Avenging Angelo (2002)

A woman who has just discovered she is the daughter of a murdered Mafia chieftain seeks revenge, with the aide of her father's faithful bodyguard.

Director:

Martyn Burke

Writers:

Will Aldis (story), Will Aldis (screenplay)

Stars:

Sylvester Stallone, Madeleine Stowe, Anthony Quinn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sylvester Stallone	...	Frankie Delano
Madeleine Stowe	...	Jennifer Barrett
Anthony Quinn	...	Angelo Allieghieri
Raoul Bova	...	Marcello
Harry Van Gorkum	...	Kip Barrett
Billy Gardell	...	Bruno
George Touliatos	...	Lucio Malatesta
Angelo Celeste	...	The Priest
Ezra Perlman	...	Rawley Barrett
Carin Moffat	...	Ashley
John Gilbert	...	Whitney Towers
Dawn Greenhalgh	...	Peggy Towers
Angelo Tsarouchas	...	Thug
Nancy Beatty	...	Meter Maid
Lori Alter	...	Kay

Storyline

A woman who has recently discovered that she is the daughter of Angelo, a major mafia boss, decides to wreak vengeance when he is killed by a hitman. She's aided by his faithful bodyguard, with whom she soon falls in love.

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Plot Keywords:

stitching one's wound | adultery | flower | neo screwball comedy | mafia | 

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Taglines:

Her life is his job.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language and sexual content

Details

Country:

USA France Switzerland

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 August 2004 (France)

Also Known As:

Angelon kosto

Filming Locations:

Castellammare del Golfo, Trapani, Sicily, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dante Entertainment, Epsilon Motion Pictures, Quinta Communications

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Anthony Quinn and Madeline Stowe play father and daughter here. In Revenge (1990), Quinn and Stowe played husband and wife.

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Goofs

When Frankie and Jennifer talk in the kitchen, there's one candle on the table. Amy leaves and Frankie blows out a candle which was not on the table before.

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Quotes

Frankie Delano: I believe there's a possible exception to every rule in a book.

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Connections

References First Blood (1982)

User Reviews

"Everybody's going somewhere!"

If nothing else, the film justifies its existence for the restaurant scene at the beginning, wherein Quinn utters the above line. Short as it may be, THAT scene was cinematic magic, especially if you study Quinn's face as he delivers the words. The briefest of pauses makes you wonder if the reality of that line had momentarily struck him, fatally ill as he was with throat cancer during shooting. He died before the film's release bringing to an end one of Hollywood's most illustrious screen careers - one that spanned six decades. Restricted as the role of Angelo was, it was ENOUGH to say "goodbye" with, and with such dignity too. Quinn "conveyed" more in his ten minutes on screen here than others have amassed in a lifetime. He would have been delighted to be working, up to his last breath, literally. Stallone even, if you really look closely, appears to extend a real reverence to his co-star in those opening minutes.

I think to have any hope of either understanding or even "liking" this film, you would need to be over 40 with a depth and awareness not everyone has. It is NOT a "surface" film. If that is all you can see, you're wasting your time. There is fun, chemistry, humor- subtle and less so....and a decent storyline. Whether you view it as parodying THE GODFATHER (which at times it appears to be doing) or telling a less than straightforward tale of revenge...mafioso style, this film has genuine moments of endearing drama. Many reviewers appear to feel short-changed expecting as they were, THE VALACHI PAPERS 2 or THE CURSE OF DON CORLEONE....nor was this wallowing in the putrid wake of OSCAR, Stallone's last "stab" as it were, at portraying the unfunny eccentricities of "la cosa nostra."

I won't bother rehashing the plotline....enough here have done that. I would simply say that it is a great shame it went straight to video - Quinn deserved way more respect than that, and SO did this film. I agree with the reviewer who offered a 6.6 as being reasonable. Like I said though, you have to be able to look past the plot holes, the uneven direction and the oddball characterizations. Stallone and Stowe handed in some good work here!