The Alto Knights
- 2025
- Tous publics
- 2h 3min
Vito Genovese et Frank Costello, deux Italo-Américains à la tête de deux familles du crime distinctes au milieu du XXe siècle. Genovese a tenté d'assassiner Costello en 1957, bien que ce der... Tout lireVito Genovese et Frank Costello, deux Italo-Américains à la tête de deux familles du crime distinctes au milieu du XXe siècle. Genovese a tenté d'assassiner Costello en 1957, bien que ce dernier se soit retiré de la mafia.Vito Genovese et Frank Costello, deux Italo-Américains à la tête de deux familles du crime distinctes au milieu du XXe siècle. Genovese a tenté d'assassiner Costello en 1957, bien que ce dernier se soit retiré de la mafia.
- Réalisation
- Scénario
- Casting principal
- Récompenses
- 1 victoire et 1 nomination au total
Avis à la une
The Alto Knights-
In Cinemas now
My Rating - 6/10
I wondered why and how a Robert Di Niro movie based on a true story about two rival New York organised Crime bosses directed by Barry Levinson could possibly flop at the box office?
Is it because there's been so many movies along similar lines starring Robert Di Niro like The Irishman 2019, Goodfellas 1990, The Godfather 11 1974, A Bronx Tail 1993, The Untouchables 1987, and Once Upon a Time in America 1984 etc?
Perhaps audiences are a bit tired of mafioso and gangsters however for me the reason The Alto Knights is inferior to the above listed movies is misplaced ego .
By that I mean as fine an actor as DeNiro is playing two roles in one movie especially when the only difference basically is a different nose and chin only confuses the characters for the audience and is a stretch to far.
I found myself trying to differentiate between the two main characters Frank Costello and Vito Genovese both played well by Robert DeNiro however it would have been better separate actors played each role .
After all they're not even related but look like twins , it's just a silly casting choice.
The story meanders also back and forth and doesn't have much impact at all.
It's basically the story of 2 gangland bosses on a collision course as told by Frank Costello married to Bobbie played very well by Debra Messing ,nice to see her in a dramatic role.
The usual scenario of gangland violence as the 2 men who were friends as teenagers vie for control of the drug trafficking and alcohol supply on New Yorks city's streets.
Once best friends, petty jealousies and a series of betrayals set them on a deadly collision course.
For me this is a straight to streaming movie.
I wondered why and how a Robert Di Niro movie based on a true story about two rival New York organised Crime bosses directed by Barry Levinson could possibly flop at the box office?
Is it because there's been so many movies along similar lines starring Robert Di Niro like The Irishman 2019, Goodfellas 1990, The Godfather 11 1974, A Bronx Tail 1993, The Untouchables 1987, and Once Upon a Time in America 1984 etc?
Perhaps audiences are a bit tired of mafioso and gangsters however for me the reason The Alto Knights is inferior to the above listed movies is misplaced ego .
By that I mean as fine an actor as DeNiro is playing two roles in one movie especially when the only difference basically is a different nose and chin only confuses the characters for the audience and is a stretch to far.
I found myself trying to differentiate between the two main characters Frank Costello and Vito Genovese both played well by Robert DeNiro however it would have been better separate actors played each role .
After all they're not even related but look like twins , it's just a silly casting choice.
The story meanders also back and forth and doesn't have much impact at all.
It's basically the story of 2 gangland bosses on a collision course as told by Frank Costello married to Bobbie played very well by Debra Messing ,nice to see her in a dramatic role.
The usual scenario of gangland violence as the 2 men who were friends as teenagers vie for control of the drug trafficking and alcohol supply on New Yorks city's streets.
Once best friends, petty jealousies and a series of betrayals set them on a deadly collision course.
For me this is a straight to streaming movie.
The Alto Knights... It takes all of the charm of GoodFellas (and is very clearly written by the same guy: Nicholas Pileggi), but it lacks the mastery that Scorsese brings, instead looking like a lazy knock-off. It has plenty of potential, but it chooses to take the easy way out and ends up feeling half-baked.
GoodFellas has one of the best narrations of all time by Henry Hill and his wife, Karen, and this movie attempts to do the same. However, it ultimately hurts more than it helps. Instead of adding on to the story, De Niro sits there and tells you the story for the first half hour. He tells you about himself and the other main characters and everyone's entire backstory, rather than letting you experience it for yourself. It starts off like nothing more than a bedtime story with some black and white stock footage of Hell's Kitchen in New York thrown on screen. Then it abandons the narration for a bit before picking it back up. It doesn't let you experience the characters and feel for them; it tells you exactly what it wants you to know, with no creativity, no room for interpretation, and no flair, all of which are things that a movie needs.
Apart from that, the writing is not particularly bad. It's nothing special, but it doesn't hurt the movie. De Niro does his best with what he's given, but the dual role ends up being too distracting. His dialogue scenes with himself feel clunky and out of place. All I could think about was how perfectly Joe Pesci would fit into that role as a short-tempered, stubborn mob boss (who lies to make himself taller).
This movie had so much potential, in both its story and its cast, but it was wasted, instead cutting corners. Yet, despite all of this, it was still a little bit of fun, and nice to see just a straightforward, traditional gangster movie. It's easy enough to look past all of its flaws and enjoy it (most of the time). There are some good moments of suspense, a few comedic lines, and even most of the side characters feel well-rounded enough to be believable. Unfortunately, this movie is only just good enough, nothing special, but it's for sure worth a watch if you get the chance.
GoodFellas has one of the best narrations of all time by Henry Hill and his wife, Karen, and this movie attempts to do the same. However, it ultimately hurts more than it helps. Instead of adding on to the story, De Niro sits there and tells you the story for the first half hour. He tells you about himself and the other main characters and everyone's entire backstory, rather than letting you experience it for yourself. It starts off like nothing more than a bedtime story with some black and white stock footage of Hell's Kitchen in New York thrown on screen. Then it abandons the narration for a bit before picking it back up. It doesn't let you experience the characters and feel for them; it tells you exactly what it wants you to know, with no creativity, no room for interpretation, and no flair, all of which are things that a movie needs.
Apart from that, the writing is not particularly bad. It's nothing special, but it doesn't hurt the movie. De Niro does his best with what he's given, but the dual role ends up being too distracting. His dialogue scenes with himself feel clunky and out of place. All I could think about was how perfectly Joe Pesci would fit into that role as a short-tempered, stubborn mob boss (who lies to make himself taller).
This movie had so much potential, in both its story and its cast, but it was wasted, instead cutting corners. Yet, despite all of this, it was still a little bit of fun, and nice to see just a straightforward, traditional gangster movie. It's easy enough to look past all of its flaws and enjoy it (most of the time). There are some good moments of suspense, a few comedic lines, and even most of the side characters feel well-rounded enough to be believable. Unfortunately, this movie is only just good enough, nothing special, but it's for sure worth a watch if you get the chance.
I don't see why all the "hate" for this movie. It's a decent mafia movie. Not great, not terrible. I see people complaining that De Niro shouldn't been playing two characters, especially the main characters. I think he did a good job, which shows his incredible talent of getting into different characters. Yes, you could see it's the same person, the difference was not big, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese didn't look alike but you could see who was who in the movie.
It's not the typical, highly violent mafia movie we're used to and perhaps that's why it doesn't get up there in the top. It's hard to compare it to the classics. I remind you that The Irishman was also different from what we're used to when it comes to mafia movies, De Niro and Scorsese. But that's how it is, they can't make the same format of movies because we'd get bored of it.
This movie stands in its own, and shouldn't be compared with the classics. It's a different approach.
Anyway, like I said, it's not a masterpiece nor a fiasco. It's a good, decent movie for people interested in the mafia/gangster genre.
It's not the typical, highly violent mafia movie we're used to and perhaps that's why it doesn't get up there in the top. It's hard to compare it to the classics. I remind you that The Irishman was also different from what we're used to when it comes to mafia movies, De Niro and Scorsese. But that's how it is, they can't make the same format of movies because we'd get bored of it.
This movie stands in its own, and shouldn't be compared with the classics. It's a different approach.
Anyway, like I said, it's not a masterpiece nor a fiasco. It's a good, decent movie for people interested in the mafia/gangster genre.
This film was a bit like all of the other Robert De Niro Italian Mafia films, so you know what you're going to get. It's enjoyable, and by no means a bad film, but a tad formulaic.
I am unclear why De Niro played both main characters - at times it felt a little confused and, to be honest, my mind wandered to the prosthesis that went in to differentiating his looks. Was the fact he played both, a metaphor on the nature of the individuals (because this was based on real people), a commentary on the nature of the type of people involved, just a bit of fun for the actor, or an attempt to save money? Whichever, whilst it didn't have much of an impact on the film, it was odd.
As I say above, even though formulaic, an Nobel film, but with no surprises.
I am unclear why De Niro played both main characters - at times it felt a little confused and, to be honest, my mind wandered to the prosthesis that went in to differentiating his looks. Was the fact he played both, a metaphor on the nature of the individuals (because this was based on real people), a commentary on the nature of the type of people involved, just a bit of fun for the actor, or an attempt to save money? Whichever, whilst it didn't have much of an impact on the film, it was odd.
As I say above, even though formulaic, an Nobel film, but with no surprises.
If I ever wondered why "The Alto Knights", a return to the Gangster genre for both Robert De Niro and Nicholas Pileggi, was so under advertised prior to its release, having seen it I don't wonder anymore. It's because it's not very good.
