videorama-759-859391
Sadly MOR is a mafia pic, that falls under par, of other mafia greats we've come to love. The movie doesn't suffer totally. It had good intentions, and isn't like a lot of other movies. It stands alone, an admiring aspect here, but there are some painfully obvious flaws in a film that could of been better executed as well as explained. It's amateurism is expelled from the latter particularly, as the disjointed aspect is what really made it so. The actors deliver, the film doesn't, and Kathryn Borowitz is bloody sexy. Again this film has been inspired by the tragedy of Macbeth, again an underlying disappointment with that factor, in a film that had potential. Opening with a graphic massacre scene with Turturro and co taking out a few of his competition, surviving this, him and best mate, Farina, on the run, seek refuge, where Turturro's fortune is told, and it's not good. He's taken in by made man, Steiger and co, where he's initiated into their elite mob fraternity. With his beautiful wife harking onto him, to brazenly take out Steiger and co, he does, not really considering the hell that's gonna come raining down on him, where you somehow know (e.g. is seeing Scarface, Oz's Macbeth) he's pretty well sealing his fate, so you pretty know how this chapter will ensue. This film seemed to be an ambitious project, where the investors, whatever, got a bit too head of themselves, and just jumping in, where much more detail, and proper care should of given to the story structure. And at times, this film feels like it's jumps a scene, whatever, story seems patchy, rushed. I felt that particularly with that last scene, and the acute viewer will see a kind of sloppiness, in a film that really could of been something. I'm tempted to give this film a six, but it falls towards a 7, and here I kind of feeling I'm being a little generous, but somehow like the film's title, I kind of feel respectful, indebted to it. Still recommended for mafia lovers though.
museumofdave
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.
lisakoelewyn
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.
jmet21
I thought this movie was a great modernization of Shakespeare's Macbeth. I know I have not learned all that I can about Macbeth and Shakespeare but I do know that with what i have learned, this movie is a wonderful rendition. I have been studying Macbeth in my English II Honors class and we watched this movie and I was rather surprised at how many similarities there were to Macbeth. It was unbelievable. I understand so much more with this movie. It was like a Sparknote movie to Macbeth. I really enjoyed it. And as there were some differences between the two, I was still able to see the connection between both movie and play. I would definitely recommend this to others as a helping tool for Macbeth as it is hard at times to understand.
