Prizzi's Honor (1985)

So many films glorify the mafia, even those like 'Goodfellas' which pull no punches still allow a residue of glamour to stick to their portrayal of the wise-guy life. So 'Prizzi's Honor', which ridicules its protagonists and shows them to be anything but wise, is a welcome sort of mafia film. Unfortunately, although it's reasonably entertaining, the film ultimately doesn't wholly succeed in any respect; too daft to work as black comedy, too slow to work as riotous farce, to humorously conceived to work as tragic drama. Jack Nicholson is good as the dumb hit man Charley, but the plot leaves us unsure whether we should laugh at him or cry with him, and in the end I felt inclined to do neither. Personally, I prefer Jim Jarmusch's 'Ghost Dog', another offbeat look at organised crime.

Fmovies: Prizzi's Honor enthralled me with masterful performances by Jack Nicholson as the enforcer for the Prizzi mob family; Kathleen Turner as the mysterious blonde he falls for and who turns out to be a professonal assassin; and Angelica Huston, as the daughter who struggles to regain the honor of a Prizzi and the love of her life. The paradoxical outcome of the Mafia's ethic of loyalty which leads to the killing of those we love, raised to the level of tragedy in The Godfather, here unfolds in a black tale of macabre humor, rendered with flawless timing of its unfolding twists and turns. The humor does not demean the genre of Mafia gangster films, but rather pays tribute to the legacy, replacing tragic irony with dark humor. A masterpiece without a false note or weak performance.

The humor in Prizzi's Honor comes from the everyday humanity of its characters juxtaposed with the fact that the family business entails killing people, so, like in the funeral business, death is discussed (and dealt out) matter-of-factly. The screenplay sparkles throughout, character- driven and organic despite the many plot twists, with a masterful consistency of style. Its point of view is completely amoral, which maybe makes certain 21st century viewers uncomfortable.

Anjelica Huston is a force of nature in the film -- by turns defiant, vulnerable, manipulative, sexual, heartbroken, and innocently delighted. Every moment she's on screen she delivers absolute raw conviction.

The film suffers slightly from the need to condense a novel's worth of material into 2 hours, and maybe certain plot points and motivations could have been a little more developed. For example, Kathleen Turner is strong and believable, but it would have been great to see a little deeper into the darkness and contradictions of her character.

The cast of supporting characters seems to embody facets of John Huston's persona and his dry, macabre sense of humor. William Hickey's performance as the Don is a spectacle unto itself. "Have another cooooookie" LOL. John Randolph (the Jeffrey Tambor of the '80s), Lee Richardson, and Robert Loggia are all flawless.

Fascinating to see Jack Nicholson play completely against type, as a simple-minded and earnest character. He pulls it off brilliantly, although it's a bit puzzling that the Don would entrust him with running the business -- again, probably something that fell through the cracks when adapting the novel.

How weird that none of the online reviews or comments mention the time period. They obviously had a lot of fun with it -- at first it seems to be the 1920s, as Anjelica Huston mentions that as a decorator she does "Art Deco" (a term that I believe was coined well after the actual period in which it was in vogue); then Kathleen Turner tells Jack Nicholson her car is an Excalibur, which is an '80's car made to look like something from the olden days. Later they're driving a Ford van from the '60s. Anjelica at one point goes to meet an informant in full-on Alexis Carrington drag, but most of the sets and costumes are '40s film noir inspired.

Prizzi's Honor fmovies. "Prizzi's Honor" is one of those strange charmers that thrives on dark comedy and whacked situations. Mafia hit-man Jack Nicholson (Oscar-nominated) meets the super-erotic Kathleen Turner at a wedding and of course ends up dumping girlfriend Anjelica Huston (in a well-deserved Oscar-winning turn). The fact that Huston is the daughter of one of Nicholson's associates only makes the plot thicken. What Nicholson does not know is that Turner is really an assassin herself. Will he find out that his lover by night is really a hit-woman by day? And will he learn in time that the two have actually been hired to kill each other? Also along for the ride are scene-stealers Robert Loggia and William Hickey (who received an Oscar nod as the family's don). "Prizzi's Honor" was the final venture for legendary director John Huston (who was near death when he was Oscar-nominated for this). That little tidbit does not change the fact that "Prizzi's Honor" is really a strange experience that does not completely succeed. It is a movie that serves its purpose, but the ending does not justify the means used to get there. The Oscar-nominated screenplay makes itself out to be much more intelligent than it really is and ultimately Nicholson and Turner have to carry the production. Still a good movie, but over-rated and even a bit disappointing when all is said and done. 4 stars out of 5.

