Carlito's Way [Blu-ray]

After seeing the Carlito's Way made after this one, I wanted to see if if was any good so I rented it. It actually was a good movie. I can see making it apart of my collection.

In this film, Al Pacino stars as a just released mafia man who wants to go straight and live a peaceful life.I find this movie somewhat silly and as street-smart as Al Pacino's character - Carlito - is portrayed, he missed some very obvious mistakes that anyone who is watching the film could easily point out.At the start of the film, Carlito just got out of prison. His lawyer is his only friend in the whole wide world and at the start of the film, Carlito decides to hang out with a friend who is also on a drug run to collect payment. Carlito, being so street-smart, notices that the kid he's with is about to get killed, so he does some fancy pool moves to get the upper hand of the situation, but the kid still gets killed. Carlito, in all his street-savvy wisdom, decides to steal the cash, and run off. He then decides with the cash, he's going to buy in on a failing nightclub where the owner gambled to debt and Carlito is going to buy in a portion of the business and get some cut. Carlito's idea is that once he's able to save 75,000 dollars, he's going to run away from his lifestyle and get a fresh start. Why 75,000? I have no idea, but that's some sort of magic number where he can live far away in peace for the rest of his life.As the movie goes on, Carlito discovers an old girlfriend, and on top of that, his lawyer friend is up to no good. In all his street-smart savvy wise old crook way, Carlito decides due to some honor code where he has to return a favor decides to get knee deep in a river of dog doo with his lawyer pals who obviously ripped off a mafia boss. Carlito decides, despite his girlfriend's protest, that he's going to help his lawyer friend despite the fact that he admits to ripping off a million dollar from a mafia boss. Carlito, in all his street savvy wisdom, didn't ever think perhaps if his lawyer friend would rip off a mafia man, who is able to send an army of hitmen, perhaps, maybe.... just maybe... he would rip off an old friend who has nothing?In any event, Carlito decides that his illegal-yet-legit business investment that he used a dead kid's drug money that he got earlier in the film is about to pay off with his 75,000 that he keeps in a safe in a place that has a co-owner who has a gambling problem and is in serious debt and what could possibly go wrong, right? And the worst case happens, his lawyer friend double cross him, so Carlito double cross him, but get mixed up with a mafia hitmen, and on top of that he decides to take a last minute train to his destination.Oh yeah, earlier in the film, Carlito decides to let a up-and-coming street punk Mr Billy Blanko by dissing him at his favorite club and beating him up. The reason? He sees himself in the kid. And what is Carlito? A double crossing double crosser who is double crossing people, and if he sees himself in Blanko, wouldn't he see that he could potentially try to kill him later on? And on top of that, Carlito hears point blank that Mr Blanko is going to kill him and wouldn't he think that if he sees himself in the kid that he would think maybe, just maybe the kid would make good on that promise especially after getting beaten to a bloody pulp? Carlito trusts his bouncer, who frequently discusses money issues and "going back to the old ways," didn't think that possibly, he could easily switch sides by accepting payment. Lo-and-behold, huge surprise twist at the end, his bouncer friend double cross him and lets the punk, who Carlito let go of earlier, get the info on Carlito's escape and sure enough, huge surprise again, Blanko kills Carlito.Overall this film is silly. Carlito's entire assumption is that he's going to get legit by dealing with the same people he knows will double cross him. He finds each person double cross him, and on top of that he tries to double cross them before they're able to double cross him. He has this idea that he's going to be get legit by doing one last double cross only to get double crossed by the very people he's trying to escape from. It makes zero sense overall and I think this film's entire storyline is just that you can't escape your life, no matter how hard you try. Your past will catch up eventually and you'll end up right back where you started. It ends up being really depressing too but one good thing about the film is if you watch the credit long enough, you'll know in the movie Carlito's girlfriend says she's pregnant, and at the end of the film, you'll see her dancing in the sunset at the beach, but in the very end, a child is there signaling that Carlito at least did something right.

One of my favorite movies, highly recommended.

Great storyline, not too complicated and not too simple.

