Lansky (1999)

This is the telling of the life of organized crime boss, Meyer Lansky, as remembered by him as a very old man who is moving about the world looking for some country that will take him in ... See full summary »

Director:

John McNaughton

Writers:

Uri Dan (book), Dennis Eisenberg (book)

Stars:

Richard Dreyfuss, Yosef Carmon, Mosko Alkalai

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Meyer Lansky
Yosef Carmon	...	Rabbi / Caretaker (as Yosi Carmon)
Mosko Alkalai	...	Jewelry Shopkeeper (as Moscu Alcalay)
Fima Noveck	...	Hasid in Grodno
Joshua Praw	...	Meyer Lansky Age 8
Bernard Hiller	...	Max Lansky
Jill Holden	...	Yetta Lansky
Larry Moss	...	Benjamin Lansky
Chris Marquette	...	Jake Lansky Ages 9-11 (as Christopher Marquette)
Ryan Merriman	...	Meyer Lansky Ages 12-14
Benjamin Kimball Smith	...	Irish Gang Leader (as Benjamin K. Smith)
Brian Casey	...	Irish Boy #1
Adam Hendershott	...	Irish Boy #2
Daniel Sagal	...	Irish Boy #3
Anthony Medwetz	...	Benny Siegel Age 11

Storyline

This is the telling of the life of organized crime boss, Meyer Lansky, as remembered by him as a very old man who is moving about the world looking for some country that will take him in since the US courts have put out an extradition order for him to stand trial. It tells of a young man growing up in the Jewish ghettos of America's big cities at the turn of the century and of his bright intelligence which he used for moving into crime. "I'm only a gambler," he claimed, "just like most all Americans." When asked by a reporter to comment on the killings that occurred under his leadership he declined, thereby making this film's thrust that of personalities and relationships rather than of acts of violence or the workings of corrupt deeds.

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Plot Keywords:

based on book | character name in title | 

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Taglines:

The Mind That Organized Crime.

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Genres:

Drama | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, violence and nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 February 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

A bűn királya

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Frederick Zollo Productions,HBO Films,Home Box Office (HBO)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

At the end of the film it stated that Lansky was born in 1903. In fact, he was born on July 4th 1902.

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Soundtracks

The Easy Winners
Written by Scott Joplin
Courtesy of Biograph Records

User Reviews

boring plodder of a film that should be much better

This tells the story of Meyer Lansky, a big time crook or not depending on your viewpoint, the film shows lansky as a guy in his old age looking back on his life in short clip flashbacks, it tells us the major events and the development of his crime empire, the script is poor the acting stilted, despite some major acting talent in the film, at no point is there any dramatic tension or blood stirring action, it meanders towards a totally unstartling conclusion, it turns out the lights, puts itself to bed, and goes to sleep with anyone watching having already got there an hour beforehand, really don't watch it, it should have been attention grabbing and entertaining, its a 1 out of ten for me.