Bulletproof Gangster (2011)

Posted on 30 juni 2012 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.

TV Dungeon: Romanzo Criminale

Posted on 21 januari 2012 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

(2008 – 2010, Italy)

2 Seasons (22 Episodes)

Directed by:
Stefano Sollima

Cast:
Francesco Montanari, Vinicio Marchioni, Alessandro Roja, Daniela Virgilio

The story of the Magliana gang, who controlled organised crime in Rome between 1977 and 1992. We witness the establishment of the group by three ruthless criminals; Il Libanese, Il Dandi and Il Freddo (the cold one). Each one of the friends has a very different personality, but they share the same ambition; to take over Rome. No crime is too big for Banda Della Magliana: drugs, kidnapping, murder, prostitution, they are literally involved in all criminal activity in the city.

The series is based on true events and people. The Magliana’s were the first organised gang in Rome. After a successful kidnapping, the leader type; Il Libanese, initiates that he and his associates form a gang. The others agree, but Il Freddo insists that they are all equals and have no leader. This will turn out to be a tough ideal to hang on to later on.

Off course they have opponents to deal with; a competitive gangster called Terrible is their first major obstacle. Then there is a communist cop who is keen on tracking them down. Finally, the Mafia – who traditionally had no foot in Rome – stick their beak in. Once the gang reaches the top, the only direction they can go is down. This is what eventually happens. Like all criminal empires, it ends.

Perhaps the best thing about this series is the cast. Each one of the actors is extremely believable in his/her role. For a show about gangsters, there are also quite a few strong female characters. Another strong point is the production design; the recreation of the seventies and eighties is convincingly done, enhanced by a groovy soundtrack and stylish camera work and editing.

The biggest downside is the length of the series. It is told in two parts of about 10 hours each. This is too long. Especially in the first part, there is too little going to keep the tension on an adequate level. Surely it is realistic, but sometimes just boring. Also humor is missing; it could have taken a few pages out of The Sopranos’ book. Still, after La Piovra, this is the best series about organised crime to come out of Italy.

State of Grace (1990)

Posted on 4 januari 2011 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

‘The Irish Mob in New York’

Directed by:
Phil Joanou

Written by:
Dennis McIntyre

Cast:
Sean Penn (Terry Noonan), Ed Harris (Frankie Flannery), Gary Oldman (Jackie Flannery), Robin Wright (Kathleen Flannery), John Turturro (Nick), Burgess Meredith (Finn), R.D. Call (Pat Nicholson), Joe Viterelli (Borelli), John C. Reilly (Stevie McGuire), Deirdre O’Connell (Irene)

If you are going to make a movie about Irish hoodlums, this is the way to do it. State of Grace is the Irish GoodFellas and that is a major compliment. Its realism stretches far beyond a pint of Guinness and a few songs by The Pogues. The viewer gets treated to a real sense of what Hell’s Kitchen and its inhabitants are like.

The movie begins with Irish cop Terry Noonan (Sean Penn) returning to his old neighbourhood – Hell’s Kitchen, now named Clinton (!) – to perform an undercover job. His mission is to infiltrate the Irish gang run by Frankie Flannery (Ed Harris) and terminate it before a dangerous alliance is formed with the Italian Mafia. His former best friend, Frankie’s brother Jackie (Gary Oldman), is also a member of the gang. Noonan also rekindles an old flame with Kathleen, sister of the Flannery’s. He is quickly torn between his loyalty to his friends and his official mission.

The story may sound a little cliché, which it is, but State of Grace does have a couple of surprises to offer. What makes the film really work is the striking environment it shows and the flesh and blood characters that live in it. Poverty, crime, drugs and alcohol tore this neighbourhood apart. The misery caused by this is in these characters’ DNA and determines everything they do.

A proper gangster movie usually has a crazy, hot headed, loose cannon character (think Joe Pesci’s Tommy in GoodFellas). In this film, Gary Oldman plays that role. His Jackie is one seriously disturbed – and often funny – wacko. His performance is the best thing about State of Grace, but the other cast members are excellent as well. Robin Wright adds to the heart of the film as a caring young woman who wants to improve things, but can’t – not with these people in her life. Penn is also solid in the lead as the conflicted Noonan and so is Harris as the ice-cold gang boss Frankie Flannery.

The movie ends with a The Wild Bunch-like shoot-out. This might be a bit of an odd choice for ending this particular movie with, but it still works nicely. Director Joanou uses beautiful, slow motion bullet hits mixed with St. Patrick Day parade images to create a terrific and blood boiling sequence. If you are looking for a gangster film that almost matches Scorsese’s finest work, look no further.

Rating:

Quote:
FRANKIE FLANNERY: “If I don’t call you by two o’clock or Pat don’t call you, you come in and tear ‘em apart, the spaghetti still on their spoons.”

Trivia:
The word ‘fuck’ and variation are used 210 times in the film.

The Valachi Papers (1972)

Posted on 8 juli 2010 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

‘The Valachi Papers. Fact not Fiction’

Directed by:
Terence Young

Written by:
Peter Maas (book ‘Le Dossier Valachi’)
Dino Maiuri (screenplay)
Massimo De Rita (screenplay)

Cast:
Charles Bronson (Joe Valachi), Lino Ventura (Vito Genovese), Jill Ireland (Maria Reina Valachi), Walter Chiari (Gap), Joseph Wiseman (Salvatore Maranzano),
Gerald O’Loughlin (Ryan), Amedeo Nazzari (Gaetano Reina), Fausto Tozzi (Albert Anastasia), Pupella Maggio (Letizia Reina), Angelo Infanti (Lucky Luciano)

Joe Valachi is not a name that is spoken of with much respect in mob circles. He was the first Mafia rat and gave up the entire hierarchical structure of the Mafia to a crime committee. He revealed the five families of New York – Gambino, Lucchese, Colombo, Bonanno and Genovese – that were named after the ruling bosses at that time. This film tells Valachi’s life story. At the height of the Castellammarese war (1929 – 1931), the bold, small time crook Joseph ‘Joe Cargo’ Valachi joins the side of Don Salvatore Maranzano, an old Mustache Pete who is fighting a bloody war with his rival Joseph ‘Joe the Boss’ Masseria.

After the deaths of the two old Don’s, Valachi’s crime family evolves. First Lucky Luciano becomes boss, and after his imprisonment Vito Genovese takes over. In a Mafia-career spanning over 30 years, Valachi is involved with New York’s most legendary Mafia figures. He steals, frauds and murders for them, until finally the FBI manages to turn Genovese against Valachi in order for him to testify. He does so, and gives up his former associates along with all other major Cosa Nostra figures he knows of.

He becomes the first mob informer who makes sure that the existence of ‘La Cosa Nostra’ is no longer a secret for the public. Based on the novel by Peter Maas, The Valachi Papers was produced by Dino De Laurentiis in Italy with many scenes dubbed in English. It was directed by Terence Young, most well-known for directing the first official Bond movies. It came out in the same year as The Godfather, and helped to popularize the Mafia as a source of entertainment.

The Valachi Papers sticks to the steady pattern of the mob film; tough guys, half Italian dialogue, shoot-outs and violence (especially a castration scene is very brutal). Also the ‘rise and fall’ type of build-up has been done countless times. This is not the head of its class though. The beginning promises a rapid-pace movie, but after about 40 minutes, all the suspense has been drained from the script. Since the characters are not that fascinating to begin with, this becomes quite a doll viewing in the second half.

Rating: