The Pope of Greenwich Village | | Cast : | Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke | | Director : | Michael Cimino, Stuart Rosenberg | | Studio : | MGM/UA Video | | Format : | Color, Widescreen | | Released Date : | June 22, 1984 | | DVD Released Date : | May 08, 2001 | | Language : | Spanish (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | December 16, 2004 | | Summary | ROURKE, ROBERTS, SINATRA SINGS "SUMMER WIND" | Content
 | What more can you ask for (Lou Monte doing LUNA LUNA LUNA, it's here). POPE is Vincent Patrick's best written work and his screenplay works with Rourke and Roberts doing each other justice in the lead roles. The inside buzz is Michael Cimino sat in the directors chair, but evidence to the contrary is offered: The film is less than 3 hours in length and significantly lacks metaphors. Instead, POPE is a raucous and likeable tale of NYC bottom feeders whose only place in Trump Tower would be behind a broom. Geraldine Page gives an Oscar nominated supporting turn one year before her Best Actress win for TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL. She's more enjoyable here. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 08, 2004 | | Summary | Outstanding! | Content
| There are many things that boggle me about Hollywood films. Foremost among them being the way this masterpiece has fallen through the cracks among film fans. It contains some of the most emotionally powerful acting since On The Waterfront. The performances of the relationship between Eric Roberts & Mickey Rourke are absolutely extraordinary and in my opinion eclipse anything done in the last 50 years.
So why have Keitel & DeNiro become the gods of moviedom while Roberts & Rourke have been relegated to obscurity? I don't buy the view of at least one other reviewer here that it's about behavior & appearance. I think it's about the mainstream movie audience's affinity for schtick that's easy to understand & mimic vs. the depth & complexity conveyed by the leads of Pope Of Greenwich Village.
That other quality that makes this film stand out for me is the sheer intensity of its New York City ambience. Not for naught was director Stuart Rosenberg responsible for some of 1960s TV's gritiest & greatest NYC-based series in particular Naked City.
Just a fabulous flick! |
| Rating | | | Date | October 05, 2004 | | Summary | "Italians don't outgrow people. They outgrow clothes," | Content
| After watching The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), I checked on here and was surprised to see relatively few reviews. Maybe people aren't all that aware of the movie, or maybe they're put off by the fact that one of its' stars is Mickey Rourke (or The Human Ashtray, as actress Kim Basinger once referred to him as), an actor who showed a lot of promise early in his career (some called him the next Brando) but eventually fell from grace due to his poor choice of film roles, grandiose ego, erratic behavior, and slovenly demeanor.
The Pope of Greenwich Village, mostly directed by Stuart Rosenberg, who also did one of my favorite films in Cool Hand Luke (1967), stars Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts, Daryl Hannah, and Burt Young, who many probably remember most as Sylvester Stallone's brother-in-law from the Rocky films. Also appearing are Kenneth McMillan (Dune, Cat's Eye), Jack Kehoe (Midnight Run), M. Emmet Walsh (Blade Runner), and Geraldine Page (The Trip to Bountiful). Also, it is noted that Michael Cimino (The Deer Hunter) made some uncredited directorial contributions to the film, but the extent of his involvement is unclear. I believe he was the original director, but then either quit or got fired...they're a temperamental lot out there in Hollywood...
Set in the Italian section of New York's Greenwich Village, the film features two characters, Charlie (Rourke), a well-dressed maitre d' with aspirations of someday owning his own restaurant, and Paulie (Roberts), Charlie's ever-scheming cousin who works in the same restaurant as Charlie, as a waiter. After Paulie gets caught skimming the checks (let's say the table orders six entrees...Paulie charges them for six, but then only reports three, pocketing the difference), both he and Charlie get canned. Now out of work and bills up the wazoo, Charlie must now find another job, but Paulie, who's got plans to buy into a racehorse, comes forth with a scheme, based on a tip, of a large amount of cash located in a safe of a local business. Reluctant, but needing the money, Charlie agrees to participate, and they do manage to crack the safe with help from an accomplice played by McMillan, but shortly things go sour, resulting in an accidental death of a cop. Not only that, but Charlie soon learns that the money they took belongs local psychotic Mob boss `Bedbug Eddie' (Young), something Paulie neglected to mention, who is more put off by the fact someone had the nerve to rob him, rather than the missing money. Let's just say Eddie's not too happy about the situation, and when Eddie's not happy, people tend to lose body parts.
I really enjoyed this film. I thought Rourke did well, playing his role very cool and calm, with a level of subtly he has since lost, as, I believe, he got too full of himself and became eccentric for the sake of being eccentric. Roberts is wonderful as Paulie, the smarmy, constantly in motion, hyperactive, fast-talking dreamer with a completely perverse sense of logic. An example of that is when he and Charlie just got fired for their restaurant gig, and Charlie is upset with Paulie as it was all his fault, but Paulie doesn't see it that way because if he knew his petty thievery was going to get Charlie fired, he wouldn't have done it...ergo, since he didn't know the outcome, it wasn't his fault. The weakest element in the film, I thought, was Hannah, who played Charlie's girlfriend Diane. There just seemed to be something missing, but this is a minor point as the rest of the actors, mostly seasoned pros, support the story well, especially that of Burt Young. I don't think his role required any great stretch for him, but he was definitely fun to watch. The real standout performance for me was that of Geraldine Page. Even though she only appeared in two scenes, and had about a total of five minutes on screen, she really made and impression (the second scene, in particular), so much so she was nominated for best supporting actress for her role in this film. She didn't win, but she did win a year later for her role in The Trip to Bountiful (1985). The film itself has a very authentic feel, much like that of a film others have mention being Mean Streets (1973), as it appears most of the film was shot on location, instead of on sets and back lots. Ultimately, Pope is a knock off of Mean Streets, but a really good one. I thought the music chosen for the film very good, especially that of Sinatra's Summer Wind, as it really set the mood for the movie well. The film runs right around two hours, but it didn't feel like it, as I was taken in by the story and highly interested in its outcome. Some points the movie did seem to drag a little, but I felt the time was used well as the plot was actually fairly intricate, involving many different elements, including a smattering of humor, raising the film above your standard mafia flick. I was mildly surprised by the lack of violence in the film, and even the most memorable point, a person losing an appendage, is off screen, allowing for the viewer to visualize rather than see it. My three favorite scenes are, in no particular order, the one with Geraldine Page's character talking with the crooked cops, Paulie giving Charlie tips on women, and Charlie and Paulie at the racetrack, looking for that ever elusive winner.
The non-anamorphic wide screen print on this DVD looks pretty good and the audio ain't bad, but it both could be better. MGM provides little in the way of special features, including only a trailer. As far as the meaning of the title of the film? Well, you'll just have to wait until the very end...
Cookieman108
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| Rating | | | Date | August 12, 2004 | | Summary | Mickey Rourke at his charming best | Content
| A pale imitation of Mean Streets, but worth seeing for Mickey Rourke's performance. Mr Rourke is witty, charming and stylish and wears his very eighties costumes with panache. His bouffant hairdo is a scream. He also blows smoke at pretty hatcheck girls with much style. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 10, 2004 | | Summary | one of the best mob flicks | Content
| This movie is chock full of stars. The one who is amazing is Tony Musante, Paulie's uncle. Take a look at a 1967 flick called the incident and he will show you what method acting is all about. His character in that flick is better than any in "the POPE" not to put down "the POPE" of course. Too bad they gave him this small role, cauz he was the original bad boy. Anyway, the pope is awesome, Roberts and Rourke are incedible and the flick is a classic. DONT FORGET MUSANTE IN THE INCIDENT. |
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