Tagarchief: Gangster Films

Gotti (1996)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Directed by:
Robert Harmon

Written by:
Jerry Capeci (book ‘The Last Gangster: Winning the War Against John Gotti and the Mob’)
Gene Mustain (book ‘The Last Gangster: Winning the War Against John Gotti and the Mob’)
Steve Shagan (teleplay)

Cast:
Armand Assante (John Gotti), William Forsythe (Sammy Gravano), Richard C. Sarafian (Paul Castellano), Frank Vincent (Robert DiBernardo), Anthony Quinn (Neil Dellacrose), Dominic Chianese (Joe Armone), Robert Miranda (Frank DeCicco), Scott Cohen (Gene Gotti), Vincent Pastore (Angelo Ruggiero), Tony Sirico (Joe Dimiglia)

John Gotti seemed destined for the Mafia. He was smart, tough, loyal to the code of omertà, never skimmed from the top, and respected the boss’s policy on narcotics. These qualities helped him rise to become boss of the infamous Gambino family in the 1980s. But Gotti also had his flaws: he craved media attention and was too careless about discussing sensitive business in unsecured settings.

Gotti is the biography of one of history’s best-known mobsters. The story begins in 1973, when Gotti first comes to the attention of his crime family, the Gambinos – then the most powerful of New York’s Five Families. Boss of bosses Carlo Gambino asks Gotti for a personal favor, which nearly goes wrong due to the interference from underboss Paul Castellano. The conflict almost dooms Gotti, but his mentor, second underboss Neil Dellacroce (Anthony Quinn), steps in to resolve it.

In the years that follow, Gotti steadily rises through the ranks alongside his close associate and fellow captain Sammy Gravano. When Gambino dies of old age in 1976, he names Castellano as his successor, to the disapproval of Gotti and other top figures. While Gotti was seen as a true man of Cosa Nostra, Castellano was regarded more as a businessman. Tensions eventually culminate in one of the most infamous gangland hits in history: the 1985 assassination of Castellano and his partner outside Sparks Steak House in Manhattan.

Now John Gotti is the boss. But, as noted earlier, his weaknesses ensured that his reign would be relatively short-lived (until 1992 to be precise). As a biographical made-for-tv HBO production, Gotti stands out for offering a complete look at the life and times of a legendary mobster. Armand Assante is memorable in the lead. The supporting cast – featuring many future Sopranos actors – is also strong, with Anthony Quinn and William Forsythe delivering standout performances. If you watch only one television production about the mob, make it Gotti .

Rating:

Quote:
JOHN GOTTI: “A Mexican, a Puerto-Rican and a black guy are sitting in a car. Who’s driving? The police.”

Trivia:
According to IMDb, this film was the highest rated original telefilm in HBO history at that time. The success of the film convinced HBO to cast film co-stars, Dominic Chianese, Vincent Pastore and Tony Sirico in a series in development at the time called The Sopranos (1999).

The Outfit (1973)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Nobody plays rougher than The Outfit…Except maybe Earl, Cody and Bett!

Directed by:
John Flynn

Written by:
Donald E. Westlake (novel ‘The Outfit’ as Richard Stark)
John Flynn (screenplay)

Cast:
Robert Duvall (Earl Macklin), Karen Black (Bett Harrow), Joe Don Baker (Jack Cody), Robert Ryan (Mailer), Timothy Carey (Jake Menner), Richard Jaeckel (Kimmie Cherney), Sheree North (Buck’s Wife), Felice Orlandi (Frank Orlandi), Marie Windsor (Madge Coyle), Jane Greer (Alma Macklin)

Forgotten, gritty ’70s crime flick loosely adapted from a novel by Richard Stark (a follow-up to ‘The Hunter’, the book that inspired Point Blank and Payback).

The novel’s central character, Parker – named Earl Macklin here for some reason – has a score to settle with the crime syndicate known as the Outfit. After they murder his brother in retaliation for a robbery the two pulled on one of their banks, Macklin decides they owe him payback.

True to Parker’s nature, he demands compensation in his own way: together with his buddy Jack Cody and girlfriend Bett Harrow, he begins hitting the Outfit’s operations one by one. In return they set a trap for him, but Macklin is not a man easily cornered. It ends in a memorable shootout in the mansion of the Outfit’s top boss.

The film is directed by John Flynn (Rolling Thunder), who also wrote the screenplay. Flynn was a fine, efficient, and sadly underrated filmmaker who specialized in lean, mean crime pictures. He’s a director admired by Quentin Tarantino – as Tarantino noted in ‘Cinema Speculation’, his book on ’70s cinema – and it’s easy to see why. The film is stylishly shot and Robert Duvall is great in the lead tough guy role.

That said, it misses the real hard-boiled coolness or cinematic innovation that made John Boorman’s Point Blank, which was again based on similar source material, such a memorable film.

Rating:

Quote:
EARL MACKLIN: “Now, the Outfit’s gonna pay me money for my trouble. I figure 250.000 to make things right. Tell your friends. That’s the bill: 250. I hit you until you pay me. What I take in between is extra.”

Trivia:
The Outfit (1973) (much like The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) and other crime films of this period) has been included on many lists of lesser known films recommended by 21st century film analysts.

Backtrack (1990)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘When murder is your business, you’d better not fall in love with your work.’

