Last Rites (1988)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Donald P. Bellisario

Writer (WGA):

Donald P. Bellisario (written by)

Release Date:

18 November 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

A New York priest with blood ties to the Mafia uses the auspices of the Church to protect the mistress...

Plot Keywords:

Mafia | Male Frontal Nudity | Catholic Church | Priest In Love

Cast

Tom Berenger	...	Michael
Daphne Zuniga	...	Angela
Chick Vennera	...	Nuzo
Anne Twomey	...	Zena
Dane Clark	...	Don Carlo
Paul Dooley	...	Father Freddie
Vassili Lambrinos	...	Tío
Adrian Paul	...	Tony
Deborah Pratt	...	Robin Dwyer
Tony DiBenedetto	...	Lt. Jericho (as Tony Di Benedetto)
Christine Poor	...	Teri
Al Rodriguez	...	Luis De Vega
Jack Hallett	...	Officer Reardon
Father Louis Gigante	...	Bishop Frascati
Ibi Kaufman	...	Theresa
Frank Patton	...	O'Bannon
Maurizio Benazzo	...	Valentino
Roberto Corbo	...	Geno (as Robert Corbo)
Leslie Arnett	...	Casey
Ernesto González	...	Mexican Desk Clerk (as Ernesto Gonzalez)
Mary Diveny	...	Gossip Confessor
Julie Kenyon	...	Young Girl Confessor
Lynda Jordan	...	Weeping Mother
Tony Lip	...	Cabbie
Damien Leake	...	Detective Brown
Phil Neilson	...	Drug Dealer
Peter J. Blanck	...	News Cameraman
Shawn Gold	...	Paramedic
Ricky Rojas	...	Basketball Player
Frank Simpson	...	Heart Attack Victim
Anthony Bishop	...	Madoni
Tony Montana	...	Man at Cemetery
Chelsea Berenger	...	Baptismal Baby
Lisa Berenger	...	Baptismal Mother
Troian Avery Bellisario	...	Nuzo's Daughter
Michael Bellisario	...	Nuzo's Son (as Michaelangelo Bellisario)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kristin Andersen	...	Customer (uncredited)

Directed by
Donald P. Bellisario

Writing credits (WGA)
Donald P. Bellisario		(written by)

Produced by
Donald P. Bellisario	....	producer
Patrick McCormick	....	producer

Original Music by
Bruce Broughton

Cinematography by
David Watkin		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Pembroke J. Herring

Casting by
Joy Todd

Production Design by
Peter S. Larkin		(as Peter Larkin)

Art Direction by
Victor Kempster

Set Decoration by
Steven J. Jordan		(as Steven Jordan)

Costume Design by
Joseph G. Aulisi

Makeup Department
Frank Bianco	....	hair stylist
Allen Weisinger	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Efren Flores	....	production manager: Mexico (as Efren Flores Torres)
Héctor López	....	production supervisor: Mexico (as Hector Lopez)
Lenny Vullo	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Jones	....	second unit director
Jesús Marín	....	first assistant director: Mexico (as Jesus Marin)
Joe Napolitano	....	first assistant director
Joe Napolitano	....	second unit director
David Sardi	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Andrew Benepe	....	statue artist
Carol Jean Feuerman	....	sculptures: "The Shower", "Relevce" and "The City Slicker" (as Carol Jeane Feuerman)
Tom McDermott	....	property master
Fernando Ramírez	....	art director: Mexico (as Fernando Ramirez)
Gabriela Robles	....	art coordinator: Mexico
Richard A. Ventre	....	master scenic artist (as Richard Ventre)
Sabrina Wright	....	set dresser
Thomas Wright	....	property master (as Tom Wright)

Sound Department
Michael C. Casper	....	sound re-recording mixer
Michael H. Ford	....	supervising sound editor
George Fredrick	....	sound editor (as George T. Frederick)
Tom Gerard	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Thomas Gerard)
Victor B. Lackey	....	sound editor (as Vic Lackey)
Les Lazarowitz	....	sound mixer
Daniel J. Leahy	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Daniel Leahy)
David Moshlak	....	sound mixer
Bernard F. Pincus	....	sound editor
Lisa Shaw Phillips	....	first assistant sound editor (as Lisa Shaw)
Sam F. Shaw	....	supervising sound editor (as Sam Shaw)
Pat Somerset	....	adr editor
Jeffrey Kaplan	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Connie Brink	....	special effects (as Conrad Brink)
Laurencio Cordero	....	special effects: Mexico (as Laurencio 'Chovy' Cordero)

