Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

alexanderdavies-99382 "The Don is Dead" is one of the worst films of the 1970s. There is no creative output of any kind and the whole is just one extended television film (no offense meant to T.V films). Any potential was gone after the opening 15 minutes. The meeting with the Mafia Godfathers was mildly diverting but that is about all. Anthony Quinn is actually well cast as one of the Mafia Dons, why couldn't a better screenplay have been written? The use of "Universal's" backlot is painfully obvious and robs the film of any kind of scale it might otherwise have had. There is some action but so what? Anyone can put together a scene involving a gunfight. Any comparison between "The Don is Dead" and "The Godfather" is purely coincidental and I'm not the biggest fan of the latter movie.

punishmentpark Fargo, Fargo, Fargo, where have I heard that name before? Ah, yes, 'Fargo'... And didn't Steve Buscemi wear a brownish jacket with a burgundy red type of sweater underneath it in that one, too, just like Tony Fargo does here? I must be seeing things...Anyhoo, back to 'The Don Is Dead', a film that has quite a few interesting plot angles: the death of a Don (in a city of three families) to begin with, which puts the status quo under considerable pressure and causes a consigliere to think it's his time to seize power in a most cunning way, a female singer/songwriter perfectly willing and able to sleep her way to stardom (a role that could have been exploited much more), a Don who does not get hurt by the usual violence but suffers several heart attacks, and, finally, a high rank hit-man who wants to get out of the business but gets caught up in the mob's hubbub... I didn't see it coming that Tony would be the one taking over in the end, though; Robert Forster clearly has more charisma than Frederic Forrest, but in all fairness, when he beats up on the girl, his character is logically done for in every sense.For the rest of it, I expected more dramatically than just a long series of more or less mildly 'entertaining' back-and-forth trickeries and retaliations (I would think that Quentin Tarantino could have played wonderfully with time and thus the element of surprise). The actors try their best (lots of a familiar faces in early roles, except for Anthony Quinn, who plays a daring part ending up in a wheelchair and may at that point only nod or blink), but mostly do not have enough to work with, the scene wherein Fargo brother Vince gets killed being the absolute worst: imagine three piles of empty crates placed diagonally and a few meters away from each other in an alley, and while acting out that you are dying, you have to hit them áll! I can't help but wonder what Fleischer was thinking when he thought out that scene...All in all it wás worth seeing (nice and neat locations, costuming, camera work and such), but that doesn't make it a good film, unfortunately;5 out of 10.

zardoz-13 This abysmal mafiosi thriller about a war between the families in an anonymous city lacks anything in the way of flair, charisma, or momentum. During his prime, veteran director Richard Fleischer was a creative force to contend with, and he made his share of great movies, but "The Don Is Dead" is one of his least memorable epics. Clearly, this lackluster actioneer exemplifies the old studio system of making movies and the blame for its pedestrian quality must be traced back to its producer, the legendary Hal B. Wallis of "Casablanca" fame and his associate producer Paul Nathan. After Wallis left Warner Brothers in a dispute over "Casablanca" with Jack Warner, Wallis set up shop at Paramount, and he ruled with dozens of landmark films, among them "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" and "Becket" with Richard Burton. Once Wallis left Paramount and wrapped up his career at Universal, the quality of his craftsman went down. "The Don Is Dead" is a well-produced crime thriller, but it is as lifeless as the don in its title. The pacing of this 115 minute movie is leaden, and a number of fine actors are left to wander around aimlessly in the screenplay by Marvin H. Albert. Albert is best known for "Duel at Diablo," "Tony Rome," and "Rough Night in Jericho." Matters are not helped by the dire lack of realism. Virtually everything in "The Don Is Dead" was lensed on a Universal back lot, and it is clearly obvious from fade-in to fade-out what a numbing picture that this is. Surprisingly enough, the Motion Picture Association of America gave "The Don Is Dead" an R-rating. Mind you, there is no nudity, the violence is standard-issue, and that startling loud red blood that appeared in 1970s era films was sparingly put on display. None of the gunfights stand out for their distinctive flair. The only thing that does stand out is how the Robert Forester character avoids a hit in a crowded underground parking lot. He holds himself up on the bumpers of two cars so that the gunsels cannot see his feet. Fleischer helmed "The Don Is Dead" between the sci-fi thriller "Soylent Green" with Charlton Heston and western "The Spikes Gang" with Lee Marvin, two films that rise about the flat quality of "The Don Is Dead." This is the kind of movie that only completist in the Mafia genre will want to watch. Anthony Quinn looks terrible and he has no fire in his performance. Robert Forster is pretty good as a temperamental young man and Frederic Forrest is the man to watch.

bkoganbing Charles Cioffi, the consigliere of a jailed Mafia chieftain decides to get a war started among the three Las Vegas crime families. Knowing that Angel Tompkins, singer girlfriend of the son of a recently deceased Mafia Don, is looking for a break, he arranges a meeting with Anthony Quinn, Godfather of the third Mafia family where nature takes its course.When former boyfriend Robert Forster returns to America and finds out it ain't long before the bullets start flying. When the film is over there are only a couple left standing and if you want to know who does pick up all the marbles than watch the film.Of course this film came out to take advantage of the enormous publicity reaped by The Godfather in the previous year. It's an average sort of gangster flick, it could have been done at Warner Brothers during the Thirties with their stable of gangster players.Al Lettieri and Abe Vigoda were both in The Godfather and their presence sort of lends an aura authenticity to the film. Lettieri was just coming into his own as a great portrayer of villains and assorted gangland types. His early death was a real loss to film.Anthony Quinn of course is always good and fans of his which are legion will want to catch The Don is Dead.