Directed by:
Dennis Hopper

Written by:
Rachel Kronstadt Mann, Ann Louise Bardach

Cast:
Dennis Hopper (Milo), Jodie Foster (Anne Benton), Joe Pesci (Leo Carelli), Dean Stockwell (John Luponi), Vincent Price (Lino Avoca), John Turturro (Pinella), Fred Ward (Pauling), Julie Adams (Martha), Tony Sirico (Greek), Sy Richardson (Capt. Walker)

Alright, so this is quite a strange film by Dennis Hopper. It was originally released as Catchfire, but that version was apparently so bad that Hopper had his name replaced in the credits with the pseudonym Alan Smithee. Backtrack is the 18-minutes-longer cut made for cable TV, with Hopper’s directorial credit restored.

Jodie Foster plays an artist who witnesses a mafia murder. The mob – led by the explosive Leo Carelli (Joe Pesci, in the same year he gave his ultimate mobster performance in GoodFellas) – hires hitman Milo (Dennis Hopper) to silence her.

What makes it puzzling is the sheer amount of talent involved: Jodie Foster, Joe Pesci (uncredited, despite a substantial role), Dean Stockwell, John Turturro, and others. The film also features familiar faces like Charlie Sheen, Bob Dylan (!), and Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts from The Sopranos). Yet, despite this very impressive cast, no one is given particularly strong dialogue – not even the two leads.

The bigger problem is that the film never decides what it wants to be. Is it a tense thriller? An arthouse experiment? A romantic gangster film in the vein of Bonnie and Clyde? Or an action movie given that out of nowhere, there’s a helicopter chase? The tone shifts constantly, leaving the viewer wondering: what exactly am I watching? That question is never answered.

It’s also unclear what motivates Hopper’s character, Milo, a saxophone-playing hitman. He suddenly falls in love with his target, but why? And why does she start to reciprocate? Their relationship feels entirely unconvincing.

Originally, Hopper’s cut ran 180 minutes. It’s difficult to imagine what his true vision for the film might have been. The studio, Vestron Pictures, disliked his version and re-edited it without his consent. Hopper was furious and sued, but by then the company had already gone bankrupt.

In short, Backtrack is a curious film for many reasons, but unfortunately the final product simply doesn’t work. It’s a shame, given the remarkable cast, but the movie is proof that without a strong screenplay, even great talent can’t save the day.

Rating:

Quote:
MILO: “There’s something going on here that I really don’t understand. But I like it.”

Trivia:
The movie includes three Oscar winners: Jodie Foster, Joe Pesci and Bob Dylan; and three Oscar nominees: Dennis Hopper, Catherine Keener and Dean Stockwell.

Scarface (1983)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘He loved the American dream. With a vengeance’

Directed by:
Brian De Palma

Written by:
Oliver Stone

Cast:
Al Pacino (Tony Montana), Steven Bauer (Manny Ribera), Michelle Pfeiffer (Elvira Hancock), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Gina Montana), Robert Loggia (Frank Lopez), F. Murray Abraham (Omar Suarez), Paul Shenar (Alejandro Soza), Miriam Colon (Mama Montana), Harris Yulin (Mel Bernstein), Angel Salazar (Chi Chi)

Miami, the 1980s: Bad fashion, worse music, neon-lit nightclubs, yeyo, Cubans, Colombians, chainsaws, bikini-clad women, submachine guns, swimming pools, sports cars, hot tubs, and DEA agents. Welcome to the world of Tony Montana, the world of Scarface!

Brian De Palma’s Scarface is a bold, brash remake of Howard Hawks’ classic. Scripted by Oliver Stone – who wrote it while recovering from cocaine addiction in France – the story remains largely the same as the original, but the setting shifts dramatically. Instead of Prohibition-era gangsters, we follow the ruthless rise and fall of Cuban drug kingpin Tony Montana in the seedy underworld of Miami’s cocaine boom.

The film tracks Tony’s journey from a penniless refugee to a feared drug lord. Arriving from Cuba on an immigrant boat alongside his best friend Manny (Steven Bauer), Tony starts off running small-time hustles before proving himself as a vicious enforcer. His brutal ambition propels him up the ranks of Miami’s drug empire, ultimately overthrowing his boss, Frank Lopez, and taking everything – his empire, his woman (Michelle Pfeiffer’s icy Elvira), and his lucrative Bolivian connections.

But the higher Tony climbs, the faster he spirals downward. Paranoia sets in, fueled by mountains of cocaine. His marriage crumbles. His violent possessiveness over his sister hints at some unsettling, unspoken obsession. His reckless decisions alienate his allies, and when he crosses his powerful supplier Alejandro Sosa, the consequences are deadly. The film hurtles toward its legendary, blood-soaked climax, culminating in one of cinema’s most iconic shootouts.

What makes Scarface so compelling is that Tony Montana never truly enjoys his success. Unlike typical gangster flicks that revel in the spoils of crime, Scarface portrays a hollow, joyless ascent. Tony achieves everything he ever wanted, yet the moment he reaches the top, his downfall begins. The film’s bleak tone lingers from start to finish, reinforcing the idea that whether under communism or capitalism, Tony is doomed by his own insatiable greed and self-destruction.

Should you watch it? Absolutely. If only to understand its massive influence on pop culture, especially hip-hop. It’s violent, darkly funny, and features Al Pacino burying his face in a literal mountain of cocaine. Jeppy says go watch it. Okay?

Rating:

Quote:
TONY MONTANA: “You wanna fuck with me? Okay. You wanna play rough? Okay. Say hello to my little friend!”

Trivia:
Bodycount: 42.