Customer Reviews

Mario Puzo's The Last Don

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

this is a great mob story,it shows almost every angle and position in a mafia-"family".danny aiello was terrific and jason gedric did very well and should be considered in some future mob movies with most experienced mob actors getting older.i appreciated how it told story of a full decade.(also,the book is well worth reading)R.I.P. MARIO PUZO

After reading the book, I was very impressed with the movie. Never is the movie like the book....but not in this case. The movie followed the book very accurately. Everything that happens in the book are exactly what happens in the movie. So if you read the book already, you will not be disappointed with the movie, I promise. The movie was well done and I would recommend it to anyone who loves Puzo or not.

"The last Don" is a movie mini-series that is on par with "The Godfather". Characters such as Croccifixio DeLena (who is the son of the Clericuzio Families number one hammer Pippi DeLena), and Lia Vazzi (an imported Sicilian hit man) make this series unforgettable. Puzo is a master storyteller who does not dissapoint. He leads you through twists and turns in a maze of enjoyable narrarating in an ending that decides the fate of the Clericuzio family and their retreat into "legitimate society".

Mario Puzo's The Last Don was a very good mob movie-but now where near the mob classics like The Godfather Trilogy, Goodfellas, Scarface, etc, etc. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes the mobster flicks

The Last Don delivers everything any mob movie lover looks for without the graphic profanity. The cast is a delightful ensemble of talent; Danny Aiello is captivating as Don Clericuzio and Kirstie Alley is equally dynamic as the grief stricken nutcase Rose. It is as brilliantly acted out as Mario Puzo wrote it. A must have for anyone claiming to love Mafia flicks!

TV movies are inherently awful, it's like an iron-clad rule. This one is a cut above the rest, and it was quite popular back in 1997, especially for the morbidly curious.

Now, in this post-Sopranos age, it's still quite funny. Puzo just went for broke with his source novel, another attempt to write about his fairy-tale Mafia.

The Last Don is the story about...the last Don, Don Clericuzio (for some reason, even the name is funny), a truly old-school Don who, while a thief and a murderer, is also a quasi-philosopher, loving father, and a venerable man of wisdom, his years of experience extorting, racketeering, and ordering the deaths of men having given him great insight into the human condition.

This is an 'epic', which means it had to be shown over two or three or however many nights it was, to tell the story of the Don's 'family', his troubled nieces and sons and all of their issues. Basically, the Don has some ridiculous stake in Las Vegas (since apparently, Puzo never watched Casino) and his son, or nephew, I forget, a guy named Crucifixio (is this even a name?) runs the...I forget which casino. Then there's this son, or heir, Dante, who wears renaissance hats that wouldn't be out of place in a Slick Rick video, who is just a bad guy and who you know will ruin the family.

There's a whole subplot about Hollywood, too, and the various degenerates and lowlifes who are found in the film industry. Cross falls for Athena, blah blah blah, there's a scummy agent, there's a bitter old writer (basically a Puzo-esque character), and some other bad people who get shot, etc. Easily one of the best characters is Lia Vazi, or Vazzi, who is from Sicily, and therefore 'the real deal', a stone killer proficient in all manner of execution. He's a good character. I was glad they brought him back in The Last Don II.

And of course, we have Danny Aiello, who has this amazingly bad aging makeup at the end which is hilarious and reason enough to watch this rather entertaining made-for-TV business. Of course, the ending 'suggests' that the don dies peacefully in his sleep (apparently, nobody in this family has been indicted or is in Federal prison, and the FBI is typically incompetent). Of course, when The Last Don II opens, and yes, I'll spoil it for you, the Don is still alive long enough to discuss how his old-school wife used to knit his own shirts(!), etc, etc.

It's completely fairy tale Mafia stuff, almost as if Puzo wished the Mafia were like this. Will offer no insight into the real world of organized crime, and compared with something well-written and realistic like The Sopranos, The Last Don is simply Cheez-Whiz for a slow night. But with this ridiculously cheap DVD, at least you won't have to watch commercials, too.

Just a tremendous effort by Aiello, Daryl Hannah, that Sicilian guy, Jason Gedrick, Joe Mantegna, and Kirstie Ally, who cries a lot, etc. I have faith that a Last Don III will appear one of these days...

MARIO PUZO'S "THE LAST DON" is intended for those who are keenly interested
in the backdrop and in the behind the scenes look at the individuals running
their own business operations generating a lot of earnings, profits and cash,
in this instance, in the underworld.

Danny Aiello, does an outstanding job as the head honcho, who is lays out the
medium and long term strategies and plans of his group, and guides along his
caporegime grandsons, consiglieri and family members day in, day out.

Joe Mantegna's acting, as well, is on par, playing the hammer or collector
of illegal debts for the group, with a valid balanced approach between hard-line
rubouts and enjoying life outside work, interacting with a number of sensual women,
in the picture, such as Daryl Hanna, Penelope Anne Miller, Kirstie Alley, and more.
A significant amount of time is spent showing his married lifestyle, comprised of
his kids growing up, and guiding them along to a young adulthood until independence.

