Presents…(1993, TV episode), Clueless (1996, TV episode)