Visual Effects by
Mark Whitlock	....	matte artist: Illusion Arts
Phil Gosiewski	....	visual effects technician (uncredited)

Stunts
Danny Aiello III	....	stunts (as Danny Aiello II)
Kurt Bryant	....	stunts
Peter Bucossi	....	stunts
John Cade	....	stunts
Ursula Canci	....	stunts (as Ursala Cinci)
Doug Coleman	....	stunts
Lisa Dalton	....	stunts (as Lisa Loving)
Roy Farfel	....	stunts
Diamond Farnsworth	....	stunt coordinator (as Richard 'Diamond' Farnsworth)
Frank Ferrara	....	stunts
Jery Hewitt	....	stunts (as Jerry Hewitt)
Burt Marshall	....	stunts
Phil Neilson	....	stunts
Marilyn Pagano	....	stunts
Sandy Richman	....	stunts
Michael Russo	....	stunts (as Mike Russo)
Patricia Tallman	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Richard Guinness Jr.	....	key grip
Frank Schulz	....	chief lighting technician
Andrew D. Schwartz	....	still photographer (as Andy Schwartz)
Michael Stone	....	camera operator: additional photography
Suzanne Tenner	....	still photographer
Ron Zarilla	....	first assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Daniel P. Lomax	....	wardrobe supervisor: men
Jennifer Nichols	....	wardrobe supervisor: women

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Tim Board	....	assistant editor (as Timothy Board)
Tom Clagett	....	assistant editor
Bob Hagans	....	color timer (as Bob Hagens)

Music Department
Patricia Peck	....	music editor
Armin Steiner	....	music recording engineer
Mark McKenzie	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Tom O'Donnell	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Laura Aguilar	....	production coordinator: Mexico
Heidi August	....	production auditor
Vincent J. Burns	....	production assistant
Eva Z. Cabrera	....	script supervisor
Bobby Caravella	....	location assistant
Annemarie Costello	....	assistant to producers
Gerald Cuesta	....	production assistant
Alfredo D'Angelo	....	supplier: bridal apparel (as Alfredo Angelo)
Susan Fazekas	....	location manager
Rosa María Gómez	....	production auditor: Mexico (as Rosa Maria Gomez)
William Hudson	....	production assistant
Lane Hurwitz	....	production assistant
Edward A. Ioffreda	....	production assistant (as Edward Ioffreda)
Jeannie Isaacs	....	assistant: Mr. Bellisario
Doree Jones	....	production assistant
Larry Kaplan	....	unit publicist
Lisa Keller	....	production assistant
Gail Leicht	....	production assistant
Suzanne Luna	....	production assistant
Lee Ann Martin	....	choreographer
Charles Mcdonald	....	title designer (as Chales McDonald)
Maggie Murphy	....	production assistant
Michele Piccione	....	supplier: bridal apparel
Nancy Rupp	....	production assistant
Chris Sangria	....	assistant to producers
Jill Sprecher	....	production coordinator
John Tichenor	....	location scout: Mexico
David Ticotin	....	location coordinator

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• EuroVideo (1990) (West Germany) (video)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | West Germany:16 (video) | Finland:K-16 | UK:18 | USA:R

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Donald P. Bellisario]Man getting out of the taxi cab that Angela and Father Freddie take, about 63 minutes into the movie.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Gun used at the beginning by Zena ('Anne Twomey') to gun down her husband Geno (Roberto Corbo) has a silencer on it, but the gunshots are not silenced - in fact they are loud like normal gunshots.

Soundtrack:

ALL OF MY LIFE

Offensive for all the wrong reasons

You would think that with the mob, the Catholic church, machine guns, hookers, hit men (and women), full-frontal nudity, screaming inside a church, the lead actress crying that "I'm a whore!", a stuttering priest and a uniformly attractive cast that there'd be a reason to get excited about this thing. Alas, you'll only be disappointed unless, like me, you want to see it because you've heard only bad.

Although it's shot in a made-for-TV style, there a couple of interesting camera shots (set in Mexico) and even a moment or two where there's promise of the story kicking in. Unfortunately, after the first ten minutes or so it's too late to recover.

Poorly written, poorly acted, poorly conceived. If it had been just a little worse, it could actually be good. Otherwise, you can find a better way to spend a couple hours of your life.