Uomini d'onore

What starts out as a well rounded, believable cast of mafioso family and associates and what is a pretty decent revenge story with lots of twists is mucked up by spiritual fluff, and a desire to be AL Pacino scarface by the lead man. The spiritual junk that has nothing to do with anything is just totally out of place. The free-fall descent from cold, calculated killers to loony tunes of the main character and his girlfriend makes no sense. Turturros girlfriend starts "sleep-walking" through their garden and talking about what they did is supposed to be believable? Clip about 30 minutes of hoo-hah out and this is a much better movie.

There are not too many really good movie versions of Macbeth, in fact I would say that there are no really good movie versions. As an English teacher, I would really like to show my students something that correctly captures the mental deterioration of the characters and accurately illustrates the violence and cruelty of Macbeth. This film is able to do that, unfortunately, due to the language, I will not be able to show it in class. But, I was pleased with this version of Macbeth. The acting is pretty good and the characters are believable mobsters. I wouldn't say that it tries too hard to follow the play; rather, I would give it credit for sticking to the play and modernizing it in a believable way. Overall, well done.

It's probably safe to say that the majority of moviegoers in America today cannot carefully outline the plot of Shakespeare's Macbeth (on which this film is based) and probably would wonder why the main characters start chattering on about guilt so often when murder is their business--and you know how agonized John Tuturrro can be when he wants to! The film can't decide whether to be a springboard from the play, a clever re-interpretation, or a mob film with some casual references. And in any case--who was their target audience?

For those who know their bard, the fun of watching this is in the anticipation of familiar scenes or dialogue--gleeful when director Reilly decides to drag the drunken porter in after the murder of the King (read "mob boss" here), or disappointed when Lady L. doesn't go into "Out Damn Spot!!" although she is shown scrubbing her bathtub a la Mommie Dearest.

If you know the plot well, its hard to get into this remake, which isn't quite ludicrous enough to be amusing (anybody remember Ruth Roman as Lady Macbeth in an earlier remake entitled Joe Macbeth?), but is impossible to look at objectively, and thus truly enjoy as a movie experience. I wouldn't say "fly, Fleance, fly! "but neither would I generally recommended this (in spite of a compelling cast and excellent pacing) except as a quirky and often stimulating comparison with the actual play.

This is definitely worth checking out if you enjoy the story of "Macbeth". The challenge of turning the characters into mobsters was met well. It was done creatively, and it follows all the main points without cheating. John Tuturro and Peter Boyle are good; everyone else is fine. If this was a completely original work, it would rate lower, but I think it is very good considering what they were trying to do, and that's why it is ultimately satisfying. The other comments posted by another viewer are undeservedly harsh. It's a bum wrap. Again, if you like "Macbeth", this is pretty cool. If you love iambic pentameter and period pieces, go rent Roman Polanski's version of "Macbeth", or something of Shakespeare's with Kenneth Brannagh.

Imagine the pitch: A classic tale of betrayal, murder, deception - taking power by any means necessary. It's Macbeth - but set in the ever attractive world of American gangsters! William Shakespeare's Goodfellas! The story does lend itself to the setting unfortunately it is very boring, poorly acted and no real flair or excitment that other gangster pictures manage. It's full of good actors - none of whom are any good because they are constrained by a poor script and poor direction.

Don't watch this - go to the theatre and watch MacBeth instead.