Okay, those of you who don't get UK TV, don't have Sky digital, and don't get the Sky Movies package may not know what I'm talking about. And even those very few who tick 'yep' under all those boxes may still not know what I'm talking about.
Very simply, since March 31st Sky Movies has been showing Mafia films on the 'Modern Greats' channel. These include three films directed by Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather Trilogy), three from Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, Casino, The Departed), two from Brian De Palma (Scarface, The Untouchables), one from Sergio Leone (Once A Time In America) and... Bugsy, directed by someone called Levinson. Al Pacino's in four, Robert De Niro's in five... and, believe it or not, I've only seen four of these films before. Those are The Godfather Trilogy and The Departed, so I won't be looking at those. You want my short opinion, I rather like the Godfather movies (even the third one), and found The Departed good though overrated.
Nor will I be debating the list and which important contemporary gangster flicks were left off it; though I'd like to note that American Gangster has not made its way to TV yet and thus was ineligible by default. Nah, I'll just write up some opinions I have of the movies as I see them. Reviews might contain spoilers; you are forewarned.
Goodfellas
Hm. What can I say of this film that hasn't been said before? Well, I finally get it. I mean, I get why Martin Scorsese is cited as an influence on Wong Kar-wai. I didn't see any comparisons in Taxi Driver or The Departed; but this? The bright yet glorious colours; the nostalgic look at the 1950s, the omnipresent and highly dramatic use of pop music, the endless internal monologues... it's more like a Wong Kar-wai movie than Wong Kar-wai's own gangster picture, As Tears Go By (which was apparently inspired by Mean Streets, but I disgress too much).
I could go into the obvious about how excellent this film is, how great the cast is, and how it's a modern classic; but I'll suffice to say it's certainly that; it's the best of the lot I've seen so far, and I don't think the remaining pictures will offer stiff competition. My favourite bit in the movie is two bloodied corpses in a bright pink car. It's hilarious.
Scarface
I am under the impression that Brian De Palma is apparently considered to be a director of note. I do hope that this film is not the one responsible for this belief. Having read a number of reviews, it seems popular and even cliched to compare this film to The Godfather, so I'll take a spin on that; but not the Michael Corleone/Tony Montana stuff or the moral complexity stuff or what have you.
Nope. Class. The Godfather has a beautiful and haunting score by Nino Rota. It has a lot of gentlemen in elegantly tailored suits whose language can veer to the poetic. These gangsters are indeed civilized beasts; men of refined tastes. I don't think I would have written the last sentence had I not seen Scarface; which is a consistently ugly film. Tacky clothes; grating pop tunes and synth, a barely coherent protagonist who posesses rather limited English vocabulary that fortunately seems to include its full range of profanites (which I doubt he picked up from his alleged tutors, the films of James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart).
I realise that a lot of this is the point; and truthfully I don't mind the coarse-mouthed antihero or his garishly poor taste. The film has its moments - I laughed out loud when a man is executed through being hanged by a helicopter. Al Pacino's pretty good at creating a gangster that manages to be the complete antithesis of that other gangster he played, and Pfieffer is suitably glacial as his wife. But the film itself as a whole is a cheesy, tasteless, bloated mess. I understand that this film is something of a cult classic which is supposed to have some aura of machismo; frankly it's far more of a camp classic and guilty pleasure with as much manly virility as a creampuff.
The Untouchables
De Palma's learned his lesson, it seems. This film's injected a bit of taste into the proceedings. We have stylish period costumes and a score by none other than Ennio Morricone. I guess I could note with irony that the original Scarface film was inspired by Al Capone, this picture has the man himself. But it's not really about De Niro as Capone, it's more about the titular untouchables; incorruptible policemen who strive to bring him down.
The film tends to be a bit earnest at times with its aggressive playing of the heroism of these cops. And all the dramatic moments largely come off a little bit false, technically correct but with the artifice seeping through. And, of course, the film cribs a famous idea from Sergei Eisenstein's The Battleship Potemkin for its climax. But as far as threats to children go, I liked the explosion near the beginning of the picture a lot better - having the child pick up the bag with explosives and try to offer it to the departing mobster was an inspired touch.
Also, there's a bit with Al Capone's love of baseball that had me laughing as loudly as the helicopter hanging in Scarface. The violence is often as absurd as that picture; but the difference here is that this film is actually a lot of fun.
A minor quibble: Sean Connery, as a supposedly Irish policeman; doesn't change his Galswegian accent a bit. Doubt that'd throw many American audiences; and I'd be wary of Connery putting on an accent, and, anyway, having Connery is always a plus, so it's a minor concern.
