William Reilly's "Men of Respect," starring John Turturro and the fascinating Katherine Borowitz, is one of the few genuinely innovative gangster films produced in recent years. Chronicling the rise of a very bold, but not very decisive hit man (Turturro, the film's characters are carefully and convincingly delineated, and the frequent scenes of grotesque violence are almost a diversion from the development of the characters themselves. Although Turturro is splendid as the bloodthirsty, but slightly addled killer, the film is stolen by the performance of Ms. Borowitz, who plays his long-suffering, titanium-spined wife. Other characters include the ill-starred mob bosses played by Rod Steiger, Peter Boyle, and Rod Steiger. Other scene-stealers include three unforgettable "witches," whom Turturro consults for a glimpse of his future. If this is beginning to sound familar, it should: "Men of Respect" is a very faithful update of "The Tragedy of Macbeth!" A movie to savor, and an actress not to be forgotten.
Add a Review
-
billmelden5 August 2002
-
backstajbhs17 November 2005This is an awesome adaptation of a great play. I am a big fan of Turturro's company of players - they work as a true ensemble. The settings, the use of Uncle Will's language - everything works for me. I was introduced to the film by my father, who was doing research for a stage production he was appearing in as the Porter. I was particularly taken by the way the plot and characters played into the New York gangster genre. I I have used this film from time time when studying the Scottish play with my students and find that it actually helps them understand the original a bit better - I suppose they related to the more contemporary setting.
-
scribill28 August 2008Checked this film out because of a positive review in the New York Times. Really captures the spirit of the Bard's play in a modern gangster setting. Doesn't romanticize the gangster life like other contemporary films in the genre. Doesn't pull any punches. Goes for the jugular instead, literally. Easy to see how top of the line actors like Stieger, Turturro, Boyle, Farina and Tucci were attracted to this low budget project. A daring experiment which shows how the themes and narratives of Shakespeare transcend time and place, Dark. Stylish. Intense. Very original adaptation with real flair. Would love to see it projected wide screen in a revival but will settle for the DVD release for the time being.
-
lisakoelewyn17 November 2007There are not too many really good movie versions of Macbeth, in fact I would say that there are no really good movie versions. As an English teacher, I would really like to show my students something that correctly captures the mental deterioration of the characters and accurately illustrates the violence and cruelty of Macbeth. This film is able to do that, unfortunately, due to the language, I will not be able to show it in class. But, I was pleased with this version of Macbeth. The acting is pretty good and the characters are believable mobsters. I wouldn't say that it tries too hard to follow the play; rather, I would give it credit for sticking to the play and modernizing it in a believable way. Overall, well done.
-
mfchiro-624-4422882 January 2010The scene with the gypsies (witches) came as a complete surprise, very few viewers would appreciate a small detail that just blew my socks off. In that somewhat creepy scene, there was a song/music in the background. What made it especially haunting was that it was being sung in Romanian, and roughly translated into English the voice was saying, "Throw the dirt on top of me (implying he is in a grave) so that I no longer have to see the pain and sorrow..." Little details like this made the movie brilliant -- of course, you may have to be Romanian to appreciate it, but still....
Some may say that the movie isn't 'Shakespearian' enough. But this adaptation was done very creatively and captures Shakespeare's themes quite well. It's even more interesting when you consider that Shakespeare himself borrowed and got creative with themes, symbolism, story lines, and characterizations from a much older literary source, that of the Bible. Consider Ahab and Jezebel, washing the blood off one's hands, the witches of Endor, divine judgment, all were incorporated in the story of Macbeth, and carry over into this film as well. This is a movie you can watch over and over again, and catch interesting new details each time. -
sortega7616 January 2003While not the greatest modernization of a Shakespeare play, this movie is visually stunning and John Turturro can always be counted on to give a great performance. The fortune teller is a decent substitute for the 3 witches and the period sets and costumes are wonderful. I wouldn't recommend this movie if you are a die hard Shakespeare fan, but would if you love gangster flicks or interesting ideas.
-
bob the moo10 September 2001Imagine the pitch: A classic tale of betrayal, murder, deception - taking power by any means necessary. It's Macbeth - but set in the ever attractive world of American gangsters! William Shakespeare's Goodfellas! The story does lend itself to the setting unfortunately it is very boring, poorly acted and no real flair or excitment that other gangster pictures manage. It's full of good actors - none of whom are any good because they are constrained by a poor script and poor direction.
Don't watch this - go to the theatre and watch MacBeth instead. -
I thought this movie was a great modernization of Shakespeare's Macbeth. I know I have not learned all that I can about Macbeth and Shakespeare but I do know that with what i have learned, this movie is a wonderful rendition. I have been studying Macbeth in my English II Honors class and we watched this movie and I was rather surprised at how many similarities there were to Macbeth. It was unbelievable. I understand so much more with this movie. It was like a Sparknote movie to Macbeth. I really enjoyed it. And as there were some differences between the two, I was still able to see the connection between both movie and play. I would definitely recommend this to others as a helping tool for Macbeth as it is hard at times to understand.
-
manymilestraveled19 August 2005This is definitely worth checking out if you enjoy the story of "Macbeth". The challenge of turning the characters into mobsters was met well. It was done creatively, and it follows all the main points without cheating. John Tuturro and Peter Boyle are good; everyone else is fine. If this was a completely original work, it would rate lower, but I think it is very good considering what they were trying to do, and that's why it is ultimately satisfying. The other comments posted by another viewer are undeservedly harsh. It's a bum wrap. Again, if you like "Macbeth", this is pretty cool. If you love iambic pentameter and period pieces, go rent Roman Polanski's version of "Macbeth", or something of Shakespeare's with Kenneth Brannagh.
-
jimel9823 October 2011I saw this movie for the first time last night on Encore. I missed the first few minutes of it but got into it quickly. To start, the cast in VERY impressive and each one, as I saw it, lived up to my expectations of what they would accomplish.
Is this movie fast paced and full of excitement? I would have to say no, but if you filmed a movie version of "Macbeth", would it have you on the edge of your seat? Probably not and you might have a difficult time understanding just what the hell they were actually saying. Fantastic story, but you have to take your time with it, it not exactly an action drama is it? Some may feel its slow paced and flat. I could not disagree more vehemently. I found it well paced and with a cast like this one, who wants to rush anything? No, it's not everyone's cup of tea and some may compare it unfairly to "Richard the Third" with Ian McKellen (which was phenomenal AND in the original dialogue) but they're two very different movies. I'll just leave off by saying, if you have ANY interest in Shakespeare, give this a shot, I don't think you'll be disappointed. -
mjneu597 December 2010This self-conscious adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' updates the stage play to an urban crime setting, largely as a vehicle for John Turturro, who gives an atypically overwrought performance in the title role. The film arrived late in what was, at the time, a cycle of big screen gangster dramas, giving it an uncomfortable sense of redundancy even without the blatant similarities to 'The Godfather' (the character of Macbeth is here named Michael, not without coincidence). Writer director William Reilly makes no effort to camouflage the source material, adding nothing new to either the original play or its adapted genre. Even worse, the film has little discernible pace or rhythm: it just sits on the screen like a cheap wax replica of a priceless heirloom.
-
billgreencontracting27 September 2022What starts out as a well rounded, believable cast of mafioso family and associates and what is a pretty decent revenge story with lots of twists is mucked up by spiritual fluff, and a desire to be AL Pacino scarface by the lead man. The spiritual junk that has nothing to do with anything is just totally out of place. The free-fall descent from cold, calculated killers to loony tunes of the main character and his girlfriend makes no sense. Turturros girlfriend starts "sleep-walking" through their garden and talking about what they did is supposed to be believable? Clip about 30 minutes of hoo-hah out and this is a much better movie.
-
It's probably safe to say that the majority of moviegoers in America today cannot carefully outline the plot of Shakespeare's Macbeth (on which this film is based) and probably would wonder why the main characters start chattering on about guilt so often when murder is their business--and you know how agonized John Tuturrro can be when he wants to! The film can't decide whether to be a springboard from the play, a clever re-interpretation, or a mob film with some casual references. And in any case--who was their target audience?
For those who know their bard, the fun of watching this is in the anticipation of familiar scenes or dialogue--gleeful when director Reilly decides to drag the drunken porter in after the murder of the King (read "mob boss" here), or disappointed when Lady L. doesn't go into "Out Damn Spot!!" although she is shown scrubbing her bathtub a la Mommie Dearest.
If you know the plot well, its hard to get into this remake, which isn't quite ludicrous enough to be amusing (anybody remember Ruth Roman as Lady Macbeth in an earlier remake entitled Joe Macbeth?), but is impossible to look at objectively, and thus truly enjoy as a movie experience. I wouldn't say "fly, Fleance, fly! "but neither would I generally recommended this (in spite of a compelling cast and excellent pacing) except as a quirky and often stimulating comparison with the actual play. -
videorama-759-8593911 November 2015Sadly MOR is a mafia pic, that falls under par, of other mafia greats we've come to love. The movie doesn't suffer totally. It had good intentions, and isn't like a lot of other movies. It stands alone, an admiring aspect here, but there are some painfully obvious flaws in a film that could of been better executed as well as explained. It's amateurism is expelled from the latter particularly, as the disjointed aspect is what really made it so. The actors deliver, the film doesn't, and Kathryn Borowitz is bloody sexy. Again this film has been inspired by the tragedy of Macbeth, again an underlying disappointment with that factor, in a film that had potential. Opening with a graphic massacre scene with Turturro and co taking out a few of his competition, surviving this, him and best mate, Farina, on the run, seek refuge, where Turturro's fortune is told, and it's not good. He's taken in by made man, Steiger and co, where he's initiated into their elite mob fraternity. With his beautiful wife harking onto him, to brazenly take out Steiger and co, he does, not really considering the hell that's gonna come raining down on him, where you somehow know (e.g. is seeing Scarface, Oz's Macbeth) he's pretty well sealing his fate, so you pretty know how this chapter will ensue. This film seemed to be an ambitious project, where the investors, whatever, got a bit too head of themselves, and just jumping in, where much more detail, and proper care should of given to the story structure. And at times, this film feels like it's jumps a scene, whatever, story seems patchy, rushed. I felt that particularly with that last scene, and the acute viewer will see a kind of sloppiness, in a film that really could of been something. I'm tempted to give this film a six, but it falls towards a 7, and here I kind of feeling I'm being a little generous, but somehow like the film's title, I kind of feel respectful, indebted to it. Still recommended for mafia lovers though.
-
chinaskee13 August 2001The great thing about the words of Shakespeare is that you can move his works into different periods of history,make it work,and have great fun with it.Ethan Hawkes' rendition of "Hamlet" and Ian McKellan's "Richard III" come to mind as prime examples of great adaptations.This bloodbath,alas,is not.The main problem here is that hardly any of The Bard's words are left in this overwrought gangster film.To even infer,as in the opening credits,that this film is based on Macbeth is a crime in itself.This film is absolutely wretched.John Turturro has never been worse.In fact,there are a number of fine actors here who should have known better.But,I guess that's what you get for trying to mount a production of "Macbeth".The superstition regarding this play that all theater actors are well-versed in,must apply to attempting to put it on screen as well.This is probably the worst film I have seen in weeks.