Jason Gedrick brings freshness to the picture, by living out the workoholic lifestyle of
a young single man, who runs the operations of a casino, in this case, with parallel
money laundering and the catching fraudsters at the tables- who cause illegitimate losses
to the casino. A chemistry with Hanna, is definitely the case on screen, as the two
are ambitious and successful individuals in their areas.

Extending over 4 hours, the movie captures the imagination of the viewing public, and
drawsm into the picture, that itself, although not released on DVD as widescreen
unfortunately, is still spectacular with its glossy, quality look and its sharpness and
focus throughout the filming.

The audio is comprised of instrumental or orchestral numbers that are no-nonsense,
adding beauty to the work overall, in a classical or European sense, that will
appeal mostly to those with a learned palate since it's not pop or rock based.

If there are perhaps some flaws to this picture, it would be the predictable nature of
events and in how things turn out, as well as the ending that panders to Hollywood, since
the guy gets the gal, and the bad guys get what they deserve. Another flaw is namedropping
Schwartzie, and Van Damme as stars and simulating the filming of a picture inside a picture
with kd land as the director, which is a distraction in the overall work, and dates it,
although it perhaps lessens the introspective social view of the characters.

A curious aspect, also Hollywoodian, is the tendency to introduce a disability or disease to
the public by showing a character suffering from it, in this case, the autism of Hanna's daughter.

The positive aspects, aside from those already mentioned, is obviously the
presence of Europe, its culture, values, gastronomic lifestyle on people ; the characters,
Italian Americans, are shown as being at ease living in Sicily and Italy as much as in the
USA, equally patriotic and relaxed in both lands, with professional contacts on
both continents, for business purposes.

Aiello is notable in his portrayal of the Don, who is a deep philosophical thinker, having no
no guilt or remorse for past actions based on direct knowledge of the injustices and poverty
experienced in Sicily, from the government and from the entrenched Establishment there against
the common man, who, "in God's world, a prison, must earn his daily bread in face of others who
are merely carnivores, giving no mercy".

A rapport is built with viewers, by laying out a system of human values, discipline, a conduct
that is imposed on and followed by members of the organization, showing its hierarchy, and a bit how
one joins it and progresses from being a soldier in an enclave, to making your bones, being a made man, etc.

Known issues with society are shown, such as confidential informants, double agents, corrupt law defectives,
payoffs to Senators, with the "quid pro quo" as a modus operandi, as the mob being called upon
to right injustices, as a vigilante vs unpunished individuals having beat the justice system, etc.

There is a parallel with Puzo's earlier work, in that the most successful and talented capo is
the one who was first financially successful outside of the organization, not having wanted originally
to belong to it, balancing other goals outside of it, and leading his own life, etc

Viewer reactons may vary in face of the wisdom given in the narrative, suggesting love is unreliable
as compared to gratitude, obedience and harmony..."She's dangerous...from being too skilled in bed."

A cynical comment is made of CEO, some of whom are weak from the need for eroticism, and in turn,
easily manipulated by personal relationships of colaborators.

A mention is made of the witness protection program, the RICO laws, how informants can rebuild their lives
after serving as a stool to the FBI not without repercussions since, as Aiello shows, stools are
not tolerated, immediately ordering a hit.

The violence is modest in this movie, in terms of rubouts; the code words being preferred in face of
wiretaps and bugs such as confirmation or communion.

The tourism attractions of Las Vegas and Nevada is spectacularly shown.

In the Puzo tradition, fundamental life-altering events are also shown, such as marriage , birth , death ,
communion, baptism, the ups and downs of relationships, the rivalries, etc, and as such, he formula is
reminiscent of his other works yet more restrained than earlier works in terms of brutality.

This is one of the best scripts ever penned by the great author of the Godfather and Omerta. As far as this movie is concerned as a film then again it must score very highly. Although it is not the epic marathon of the Godfather and because of this is more accesible. The screen photography is great while the acting is as good as youd expect from actors commisioned by Puzo
The godfather was a very hard act to follow and this is the one film in an increasingly popular genre that can match the great epic.

The Last Don is an excellent movie which, despite being a mini-series, is fairly violent. If you are a fan of mafia movies, then you will like this one. Many people don't like it because they compare it to The Godfather and expect it, The Last Don, to be better. You have to keep an open mind while watching it, as it is not the same type of storyline or even the same type of film as The Godfather was. You'll know what I mean when you watch it.

the last don is one of the most amazing gangster film's ever made it is on the same ratings as The Godfather. the acting is outstanding especially by the lovely Jason Gedrick. if you have not seen this film i suggest you do so, otherwise you will be missing out on one of the greatest movies ever made.