Rod Steiger is primarily remembered for his tough guys in such films as “Al Capone,” “The Big Knife” and his Oscar-winning performance in “In the Heat of the Night.” But his performances include such diverse characters as a meek Holocaust survivor in “The Pawnbroker” and a fey embalmer in the satire “The Loved One.”
In addition to his performance in “In the Heat of the Night,” for which Steiger also won a Golden Globe as well, he was Oscar-nominated for “The Pawnbroker” and for his iconic performance as the brother of Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) in the back seat of that car in Elia Kazan‘s “On the Waterfront.”
So let’s raise a glass to the late great man and honor him by counting down his 12 greatest screen performances, ranked from worst to best.
In addition to his performance in “In the Heat of the Night,” for which Steiger also won a Golden Globe as well, he was Oscar-nominated for “The Pawnbroker” and for his iconic performance as the brother of Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) in the back seat of that car in Elia Kazan‘s “On the Waterfront.”
So let’s raise a glass to the late great man and honor him by counting down his 12 greatest screen performances, ranked from worst to best.
- 4/6/2024
- by Tom O'Brien, Misty Holland and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
The British actor reflects on a year in which he was ‘everywhere’, from gritty TV drama The Virtues to Martin Scorsese’s starry gangster epic
Merseyside-born Stephen Graham, 46, discovered acting aged eight, before joining Liverpool’s Everyman youth theatre in his teens. His breakthrough role was his Bafta-nominated performance as skinhead Combo in Shane Meadows’s This Is England. His film credits include Snatch, Gangs of New York and the Pirates of the Caribbean series. He also played Al Capone in HBO drama Boardwalk Empire. This year, he’s starred in The Virtues, Line of Duty, Rocketman and The Irishman. He now plays Jacob Marley in the BBC’s new adaptation of A Christmas Carol.
Was A Christmas Carol a story that already meant something to you?
I watched the film with my nanna when I was 10 – the black-and-white one with Alastair Sim as Scrooge – and remember thinking what a brilliant,...
Merseyside-born Stephen Graham, 46, discovered acting aged eight, before joining Liverpool’s Everyman youth theatre in his teens. His breakthrough role was his Bafta-nominated performance as skinhead Combo in Shane Meadows’s This Is England. His film credits include Snatch, Gangs of New York and the Pirates of the Caribbean series. He also played Al Capone in HBO drama Boardwalk Empire. This year, he’s starred in The Virtues, Line of Duty, Rocketman and The Irishman. He now plays Jacob Marley in the BBC’s new adaptation of A Christmas Carol.
Was A Christmas Carol a story that already meant something to you?
I watched the film with my nanna when I was 10 – the black-and-white one with Alastair Sim as Scrooge – and remember thinking what a brilliant,...
- 12/15/2019
- by Michael Hogan
- The Guardian - Film News
Martin Scorsese’s very public criticism of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was huge news for about a week, with the legendary filmmaker’s opinion that these big budget superhero blockbusters weren’t really cinema drawing backlash from fans, as well as thoughtful responses from many people heavily involved in the McU.
Fellow directorial icon Francis Ford Coppola also weighed in with even more scathing comments, but once the furor died down normal service resumed, as the battling factions of Hollywood stars realized that everybody is entitled to their own opinion. However, despite being far too late to the party to the point where the ‘Marvel isn’t cinema’ debate has already been replaced by Baby Yoda as the hottest topic in the movie industry, another name has decided to weigh in with his opinion.
Josh Trank, who broke out in a big way with Chronicle in 2012 before effectively sabotaging his...
Fellow directorial icon Francis Ford Coppola also weighed in with even more scathing comments, but once the furor died down normal service resumed, as the battling factions of Hollywood stars realized that everybody is entitled to their own opinion. However, despite being far too late to the party to the point where the ‘Marvel isn’t cinema’ debate has already been replaced by Baby Yoda as the hottest topic in the movie industry, another name has decided to weigh in with his opinion.
Josh Trank, who broke out in a big way with Chronicle in 2012 before effectively sabotaging his...
- 11/29/2019
- by Scott Campbell
- We Got This Covered
Josh Trank suffered a raw deal when his 2015 Marvel movie “Fantastic Four” failed explosively at the box office and earned a dismal 9% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the “Chronicle” director has emerged on Letterboxd to comment on his own movie — which he reviewed harshly on the cinephile platform.
