Gomorrah/Gomorra (2008) - Garrone's stark exposé of Italian mob culture is a knockout

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+ 2nd Best Movie of the Decade

+ 2nd Best Movie of the Year

+ Best Big Hit Movie of the Year + Most Deserved Hit of the Year + Best Epic of the Year + Best Gangster Movie of the Year + Best Italian Movie of the Year + Shooting Star Actor of the Year: Toni Servillo

 

The strange image of a lanky adolescent in only underwear and shoes, carrying a gun, against a firetruck red background makes up this curiosity-sparking poster for Matteo Garrone's Gomorrah

Naples, Italy - We follow 5 stories: Two young renegades, who ventures into a life as solo-criminals. A young boy who dreams of joining the Camorra, the Italian mob syndicate. A dressmaker, who accepts a proposal from a new side. One of the bosses who arranges a renovation. And a member of the syndicate's payment corps, who wants out.

 

Gomorrah is written by Maurizio Braucci (Tatanka (2011)), Ugo Chiti (No Problem (2008)), Gianni Di Gregorio (Carefree Giovanni/Giovanni Senzapensieri (1986)), Massimo Gaudioso (The Reel/Il Caricatore (1996)) and Italian master filmmaker, co-writer/director Matteo Garrone (Land in Between/Terra di Mezzo (1996)), whose 6th feature it is. Also contributing to the script was Roberto Saviano (Zero Zero Zero (2013)), whose same-titled 2006 non-fiction book is the basis of the film.

This is a serious and demanding work of cinema, which makes a lasting impression with its anxiety-filled, deeply authentically resounding character studies, which each of them help to put a clear spotlight on the Italian tragedy that it its mob problem. Toni Servillo (We Believed/Noi Credevamo (2010)) is chilling as the renovation boss, and he fronts an enormously well-playing team of actors and amateur actors. The young Salvatore Abbruzzese as Totò the boy also deserves major credit.

The camera work (cinematography by Marco Onorato (The Voyage Home/De Reditu (Il Ritorno) (2004))) gives us the Southern Italian reality in a matter-of-fact manner; and music seems to be withheld from us except for moments in which the characters play mostly trash music themselves. Gomorrah is like a stone in one's shoe; highly bothersome, as it should rightly be. It is a deeply unsettling masterpiece.

 

Related posts:

 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

The 2000s in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Reportedly 5.9 mil. €, approximately 7.07 mil. $

Box office: 34.8 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 4.92 times its cost)

[Gomorrah premiered 16 May (Italy) and runs 137 minutes. Saviano has lived under police protection since 2006. Shooting took place in Italy. The film loosely portrays events with strong similarities to real-life events involving the Casalesi clan of the Camorra and the Scampia feud. At least 4 cast members have since gotten criminal sentences for extortion, murder, drug dealing and drug trafficking. The film opened #64 to a 5k $ first weekend in North America, where it peaked at #28 and in 50 theaters (different weeks), grossing 1.5 mil. $ (4.3 % of the total gross). The film's 3 biggest markets were Italy with 17.6 mil. $ (50.6 %), France with 4.3 mil. $ (12.4 %) and Spain with 3.2 mil. $ (9.2 %). In Italy, the film premiered #1 and spent 6 weekends in the top 5. The film's English Wikipedia page at present has a faulty account of the film's gross. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. It was Italy's Oscar choice of the year but went without a nomination. It was nominated, instead, for a Golden Globe, a BAFTA; it won an award in Cannes, where it competed in the main section; it was nominated for a César award and won 7/11 David di Donatello award nominations, won 5 European Film awards, was nominated for an Independent Spirit award, among many other honors. Saviano later created a TV-series with the same title based on his book, Gomorrah (2014-21). Garrone returned with Reality (2012). Servillo returned in Il Divo (2008). Gomorrah is certified fresh at 91 % with a 7.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Gomorrah?

Gloria (1980) - Rowlands in Cassavetes' tough-woman thriller is a winner

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Gena Rowlands looks like a tough lady with a revolver, sheltering a little boy on this effective poster for John Cassavetes' Gloria

When his whole family gets murdered by the mob over a threat, his father has made, small Puerto-Rican boy Phil winds up in the care of his mother's friend Gloria, who has her own mob connections ...

