Carlito's Way (1993)

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writers (WGA):

Edwin Torres (novels)
David Koepp (screenplay)

Release Date:

10 November 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A Puerto-Rican ex-con, just released from prison, pledges to stay away from drugs and violence despite the pressure around him and lead on to a better life outside of NYC.

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Violence | Puerto Rican | Drugs | Nightclub

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 win

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Al Pacino	...	Carlito 'Charlie' Brigante
Sean Penn	...	David Kleinfeld
Penelope Ann Miller	...	Gail
John Leguizamo	...	Benny Blanco
Ingrid Rogers	...	Steffie
Luis Guzmán	...	Pachanga (as Luis Guzman)
James Rebhorn	...	Dist. Atty. Norwalk
Joseph Siravo	...	Vincent 'Vinnie' Taglialucci
Viggo Mortensen	...	Lalin
Richard Foronjy	...	Pete Amadesso
Jorge Porcel	...	Saso (Ron)
Frank Minucci	...	Tony Taglialucci
Adrian Pasdar	...	Frankie Taglialucci
John Ortiz	...	Guajiro (as John Augstin Ortiz)
Ángel Salazar	...	Walberto

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, drug content, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

144 min | USA:145 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Singapore:M18 | Portugal:M/16 | Philippines:R-18 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 (bw) | New Zealand:M | Norway:18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

4th Avenue Subway Station, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

In 1989, film producer Elliott Kastner filed a lawsuit against Pacino for allegedly backing out of a deal to star in a film as Carlito with Marlon Brando as Kleinfeld. The suit was eventually dropped.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Near the end of the film when Carlito is getting his money from the lockbox under the bar, he opens it to see 2 stacks of $100 bills. The face pictured on the bills is not Benjamin Franklin, but Ulysses S. Grant, who should be on the $50 bill.

Quotes:

Walberto: Should have figured I'd find you walking around up here. Doing a little memory lane.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Daymaker (2007)

Soundtrack:

Muneca

Great movie..vastly underrated!

Great movie..and I can see why it is underrated...possibly due to obvious comparisons to Scarface (Brian De Palma, Martin Bregman, Al Pacino team), which was much more brutal in its approach.

Al Pacino as Carlito, awesome as he is, is still much softer compared to the sledgehammer Tony Montana. And then there is some romance mixed in with the story of a gangster trying to reform himself.

I didn't like the romantic scenes myself...thought they interrupted the flow of the story...hence I gave it a 9 instead of a 10! There is also some clichéd dialogue. I happen to be a big Pacino fan and so I am being a little bit (though not entirely) biased and am sidelining all these things. If you excuse these small potatoes, this one is a great flick from start to finish, very entertaining, with some fantastic performances from the supporting cast, e.g. Sean Penn. Special mention, also, of Viggo Mortensen who comes in for a short role, but plays the part wonderfully.

As for Al Pacino in lead role, he makes sure he steals the show, as usual. Brilliant!