Der letzte Pate

As a mini-series, this production is *far* better than average. Presented as a movie it is only average. To be fair I rated "The Last Don" 6/10, but it should be noted that there are so many high quality gangster movies (Goodfellas, Scarface, Casino, The Godfather, to name a few) that "The Last Don" has some truly formidable competition.

Anyway, I was entertained, and watching the excellent cast at work was very enjoyable. Sure, we've seen it all before, but if that was the criteria to judge a film by I'd have to become a serious pessimist. This was a very fine production.

Well, both me and my friend just finished reading the book. We rented the movie and watched it. The book was so much better. They left out many characters, didn't build characters up enough, and left a huge part of hollywood out. If you like mafia movies, this is a good one to see. Not to the caliber of Godfather or Goodfellas though. I suggest reading the book over watching the movie.

I am reviewing this movie without seeing previously "The Godfather" trilogy. I heard that they were all very good but for a made-for-TV drama, "The Last Don" is wonderful.

Don Clericuzio (Danny Aiello) is the central character of the movie. Everyone around him gravitates around him somehow. He has several sons, and when the youngest of them is killed by a rival family, he vows revenge. He sees the opportunity of getting even when his only daughter, Rose Marie, falls in love with the youngest son of the rival don. He has Rose Marie's brand new husband taken from the marital bed (with Rose Marie helplessly watching) and killed. That was enough to make her lose her mind. Aided by her craziness, she will hate her father and her brothers all her life. And I will stop here because the plot is getting too complicated and it would take me a huge amount of time to write it down.

The performances are as important as the stars. Danny Aiello is very effective in his portrayal of the Don. Jason Gedrick shows some genuine talent under that handsome face of his. But sincerely, Kirstie Alley, as the adult Rose Marie, steals the show. Though at times underused, when she is on the screen she overshadows all her co-stars. A lot of other famous people star in fantastic piece of work: Joe Mantegna (as the Don's executioner), Penelope Ann Miller (as Mantegna's wife), Daryl Hannah (as major movie star Athena Aquitane and Jason Gedrick's girlfriend), etc.

"The Last Don" is not a masterpiece, but it certainly comes very close. 8/10.

P.S.: The movie version I've seen was the complete mini-series. Four and a half hours uncut. You need a lot of patience with this film but it is worth every minute of it.

I thought this mini-series was very well done. Of course, it had it's slow and unbelieving moments but overall I enjoyed it immensely. The acting, overall, was good (kd lang and even the Don's reaction to things were a little off). I thought Kirstie Alley blew the other actors out of the water (then again, she had a lot more background to work with...and also, what a thing to go through, i am not surprised she went a little crazy). I think her acting was superb in this! I am looking forward to seeing the second part in the mini-series (whenever i can find the time to spare 4 hours...ha) But alas, it was a great mini-series and i recommend it. Besides you can buy both for around 6 or 7 bucks each (so it's worth buying over renting and then you don't have to sit for 4 hours at a time)!

Doesn't come close to the Godfather but is a decent movie. I agree with another reviewer that the book was much better. I think that time constraints kept the movie and series from being as good as the Puzo book. I never read the book the Godfather and the movie was fantastic but I've heard the book was better. I think the magic of Godfather was Coppola and the actors going the extra mile. I've seen some videos about the Godfather and they did a lot to ensure the movie came out authentic and great. This may have been a budget thing. It was still a good movie just not at the same level as the Godfather then again I haven't seen a gangster movie that is at that level. I know people are going to bring up Casino and Goodfellas but I think Lansky with Richard Dreyfus comes closer to the Godfather in storyline than those other two good movies. Just not great. I may be partial to Lansky because I have read a lot about him lol Smart man if it wasn't because he grew up poor and got into crime Young and if he would've had the resources to go to college and all that he could've been the CEO of a big corporation.