Mobsters (DVD, 2003)

The idea behind "Mobsters" is so obvious, so commercial, so foolproof, such fun, that it's a wonder this film didn't turn up sooner. It's "Young Guns," but about organized crime. It's baby gangsters!


Take Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel and Frank Costello, cast hot and hunky young actors in the story of their rise to power and riches, and you've got sex, violence, money in the bank. Unless, of course, the film takes itself seriously. Then you've got "Mobsters," a surprisingly dull movie preoccupied with the knotty issue of Jewish-Italian relations.

Luciano, played with an intense stare and some authority by Christian Slater, offers this reassuring advice to Don Masseria (Anthony Quinn) as he makes his way along the buffet table at Lansky's wedding: "They've got these things called blintzes. It's like manicotti."

Lansky, who has the coolest head of the group, is played with understated power and intelligence by Patrick Dempsey. When Luciano heads off for a dangerous meeting with Don Faranzano (Michael Gambon), Lansky offers the benefit of his objectivity. "When it's between Italians," he warns, "one of the Italians ends up dead."

It's hard to argue with any of this, or to see much point in it, but here the Italian-Jewish alliance forged by Luciano and Lansky is given the weight of the latest Middle East peace plan. In fact, except for the way they bootleg whisky and kill people, these two are models of peace and brotherhood.

The other two mobsters are lost in the background. Richard Grieco is Bugsy Siegel, the hot-headed one who shoots first and doesn't even bother to ask questions later. As Frank Costello, Costas Mandylor looks good, says little and buys off cops.

For glamour, there are plenty of 1920's clothes and cars. For a plot, there is a rivalry between the two equally despicable dons, Masseria and Faranzano, whom Luciano and Lansky outsmart. And for absurdity, there is Lara Flynn Boyle wearing a conspicuous contemporary wig as Luciano's love interest, a chorus girl whose talk about friendship doesn't rule out languorous sex on a roulette table. The film even reveals how Charlie Luciano came to be nicknamed Lucky.

But for all its machine-gun hits, "Mobsters" seems to have run out of energy soon after casting. The explosive power that is usually just below the surface of Mr. Slater's characters has vanished, though this film could have used it. Mr. Dempsey is a first-rate actor who seems trapped in second-rate movies. In smaller roles, Mr. Quinn eats a lot of spaghetti and acts in a big-gestured Anthony Quinn way, and the less said about Mr. Gambon's Italian accent the better. (Well, just this one thing. He calls the gluttonous Masseria a "faht peeg" several times.)

"Mobsters" is the first feature directed by Michael Karbelnikoff, who has made commercials for such products as Levi's jeans and Coca-Cola. With that background, he must have seemed like a great choice for the kind of young, free-wheeling, swift-paced style this film needed.

This was a pretty good story of the rise and success of this diverse group of young gangsters. They got their start in the bootlegging business in 1920's New York City. Charlie Luciano, and Frank Costello, both Sicilian and both easily acceptable to most of the Italian Gangs, decide to team up with a smart Jewish kid named Meyer Lansky. He was befriended by Luciano because of his "guts", and his "Bulldog" personality when beset upon by a bully. Meyer had a friend named Benny Siegel, and together they began their relationship. Luciano and Costello both had Italian connections, and Lansky with his analytical farsight and business mentality, complemented each other, Benny Siegel was primarily muscle. He was a stone cold killer, and was soon to be called "Bugsy" by many. Aided along the way by a wealthy Jewish gambler named Arnold Rothstein, who's claim to fame was that he had "fixed" the outcome of the 1919 World Series, they go into the illegal liquor business. After Rothstein is murdered, they need to align with one of the major families, Maranzano or Faranzano, in order to survive. Eventually, with a little luck, and a lot of blood, they managed to consolidate all of the New york families, along with the other "associates" from around the country into a corporate structure by which they could perpetuate a peaceful co-existence with one another. In all, a pretty good movie.

Film excellent et introuvable en France pour cause d'arret de la production par le distributeur.

Heureusement que l'on peut encore le trouver dans des pays comme les Etats Unis, certe en zone 1 mais si on fait une copie (légale) avec DVD Shrink, on peut le graver en multizone.

Film retaracant la vie exceptionnelle de Lucky Lucianno, un des meilleurs films sur la mafia des années 20 - 30. Un casting de rêve avec Christian SLATER,Patrick DEMPSEY, Richard GRIECCO, Costas MANDYLOR and Anthony QUINN

Ultimate classic movie about the Castellammarese War. Although the names of one of the Don's is incorrect Faranzano instead of Maranzano. It gives a fairly accurate depiction of what led to the Lucky Luciano's rise to power and organization of "The Commission", a coalition of the mob's top men. Of course, it is a hollywood movie, and unfortunatley, many of the more interesting details and parts of the actual story are omitted and replaced with other "fluff".

I love this movie! I love Christian Slater, Costas Mandylor, Richard Greico, and Patrick Dempsey. Very well made movie. Have watched it 14 times sor far.