A longtime fan of Al Pacino, I saw "Carlito's Way" when it first came out, in 1993. Even back then, it was apparent to me that I was watching something very special. Since then, I've literally seen the movie hundreds of times, and it remains one of my all-time favorite films.The plot summary has been covered many times here, so I'll just stick to my comments. I think "Carlito's Way" is Brian DePalma's finest hour as a filmmaker. I could never understand the lukewarm critical response it received, though, ironically, time has been very kind to it. A lot of critics dismissed it as a second-rate follow-up to "Scarface"--which, interestingly, was also panned upon its release--but it possesses a depth and resonance that "Scarface" (or any of DePalma's other films, for that matter) just can't match.Having grown up in Queens, New York, in the 1970s--and having run with a pretty tough crowd--I was stunned at how well DePalma captured the sights and sounds of the time. It was like being transported back 20 years. But, perhaps because the film was made two decades after it's supposed to take place, "Carlito's Way" hasn't aged at all. Like many great films, it has a timeless feel to it, because it avoids many of the filmmaking clichés of the period in which it was made.DePalma was already working from a very good foundation--Edwin Torres' two books on Carlito Brigante, "Carlito's Way" and "After Hours," are exceptionally well written--but he could've easily dropped the ball. Thankfully, he didn't. Though he and Pacino were both initially opposed to rehashing the success of "Scarface," they eventually decided to work together again. The combination was pure magic. Like many great actors, Pacino sometimes needs to be challenged, and DePalma challenged him. And he responded with one of the best performances of his legendary career. He brings an elegiac air to the character of reformed drug kingpin Carlito Brigante, which brings out a level of depth and emotional weight that the character of Tony Montana just didn't have. In fact, Carlito makes Tony seem woefully cartoonish and two-dimensional by comparison. As the film progresses, the psychic weight of Carlito's worsening dilemma is channeled perfectly by Pacino's every move and word. Despite Carlito's sordid past, you sympathize with him and his increasingly futile attempt to escape that past. The rapidly shrinking box that is Carlito's way out is communicated stunningly, by Pacino's acting, the excellent dialogue and cinematography, and, crucially, the music, which builds to a crescendo during the subway chase scene--one of the best chase scenes ever committed to film, in my opinion.A movie is nothing without fine acting, and DePalma did a wonderful job of casting "Carlito's Way." The cast is, to a person, first-rate: John Leguizamo as up-and-coming gangster Benny Blanco; Penelope Ann Miller as Carlito's love interest, Gail; Luis Guzman as the traitorous Pachanga; and the ringer, Sean Penn, as Carlito's sleazy, out-of-control lawyer, David Kleinfeld. Penn has had a lot of great roles in his career, but his turn as Kleinfeld is definitely one of his most memorable: over-the-top, but never less than eminently believable . . . and chillingly frightening.As I said earlier, the years have been very kind to "Carlito's Way." It has aged better than any of DePalma's other films, and still looks and sounds as vital today as it did upon its release. That's a tough trick to pull off, but it's a testament to DePalma's filmmaking prowess and the actors' collective skill that, never once, do you catch yourself thinking about the age of the film. It's, quite simply, timeless--and, in this viewer's opinion, one of the best gangster films ever made. Whether history will judge it as such is debatable, but I believe that time will continue to enhance its reputation. It's a stunning cinematic achievement that will gain more and more supporters as the years go buy. I have absolutely no doubt about that.

Director Brian DePalma returns with this 1993 adaptation of the novel 'After Hours' by judge and author Edwin Torres. Here DePalma alternates his filmic style more to the side of 'Mission Impossible' and 'The Untouchables' rather than his usual Hitchcock homages ala 'Body Double' and 'Blow Out' to deliver (for me anyway) his finest film.The story has Al Pacino (never better) playing Puerto Rican ex-con Carlito Brigante trying desperately to go straight and make a new life for himself and his dancer girlfriend (played by the excellent Penelope Ann Miller). Obviously, it all takes a turn for the worse when Carlito's attorney friend (played by an unrecognisable Sean Penn) is destined to take not only himself, but Carlito down with him. The film itself is beautifully acted, exceptionally well written (each character is well developed and fully rounded) and the direction by DePalma is his sharpest yet. His roaming camera and stylish lighting give the city scenes life and the bars and club that glitzy and low life appeal in equal measure. Al Pacino is perfect in the role and gives the film an exceptional emotional core - so to does Sean Penn, who is the epitome of sleaze and his look for the character is spot on. The romance between Pacino and Miller is well handled, not too slushy or slowing the story down - and like each plot point in the film, it is expertly handled and played out well.All in all, one of DePalma's finest films and (for me) more satisfying than their previous collaboration 'Scarface' - although, that is excellent as well. Universals' disc has a sharp transfer and a short making of documentary, but the film itself is well worth the price of the disc alone. Recommended.

This film seems to be overshadowed by other Pacino gangster masterpieces, but rest assured it's on a par with the others.Al is absolutely majestic as Carlito, the ex-con who tries to make a normal life for himself after being released early from a 30-stretch. Unfortunately for him, the lawyer friend who got him out is a gangster-wannabee who attracts trouble and Carlito just can't help getting involved.Despite being a gangster film, and directed by De Palma at that, there's relatively little violence, although when it comes it tends to be bloody and brutal. The film is mostly about Carlito's struggle to stay straight whilst amassing enough cash to get to a normal job in the Bahamas, but he just can't escape the past and others' expectations of him.It's only natural to root for the guy as he tries to reach his goal, even if there are a few bumps in the road, despite knowing from the start of the film that the odds are against him.The ending in Grand Central Station was tense and exciting and had Hitchcock written all over it.As for the bluray, the picture quality is a definite step up from the dvd, but there's not much happening with the sound, despite the shootings. Still well worth the upgrade, in my opinion.

Quite simply my second best film ever after treasure of the Sierra madre.From start to finish it tells of mans determination to go straight while all around he his fraught with people trying to lure him back to his old ways . Tense is not the word in this film . It’s tightrope to the max . A unbelievable film not to be missed

This film has it all - love, violence, morality, action, and shows off the talents of Al Pacino and Sean Penn who elevate this film into the classic bracket. To think it was made as recently as 1994 is surprising, as it seems to take its inspiration from the 70s and 80s dramas in the way the narrative takes precedence over commercial branding.The opening scene, with the 360 degree camera, neon lighting, Al Pacino narration, `welcome to paradise sign' and the emotionally charged music of Joe Cocker's `You are so beautiful' is what this film is all about! When it ties it up at the end, it left me in no doubt that I'd just watched a film that packs a punch and is worthy of several re-watches.The poignancy and tragedy of Carlito is there for all to see and Al Pacino nails it. From the courthouse scene where he declares he is `completely rehabilitated, reinvigorated, and reassimilated' to his sense of loyalty to friends and the quixotic realisation that some dreams are out of reach - he is a great `everyman' cinema character. Top stuff.

One of the best modern era gangster pics,Pacino plays a reformed gangster newly released from prison trying to go straight but ultimately failing thanks to his slime ball lawyer (Sean Penn) very down beat if violent ending brilliantly staged in New York's Grand Central stationgood support to from Penelope Ann Miller as his long suffering girl friend and John Le Guizmo as his nemesis.excellent transfer to BDrecommended