In his retirement, Frank Costello (Robert De Niro) recounts the story of his life, intertwined as it was with that of Vito Genovese (Robert De Niro). Having grown up together and risen the ranks of the mafia - Frank makes a play for some legitimacy having become "the boss of bosses" whilst Vito was trapped overseas by World War 2 and other legal issues. On his return to America, Vito wants to resume his role at the top and introduce a burgeoning narcotics business to the group. Frank is resistant but learns that Vito will take back what he lost by force, if he needs too.
Impressively, I think that De Niro is miscast twice in this film. It would be fine if he just played reflective, end of the road Costello, bookending the film and providing voice over. But he also plays both middle aged Costello and middle-aged Genovese in enough prosthetics that you can tell them apart, but not enough so you can't tell it's him. Why? Don't know. The characters aren't twins, or even related, they don't feel like two sides of the same coin, or even similar men ripped apart by circumstances. He felt - to me - too old to be playing either of them and Vito in particularly doesn't feel like he has the sort of crazy, unhinged energy that other characters suggest he has.
It's not the only problem with the film though, perhaps not even the biggest one. For me, it felt like a TV movie. For all the experience, including Barry Levinson behind the camera, it's a low-key affair. With the dialogue often delivered with what I imagine was supposed to be 'naturalistic' but feels more like characters couldn't hear each other. The mix of flashback and documentary style viewing is confused and there's not really anything in the story that hasn't been taken and used in another, better, mob film, or series.
Never so bad that I thought about leaving, but definitely a slog to get through.
In his retirement, Frank Costello (Robert De Niro) recounts the story of his life, intertwined as it was with that of Vito Genovese (Robert De Niro). Having grown up together and risen the ranks of the mafia - Frank makes a play for some legitimacy having become "the boss of bosses" whilst Vito was trapped overseas by World War 2 and other legal issues. On his return to America, Vito wants to resume his role at the top and introduce a burgeoning narcotics business to the group. Frank is resistant but learns that Vito will take back what he lost by force, if he needs too.
Impressively, I think that De Niro is miscast twice in this film. It would be fine if he just played reflective, end of the road Costello, bookending the film and providing voice over. But he also plays both middle aged Costello and middle-aged Genovese in enough prosthetics that you can tell them apart, but not enough so you can't tell it's him. Why? Don't know. The characters aren't twins, or even related, they don't feel like two sides of the same coin, or even similar men ripped apart by circumstances. He felt - to me - too old to be playing either of them and Vito in particularly doesn't feel like he has the sort of crazy, unhinged energy that other characters suggest he has.
It's not the only problem with the film though, perhaps not even the biggest one. For me, it felt like a TV movie. For all the experience, including Barry Levinson behind the camera, it's a low-key affair. With the dialogue often delivered with what I imagine was supposed to be 'naturalistic' but feels more like characters couldn't hear each other. The mix of flashback and documentary style viewing is confused and there's not really anything in the story that hasn't been taken and used in another, better, mob film, or series.
Never so bad that I thought about leaving, but definitely a slog to get through.
Theatrical Releases You Can Stream or Rent
Theatrical Releases You Can Stream or Rent
These big screen releases can now be watched from the comfort of your couch.
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesMarlon Brando had said he had based his raspy voice portrayal of Don Vito Corleone in Le Parrain (1972) on Frank Costello's voice as heard from hearings aired on TV. Robert De Niro who also played a young Vito Corleone in Le Parrain, 2ᵉ partie (1974) goes full circle and portrays Frank Costello. However, in this film they stayed away Costello's raspy voice imitation.
- GaffesIn the barber shop when a character is shot, there are two shooters firing at him. Even though both assassins use six-shooter revolvers and never reload, meaning max. 12 shots could be fired, more than 20 shots are heard.
- ConnexionsFeatures L'enfer est à lui (1949)
- Bandes originalesThat Old Black Magic
Written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer
Performed by Louis Prima and Keely Smith
Meilleurs choix
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- How long is The Alto Knights?Alimenté par Alexa
Détails
- Date de sortie
- Pays d’origine
- Site officiel
- Langue
- Aussi connu sous le nom de
- The Alto Knights: Mafia y poder
- Lieux de tournage
- Sociétés de production
- Voir plus de crédits d'entreprise sur IMDbPro
Box-office
- Budget
- 45 000 000 $US (estimé)
- Montant brut aux États-Unis et au Canada
- 6 103 664 $US
- Week-end de sortie aux États-Unis et au Canada
- 3 165 349 $US
- 23 mars 2025
- Montant brut mondial
- 10 103 664 $US
- Durée2 heures 3 minutes
- Couleur
- Mixage
- Rapport de forme
- 2.39 : 1
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