Tagarchief: Christopher Walken

Dungeon Classics #7: Last Man Standing

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

Last Man Standing (1996, USA)

Director: Walter Hill
Cast: Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, David Patrick Kelly, Ned Eisenberg
Running Time: 101 mins.

The story of Last Man Standing – in which a mercenary arrives in a small town and hires himself to two rival gangs – has been told before. The original Yojimbo (1961) is a samurai movie. And the remake A Fistful of Dollars (1964) a spaghetti western. Both are absolute classics. Last Man Standing is not, but hey! This is still a cult favorite. In this version, the setting is a dusty Mexican bordertown during the prohibition where two gangs of violent bootleggers are fighting a bloody war. The rough gunslinging drifter Willis (named John Smith) arrives and starts playing both sides off against one another, earning himself a nice payday for his efforts. But the play is not without personal danger. Plus, he starts helping two dames who are hooked up with the gangs’ leaders. Pretty soon, the town turns into a bullet festival, so Smith can display his incredible gun skills. The heavy action that follows is perfectly directed by Hill. Add to this a fine selection of actors, including a creepy Christopher Walken, and you have an irresistible action movie on your hands.

James Bond: 10 Greatest Villains

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

In anticipation of SPECTRE, FilmDungeon.com editor Jeppe Kleyngeld lists his favourite things about the James Bond series in 12 unique features. Enjoy!

10. Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Films: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, THUNDERBALL, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE, DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN
Played by: Anthony Dawson, Donald Pleasence, Telly Savalas, Charles Gray, John Hollis, Max von Sydow
Quote: ‘Let his death be a particularly unpleasant and humiliating one’
Ernst Blofeld 2
Ernst Blofeld 1
Why memorable: Ernst Blofeld is the arch villain of the Bond series. As leader (Nr. 1) of SPECTRE, he is cunning and rotten to the core. He appears in seven Bond films and is finally killed by Bond (thrown in factory chimney by helicopter) in the pre-title sequence of FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. This is Bond’s revenge for the death of his first and only wife at the hands of Blofeld in AT YOUR MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE. Blofeld is played by a different actor in almost each of the seven movies he appears in and they all have a slightly different interpretation of the role. My favourite interpretation of Blofeld is the one performed by Donald Pleasence in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (photo).

9. Francisco Scaramanga
Film: THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
Played by: Christopher Lee
Quote: ‘My name is Scaramanga. Francisco Scaramanga. I feel I know you, although I never thought we should ever really meet’
Francisco Scaramanga 2
Why memorable: An assassin with a golden gun who charges a million bucks per hit, but he is willing to do James Bond for free. It is all about the challenge for this pistol artist who grew up in a circus. Great portrayal by the dark and handsome Christopher Lee. He makes Scaramanga a truly dangerous and respectable opponent. Bond’s employer MI6 has evaluated Scaramanga as one of the finest shots in the world, and M authorizes Bond to assassinate the KGB-trained gunman – if he can.

8. Kananga
Film: LIVE AND LET DIE
Played by: Yaphet Kotto
Quote: ‘At any cost – any – Bond must die’
Kananga 2
Why memorable: After Blofeld has been the villain for three Bond movies in a row, it was time for something else. Kananga is a power-hungry political baddy with a taste for voodoo and sadism. He is also a drug manufacturer. On his island San Monique he has thousands of acres of poppy (heroin) fields, protected by the Voodoo threat of Kananga’s accomplice Baron Samedi. Then there is Kananga’s alter ego, the New Orleans based Mr. Big, distributer and wholesaler of the product through his chain of Fillet of Soul restaurants. Kananga/Mr. Big is excellently portrayed by character actor Yaphet Kotto as a frustrated, angry, impatient and violent bully. Kananga is named after Ross Kananga, owner of the crocodile farm featured in the movie.

7. Maximilian Largo
Film: THUNDERBALL, NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN
Played by: Adolfo Celi, Klaus Maria Brandauer
Quote: ‘Do you lose as gracefully as you win?’
Maximilian Largo 1
Why memorable: Icy villain that works for SPECTRE as head of its extortion operations, under the organization’s leader Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Appears in both THUNDERBALL and unofficial remake NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN. I am personally more a fan of the second interpretation. Largo’s cover is that he is a well known millionaire and philanthropist. Largo’s two main headquarters are his super-yacht The Flying Saucer and a Moorish castle Palmyra located on the north coast of Africa. He seems very friendly and controlled, but all of a sudden he can get real psychopathic. A very scary acting job by Austrian character actor Klaus Maria Brandauer.