 

Gloria is written and directed by New-Yorker master filmmaker John Cassavetes (Shadows (1958)), whose 10th film it was.

In Gloria he presents an unusual and strong plot, which is vividly accelerated through the use of cat-and-mouse dynamics, along with the two main characters' varying wish to engage with each other and the inherent, irresistible suspense that lies in the life of a small innocent child being endangered.

The film is shot on New York locations in an exemplary, marvelous way. Gena Rowlands (She's So Lovely (1997)) is fabulous and awards-worthy as the bad-ass and highly empowering title character, a woman who is tougher than the mob. Little John Adames is deeply, deeply adorable as Phil: The crew and filmmaker must have fallen hard for him, - which excuses that he doesn't, - in some scenes at least, - act very naturally. His performance is wonderful nonetheless.

Gloria is both enormously exciting, funny and mock-romantic between the two, (it is kept sweet and innocent, of course.) SPOILER The ending may be a bit overstrung melodramatically, - but thank God at least it's a happy one. (Few audiences would be able to bear to see Gloria or Phil get killed.) Gloria is another Cassavetes/Rowlands collaboration bull's eye.

 

Related posts:

John Cassavetes: The Fury (1978) - De Palma's telekinetic powers run amuck! (co-starring actor) 

Top 10: Best dramas reviewed by Film Excess to date 
A Woman Under the Influence (1974) or, Family Dysfunction (writer/director)

Faces (1968) or, John Cassavetes' LA Misery circa 1968 (writer/director)
The Dirty Dozen (1967) - Aldrich's rough WWII super-entertainment (co-starring actor)
Edge of the City (1957) - Poitier gleams in Ritt's idealistic debut (co-starring actor)

Watch a trailer for the film

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 4 mil. $ (North America only)

= Uncertain, - but likely at least a big hit

[Gloria premiered 5 September (Venice Film Festival) and runs 122 minutes. Shooting took place from July - September 1979 in New York and New Jersey. If made on a realistic 1 mil. $ budget, the film would rank as a big hit with its domestic gross alone. It was nominated for an Oscar; Best Actress (Rowlands), lost to Sissy Spacek in Coal Miner's Daughter. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe, won the Golden Lion award in Venice, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. The film was remade with the same title in 1999 with Sharon Stone, by Sidney Lumet, a film that was a box office disaster. Cassavetes returned with Love Streams (1984). Rowlands returned in Tempest (1982). Gloria is fresh at 93 % with a 7.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Gloria?

The Godfather Part II (1974) - The great, icy monolith

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The sharp image of heir-to-the-throne Michael Corleone is right-of-centre and also throws the title off balance in this text and symbolism-heavy poster for Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part II

Michael Coleone takes over the New York mob family empire after his late father in 1958. SPOILER He and his wife Kay survive an assassination attempt, and the hunt for the traitor begins, followed by a failure in Cuba, miscarriage and more death.

The Godfather Part II is written by Mario Puzo (Superman (1978)), based partially on his novel The Godfather (1969), and Michigander master filmmaker, co-writer/producer/director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather (1972)). It is the second part in the Godfather trilogy, which ends with The Godfather: Part III (1990).
Coppola boldly attacks his sequel to one of the biggest hits in 1970s cinema and fearlessly places everything on black, as he opens the film similarly to The Godfather with a large family celebration, but here a First Communion party for Michael and Kay's son with an atmosphere that is in stark contrast to the warm festivity at the Godfather wedding party. This icy-cold, highly different mood continues to seep from Part II, SPOILER which in large part centers on Michael's realization and dealing with the fact that his brother Fredo is the traitor.
Warmth and glow are found in the epic film in its sequences that follow Michael's father, Vito's childhood and youth in Sicily and New York, stylized and delicious visually (cinematography by Gordon Willis (Zelig (1983)) with Robert De Niro (Everybody's Fine (2009)) innovative and terrific as Vito.
None of the performances in Part II are less than great; and Nino Rota's (Roma (1972)) music is central to the film's power.
It is a matter of taste whether one prefers the first film or the drastically different tone of The Godfather Part II, which is very dark, full of bitterness and loss of values, certainly a very cold great achievement in film.

