A pleins chargeurs

Twenty years earlier, it could have been made by a Phil Karlson in his peak shape. But Paul Wendkos was a great TV director too, very professional and his work here is also excellent and, made for TV, this kind of story can't be worst than for the big screen, on the contrary. Cast, directing story telling, everything is sharp, accurate, in the Sidney Lumet's style. I thought of PRINCE OF THE CITY, for a story speaking, in the Lumet's movie, from the police force point of view. Mafia leaders stories have never been lousy when made for the small screen audiences, though I have no example of bad movies on such plots for the large screen. This one, directed by Paul Wendkos.

"Honor Thy Father" is a very slow, unexciting TV made movie about an inner city Mafia family. A good source for school projects but thats about it. Otherwise, don't watch it for entertainment or you will be bored to death. I just have to say it's a good thing I got this film for free.

On the cheapo TV movie front, there's 1973's Honor Thy Father, an episodic, dull, and tedious foray into trying to make gangsters look sympathetic.

There are lots of familiar faces in HTF--Joe Bologna, Brenda Vaccaro, and a slew of character actors who got typecast as Mafioso. The trouble with the movie is that it's so boring and slapdash that you'll find yourself hitting the display on the DVD player to check how much time you have left.

Just to make sure that you know that this is a realistic portrayal of organized crime families, there's even the joy of watching--and listening to--Richard Castellano hacking up a lung from smoking (Gee, even Made Men get cancer!)

I'm afraid that watching crap like this may be carcinogenic.

I first saw this movie as part of a collection entitled "Great Mafia Movies" and they were right about this one it is great. This film is one of the very few movies that accurately and unromantically portrays real life in the Mafia and the inherent danger that is present in it(the others being Goodfellas and WTTM). Right off the bat you are thrown into the violent and not so secretive world of the Bonnano family as the public and police know as much or even more than the mobsters. You can literally feel the danger and impending doom that hangs around each member especially Bill and Joe Bonnano. They are fighting for their lives in every frame of the picture. You feel bad when their friends are killed and that they have to struggle just to survive each day. This movie is pro-Bonnano but in my mind that is not such a bad thing since its being told from the son's perspective just as Gotti is told from John's perspective. Even if Joe Bonnano was wrong and at fault for what happened in real life its hard to muster any compassion or sympathy for his enemies as treacherous and vicious as they are. I loved the scene with the commission I would have liked to see Carlo Gambino have a bigger role but that wasn't central to the plot. My only problem with this movie is that it really doesn't end with a definite sense of finality like it's like there's a whole other saga waiting to be told but given the circumstances I don't suppose it could have ended any other way. In any case Honor Thy Father is a goldmine of information on the mob and a real treat to view as well.

At last, the story about New York's underworld. The real-life drama of notorious Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno and his heir apparent, son Salvatore (known as Bill).

This film suffers from a sloppy, shaking camera, which is probably present in the original aired version. It also happens to be blurry, making it hard to see faces. But that is probably from the transfer, and if an original negative exists, a decent DVD could be released.

The film does a very straightforward telling of the Bill Bonanno story, as it has been told by Gay Talese and by Bonanno himself. Exactly how true any of it is, well... that is a matter of opinion. The Bonanno family (both father and son) have spun a lot of baloney about their lives, and who knows how much is accurate. Amazingly, an objective biography has yet to be written.