Without a doubt in my opinion one of the best and most underrated films of all time has to be 1985's "Prizzi's Honor". The film to some may seem like a black hearted comedy and somewhat of a "Godfather" ripoff, yet for me I found enough drama, intrigue, and chemistry between the characters to go along with a well written script that made it an instant classic. The performance from Jack Nicholson is great and along with the veteran cast the support is the backbone of the film.

Directed by legendary John Huston in one of his last works, "Prizzi's Honor" is a wickedly sly and well crafted mob tale of romance, family conflict and defending pride and honor that comes with family. Set in Brooklyn, New York the Prizzi family the oldest and richest well known crime family starts off with the wedding of head Don Prizzi(William Hickey's) granddaughters wedding. As the relaxing theme and face shots of the characters gets the viewer attached early to the drama from start to finish. Enter Charley Partanna(played to perfection by Jack) the head hit-man of the Prizzi family who's tough and gritty and direct and to the point with a high temper. Yet upon Charley's meeting of an elegant and attractive sexy blond an out of town lady named Irene(Kathleen Turner)and after Charley visits Irene on the west coast at her California home, it doesn't take long before the two develop a hot and steamy passionate romance affair based on sex which both mistake it for blind love.

As the film develops the viewer quickly sees that the Irene Walker character has a dark and hidden past with a closet full of secrets, yet Charley soon accepts her hand in marriage once some things are ironed out. Now family conflict and displeasure arrives when the Prizzi's tell about the real identity of Irene and her real job and mission shocks Charley. This also hurts an ex flame of Charley's that being Prizzi granddaughter Maerose(Anjelica Huston)and Anjelica was wickedly fantastic in her performance her character is so intelligently cunning with advice.

The drama heightens as with all mob dramas when watching you have to figure out what's next and think about who's gonna double cross who next and the plot has many subplots that you must pay attention to. As one can see that both Irene and the Prizzi's are sly and greedy as they will look out for their own self interest and wealth. The support of the family members of the Prizzi's like Eduardo(Robert Loggia)Angelo Pop Partanna(John Randolph)Dominic(Lee Richardson)and last but not least legendary Don Corrado(William Hickey) finally wear on Charley making him choose between family and love, proving that blood is thicker than water and that honor and being loyal is most important with family.

As in the films ending as the viewer can see the final scene between Charley and Irene proves that love hurts and it cuts like a knife! It may be amoral yet some relationships weren't meant to last. Overall "Prizzi's Honor" is a classy film that's one of my best to watch numerous times the performances and story just works so well with the characters chemistry. As the supporting performances from Loggia, Randolph, and Richardson are good backbone, and William Hickey's performance is old and crafty yet beautifully stunning and at ease. As for the females Anjelica was marvelous and sly and cunning, yet you feel sorry for her depressed Maerose character, and Kathleen Turner is fabulously sexy and super erotic as

In New York, the hit-man Charley Partanna (Jack Nicholson) is like a son for his godfather Don Corrado Prizzi (William Hickey), who is a powerful mobster. In a wedding of a member of their family, Charley meets Irene Walker (Kathleen Turner) and he falls in love with her. Irene introduces herself as a tax consultant, but indeed she is a killer hired by the Prizzis for a "contract" in New York. They get married, and later Chaley realizes that she betrayed the Prizzis and had stolen their money in a casino. Charley has to face and decide between his code of honor with the Prizzi's family and his love for Irene.

"Prizzi's Honor" is a masterpiece and certainly one of the best movies of the 80's. The story is engaging, having a very dark black humor and many plot points. Jack Nicholson, Angelica Huston in a Machiavelian role, Kathleen Turner (gorgeous, sexy and elegant) and William Hickey are amazing. The performance of the magnificent cast and the outstanding direction of John Huston are marvelous. I have seen this movie at least six times, and I do not get tired of watching it. Unfortunately "Prizzi's Honor" has not been released on DVD in Brazil. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "A Honra do Poderoso Prizzi" ("The Honor of the Powerful Prizzi")