I kind of liked it. It's played straight (I think) but it's really pretty amusing. You've seen it all before -- the chattering Tommy guns, the blood all over, the cigars, the sex, the flowers at the funeral, "My own Bruddah," the oaths of loyalty, the betrayals, the shotguns, the scratchy opera records, the Model A Fords twirling around on wet streets, the booze, the speakeasies, the flapper molls, the guy starting the car which is deconstructed by the hidden explosives, Deanie O'Banion, Bugs Moran, Hymie Weiss, Jake Gadjusek, the Genna brothers, the knives, Chicago neighborhoods that look like the Universal Tour, the fist fights -- and Al Capone.
I thought Rod Steiger had closed the book on turning Capone into an outrageous clown in "Al Capone," but Ben Gazzara outdoes him here. This was released shortly after "The Godfather". You can tell because Gazzara, not satisfied with a little cotton in his cheeks like Brando, seems to have stuffed a couple of Kaiser rolls or ABD pads in his cheeks. They stand out like a chipmunk's. And when he has a fat cigar in his mouth his voice sounds as if it's coming from a place far distant, echoing off twisting walls, a kind of TUBA of a voice. His physical instrument is overplayed as well. When he's happy his smile is that of an alligator. Giving orders he lowers his head like a bull and glares up from beneath his brows. He croaks when he tries to soothe someone and otherwise bellows.
The vulgarity is engaging. "Them f******s have been shoving their ****s up my *** for too ******** long now, those *****ing *****s! ****** the ***** *****s of the ***** ** *****, *** ******ing ****ers!"
And then there is Susan Blakely. She was Al Pacino's second and closest girl friend in "Serpico." She didn't have much of a part. She has a small part here too but it's all on display. All of her parts are on display. You get to know Susan Blakely pretty well, let's say, including her obstetrical aspect, which I think adds to the general comedic impact of this epic narrative.
But the movie isn't sexy, any more than it's tragic or dramatic. We don't care whose head explodes. We don't care who gets shot, shived, or syphilitic.
What an unexcelled piece of trash. I really enjoyed it.
I thought Rod Steiger had closed the book on turning Capone into an outrageous clown in "Al Capone," but Ben Gazzara outdoes him here. This was released shortly after "The Godfather". You can tell because Gazzara, not satisfied with a little cotton in his cheeks like Brando, seems to have stuffed a couple of Kaiser rolls or ABD pads in his cheeks. They stand out like a chipmunk's. And when he has a fat cigar in his mouth his voice sounds as if it's coming from a place far distant, echoing off twisting walls, a kind of TUBA of a voice. His physical instrument is overplayed as well. When he's happy his smile is that of an alligator. Giving orders he lowers his head like a bull and glares up from beneath his brows. He croaks when he tries to soothe someone and otherwise bellows.
The vulgarity is engaging. "Them f******s have been shoving their ****s up my *** for too ******** long now, those *****ing *****s! ****** the ***** *****s of the ***** ** *****, *** ******ing ****ers!"
And then there is Susan Blakely. She was Al Pacino's second and closest girl friend in "Serpico." She didn't have much of a part. She has a small part here too but it's all on display. All of her parts are on display. You get to know Susan Blakely pretty well, let's say, including her obstetrical aspect, which I think adds to the general comedic impact of this epic narrative.
But the movie isn't sexy, any more than it's tragic or dramatic. We don't care whose head explodes. We don't care who gets shot, shived, or syphilitic.
What an unexcelled piece of trash. I really enjoyed it.