CRCFleetwood Reviews

The Valachi Papers (1972)

Ed Wood Meets Francis Ford Coppola

[5/10 · 1 January 2009]

I just viewed the Valachi Papers last night (Netflix rental) and was struck by some of the blatant anachronisms. The big goofs, some of which are mentioned elsewhere on IMDb, include:

* The World Trade Towers looming in the background as a car crashes into the river in 1930;

* A circa 1970 car riding along Bronson's period sedan;

* A contemporary light post in the distance as Bronson carries out a hit for Genovese.

Second, as memorable as Joseph Wiseman was as Dr. No, his performance as Marranzo is astonishingly bad.

Given these points, I nearly turned off Valachi Papers about 20-minutes into the film, fearing I was in for a two-hour Ed Wood version of a mobster movie. Yet, I stayed with it and found myself fairly engaged for the entire thing. As the film progresses in time, the continuity issues disappear, and Charles Bronson's understated performance helps to sustain a modicum of credibility.

One can appreciate how, for a 1972 audience, the film's relative realism breaks some new ground; however, when you consider that The Godfather, one of the best films ever made, was released that year, it's easy to understand why the Valachi Papers has been largely forgotten over the years.

Chinese Coffee (2000)

Echo "Futures" Comment

[6/10 · 9 June 2008]

I just watched this on DVD, and although it offered some interesting moments and insights, the dialog felt forced and the two main actors, both of whom have done great work in other projects, didn't seem to click. On the DVD, there's an epilogue in the "features" section in which Pacino, who also directed, wondered whether there were too many flashbacks. Actually, I thought the flashbacks were enlivening, enabling the story to be more involving than it might otherwise have been. Pacino also mentions that because of Orbach's "Law and Order" shooting schedule, they were forced to film 84 pages of dialog in 21 days, perhaps explaining, at least in part, why the film feels a little undercooked.