6. Alec Trevelyan
Film: GOLDENEYE
Played by: Sean Bean
Quote: ‘Why can’t you just be a good boy and die?’
Alec Trevelyan 1
Why memorable: Former colleague and friend of Bond who faked his own death and comes back nine years later to extract revenge on Britain for what happened to his parents in the war. This leader of the Janus Crime Syndicate is very angry and hateful making him an interesting antagonist. For James this is the first time he faces a former friend, but naturally he stays true to Britain. Sean Bean is excellent as the vengeful Trevelyan, whose face is scarred due to Bond, making him even more hungry for payback.

5. Elektra King
Film: THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
Played by: Sophie Marceau
Quote: ‘I always had a power over men. Nobody can resist me’
Elektra King 1
Why memorable: THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH is the first James Bond movie where the main villain is a woman. This is revealed later in the film when Elektra is already a major love interest for James. She turns out to be pretty cold. She murdered her own father because she felt he hadn’t helped her sufficiently when she was kidnapped. Now she wants revenge on M, who worked together with her father during the kidnapping. Elektra is very sexy, smart, manipulative and above all: deadly. In short, the perfect Bond villain.

4. Max Zorin
Film: A VIEW TO A KILL
Played by: Christopher Walken
Quote: ‘Intuitive improvisation is the secret of genius’
Max Zorin 2
Why memorable: A mad evil doctor did experiments on pregnant woman during the Second World War to enhance the intelligence of babies. Most of the women had miscarriages, but Max Zorin is one of the doctor’s success stories. He is extremely intelligent, but the treatment had a side effect: he is utterly psychotic as well. Zorin was trained by and long-affiliated with the KGB. Then he became a successful business man, first in oil, then in microchips. Zorin forms a plan to destroy his only competition in Silicon Valley by triggering a massive earthquake in the San Andreas Fault at high tide, causing the valley to flood. Zorin is completely ruthless and displays a total lack of loyalty towards his own men, as shown when he mows down hundreds of his own mine workers with a machine gun, laughing psychotically while doing it. He even betrays his own right hand woman May Day. Besides killing, he also has a strong passion for horse racing.

3. Karl Stromberg
Film: THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
Played by: Curt Jurgens
Quote: ‘Cancel transfer of 20 million dollars. Inform next of kin that a tragic accident has resulted in the deaths of Professor Markovitz and Dr. Bechmann. The funeral was at sea’
Karl Stromberg 1
Why memorable: Shipping tycoon Karl Stromberg is, along with Hugo Drax in the follow-up MOONRAKER, the most ambitious Bond villain and among the most rich and powerful (and crazy). His masterplan is to destroy the world via a nuclear war and create a new civilisation under the sea. He can best be characterised as insane maniac who thinks he is God. Stromberg reclusively lives in his sea station ‘Atlantis’ that has a spectacularly beautiful aquarium that contains several rare species, but also sharks that he uses to feed his disloyal underlings to. Prefers not to shake hands.

2. Franz Sanchez
Film: LICENCE TO KILL
Played by: Robert Davi
Quote: ‘I just want you to know that this is nothing personal. It’s purely business’
Franz Sanchez 1
Why memorable: Robert Davi plays the role of a lifetime as Franz Sanchez, a ruthless druglord who is completely believable in his cruel practices. From the moment he is introduced, he is evil and menacing. His first acts shown to us are whipping his girlfriend for cheating and having her lover’s heart cut out. Soon after, he throws Bond’s best friend Felix Leiter to the sharks. When LICENCE TO KILL came out, newspapers were full of cocaine kings like Sanchez, making him a very current villain at the time.

1. Auric Goldfinger
Film: GOLDFINGER
Played by: Gert Fröbe
Quote: ‘No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!’
Auric Goldfinger 2
Why memorable: Industrial tycoon and criminal mastermind that wants to increase the value of his gold supply (approx. 10 times) by blowing a nuclear bomb in the vault of Fort Knox, making the entire gold supply of the United States radioactive for 60 years. His plan is so ambitious that he must be a lunatic. He is, but still comes pretty close to achieve his operation Grand Slam, killing many people along the way, including the turned Jill Masterson, who is found covered in gold paint. ‘It’s the kiss of death…’. What makes Goldfinger so intriguing – apart from his brilliant name – is his love for gold. ‘All my life, I’ve been in love with its colour, brilliance and divine heaviness.’ He dies by getting sucked out of an airplane cabin through a window that Bond has shot.