“The movie is Alright,” Trank wrote in his two-star review of “Fantastic Four,” which was a reportedly disastrous production involving reshoots and on-set drama that spiraled out of control. “I was expecting it to be much worse than it was. I literally haven’t seen it since like two weeks before it came out, and I was in a heavily fucking traumatized state of mind. Why? Eh, save that for another time.
“Anyway, movie review: Great cast. Everyone in the film is a great actor, and overall there is a movie in there, somewhere. And that cast deserves to be in That movie,...
“The movie is Alright,” Trank wrote in his two-star review of “Fantastic Four,” which was a reportedly disastrous production involving reshoots and on-set drama that spiraled out of control. “I was expecting it to be much worse than it was. I literally haven’t seen it since like two weeks before it came out, and I was in a heavily fucking traumatized state of mind. Why? Eh, save that for another time.
“Anyway, movie review: Great cast. Everyone in the film is a great actor, and overall there is a movie in there, somewhere. And that cast deserves to be in That movie,...
- 11/23/2019
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Sneak Peek actor Tom Hardy ("Venom") as iconic gangster 'Al Capone', from director Josh Trank's new feature, chronicling the life of the ruthless Chicago mob boss, prior to his death:
The cast of "Fonzo" (aka "Cicero") also includes Matt Dillon, Kyle MacLachlan, Kathrine Narducci and Linda Cardellini.
Hardy said he has been working closely with Warner Bros, "watching their gangster films — the ones with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson...it’s interesting to get them, and a bit of 'Capone', into the bloodstream…
"The idea isn’t to remake those films but to get a flavor of them as we explore Capone’s career as a racketeer."
A post shared by Tom Hardy (@tomhardy) on Mar 24, 2018 at 7:02pm Pdt
The "Cicero" screenplay was originally written by Walon Green, noted for writing director Sam Peckinpah's classic western "The Wild Bunch".
Actors...
The cast of "Fonzo" (aka "Cicero") also includes Matt Dillon, Kyle MacLachlan, Kathrine Narducci and Linda Cardellini.
Hardy said he has been working closely with Warner Bros, "watching their gangster films — the ones with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson...it’s interesting to get them, and a bit of 'Capone', into the bloodstream…
"The idea isn’t to remake those films but to get a flavor of them as we explore Capone’s career as a racketeer."
A post shared by Tom Hardy (@tomhardy) on Mar 24, 2018 at 7:02pm Pdt
The "Cicero" screenplay was originally written by Walon Green, noted for writing director Sam Peckinpah's classic western "The Wild Bunch".
Actors...
- 10/8/2018
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Al Capone is America’s best known gangster and the single greatest symbol of the collapse of law and order in the United States during the 1920s Prohibition era. Capone had a leading role in the illegal activities that lent Chicago its reputation as a lawless city and an interesting variety of Hollywood stars have had the leading role as Al Capone in the many films that have been made that featured him as a character.
The first film about Capone was produced when he was still making headlines. The main character may be named Antonio Camonte, but there’s little doubt as to who producer Howard Hughes had in mind when he and director Howard Hawks filmed Scarface during the Great Depression. Camonte shares more than the same initials with one Al Capone, who was about to begin his eleven-year sentence for tax evasion when the movie was released...
The first film about Capone was produced when he was still making headlines. The main character may be named Antonio Camonte, but there’s little doubt as to who producer Howard Hughes had in mind when he and director Howard Hawks filmed Scarface during the Great Depression. Camonte shares more than the same initials with one Al Capone, who was about to begin his eleven-year sentence for tax evasion when the movie was released...
- 6/20/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Director Robert Montgomery's last is a war movie like no other, a study in leadership and command with no combat scenes. James Cagney uses none of his standard personality mannerisms; the result is something very affecting. And that music! You'll think the whole show is the memory of a soul in heaven. The Gallant Hours Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1960 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 115 min. / Street Date April 5, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring James Cagney, Dennis Weaver, Ward Costello, Vaughn Taylor, Richard Jaeckel, Les Tremayne, Walter Sande, Karl Swenson, Leon Lontoc, Robert Burton, Carleton Young, Raymond Bailey, Harry Landers, Richard Carlyle, James Yagi, James T. Goto, Carl Benton Reid, Selmer Jackson, Frank Latimore, Nelson Leigh, Herbert Lytton, Stuart Randall, William Schallert, Arthur Tovey, John Zaremba. Cinematography Joseph MacDonald Art Director Wiard Ihnen Original Music Roger Wagner Written by Beirne Lay Jr., Frank D. Gilroy Produced and Directed by Robert Montgomery...
