Return of the Dragon (House of the Dragon SE2)

Posted on 13 juli 2024 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Good morrow television lovers. In case you didn’t realize it yet, House of the Dragon is back with a vengeance! Right off the bat in the first episode, a shocking murder takes place. It’s revenge for a certain killing in season 1’s finale, which was a stunning ending to a brilliant first season.

House of the Dragon was my favorite series in 2022, which also saw the release of many other big fantasy shows like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime, Andor on Disney Plus, and The Sandman on Netflix. These were all good, but HBO’s House of the Dragon ruled the streaming year by far if you ask me.

If you haven’t seen it yet, it is definitely not a repetition of Game of Thrones because rather than another epic adventure series, it is more like a Shakespearian family drama like The Godfather and executed perfectly. The Targaryans are a deliciously dysfunctional (and occasionally incestuous) family, and one bloody betrayal follows the other. It also has loads of politics and strategizing, which I love, so now that war between the Blacks and Greens is inevitable, it is set to be another immensely satisfying season.

Why is the drama so effective? First of all, the outstanding writing. There are many fantastic characters and every scene is bristling with emotion. It’s like a chess play taking place with fantastic dialogues and superb acting. All very real.

Each side has a powerful female leader. Rhaenyra Targaryen, the rightful heir to the Iron Throne is passionate and wise, and it’s hard not to be on her side. The Greens have Alicent Hightower, a very clever and determined political strategist who you definitely don’t want to have as your enemy.

Each side also has a Dragon riding sociopath. Daemon, who has been a fascinating scene stealer since the very first episode, is with the Blacks. He supports his wife Rhaenyra – if it suits him – but now he seems to be after the Iron Throne for himself. On the other side, we have the eyepatch wearing Aemond, who rides the biggest dragon of the realm: Vhagar. We know he is capable of terrible deeds, and whatever his destiny will be is one of the most intriguing questions for me (I don’t know because I never read the book ‘Fire & Blood’ on which the show is based).

After the shocking murder in the first episode, the following two episodes (2 and 3) are a little more quiet, and then in the fourth episode we are treated to one of the most spectacular finales in television history. I was amazed…

House of the Dragon has been renewed for a third season, so we won’t get served up a conclusion to this high drama with dragons any time soon. Like in Game of Thrones, the current rulers of the Iron Throne are not of our liking, and we very much would like to see the other party take over. But how this can be done is hard to say. One thing’s for certain: there will be much much more fire and blood before this historic feud in Westeros is over, and I will be there enjoying every minute of it.

Fans of American Popular Culture Really Can’t Refuse This Show

Posted on 4 februari 2024 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

How did I almost miss this show? It is fantastic. The Offer is about the making of The Godfather, which is still considered to be one of the greatest movies ever made. I had some knowledge about its troubled production history, but the movie still offers new insights. Especially about the involvement of the real Mafia in the production.

The limited series is based on the experiences of Albert S. Ruddy, the producer of the film. Ruddy (Miles Teller from Top Gun: Maverick) started his career as a television writer-producer and he wanted to make the transition to the more alluring (especially in those days!) big screen. He pleads for a job with Bob Evans, the brilliant head of Paramount Studios, who sees something in the passionate young man and decides to give him his shot at the title.

The mini-series then follows the typical film’s development process, which starts with the hiring of a screenplay writer (Ruddy hires the author of the book Mario Puzo and immediately breaks a golden rule in Hollywood) and a director (Coppola, who was supposed to be able to bring in the film low budget). At the same time, he gets Joe Colombo to deal with. Apart from being the boss of one of the five New York mob families, Colombo was leader of the Italian-American Civil Rights League and he thought The Godfather was a complete insult.

Then starts the casting process which is even more troubling. Coppola is in love with Al Pacino (“the shortest unknown actor in the world”), whom Bob Evens absolutely hates. And both Ruddy, Coppola and Puzo are dead set on Marlon Brando for the role of the Don, but he is known to be a major troublemaker by the studio’s.

Another storyline of The Offer revolves around Evans’ marriage with actress Ali McGraw. Due to the pressures of his work, he can’t go with her to Texas where she is to shoot The Getaway with womanizer Steve McQueen. When he loses her, the studio boss cannot bring himself to return to work, but The Godfather cannot succeed without him, as number cruncher Barry Lapidus (Colin Hanks) threatens to destroy all creativity in his absence.

It is a lot of fun watching Ruddy & Co deal with all these insurmountable challenges, and seeing the masterpiece that is to be The Godfather slowly emerging. The main cast members are all great. What was always gonna be impossible is to find suitable actors to play The Godfather’s cast members: Brando, Pacino, Caan, Duvall… Talking about insurmountable challenges, but they managed to at least not screw it up.

The Offer can best be compared with Mad Men: another show about the creative process mixed with business. But since this is the story about a fantastic period in American cinema, it is even more enjoyable for movie lovers such as myself. Also, seeing the dozen ways The Godfather could have gone off the rails, will make you appreciate this movie even more as the miracle that it is.