Read also:

Top 10 Gadgets
James Bond: Top 10 Gadgets

The James Bond Films Rated From Worst To Best (24-11)
The James Bond Films Rated From Worst To Best (24-11)

The James Bond Films Rated From Worst To Best (Top 10)
The James Bond Films Rated From Worst To Best (Top 10)

Bulletproof Gangster (2011)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘Based on the true story of Danny Greene the man the mob couldn’t kill’

Directed by:
Jonathan Hensleigh

Written by:
Jonathan Hensleigh
Jeremy Walters
Rick Porrello (book ‘To Kill the Irishman’)

Cast:
Ray Stevenson (Danny Greene), Vincent D’Onofrio (John Nardi), Val Kilmer (Joe Manditski), Christopher Walken (Shondor Birns), Linda Cardellini (Joan Madigan), Tony Darrow (Mikey Mendarolo), Robert Davi (Ray Ferritto), Fionnula Flanagan (Grace O’Keefe), Vinnie Jones (Keith Ritson), Steve Schirripa (Mike Frato)

Bulletproof Gangster (also known as Kill the Irishman, after the book it’s based on) is a biopic about former union man turned Irish mob boss Danny Greene, set during the Cleveland Mafia war of the 1970s, in which his enemies failed time and again to kill him. Hence the title although Kill the Irishman might be more fitting, since they mostly tried to kill him with bombs rather than bullets.

It’s a classic rags-to-riches story. Greene starts as a dockworker, albeit a well-read one. He didn’t finish school but was famously self-educated. With the backing of mobster John Nardi, he rises to become a popular union president.

Meanwhile, his old neighborhood friend Joe (Val Kilmer) joins the Cleveland PD, following his former friend’s career and narrating the story. After Greene’s arrest, he’s barred from union work for life, so he enters the garbage business with mobster Jack Licavoli’s blessing.

But when mob boss John Scalish – who ran the Cleveland mob since the 1940s – dies, a brutal gang war erupts between Greene and Nardi on one side and Licavoli on the other. That summer, bomb after bomb rocks Cleveland, killing many gangsters. How long can the seemingly blessed Irishman survive?

This gangland tale covers one of the few untold chapters of American Mafia history. Director Jonathan Hensleigh, screenwriter of Die Hard With a Vengeance, clearly has a penchant for explosives, and it shows in this appropriately explosive film. The cast features many familiar faces from gangster movies, including Paul Sorvino as Tony Salerno.

Of the cast members, especially Vincent D’Onofrio and Christopher Walken stand out as the historical mob figures John Nardi and Jewish gang boss Shondor Birns.

Bulletproof Gangster might not be a biopic as captivating as GoodFellas, Casino or Donnie Brasco, but offers what you might expect: an entertaining mob film with one retaliation after the other.

Rating:

Quote:
DANNY GREENE: “I’m an Irish catholic with the grace of God on my shoulder. I’m not going anywhere until he says so.”

Trivia:
The plot to kill the Irishman (Danny Greene) involved an unprecedented breach of FBI security when a clerk was bribed by the mob and actually stole a list of confidential informants from a top secret room. Cleveland agents acted quickly, plugging the leak and arresting their clerk.

King of New York (1990)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘Not everyone who runs a city is elected’

Directed by:
Abel Ferrara

Written by:
Nicholas St. John

Cast: Christopher Walken (Frank White), David Caruso (Dennis Gilley), Larry Fishburne (Jimmy Jump), Victor Argo (Roy Bishop), Wesley Snipes (Thomas Flanigan), Janet Julian (Jennifer), Joey Chin (Larry Wong), Giancarlo Esposito (Lance), Paul Calderon (Joey Dalesio), Steve Buscemi (Test Tube)

The Godfather meets Black Caesar in Abel Ferrara’s violent 90’s gangster tale. Christopher Walken plays the disturbing and eccentric gang lord Frank White, who is characterized by a short fuse temper, a Robin Hood-like attitude and a pretty cool haircut.

When White is released from prison he starts effectively wiping out all his competitors whom he views as the real scum of New York because they take money from the poor and weak. He is different: he uses his drug money to finance schools and hospitals. For him, this easily justifies the killing of some vermin, but a small group of Irish cops look at the matter entirely differently. They hate the idea that a drug dealer can get away with murder and so they start a war with Frank and his gang.

Ferrara and his regular screenplay writer Nicholas St. John show the viewer that crime is dirty. There is nothing glamorous about King of New York, not even the sex and coke parties. In the world these characters live in, death and betrayal could come any time. Frank knows this. In one scene he expresses his desire to stay around for just two more years, so he can finish his charity work. Death could come soon and it is hardly a heroes’ death waiting for him. Still, he has the makings of a hero.

King of New York is easily Ferrara’s most accessible movie. There is hardly any complex subtext like in basically all of his other works, but it does contain some criticism on society as can be expected from an artist like Ferrara. Basically, it is a modern day morality tale, but the message is certainly delivered in an entertaining fashion. Apart from Walken’s excellent performance, many other cast members shine as well, most notably Larry Fishburne in scene stealing form. Also contains a fair amount of violent action.

Rating:

Quote:
LARRY WONG: “You know something Frank…this conversation made me realise how fucking crazy you really are.”

Trivia:
The work of real-life friends David Caruso and Wesley Snipes in this film helped them get casted in, respectively, NYPD Blue (1993) and New Jack City (1991) each of which launched both actors into stardom.