- 4/15/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
(Francesco Rosi, 1963; Eureka!, PG)
In the 1960s, serious Italian cinema led by Fellini, Antonioni and Visconti moved decisively from neorealism into a new phase of more formal and personal movies with a wider social focus. Alongside them was Francesco Rosi, a former lawyer and one-time assistant to Visconti and Antonioni, who made an immediate impression with his film Salvatore Giuliano. A sort of Marxist Citizen Kane, it used the career of the eponymous bandit to anatomise Sicilian society and the role of the Mafia. It was the beginning of a series of political dramas about crime, corruption and exploitation in Italy that occupied Rosi for the next decade. The next one, Le mani sulla città (Hands over the City), took him back to his native Naples and a collaboration with an old friend, Raffaele La Capria.
Most films in this series (Salvatore Giuliano, The Mattei Affair, Lucky Luciano, Christ Stopped...
In the 1960s, serious Italian cinema led by Fellini, Antonioni and Visconti moved decisively from neorealism into a new phase of more formal and personal movies with a wider social focus. Alongside them was Francesco Rosi, a former lawyer and one-time assistant to Visconti and Antonioni, who made an immediate impression with his film Salvatore Giuliano. A sort of Marxist Citizen Kane, it used the career of the eponymous bandit to anatomise Sicilian society and the role of the Mafia. It was the beginning of a series of political dramas about crime, corruption and exploitation in Italy that occupied Rosi for the next decade. The next one, Le mani sulla città (Hands over the City), took him back to his native Naples and a collaboration with an old friend, Raffaele La Capria.
Most films in this series (Salvatore Giuliano, The Mattei Affair, Lucky Luciano, Christ Stopped...
- 4/12/2014
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Development continues on "Cicero" starring actor Tom Hardy ("The Dark Knight Rises") as ruthless 1920's gangster 'Al Capone'.
Hardy said he has been working closely with Warner Bros, "watching their gangster films — the ones with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson...it’s interesting to get them, and a bit of Capone, into the bloodstream… The idea isn’t to remake those films but to get a flavour of them as we explore Capone’s career as a racketeer."
The "Cicero" screenplay is by Walon Green, noted for writing director 'Bloody Sam' Peckinpah's classic western "The Wild Bunch".
Actors previously playing Capone in film include Rod Steiger, "Al Capone" (1959), Neville Brand, "The George Raft Story (1961), Jason Robards, "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967), Buddy Lester, "Poor Devil" (1973), Ben Gazzara, "Capone" (1975), Robert De Niro, "The Untouchables" (1987), Eric Roberts, "The Lost Capone" (1990), Anthony Lapaglia, "Road to Perdition" (2002), Jon Bernthal,...
Hardy said he has been working closely with Warner Bros, "watching their gangster films — the ones with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson...it’s interesting to get them, and a bit of Capone, into the bloodstream… The idea isn’t to remake those films but to get a flavour of them as we explore Capone’s career as a racketeer."
The "Cicero" screenplay is by Walon Green, noted for writing director 'Bloody Sam' Peckinpah's classic western "The Wild Bunch".
Actors previously playing Capone in film include Rod Steiger, "Al Capone" (1959), Neville Brand, "The George Raft Story (1961), Jason Robards, "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967), Buddy Lester, "Poor Devil" (1973), Ben Gazzara, "Capone" (1975), Robert De Niro, "The Untouchables" (1987), Eric Roberts, "The Lost Capone" (1990), Anthony Lapaglia, "Road to Perdition" (2002), Jon Bernthal,...
- 2/25/2014
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Actor Al Ruscio, whose lengthy resume included roles on “Seinfeld,” “Santa Barbara,” “7th Heaven” and many other series, died Tuesday, Ruscio’s longtime manager Judy Fox told TheWrap on Thursday. He was 89. Ruscio died in the arms of his daughter Elizabeth at his home. Also read: Hollywood’s Notable Deaths of 2013 A World War II veteran who fought at D-Day, Ruscio was born in Salem, Mass., and trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse School for the Theater in New York City before heading out to Los Angeles in the 1950s. Early roles included Rod Steiger’s 1958 film “Al Capone,” “Gunsmoke” and “77 Sunset Strip.
- 11/15/2013
- by Tim Kenneally
- The Wrap
According to actor Tom Hardy ("The Dark Knight Rises"), he will play ruthless 1920's gangster 'Al Capone' in the feature "Cicero", to be directed by David Yates, following reshoots of director George Miller's "Mad Max: Fury Road".
Hardy said he has been working with Warner Bros, "watching their gangster films — the ones with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson...it’s interesting to get them, and a bit of Capone, into the bloodstream… The idea isn’t to remake those films but to get a flavour of them as we explore Capone’s career as a racketeer."
The "Cicero" screenplay is by Walon Green, noted for writing director 'Bloody Sam' Peckinpah's classic western "The Wild Bunch".
Actors previously playing Capone in film include Rod Steiger, "Al Capone" (1959), Neville Brand, "The George Raft Story (1961), Jason Robards, "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967), Buddy Lester, "Poor Devil" (1973), Ben Gazzara,...
Hardy said he has been working with Warner Bros, "watching their gangster films — the ones with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson...it’s interesting to get them, and a bit of Capone, into the bloodstream… The idea isn’t to remake those films but to get a flavour of them as we explore Capone’s career as a racketeer."
The "Cicero" screenplay is by Walon Green, noted for writing director 'Bloody Sam' Peckinpah's classic western "The Wild Bunch".
Actors previously playing Capone in film include Rod Steiger, "Al Capone" (1959), Neville Brand, "The George Raft Story (1961), Jason Robards, "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967), Buddy Lester, "Poor Devil" (1973), Ben Gazzara,...
- 9/7/2013
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Martin Balsam: Oscar winner has ‘Summer Under the Stars’ Day on Turner Classic Movies Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winner Martin Balsam (A Thousand Clowns) is Turner Classic Movies’ unusual (and welcome) "Summer Under the Stars" featured player today, August 27, 2013. Right now, TCM is showing Sidney Lumet’s The Anderson Tapes (1971), a box-office flop starring Sean Connery in his (just about) post-James Bond, pre-movie legend days. (Photo: Martin Balsam ca. early ’60s.) Next, is Joseph Sargent’s thriller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974). Written by Peter Stone (Father Goose, Arabesque) from John Godey’s novel, the film revolves around the hijacking of a subway car in New York City. Passengers are held for ransom while police lieutenant Walter Matthau tries to handle the situation. Now considered a classic (just about every pre-1999 movie is considered a "classic" these days), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three was...
- 8/28/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Exclusive: Here’s why I still love movies, even though it has been so many years since I moved from the vaudeville beat at Variety to cover the talkies. Nobodies can become somebodies in the blink of an eye and it happens often enough to give anybody with talent a puncher’s chance. Warner Bros has just made a deal with Tom Shepherd to rewrite Cicero. Since this film has Tom Hardy attached to play Al Capone and is a priority studio project, this is a pretty big break for Shepherd. He has been making a living as a waiter, waiting for his writing career to take off. John Lesher is producing Cicero, and Adam Kassan is exec producing with Leonard Ackerman. It takes a bold new look at the life of an American icon, chronicling the rise of Capone from lowly pimp to the feared gangster called Scarface, who consolidated control over Chicago,...
- 4/3/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
As happened for so many other genres, the 1960s/1970s saw a tremendous creative expansion in crime and cop thrillers. The old Hollywood moguls had died off or retired, most of the major studios were bleeding red ink, attendance had gone off a cliff since the end of Ww II, and a new breed of young, creatively adventurous production executives had been tasked with trying to save their business by coming up with movies which could hook a new, young, cinema-literate audience.
It also happened to be one of the most socially turbulent times in American history. Even before the American public grew restive over the growing disaster in Vietnam, the social fabric was unraveling with self-examination and doubt. The Cold War; a certain inner emptiness that went with a period of great material prosperity; once invisible fault lines on matters of race and gender discrimination beginning to crack – all...
It also happened to be one of the most socially turbulent times in American history. Even before the American public grew restive over the growing disaster in Vietnam, the social fabric was unraveling with self-examination and doubt. The Cold War; a certain inner emptiness that went with a period of great material prosperity; once invisible fault lines on matters of race and gender discrimination beginning to crack – all...
- 3/22/2012
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
A very serious and respected actor leaves behind a stellar body of work. Ben Gazzara worked with John Cassavetes five times and appeared in Road House and The Big Lebowski. I especially liked his take on Al Capone in the Corman-produced Capone in 1975 and his murderous stripclub owner Cosmo Vitelli in Cassavetes’s edgy thriller The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie in 1976. He had pancreatic cancer.
From The New York Times:
Ben Gazzara, an intense actor whose long career included playing Brick in the original Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on Broadway, roles in influential films by John Cassavetes and work with several generations of top Hollywood directors, died on Friday in Manhattan. He was 81. The cause was pancreatic cancer, his lawyer, Jay Julien, said. Mr. Gazzara lived in Manhattan.
Mr. Gazzara studied with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in Manhattan, where the careers of stars like Marlon Brando...
From The New York Times:
Ben Gazzara, an intense actor whose long career included playing Brick in the original Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on Broadway, roles in influential films by John Cassavetes and work with several generations of top Hollywood directors, died on Friday in Manhattan. He was 81. The cause was pancreatic cancer, his lawyer, Jay Julien, said. Mr. Gazzara lived in Manhattan.
Mr. Gazzara studied with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in Manhattan, where the careers of stars like Marlon Brando...
- 2/5/2012
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
They say that the cream always rises to the top and that seems to be the case for Tom Hardy. Having plied his trade in an inferior Star Trek sequel (Nemesis) and a left-of-mainstream biopic (Bronson) he is now picking up bigger and bigger profile roles. With an utterly impressive co-lead performance under his belt for Warrior and an eye-catching supporting role in Nolan’s Inception, Hardy now has The Dark Knight Rises and the altogether very different This Means War for us in 2012.
Bigger and more prominent lead roles were always going to come his way eventually and so now proves to be the case, with news that Hardy is set to play one of the most iconic American gangsters of all time, Al Capone. Cicero, potentially a trilogy showing the rise, reign and fall of Al Capone, has been penned by Walon Green, with David Yates looking at...
Bigger and more prominent lead roles were always going to come his way eventually and so now proves to be the case, with news that Hardy is set to play one of the most iconic American gangsters of all time, Al Capone. Cicero, potentially a trilogy showing the rise, reign and fall of Al Capone, has been penned by Walon Green, with David Yates looking at...
- 1/10/2012
- by Dave Roper
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The St. Louis Globe-Democrat is a monthly newspaper run by Steve DeBellis, a well know St. Louis historian, and it.s the largest one-man newspaper in the world. The concept of The Globe is that there is an old historic headline, then all the articles in that issue are written as though it.s the year that the headline is from. It.s an unusual concept but the paper is now in its 25th successful year! Steve and I collaborated last Spring on an all-Vincent Price issue of The Globe and I.ve been writing a regular monthly movie-related column since. Since there is no on-line version of The Globe, I post all of my articles here at We Are Movie Geeks. This month’s edition of The Globe takes place in 1947. The headline on the cover will scream “Al Capone Dead!” and there will be several articles about the famous gangster.
- 1/10/2012
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
According to actor Tom Hardy ("The Dark Knight Rises"), he will play ruthless 1920's gangster 'Al Capone' in the feature "Cicero", to be directed by David Yates, following his role in director George Miller's "Mad Max: Fury Road".
Hardy said he has been working with Warner Bros, "watching their gangster films — the ones with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson...it’s interesting to get them, and a bit of Capone, into the bloodstream… The idea isn’t to remake those films but to get a flavour of them as we explore Capone’s career as a racketeer."
The "Cicero" screenplay is by Walon Green, noted for writing director 'Bloody Sam' Peckinpah's classic western "The Wild Bunch".
Actors previously playing Capone in film include Rod Steiger, "Al Capone" (1959), Neville Brand, "The George Raft Story (1961), Jason Robards, "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967), Buddy Lester, "Poor Devil" (1973), Ben Gazzara,...
Hardy said he has been working with Warner Bros, "watching their gangster films — the ones with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson...it’s interesting to get them, and a bit of Capone, into the bloodstream… The idea isn’t to remake those films but to get a flavour of them as we explore Capone’s career as a racketeer."
The "Cicero" screenplay is by Walon Green, noted for writing director 'Bloody Sam' Peckinpah's classic western "The Wild Bunch".
Actors previously playing Capone in film include Rod Steiger, "Al Capone" (1959), Neville Brand, "The George Raft Story (1961), Jason Robards, "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967), Buddy Lester, "Poor Devil" (1973), Ben Gazzara,...
- 1/8/2012
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Brian De Palma directed one of the finest sequences of his career in The Untouchables. Ryan takes a look at its Union Station shoot-out…
Brian De Palma's talent often shines brightest in self-contained set-pieces. Think back to the gory fireworks of Carrie, the extraordinarily excessive concluding shoot-out in Scarface, the pool-room stand-off in Carlito’s Way, or even the spectacular exploding John Cassavetes in his seldom discussed 1978 thriller, The Fury. These sequences exemplify De Palma’s brilliance as a creator of suspense or shock – a master of composing, manipulating and assembling images for maximum effect.
For me, that mastery reached its peak in one specific (and obvious) moment in The Untouchables. The movie as a whole ranks alongside Scarface and Carlito’s Way as one of De Palma’s most satisfying mainstream thrillers. But in a film full of stand-out scenes, it’s the Union Station sequence that is inarguably the most memorable.
Brian De Palma's talent often shines brightest in self-contained set-pieces. Think back to the gory fireworks of Carrie, the extraordinarily excessive concluding shoot-out in Scarface, the pool-room stand-off in Carlito’s Way, or even the spectacular exploding John Cassavetes in his seldom discussed 1978 thriller, The Fury. These sequences exemplify De Palma’s brilliance as a creator of suspense or shock – a master of composing, manipulating and assembling images for maximum effect.
For me, that mastery reached its peak in one specific (and obvious) moment in The Untouchables. The movie as a whole ranks alongside Scarface and Carlito’s Way as one of De Palma’s most satisfying mainstream thrillers. But in a film full of stand-out scenes, it’s the Union Station sequence that is inarguably the most memorable.
- 11/16/2011
- Den of Geek
At the same time Warner Bros were pushing an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand under his nose, Harry Potter director David Yates was getting to grips with Cicero, a proposed gangster film (possibly even a trilogy) based on the life and crimes of Al Capone. The epic Warner Bros project, said to be in the vein of the real classics – The Public Enemy, Little Caesar and Angels With Dirty Faces, i.e. – the movies that made Warner Bros back in the 40′s, would follow the rise of Capone during prohibition in Chicago before eventually being taken down because of all things, tax evasion.
Yates wanted to craft The Godfather of the 21st century and fittingly the Walon Green (The Wild Bunch) written script actually originates from the 70′s where it was intended to be a t.v. pilot for a lengthy series. Four decades on the project has...
Yates wanted to craft The Godfather of the 21st century and fittingly the Walon Green (The Wild Bunch) written script actually originates from the 70′s where it was intended to be a t.v. pilot for a lengthy series. Four decades on the project has...
- 11/12/2011
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
Harry Potter director to tackle Al Capone biopic focusing on the gangster's early years and starring Inception actor Tom Hardy
Bronson and Inception actor, Tom Hardy, will play Al Capone in Cicero, an origins story on the Chicago crime boss's rise to power, according to New York magazine's Vulture blog.
Harry Potter director David Yates is set to direct the film for Warner Bros, which is rumoured to be the first of a franchise. If so, it will likely cover Capone's childhood in New York, his teenage years as a member of the infamous Five Points Gang and his move to the southside Chicago suburb of Cicero, where he made millions running illegal speakeasies during Prohibition.
Capone's life story has already inspired a number of Hollywood adaptations. Rod Steiger took a pop at the role in Richard Wilson's 1959 biopic, Robert De Niro gathered his guns for 1987's The Untouchables,...
Bronson and Inception actor, Tom Hardy, will play Al Capone in Cicero, an origins story on the Chicago crime boss's rise to power, according to New York magazine's Vulture blog.
Harry Potter director David Yates is set to direct the film for Warner Bros, which is rumoured to be the first of a franchise. If so, it will likely cover Capone's childhood in New York, his teenage years as a member of the infamous Five Points Gang and his move to the southside Chicago suburb of Cicero, where he made millions running illegal speakeasies during Prohibition.
Capone's life story has already inspired a number of Hollywood adaptations. Rod Steiger took a pop at the role in Richard Wilson's 1959 biopic, Robert De Niro gathered his guns for 1987's The Untouchables,...
- 7/18/2011
- by Henry Barnes
- The Guardian - Film News
Having flew inexplicably under the radar in the minds of Hollywood casting agents for way too long, Tom Hardy (who we’ve pegged pretty much from his days as the baddie from Star Trek: Nemesis a decade ago as the next big thing) is now finally starting to be considered for the parts he should have been offered years ago.
For us, he has taken the mantle away from Christian Bale as the next British actor to take on Hollywood’s most daring roles that will challenge the limits of his physical and mental state, putting himself through the extraordinary to give the extraordinary… and it all comes out in his performances. You just need to watch Bronson and Inception back-to-back to see what this man is capable of, how versatile he is and how much confidence he has in his own abilities right now.
You are going to see...
For us, he has taken the mantle away from Christian Bale as the next British actor to take on Hollywood’s most daring roles that will challenge the limits of his physical and mental state, putting himself through the extraordinary to give the extraordinary… and it all comes out in his performances. You just need to watch Bronson and Inception back-to-back to see what this man is capable of, how versatile he is and how much confidence he has in his own abilities right now.
You are going to see...
- 7/15/2011
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
Actor Tom Hardy ("Inception") is now attached to play 'Scarface Al Capone', the ruthless, Chicago-based, organized crime racketeer, in the developing Warners feature "Cicero".
The "Cicero" screenplay is by Walon Green, noted for writing director 'Bloody Sam' Peckinpah's classic western "The Wild Bunch".
Actors previously playing Capone in film include Rod Steiger, "Al Capone" (1959), Neville Brand, "The George Raft Story (1961), Jason Robards, "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967), Buddy Lester, "Poor Devil" (1973), Ben Gazzara, "Capone" (1975), Robert De Niro, "The Untouchables" (1987), Eric Roberts, "The Lost Capone" (1990), Anthony Lapaglia, "Road to Perdition" (2002), Jon Bernthal, "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" (2009) and Stephen Graham,"Boardwalk Empire" (2010).
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek the real "Al Capone"...
The "Cicero" screenplay is by Walon Green, noted for writing director 'Bloody Sam' Peckinpah's classic western "The Wild Bunch".
Actors previously playing Capone in film include Rod Steiger, "Al Capone" (1959), Neville Brand, "The George Raft Story (1961), Jason Robards, "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967), Buddy Lester, "Poor Devil" (1973), Ben Gazzara, "Capone" (1975), Robert De Niro, "The Untouchables" (1987), Eric Roberts, "The Lost Capone" (1990), Anthony Lapaglia, "Road to Perdition" (2002), Jon Bernthal, "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" (2009) and Stephen Graham,"Boardwalk Empire" (2010).
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek the real "Al Capone"...
- 7/15/2011
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Warner Bros, Hollywood’s famous home of the classic American gangster picture, the studio that made James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart bigger than the tommy-gun, pin-stripe suit wearing real life villains they were portraying – are hot right now on two projects they hope will revive a forgotten genre. One appropriately titled Tales From The Gangster Squad and the other a straight laced biopic of the notorious Al Capone.
Firstly – WB are looking to bring Paul Lieberman’s series of 2008 articles in the L.A. Times concerning the ‘off-the-record’ and questionable L.A.P.D. of the 1940′s and their influence from the East Coast Mafia to the screen, and now the project is finally taking shape after six months of trying as a greenlight has been handed out.
Deadline say multiple Oscar winner Sean Penn has been offered the role of Mickey Cohen, a violent muscle man...
Firstly – WB are looking to bring Paul Lieberman’s series of 2008 articles in the L.A. Times concerning the ‘off-the-record’ and questionable L.A.P.D. of the 1940′s and their influence from the East Coast Mafia to the screen, and now the project is finally taking shape after six months of trying as a greenlight has been handed out.
Deadline say multiple Oscar winner Sean Penn has been offered the role of Mickey Cohen, a violent muscle man...