Related posts:

Francis Ford Coppola: Twixt (2011) - Coppola's dreamlike Gothic is a late-night gem 

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) - Coppola goes for the jugular with unsubtle, overlong adaptation

Top 10: The best adaptations reviewed by Film Excess to date

Apocalypse Now (1979) redux version - The horror of war  

The Godfather (1972) - Coppola and Co.'s epic cinema magic
Dementia 13/The Haunted and the Hunted (1963) - Coppola's gothic AIP castle horror 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 13-15 mil. $ (different reports)
Box office: Reportedly 88 mil. $
= Huge hit (returned at least 5.86 times its cost)
[The Godfather Part II premiered 12 December (New York) and runs 200 minutes. Puzo started writing the screenplay in 1971, before the release of the first film. Coppola was given great freedom following Godfather's enormous success, and the initial 6 mil. $ budget was allowed to more than double during production. James Cagney refused a part in the film. Coppola had to change the script to appease Pacino's misgivings just prior to production. Shooting took place from October 1973 - June 1974 in California, New York, Las Vegas, Nevada, Miami, Florida, Washington DC, Italy and the Dominican Republic. Marlon Brando failed to appear for his one day of shooting (a flashback scene), and the script was immediately changed to accommodate the no-show. Paramount opposed the 'Part II' in the title, as this had not been put in the title of a mainstream movie before, but Coppola had his way, and the practice was soon commonplace afterwards. The film grossed 47.5 mil. $ in North America (54 % of the total gross). Both domestically and internationally the film did far less business than its landmark predecessor, but it was still Paramount's highest-grossing movie of the year and the 7th highest-grossing film of the year in North America overall. The film won 6 out of 11 Oscar nominations. It won Best Picture (the first sequel to achieve this), Supporting Actor (De Niro), Director, Adapted Screenplay, Art-Set Direction and Score. It lost Actor (Pacino) to Art Carney for Harry and Tonto, two more Supporting Actor nominations (Michael V. Gazzo and Lee Strasberg), Supporting Actress (Talia Shire) to Ingrid Bergman for Murder on the Orient Express and Costume Design to The Great Gatsby. It was also nominated for 6 Golden Globes, won 1/4 BAFTA noms and several other awards. Roger Ebert initially gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one, but later changed it to a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch higher than this one. IMDb's users have voted the film in at #3 on the site's Top 250 list, sitting between The Godfather (1972) and The Dark Knight (2008). Coppola returned with Apocalypse Now (1979). Pacino returned in Dog Day Afternoon (1975). The Godfather Part II is certified fresh at 97 % with a 9.62/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Godfather Part II?

The Godfather (1972) - Coppola and Co.'s epic cinema magic

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Proud of its cast and creators, in stark black and white, with the only graphical adornment the puppeteer's hand over the title, the iconic poster for Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather

Michael Corleone is the heir to Don Corleone's powerful mafia family in New York, and following an assassination attempt on the old man's life, Michael reluctantly returns home to definitively enter into the criminal family business.

"I believe in America" is said at the beginning of The Godfather, which, as the statement suggests, grows to something much greater than a mere gangster tale. It is an epic national drama. It was written by Mario Puzo (Earthquake (1974)), based on his own-same-titled 1969 best-selling novel, and Michigander master filmmaker, co-writer/director Francis Ford Coppola (The Bellboy and the Playgirls (1962)), whose 8th feature it was.
The wedding party at the outset of the film is a completely magical piece of cinema and worth the prize of admission or three hours running time in itself. The faces, atmospheres, music (Nino Rota's (Amarcord (1973)) authentic, soulful score), the characters and all the way out to the extras, this sequence is formidable.
Marlon Brando (Guys and Dolls (1955)) is awe-inspiring as the Don, and the film continues to the very end with tremendous scenes that once seen can somehow never be forgotten. The Godfather is an epic milestone.

