Le dernier parrain

As a fan of The Godfather movies, it was inevitable that I would have to view The Last Don someday. I must be honest I actually thought it was pretty compelling. Don't get me wrong, this isn't the Godfather. But however it is in my opinion much better than Godfather Part III. Which I guess is not saying much but there you have it. I am a big fan of Joe Mantegna which probably makes me somewhat biased. Danny Aiello makes a great Don. Jason Gedrick is at least very likeable in his role as Cross. It has some of the elements of the Godfather films, which helps it out a lot. Emotional things, entanglements, killings, trials, acquittals even though there were 300 witnesses to the murder. ;)

It is somewhat gripping. And I must say I think it's worth buying on VHS if you want another Godfather story. I will say this again it's nowhere near as good as Godfather or Godfather part II, but it's very compelling and interesting as a look into a lifetime of a mafia family.

I am not really a Gangster-movie/ series fanatic. It took me forever and a day to finally see The Godfather, haven't seen any of the Sopranos, etc. So I was EXTREMELY hesitant to see 'The Last Don', which came available for me to view on DVD. At 4 and ½ hours, you could say I wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to see this, especially from the very beginning, when along with Danny Aiello, the series also promised appearances by Kirstie Alley, Robert Wuhl, Penelope Ann Miller, Seymour Cassel AND kd lang! I mean, what on earth was the casting director smoking? But, despite deep reservations from the beginning, I REALLY got into this harrowing drama of the deep divisions of the Clericuzio family. Danny Aiello is simply great as the family patriarch, here, and he essentially holds all of the movie together. Rather then focusing squarely on him, the movie paces itself out wonderfully and focuses on a number of characters, namely with the De Lana family, a close confidante of the Clericuzio family. The father, played by Joe Mantegna (who is thankfully not wasted here) and his son, played by the wonderful Jason Gedrick are amazing here in the other leads. The other characters come and go, and are good as well. Special commendations, though, go to Rory Cochrane and his truly NASTY portrayal of Dante, the VERY trigger happy grandson of Danny Aiello. Is this too long? Nah, it's a miniseries, and it's sprawling, and it's never dull. This was quite great!

A good altought not exceptional gangster movie, ( Goodfellas is still the best one to me ). Danny Aiello and Rory Cochrane characters are great on this movie. However I think that Kirstie Alley should look for comedy movies because I think that this type of film is not exactly what shes skilled for. I think they should have added a bit more of sadistic/cruel violence which is a indispensable *sauce* to movies like this ( check out Goodfellas and Casino to know what I am talking about ). Not really a classic, But still reccomendable if you like Mafia movies. as far as I know this one was exhibited as a TV serie in United States, but I think I have never seen this movie on TV.

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.

Maybe not as good as the Godfather, but a great movie nonetheless. The only negative I have to say is that it was sooooo long. I guess that's why it was a mini-series on TV instead of in theaters. I'm looking forward to checking out the sequel this weekend.