Prizzi's Honor (1985)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

Richard Condon (novel)
Richard Condon (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 June 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Hired killers by day. Devoted lovers by night. Until they found their next assignment was each other.

Plot:

A professional hit man and hit woman fall in love, only to discover that they have each been hired to kill the other.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Baby | Organized Crime | Apartment | Wedding Reception

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 24 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Jack Nicholson	...	Charley Partanna
Kathleen Turner	...	Irene Walker
Robert Loggia	...	Eduardo Prizzi
John Randolph	...	Angelo 'Pop' Partanna
William Hickey	...	Don Corrado Prizzi
Lee Richardson	...	Dominic Prizzi
Michael Lombard	...	Rosario Filargi 'Finlay'
Anjelica Huston	...	Maerose Prizzi
George Santopietro	...	Plumber
Lawrence Tierney	...	Lt. Hanley
CCH Pounder	...	Peaches Altamont (as C.C.H. Pounder)
Ann Selepegno	...	Amalia Prizzi
Vic Polizos	...	Phil Vittimizzare
Dick O'Neill	...	Bluestone
Sully Boyar	...	Casco Vascone

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) (re-rating) (2004) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) (original rating) | Iceland:14 | Hungary:16 | Spain:18 | Finland:K-15 (re rating: 2001) | France:U | Singapore:M18 | West Germany:12 (re-rated) | West Germany:16 (original rating) | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Spain:13 | Ireland:15

Filming Locations:

Alpine, New Jersey, USA

Company:

ABC Motion Pictures

Trivia:

Rosanna Arquette, Kathy Bates, Linda Blair, Cher Glenn Close, Geena Davis, Farrah Fawcett, Carrie Fisher, Melanie Griffith, Daryl Hannah, Goldie Hawn, Barbara Hershey, Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, Kelly LeBrock, Heather Locklear, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Demi Moore, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Meg Ryan, Susan Sarandon, Ally Sheedy, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, Sela Ward and Debra Winger were considered for the part of Maerose.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Charley and Irene are in her convertible, the shadow from the camera rig becomes visible on the road.

Quotes:

Irene Walker: Charley, I've been doin' three to four hits a year for the past couple of years, most at full pay.
Charley Partanna: That many?
Irene Walker: Well, it's not many when you consider the size of the population.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Two's a Mob (1998)

Soundtrack:

Overture to 'Semiramide'

Not really sure what it wants to be

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.