Related posts:

Francis Ford Coppola: Twixt (2011) - Coppola's dreamlike Gothic is a late-night gem 

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) - Coppola goes for the jugular with unsubtle, overlong adaptation

Top 10: The best adaptations reviewed by Film Excess to date

Apocalypse Now (1979) redux version - The horror of war  
Dementia 13/The Haunted and the Hunted (1963) - Coppola's gothic AIP castle horror 

Watch an original trailer for the film here

Cost: 6-7.2 mil. $ (different accounts)
Box office: 246-287 mil. $ (different accounts)
= Blockbuster (returned at least 34.16 times its cost)
[The Godfather premiered 14 March (New York) and runs 177 minutes. Puzo's novel was the best-selling book for several years after selling 9 mil. copies in two years. Paramount optioned the novel before its publication for 80k $, which Puzo took to pay off gambling debts. Coppola was hired after 12 other prestige directors had rejected the offer to helm the film, and Coppola did it despite reluctance to Puzo's novel to pay off his own debts. He was reportedly paid 125k $ and 6% of the gross rentals; a likely eventually enormous amount due to the film's success, though his initial take is uncertain. Puzo was paid 100k $ to work on the screenplay along with an undisclosed percentage of the film's profits. Coppola and Puzo's final script was 163 pages long, about 40 pages longer than what Paramount had asked for. Brando was cast over Paramount's preferred star, Ernest Borgnine; Brando's pay deal resulted in a tall 1.6 mil. final salary. Coppola also got his way with several other key actors in the film, namely Al Pacino (The Irishman, VOD (2019)), whom he fought to have portray Michael. The budget was reportedly raised from 1 mil. $ to 2.5 mil. $ to more than double that, as Coppola was allowed extensive location shooting and schedule time, boosted by the novel's enormous popularity. The Italian-American Civil Rights League succeeded in getting the word 'mafia' removed from the screenplay. Shooting took place in Sicily, Italy, the Dominican Republic, Las Vegas, Nevada, California, including Los Angeles, New Jersey and New York from March - August. Coppola fired his editor and assistant director, who he felt were angling to get him fired from the film. Brando in turn threatened to leave the film, if Coppola was fired. The film had built up tremendous anticipation before its release and had already made 15 mil. $ in rentals before its release. It opened #1 to shatter records for a first week gross of 10 mil. $, earning a total 81.7 mil. $ in rentals in North America during its first release. It was the highest-grossing film of 1972 and beat Gone with the Wind's (1939) record as highest rental earner of all time, until Jaws (1975). The domestic gross grew to 134.9 mil. $ (47-54.8 % of the total gross depending on the correct number) after several re-releases. Its domestic success was such that it currently sits as the 25th highest-grossing film ever, adjusted for inflation. The film was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning 3; for Best Picture, Actor (Brando, - who refused to receive it and sent a native American representative to take it for him as a protest of the portrayal of native Americans in Hollywood culture) and Adapted Screenplay. It lost Supporting Actor (triple nomination for Pacino, - who also refused to attend the Oscars, because he had more screen time than Brando in the movie, - Robert Duvall and James Caan) to Joel Grey for Cabaret, Costume Design to Travels with My Aunt, Director to Bob Fosse for Cabaret, Editing also to Cabaret and Sound also to Cabaret. Rota was initially nominated for his score, but it was then found to be similar to a score he had made about 15 years earlier and the Academy withdrew the nomination. It also won 5/7 Golden Globe nominations, 1/5 BAFTA noms, 2 David di Donatello awards, 1/2 Grammy noms, 2 National Board of Review awards an many other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, in line with this one. NBC paid 10 mil. $ for the TV rights to first show the film on TV in 1974 over the course of two evenings, which was a ratings smash, increasing the anticipation for Coppola's 1974 sequel in the Godfather trilogy. The film spurred countless imitations and a wealth of portrayals of Italian-American gangsters in film and TV. IMDb's users have voted The Godfather in at #2 on the site's Top 250 list, sitting between The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and The Godfather: Part II (1974). Coppola first returned with The Conversation (1974). Brando returned in Last Tango in Paris (1972). The Godfather is certified fresh at 98 % with a 9.27/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Godfather?

Goodfellas (1990) or, Citizen Gangster

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The criminal underground honchos reign as kings in sharp suits on this dark and iconic poster for Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas

  
Henry Hill comes of age as an Italian-American in 1950s Brooklyn, striving to make the gangsters' ranks that he witnesses daily around the neighborhood. We follow the decades to come as he does: The Lufthansa heist, the money and the crimes, and the eventual downfall in a whirlwind of drugs, trial and witness protection.