Tomorrow? Once Upon a Time in America. See you there.
Very simply, since March 31st Sky Movies has been showing Mafia films on the 'Modern Greats' channel. These include three films directed by Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather Trilogy), three from Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, Casino, The Departed), two from Brian De Palma (Scarface, The Untouchables), one from Sergio Leone (Once A Time In America) and... Bugsy, directed by someone called Levinson. Al Pacino's in four, Robert De Niro's in five... and, believe it or not, I've only seen four of these films before. Those are The Godfather Trilogy and The Departed, so I won't be looking at those. You want my short opinion, I rather like the Godfather movies (even the third one), and found The Departed good though overrated.
Nor will I be debating the list and which important contemporary gangster flicks were left off it; though I'd like to note that American Gangster has not made its way to TV yet and thus was ineligible by default. Nah, I'll just write up some opinions I have of the movies as I see them. Reviews might contain spoilers; you are forewarned.
Goodfellas
Hm. What can I say of this film that hasn't been said before? Well, I finally get it. I mean, I get why Martin Scorsese is cited as an influence on Wong Kar-wai. I didn't see any comparisons in Taxi Driver or The Departed; but this? The bright yet glorious colours; the nostalgic look at the 1950s, the omnipresent and highly dramatic use of pop music, the endless internal monologues... it's more like a Wong Kar-wai movie than Wong Kar-wai's own gangster picture, As Tears Go By (which was apparently inspired by Mean Streets, but I disgress too much).
I could go into the obvious about how excellent this film is, how great the cast is, and how it's a modern classic; but I'll suffice to say it's certainly that; it's the best of the lot I've seen so far, and I don't think the remaining pictures will offer stiff competition. My favourite bit in the movie is two bloodied corpses in a bright pink car. It's hilarious.
Scarface
I am under the impression that Brian De Palma is apparently considered to be a director of note. I do hope that this film is not the one responsible for this belief. Having read a number of reviews, it seems popular and even cliched to compare this film to The Godfather, so I'll take a spin on that; but not the Michael Corleone/Tony Montana stuff or the moral complexity stuff or what have you.
Nope. Class. The Godfather has a beautiful and haunting score by Nino Rota. It has a lot of gentlemen in elegantly tailored suits whose language can veer to the poetic. These gangsters are indeed civilized beasts; men of refined tastes. I don't think I would have written the last sentence had I not seen Scarface; which is a consistently ugly film. Tacky clothes; grating pop tunes and synth, a barely coherent protagonist who posesses rather limited English vocabulary that fortunately seems to include its full range of profanites (which I doubt he picked up from his alleged tutors, the films of James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart).
I realise that a lot of this is the point; and truthfully I don't mind the coarse-mouthed antihero or his garishly poor taste. The film has its moments - I laughed out loud when a man is executed through being hanged by a helicopter. Al Pacino's pretty good at creating a gangster that manages to be the complete antithesis of that other gangster he played, and Pfieffer is suitably glacial as his wife. But the film itself as a whole is a cheesy, tasteless, bloated mess. I understand that this film is something of a cult classic which is supposed to have some aura of machismo; frankly it's far more of a camp classic and guilty pleasure with as much manly virility as a creampuff.
The Untouchables
De Palma's learned his lesson, it seems. This film's injected a bit of taste into the proceedings. We have stylish period costumes and a score by none other than Ennio Morricone. I guess I could note with irony that the original Scarface film was inspired by Al Capone, this picture has the man himself. But it's not really about De Niro as Capone, it's more about the titular untouchables; incorruptible policemen who strive to bring him down.
The film tends to be a bit earnest at times with its aggressive playing of the heroism of these cops. And all the dramatic moments largely come off a little bit false, technically correct but with the artifice seeping through. And, of course, the film cribs a famous idea from Sergei Eisenstein's The Battleship Potemkin for its climax. But as far as threats to children go, I liked the explosion near the beginning of the picture a lot better - having the child pick up the bag with explosives and try to offer it to the departing mobster was an inspired touch.
Also, there's a bit with Al Capone's love of baseball that had me laughing as loudly as the helicopter hanging in Scarface. The violence is often as absurd as that picture; but the difference here is that this film is actually a lot of fun.
A minor quibble: Sean Connery, as a supposedly Irish policeman; doesn't change his Galswegian accent a bit. Doubt that'd throw many American audiences; and I'd be wary of Connery putting on an accent, and, anyway, having Connery is always a plus, so it's a minor concern.
Tomorrow? Once Upon a Time in America. See you there.
Last edited:
