The Funeral [Region 2]

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Starring: Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Annabella Sciorra, Isabella Rossellini, Vincent Gallo
Directed By: Abel Ferrara

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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 3357805000856
Format: Anamorphic
Region Code: 2
Theatrical Release Date: 1996-11-01

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Editorial Reviews:

In this period family drama set in the Depression-era world of organized crime, director Abel Ferrara (King of New York, Bad Lieutenant) weaves a dark and impressive morality tale of revenge and family loyalty. Christopher Walken plays Ray Tempio, a low-level mobster who with his unstable younger brother Chez (played by Chris Penn) plots revenge for a rival mob's assassination of their younger brother. As they contend with their families--Ray's wife, Jeanette (Annabella Sciorra), who pleads with Ray to forego avenging his brother's death, and Clara (Isabella Rossellini), who has to cope with the unraveling and increasingly paranoid Chez--the struggle between family loyalty and the insatiable drive of revenge leads to tragic consequences. This is a raw, stark, and affecting film with fine ensemble acting and powerful direction from one of the independent film world's most original voices. --Robert Lane

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Customer Rating:

Summary: Vincent Gallo is Great
Comment: "The Funeral" is a mob movie. However, it's different from many other mob movies you'll see. It's got a different premise, different dialogue, same actors.
You won't find Marlon Brando or Robert DeNiro here, but I think Christopher Walken fills in nicely. The Funeral is kind of like The Godfather mixed with Eulogy. Both of those films are completely different movies (one's a Best Picture winner with Al Pacino, the other is a forgotten comedy with Ray Romano) but I like that analogy so I'll continue. The movie opens in a house where several obvious members of organized crime are gathering around a coffin that contains a guy named Johnny (Vincent Gallo, 'Buffalo 66' & 'The Brown Bunny'). Johnny has recently been killed and through flashbacks we see some events leading up to Johnny's death and his brothers
Ray (Walken) and Chez's (the late great Chris Penn) search for Johnny's killer. While there's really nothing to say about much of the plot, there's plenty to say about the performances and about the script. The script for the film is really good and it's unlike any mob movie before it. The dialogue is quite different, as is the whole mood of the film. This is the first mob movie I've seen where a character, in this case Ray, is about to kill the man responsible for Johnny's death but firsts asks him why he did it. When the guy gives Ray an answer that is quite surprising, Ray almost doesn't kill him. Ray gives the guy a chance to explain himself. Now, that's something I've never seen before. Chris Penn's character Chez is completely different, he's crazy over his brother's death and appears to be slightly unstable. Then there's Vincent Gallo. While Gallo has established himself more as the writer/director/b.j. reciever for the controversial movie "The Brown Bunny"
and is best known for either that film of "Buffalo 66" his prior acting gigs have been overlooked. The only movie I saw with him acting and not writing/directing was "Palookaville" where he was quite good. Here, Gallo delivers one of his best performances. First of all, regular people will know who Christopher Walken and Chris Penn are before Vincent Gallo; but Gallo manages to hold his own against the two Hollywood Heavyweights. Gallo gets really into the character, says his dialogue perfectly, he has the look for it. Well, anyway, besides not just being a regular mob movie which makes it unique; it's also entertaining, has a great ending, and is completely overlooked by people. If you've liked movies like The Godfather, Goodfellas, Casino, or the TV show The Sopranos; you should be quite fond of finding something different here.

GRADE: A-

Customer Rating:

Summary: extremely disappointed
Comment: DON'T BE FOOLED!!! first let me say that i am a big fan of Bad Lieutenant,King of New York and Christopher Walken.who doesn't already know that Walken,Penn,Del Torro,and Gallo are already great actors? of course they are good but that does not make it a reason to see this worthless piece of trash.Ferrara directs this movie at a snail's pace and makes you not care about the characters.he tries but to no avail.i had heard such great things about this movie and after watching this i find myself wondering why.i won't go into any detail because i refuse to waste another few minutes on this disappointing film.so don't believe the hype.don't be fooled by the great cast.they're seriously wasted amongst this turd.consider yourself warned.

Customer Rating:

Summary: The (...) scene
Comment: I enjoy almost every thing that Christopher Walken is involved in so too this mob film. However, does anyone else remember that when this film was released, there was a rumor, that the (...) scene was....................real?

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Summary: Quiet Is The New Loud
Comment: Although slow and somber, "The Funeral" is also an unsettling, intense, captivating and impressive movie. The story focuses the relationship between three brothers from the mob, and their reaction to the death of one of their own.

This isn`t a typical picture about the mafia, one that focuses multiple chase sequences, gun shootings and random betrayals. Instead, director Abel Ferrara prefers to showcase the dramas and flaws of the characters, presenting a powerful cinematic experience about guilt, family, loyalty, union and choices.
It`s not an easy movie to get into, but it`s surely an original and worthwile one. It`s also way too depressing, still very well crafted, managing to be moving, poignant and emotionally heavy without getting melodramatic or over-sentimentalized.

Ferrara creates a gritty, realistic and claustrophobic atmosphere, making for an addictive and memmorable movie. The cast is first rate, including Christopher Walken, Chris Penn and Vincent Gallo (creepy as always) among others.
Don`t be afraid to enter this funeral.

Customer Rating:

Summary: powerful performances
Comment: an all star cast led by Christopher Walken and Chris Penn,this movie is a classic and a rare work of art.Annabella Sciorra,Isabella Rossellini,Benicio Del Toro all give powerful performances is this gangland epic.

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