Goodfellas is written by Nicholas Pileggi (Casino (1995)), based on his own non-fiction book Wiseguy (1985), and directed by master filmmaker, New-Yorker co-writer/director Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver (1976)).
Goodfellas is a film of superb quality on so many points that it strikes its audience like thunder while it also entertains with a razor-sharp lucidity and purpose. The cinematography (by Michael Ballhaus (The Marriage of Maria Braun/Die Ehe der Maria Braun (1979))) in the ever-moving masterpiece glides with incredible elegance and swiftness, and it has never been matched by any of the many imitations since.
Ray Liotta (Bad Karma (2012)) is phenomenal as Hill in his career's high point; a man who walks wittingly into a dead end of crime, death and paranoia. Lorraine Bracco (Crazy for Love (2005)) is divine and scene-stealing as his wife Karen. Joe Pesci (Betsy's Wedding (1990)) is fabulous as the mercurial Tommy. These are just the foremost three performances from a cast that is generally fantastic and thoroughly great throughout. Goodfellas is, in short, a centerpiece of modern cinema.

Related posts:

Martin Scorsese: 2019 in films - according to Film Excess

The Irishman (I Heard You Paint Houses) (2019, VOD) - Scorsese's great gangster epic of growing old and death 

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Top 10: The best biopic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) - One helluva movie!  

Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011) - Stapleton's Corman doc. is among the year's best films (interview subject)
Hugo (2011) - Scorsese's critically acclaimed, magical 3D family adventure/financial disaster 

Shutter Island (2010) - Scorsese's heavy-handed, long, second huge thriller attempt
Boardwalk Empire - 1st season (2010) - Luxurious 1920's ensemble gangster treats (executive producer)

Top 10: Best crime movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

The Departed (2006) - Scorsese's Boston-set wildcat of a capital letter Movie
The Aviator (2004) - The grand American biopic 

Top 10: Best 'box office success' movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

Top 10: The best true story movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Casino (1995) - Scorsese's sumptuous Vegas gangster tale has the wingspan of a Greek tragedy   
The Age of Innocence (1993) or, Stayin' IN the Pants
Cape Fear (1991) - Scorsese adds lots of stuff to remake but loses the balance    

Watch the legendary 'Am I funny' scene from the film here

Cost: 25 mil. $
Box office: 46.8 mil. $ (North America only)
= Uncertain - but likely a box office success (returned 1.87 times its cost domestically alone)
[Goodfellas premiered 9 September (Venice Film Festival, Italy) and runs 145 minutes. Scorsese has described his approach in the film: "To begin Goodfellas like a gunshot and have it get faster from there, almost like a two-and-a-half-hour trailer. I think it's the only way you can really sense the exhilaration of the lifestyle, and to get a sense of why a lot of people are attracted to it." The real-life Henry Hill was paid 480k $ by the filmmakers prior to filming. (He later saw and liked the film.) The biggest inspiration for the style and 12-draft script was François Truffaut's nouvelle vague classic Jules et Jim (1962). Scorsese fought the reluctant studio (who preferred an established star) to get Liotta cast in the lead. Filming took place in New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Illinois, Florida from May - August 1989. The film opened #2, behind holdover hit Problem Child, to a 6.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weeks in the top 5 (#2-#5) and grossed 46.8 mil. $ during its original run. Regrettably the international gross numbers for the film are not reported online; but even if the film's reception was considerably stronger in North America than internationally, Goodfellas likely became a box office success. The film was nominated for 6 Oscars, winning one; for Best Supporting Actor (Pesci). It lost Best Supporting Actress (Bracco) to Whoppi Goldberg in Ghost, Director to Kevin Costner for Dances with Wolves, Editing also to Dances with Wolves, Picture also to Dances with Wolves, and Adapted Screenplay to Michael Blake, also for Dances with Wolves. It was also nominated for 5 Golden Globes, won 5/7 BAFTA nominations, was nominated for a César and 2 David di Donatello awards, won 2 National Board of Review awards, 3 prizes in Venice and many other honors. Roger Ebert called Goodfellas the best mob movie ever, with a 4/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. It was a major inspiration for gangster TV-series masterpiece The Sopranos (1999-07)). IMDb's users have voted the film in at #17 on the site's Top 250 list, sitting between The Matrix (1999) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). Scorsese returned with Made in Milan (1990, short documentary) and theatrically with Cape Fear (1991). Liotta returned in Women and Men 2: In Love There Are No Rules (1991, TV movie) and theatrically in Article 99 (1992); Robert De Niro (The King of Comedy (1982)) in Awakenings (1990); and Pesci in Home Alone (1990). Goodfellas is certified fresh at 96 % with a 9.01/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Goodfellas?

