Product Details

• Actors: Freddie Prinze Jr., Alec Baldwin, Scott Caan, Mena Suvari, Jerry Ferrara
• Directors: Michael Corrente
• Format: NTSC, Anamorphic, Widescreen, Digital Sound
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: City Lights Home Video
• DVD Release Date: September 18, 2007
• Run Time: 99 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000TJBO16
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #122,386 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Brooklyn Rules" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

If Brooklyn Rules, a tale about a trio of good fellas making their way through the mean streets of that New York borough, just happens to remind you of the work of Martin Scorsese, you're not the only one. But even if it's not the most original film in cinematic history, director Michael Corrente's 2007 effort is entertaining enough to hold one's attention for most of its 99 minute running time. Michael (Freddie Prinze Jr., who also supplies the voice-over narration), Bobby (Jerry Ferrara, Entourage's Turtle), and Carmine (Scott Caan, son of James) are the kind of punks who stole money from the church collection plate when they were Catholic schoolboys. Cut to the 1980s, when they're in their twenties, still close pals but following divergent paths: Michael, a smart, ambitious Columbia undergrad, plans to become a lawyer, while nerdy skinflint Bobby ("You're so cheap, if you saw a sign that said 'free slaps in the face,' you'd be the first in line," says Mike) hopes to land a gig at the post office, and the narcissistic Carmine is falling in with the wrong crowd, courtesy of Caesar Manganaro (Alec Baldwin), a captain in the Gambino crime family. Needless to say, conflicts ensue, as Michael scores a WASP girlfriend (an underused Mena Suvari), a mob war breaks out (based on real events, including the murder of big boss Paul Castellano and the ascension of John Gotti), violence strikes tragically close to home, and the f-word is employed liberally. Corrente does a nice job of evoking an era in which Billy Idol and Culture Club ruled the airwaves and Cabbage Patch Dolls were all the rage; and writer Terence Winter, a veteran of The Sopranos, has an ear for colorful, pithy dialogue ("That cardigan makes you look like the Italian Fred MacMurray"Â… "Depressed? She wouldn't be happy sitting in the lap of Jesus"). But a largely unsatisfying ending underscores the fact that Brooklyn Rules is nothing to go to the mattresses for. Extras including commentary by Corrente and Winter and a video accompanying the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil," which is featured on the soundtrack. --Sam Graham

Product Description

A gripping tale of three life-long friends struggling with relationships, responsibility and loyalty on the mean streets of 1980 s-era Brooklyn, NY. When the violent influence of the mafia becomes a factor in their friendship, lives will be threatened as the fond memories of the past begin to give way to a potentially grim future.

Produced and directed by Michael Corrente (Outside Providence, American Buffalo) and written by Emmy Award Winning writer Terence Winter (The Sopranos)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars fairly generic mob movie, March 2, 2008

By 

Roland E. Zwick (Valencia, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brooklyn Rules (DVD)

**1/2

"Brooklyn Rules" is a ho-hum "Goodfellas" knock-off about three lifelong buddies (Freddie Prinze Jr., Scott Caan and Jerry Ferrara) and their involvement with the mafia. After a brief prologue set in 1974, the film moves quickly ahead to 1985, where Mikey, Carmine and Bobby, now in their 20's, are attempting to make their way in a world where a mob boss by the name of Caesar Manganaro (Alec Baldwin) rules the streets with an iron fist. Mikey, the film's narrator, is the one most torn between loyalty to the neighborhood and his pals and a desire to experience life beyond this old familiar corner of Brooklyn. Carmine is the hard-nosed tough guy who wants nothing more than to be a card-carrying member of the Manganaro clan.

Written by Terence Winter and directed by Michael Corrente, the film indulges in just about every mob-movie cliché one could possibly imagine, topped off by corny narration and banal wise-guy dialogue done in barely comprehensible dese-dem-dose accents. The movie earns a few points for at least trying to create a morally complex character in Mikey (though heavily borrowed from Michael Corleone), but the cliched storytelling, lackluster performances and dull writing rob the film of most of its impact. There's a decided lack of energy and urgency in the direction as well, making "Brooklyn Rules" a very minor addition to the mob movie genre indeed.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "THIS MOVIE DEPICTS BROOKLYN "POIFECTLY!", September 27, 2007

By 

Rick Shaq Goldstein "*SHAQ*" (Danville, Ca, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Brooklyn Rules (DVD)

This story starts off with three young boys in a Brooklyn church in 1974. The three friends; Carmine, Michael, and Bobby are played by Scott Caan, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jerry "Turtle" Ferrara. At the 3 minute mark Alec Baldwin enters the movie, and immediately beats up a guy, and throws him down the stairs. Later on he is introduced as Caesar, a captain in the Gambino Family. Alec's performance is top notch in this movie, as one minute he comes across as a ferocious murdering grizzly bear, and the next minute, he's as warm and protecting as a loving big brother. Before the boys even reach their teens they become immune to the violence and crime filled neighborhood they live in. One day on the way home they come upon a car on the shore with a "wacked" man in the front seat. One boy takes the dead man's cigarette lighter, one boy takes a gun out of the glove compartment, and one boy takes a puppy. No further comment is made about the situation.

The movie then fast forwards to 1985, with Michael attending Columbia University, Bobby going nowhere fast, but thinking about taking the Postal exam, and Carmine trying to buddy up to the Mafia, and pulling off a few "strong-arm" jobs. This story really isn't a "Mafia movie", but the Mafia is always lurking on the periphery. There are a number of good quotes that epitomize the "flavor" of Brooklyn: "You invent a better mousetrap here, you get a mousetrap stuck up you're a**!" "There's a big difference between fear and respect!"

This movie is really about a coming of age of three lifetime buddies in Brooklyn. Being that my family is originally from Brooklyn, I can state un-categorically, that the director of this movie has the accents and mannerisms and swagger down pat!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Brooklyn Rules" Movie Review by Michael Elliano, April 29, 2008

By 

Michael Elliano "Tab Lover" (College Park, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brooklyn Rules (DVD)

Should say 4.5 stars. Great cast, great story, believeable script, soprano style action, Characters you like, and others you love to hate, add a mixture of laughs and sadness with heavy belt of drama. Why ruin this story. This is a guys flick true and true and one of the best movies out there to sit down and laugh. Well balanced in all aspects and...hey I don't want to ruin the story. This is a winner. Read my other reviews and get an idea of my taste. (I am also Italian) so if that means anything, enjoy...enjoy...enjoy!!! Why not five stars, because its great, not perfect or what I would call a lifetime best. Close enough.