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| Reviewed by: Chris Burton 10 Jan 2008 Mobsters
| |  When it comes to the portrayal of Lucky Luciano, the architect of the Italian Mafia, the most powerful criminal organization in Amercan history, only one actor comes to mind- and its of course Christian Slater. The finest actor of this or any other generation is the only one suited, of course. And when you’re making a film as amazing as this one, you only go for the best.
However, this is one of the worst movies ever made and Christian Slater is beyond awful. An insult to every decent crime movie ever made, Mobsters supposedly tells the story of the rise of the five families in New York City and their role in the era of bootlegging and unions. With actors portraying crime legends like Meyer Lansky and Dutch Shultz, and even politicians like Thomas Dewey, one would hope for at least some degree of sophistication. This is like a MTV video. Its absolutely awful.
The rise of the Italian Mafia in the early 20th century is a very interesting story. I suggest you pick up the authoritative history, The Five Families, by Selwyn Raab. Mobsters is not where you need to learn, although its pretty accurate to history by Hollywood standards. Meyer Lansky was Lucky Luciano’s partner in many ventures, although not exactly in the creation of the Commission. Unfortunately, none of the actors are convincing in these historical roles. If you want to see a truly amazing portrayal of Meyer Lansky, see Lee Strasberg’s portrayal of Hyman Roth (based heavily on Lansky) in the second installment of The Godfather.
Mobsters was directed by Michael Karbelnikoff. If you check his imdb page, there are a couple of films of The Red Shoe Diaries he directed. Isn’t that porn? And he made it after Mobsters. Craziness, sir. Craziness.
The HD-DVD is presented in 2.35:1 widescreen and encoded at 1080p, and its is a bit uneven overall. There are many scenes that offer a considerable upgrade over the standard dvd, while many others don't seem to be any different at all. This HD-DVD gives us a soft presentation overall, but I did think it was kind of fitting for the dream like feel of the picture. Colors are pretty strong,. Grain has been minimized, but overall detail is lacking.
Audio is Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 surround, and its quite good. Dialogue sounds excellent, and the music truly kicks in on the surrounds. Its an immersive mix that somewhat makes up for the downfalls of the video presentation. |
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Copyright (c) 2007 Rock Star Media Works, Inc. All rights reserved.
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