Eastern Promises (2007) - Cronenberg invites us to meet the Russian mob in London

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+ Best London Movie of the Year + Best Mob Movie of the Year + Best Villain of the Year: Viggo Mortensen as Nikolai + Best Fight Scene of the Year (the bath house fight) + Most Undeserved Flop of the Year

The poster for David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises prominently features the tattooed hands of Viggo Mortensen's character in the film

QUICK REVIEW:

A British-Russian midwife in a London hospital makes a fateful find as she helps birth the daughter of a young Russian rape victim who dies in labor: The girl's diary subsequently leads her on a frightening and dangerous road to the local Russian mob.

Eastern Promises is an excellent mob thriller written by Steven Knight (Pawn Sacrifice (2014)) and directed by Canadian master filmmaker David Cronenberg (Naked Lunch (1991)). It is a rare film, because it deals with the Russian mob in London, and from what the movie shows, the cinematically ubiquitous Italian mob sort of fades against the hardcore vileness of the Russian hoods.
The story is exciting, and Naomi Watts (Mulholland Drive (2001)) is great as the midwife who needs to know what happened and soon finds herself in trouble for this. Oscar-nominated Viggo Mortensen (Albino Alligator (1996)) is tough as nails as Nikolai, SPOILER who partakes in the film's bathhouse fight that must go down in cinema history as one of the greatest, most vicious fights of all time.
SPOILER My only real reservation to this fine film is that while it 'closes' the story of the baby, we get no conclusion as to the future of Nikolai; does he become boss? Does he reveal the mobsters? I really want to know, but the film ends with no answer given. Others feel this is part of its brilliance.

Related reviews:

David Cronenberg: Cosmopolis (2012) - Cronenberg/DeLillo/Pattinson's speculative limo lullaby
A Dangerous Method (2011) - Cronenberg's rather disappointing waltz with the fathers of modern psychology 
2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
A History of Violence (2005) or, Who Is Tom Stall? 
Spider (2002) - Cronenberg takes us to the tormented (and slightly dull) mind of a schizophrenic 
Dead Ringers (1988) or, Brothers and Their Instruments 
The Dead Zone (1983) - Eerie sci-fi/horror King-adaptation  
The Brood (1979) or, Marital Fury and Craze!   

Viggo Mortensen gives a show-stopping performance in David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises

In lieu of a trailer, not currently on Youtube, here you can listen to 15 minutes of Howard Shore's score from the film

Cost: 50 mil. $
Box office: 56.1 mil. $
= Big flop
[Eastern Promises premiered September 8 (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 101 minutes. It was mostly shot on location in London, beginning in November 2006. The tattoos and portrayal of the Russian mob in the film is said to be truthful. The film won the Best Film audience prize in Toronto and was lauded critically. Roger Ebert among others awarded it a top grade, and it made several critics' top 10 lists of the year. In its wide release, it came in #5 (in 1,404 theaters) to a 5.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed a somewhat disappointing 17.2 mil. $ (30.7 % of the total gross). Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 6.8 mil. $ (12.1 %) and Spain with 4.8 mil. $ (8.6 %). The film received one Oscar nomination for Best Actor (Mortensen), which he lost to Daniel Day-Lewis for the masterpiece There Will Be Blood. It was also nominated for 3 Golden Globes, winning none. Talks of a sequel were laid to rest in 2013 by Cronenberg, who placed the responsibility with US distributor Focus Features' James Schamus. However, the blame most certainly lies with the big flop status of the original film, whose big budget is obvious in its top notch production value, talents and London locale. Eastern Promises is certified fresh at 89 % with a 7.6 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Eastern Promises?