The Last Don
Directed by: Graeme Clifford
Written by: Mario Puzo (novel), Joyce Eliason (teleplay)
Cast: Danny Aiello, Kirstie Alley, Seymour Cassel, Rory Cochrane, Jason Gedrick, Daryl Hannah, K.d lang, Joe Mantegna, David Marciano, Christopher Meloni, Penelope Ann Miller, Robert Wuhl, Burt Young, Cliff de Young.
Rory's Character: Dante Santadio
Synopsis:
Sprawling Mario Puzo novel about an Italian family of gangsters draws the
inevitable comparison to "The Godfather", but does find its own
direction. Headed by Don Domenico Clericuzio (Aiello), the family executes a
rival gang on the night of the Don's daughter's wedding, including her new
husband, the son of his rival. Unfortunately the daughter (Alley) gets pregnant
and the repercussions of the night drift into the future. Spanning 1964-1985,
the film jumps forward with the growing up of the grandson (Cochrane) who has
grown ruthless and scheming. A co-rival in the family is a nephew (Gedrick) who
has been raise to take his father's (Mantegna) place in the family as a hitman
and has established his place by assassinating a man who killed a Senator's
daughter. However, he is proven to not be ruthless enough and moves into the
family's casino business in Vegas. When the nephew falls in love with a
beautiful actress (Hannah), everything is set in place for the grandson to set
up a coupe to take over the family.
Own review:
Alright this is a though one. The things that bugged me a lot: The whole
Film business, Daryl Hannah Storyline made me crazy when I read the book and the
quite frankly she is supposed to be this kick-ass Movie Actress, but the
film-in-film in which she stars in for a lot of money looks ridicules.
Seriously what the hell? I thought that the character of Dante was very
interesting, and I wish they would have shown more of him. I don't know if it
were the Actors or simply the plot, but I came to the conclusion to fast forward
it after I've seen it for the first time, and that is never a good sign for a
movie. Rory was great as ever. He had that evil grin, which made him really look
like a psyched out mobster. And I loved the fast that he had some scenes with
Kirstie Alley, cause I think she is a great actress, especially when it comes to
parts like that. The whole twisted relationsship reminded me a bit of the King
Arthur and Morgana Story. Like the mother is to blame for his behavior, but yet
you can totally understand her motives. I was a little disapointed to find out,
that Rory wasn't in the Making-of at all. After all his character plays a huge
part in the story. To sum up, I did buy the DVD after all and that again says
something about Rory, doesn't it?
Emmy Nominations:
Outstanding Miniseries: Larry Sanitsky (executive producer), Frank Königsberg (executive producer), Joyce Eliason (executive Producer), James T. Davis (Producer), Joe Mantegna (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special, Kirstie Alley (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special.
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