Wiseguy Guide for Rookies

Posted on 16 oktober 2023 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Terminology

Agita: Stress
A good earner: What wiseguys are supposed to be.
Associate: Involved with Mafia but not yet a made guy.
Bada Bing!: Stripclub owned by Silvio Dante (in The Sopranos).
Busting someone’s balls: Bothering somebody with sh*t.
Bust Out: Ordering on a company’s account till it runs out of credit and goes bankrupt.
Capo / Captain: Crew boss. Leads a number of soldiers. Reports to underboss.
Consigliere: Counselor of the Don. For example Tom Hagen in The Godfather and Silvio Dante in The Sopranos.
Contract: Someone needs to disappear by means of a hitman.
Don: Boss of organised crime family.
Fanook: Gay
Goomar: Steady girlfriend on the side. Of course most wiseguys are married like good Catholics ought to be.
Illegal gambling: A wiseguy’s main source of income
La Cosa Nostra (LCN): Literally ‘our thing’. Mafia. Organised crime families.
Made Guy: Connected to the mob by blood-oath.
Making one’s bones: Performing a first kill for the mob.
Mustache Pete: An old-fashioned mob boss.
OC: Short for Organised Crime. Term used by the FBI.
Omerta: Bow of silence. Never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut.
Opening the books: New members (made guys) are accepted by the mob commission.
Outstanding loan: It’s time for a weekly visit to collect or bust some skulls in.
Points: Interest over debt. Average mob rate is two points weekly.
Pop someone: To shoot someone.
Rat/stoolie/turncoat: Wiseguy that betrays his friends. Usually because he fears a lengthy prison sentence or getting whacked (or both).
RICO Laws: Main government tool for prosecuting members of the Mafia. Stands for ‘Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations’. According to the federal statutes, RICO can be applied to anyone who is involved in the ‘operation or management’ of a ‘pattern of racketeering activity’ designed to acquire or maintain an interest in an ‘enterprise’.
Sit down: Conversation between the Don and two conflicting made members.
Soldier: Lowest rank under made guys.
To eat: To be allowed to earn.
To flip: To turn FBI informant.
Vig: Amount charged by bookmakers for services. Short for Vigorish. Also known as juice.
Whack someone: To kill someone.
Wiseguy, Goodfella: Made member of the mob.

Expressions from The Godfather

Moe Green Special: Gunshot clean through the eye because someone’s eyes became bigger than his stomach.
Going to the mattresses: Going to war.
‘Take the gun, leave the Cannoli’: What you say after you have popped a guy.
An offer you can’t refuse: Either your brains or signature will be on the contract.

Rules

Never insult, threaten or hit another made guy. (*GoodFellas, The Sopranos, Gotti)

Stick to the omerta (never rat out your friends). (*GoodFellas, The Sopranos, Gotti)

Money should be carried in a bundle. Not in a wallet. (*Donnie Brasco)

Mustaches are not acceptable. (*Donnie Brasco)

Who kills a don can never become a don. (*Mobsters, Gotti)

A made guy is untouchable for anyone except of course the bosses. (*GoodFellas)

A soldier kicks up money to his capo who gives a piece to the (under)boss. Never keep income secret from the bosses. (The Sopranos)

Never start an affair with another member’s wife. (Casino)

* Examples of movies in which those rules were broken.

Recensie: The Sicilian (Mario Puzo, 1984)

Posted on 14 januari 2023 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

De schrijver van de bestseller ‘The Godfather’ uit 1969 heeft nog een aantal populaire boeken over de maffia geschreven. Met ‘The Sicilian’ heb ik ze allemaal gelezen (hij schreef ook ‘The Last Don’ en ‘Omerta’).

‘The Sicilian’ gaat over het prachtige, maar door problemen geteisterde eiland Sicilië dat in de jaren na de oorlog – na het desintegreren van de fascistische overheid van Mussolini – formeel wordt geregeerd door de Christendemocraten en informeel door ‘de vrienden van de vrienden’ – de maffia – met aan het hoofd de almachtige Don Croce.

De mensen zijn straatarm en worden volledig uitgeknepen door de machthebbers. In dit tijdsgewricht vol onrecht staat er een volksheld op die het volk wil bevrijden: Salvatore ‘Turi’ Giuliano. Samen met zijn beste vriend Gaspare ‘Aspanu’ Pisciotta begint hij een guerrillabeweging. Vanuit de bergen plegen zij overvallen en kidnappen ze belangrijke figuren voor losgeld. De buit distribueren ze vervolgens onder de boeren en het gewone volk. Giuliano wordt de Robin Hood van Sicilië.

Na zeven jaar bandieterij, escaleren de zaken volledig en de geliefde Giuliano is gedwongen naar Amerika te vluchten. En de man die hem daar als geen ander bij kan helpen is Michael Corleone die aan het einde is gekomen van zijn periode onderduiken op het door Italië geregeerde eiland. Maar zal Giuliano in staat zijn te ontkomen aan de sluwe Don Croce?

Mario Puzo

Het talent van Mario Puzo is dat zich feilloos kan verplaatsen in mannen met macht (ja, het zijn altijd mannen); hoe ze praten, hoe ze denken en hoe ze hun acties bepalen. Hoe erg je als lezer ook op je hoede bent voor de volgende maffia-valstrik of het volgende verraad, hij blijft je altijd een stap voor. The schrijvers van Game of Thrones en House of the Dragon zijn Puzo wel wat verschuldigd, vind ik.

‘The Sicilian’ kan beschouwd worden als een soort spin-off verhaal in de saga van ‘The Godfather’. Een verhaal dat een deep dive neemt in de ziel van de Siciliaan, de geschiedenis van het land en de oorsprong van de mythische maffia. De bandiet Giuliano bestond echt en het verhaal is deels gebaseerd op zijn leven.

In 1987, verfilmde Michael ‘The Deer Hunter’ Cimino het boek met Christopher Lambert als Giuliano en John Turturro als Pisciotta. Het werd geen succes helaas. Lambert weet totaal niet te overtuigen en eigenlijk is geen enkele keuze van de filmmakers goed uitgepakt. Het is niet spannend, niet meeslepend en niet romantisch. Het is niet vreselijk om naar te kijken, maar ik heb er eigenlijk niets positiefs over te melden. Het boek daarentegen is zeer de moeite waard.