The Funeral (1996)

New York City, the 1930s. A powerful crime family is caught in a lethal crossfire between union organizers and brutal corporate bosses. Against this turbulent backdrop, the family's three ... See full summary »

Director:

Abel Ferrara

Writer:

Nicholas St. John

Stars:

Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Annabella Sciorra

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Walken	...	Ray
Chris Penn	...	Chez
Annabella Sciorra	...	Jean
Isabella Rossellini	...	Clara
Vincent Gallo	...	Johnny
Benicio Del Toro	...	Gaspare
Gretchen Mol	...	Helen
John Ventimiglia	...	Sali
Paul Hipp	...	Ghouly
Victor Argo	...	Julius
Gian DiDonna	...	Ray Sr. (as Gian Di Donna)
Dmitri Prachenko	...	Sentieri (as Dmitry Prachenko)
Paul Perri	...	Young Ray
Gregory Perrelli	...	Young Chez (as Gregory Pirelli)
Joey Hannon	...	Middle Chez

Storyline

New York City, the 1930s. A powerful crime family is caught in a lethal crossfire between union organizers and brutal corporate bosses. Against this turbulent backdrop, the family's three street-hardened brothers and the women they love are about to be plunged into a deadly confrontation with their enemies, with each other, and with their own dark heritage of violence, madness and murder.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | violence | 1930s | cruelty | flashback | 

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Taglines:

One family, one murder, too many lies.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong crude sex scenes, strong violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

1 November 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Begräbnis

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$41,768 (USA) (1 November 1996)

Gross:

$1,227,324 (USA) (27 December 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

October Films, MDP Worldwide, C&P Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Johnny is the youngest of the three brothers, while Chez is the middle child. However, Chris Penn was in fact four years younger than Vincent Gallo.

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Goofs

Johnny is dead in his coffin, but he flinches when someone brushes his eyebrows.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Humphrey Bogart: Just keep in mind that I and the boy are a candidate for hangin'. And the first time any one of ya makes a wrong move, I'm gonna kill the whole lot of ya.

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Connections

References King of New York (1990)

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Soundtracks

"Tonight Will Be The Night"
Music and Lyrics by Joe Delia (Slymoon Publishing Co./BMI) and Abel Ferrara
Performed by Chris Penn

User Reviews

Bury Our Sins?

The Funeral is a dark and gritty story that plumbs the characters in a New York band of criminal brothers. It doesn't have the romantic sweep of a Godfather movie, nor the rawness of Scarface. But it does have great acting: the cold, sinister aloofness of the leader-brother(Christopher Walken); the raging insanity of the bartender-brother(Chris Penn); and, the cockiness of the younger communist-influenced brother. Annabella Scioria as the wife with a tortured psyche who "had two years of college", and Bennissio del Toro, as the suave and slick rival mobster round out the terrific cast.

But the movie does have some problems. The abrupt, "surprise" ending is consistent with the arcs in the movie, and is supported by trends in the characters' developments, but seems unsatisfying. Also, long philosophical conversations between killer and victims seems unrealistic. While these conversations(and flashback sequences) give insight into characters, it just doesn't seem likely.

Watch this movie if you are a fan of crime/Mafia films, and you can enjoy a thoughtful introspection of characters and relationships between characters. Don't watch it if you want to see a "thrill-a-minute", or explosions every other scene.