- 3/30/2011
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
Leave it to The Daily Beast to get Scorsese talking about films. Not that it would be hard to do. The man is “Mr. Cinema.” He directs, produces and he even has his own nonprofit organization for preserving classic films, The Film Foundation. The director may have toyed with other genres during his lifetime, but the one people would discuss aplenty is his contributions to crime cinema. To think of Scorsese is to think of Goodfellas, Casino and The Departed, despite also directing films like After Hours and The Last Temptation of Christ. As he turns his attention to the small screen with HBO’s Boardwalk Empire – touted as being the network’s costliest production to date – the director lists off his 15 favorite gangster movies. Scorsese writes:
“Here are 15 gangster pictures that had a profound effect on me and the way I thought about crime and how to portray it on film.
“Here are 15 gangster pictures that had a profound effect on me and the way I thought about crime and how to portray it on film.
- 9/17/2010
- by thedvdlounge
- Examiner Movies Channel
Thanks to new interest in prohibition-era 'gangsters', spurred on by Martin Scorsese's upcoming HBO series "Boardwalk Empire", Warners has acquired the screenplay "Cicero", based on the rise of 'Scarface Al Capone', the ruthless, Chicago-based, organized crime racketeer.
The "Cicero" screenplay is by Walon Green, noted for writing director 'Bloody Sam' Peckinpah's classic western "The Wild Bunch".
Actor James Gandolfini, at age 49, although maybe considered 'too old' for the part, is still the top commercial/critical choice to play Capone.
Gandolfini has been looking for the right feature to showcase his considerable charm and acting skills, following his 3-time Emmy, television turn as 'Tony Soprano' on HBO's "The Sopranos".
Other actors that previously played Capone in film include Rod Steiger in "Al Capone" (1959), Neville Brand in "The George Raft Story (1961), Jason Robards in "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967), Buddy Lester in "Poor Devil" (1973), Ben Gazzara in "Capone" (1975), Robert De Niro...
The "Cicero" screenplay is by Walon Green, noted for writing director 'Bloody Sam' Peckinpah's classic western "The Wild Bunch".
Actor James Gandolfini, at age 49, although maybe considered 'too old' for the part, is still the top commercial/critical choice to play Capone.
Gandolfini has been looking for the right feature to showcase his considerable charm and acting skills, following his 3-time Emmy, television turn as 'Tony Soprano' on HBO's "The Sopranos".
Other actors that previously played Capone in film include Rod Steiger in "Al Capone" (1959), Neville Brand in "The George Raft Story (1961), Jason Robards in "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967), Buddy Lester in "Poor Devil" (1973), Ben Gazzara in "Capone" (1975), Robert De Niro...
- 9/16/2010
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Warner Bros. is moving forward with the Al Capone origins story "Cicero," from a script by longtime film and TV writer Walon Green.According to Variety, John Lesher will produce with Adam Kassan executive producing through their company Le Grisbi Productions. Leonard Ackerman, a producer on Warner Bros.' 1959 film "Al Capone," which saw Rod Steiger play the title role, will also executive produce.The film will be reminiscent of the classic gangster films that Warner Bros. released in the 1930s including "Little Caesar," which starred Edward G. Robinson and "The Public Enemy," which starred James Cagney. "Cicero" will follow Capone's rise from the Brooklyn slums to the head of the criminal underworld in Chicago during Prohibition, when his gang ran casinos...
- 9/15/2010
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
Warner Bros is jumping at the opportunity to bring Al Capone's origins to the big screen. They picked up the screenplay by television and film writer Walon Green. The script entitled "Cicero" is said to focus on Capone's rise from the slums of Brooklyn to the head of the criminal underworld in Chicago during Prohibition, when his gang operated casinos and speakeasies throughout the city. In order to operate outside Chicago city limits, the gangster set up headquarters in suburban Cicero, Illinois, where he famously took over the city government in 1924.Locked in to produce the feature is John Lesher with Leonard Ackerman attached as executive producer. Ackerman previously produced the 1959 Warner Bros film "Al Capone". Word has ti that this production will be a reversion to the kind of gangster films studios like Warner Bros used to spit out back in the '30s.The films on the...
- 9/14/2010
- LRMonline.com
Warner Bros. Pictures has bought Walon Green's screenplay about Al Capone's origins titled Cicero , reports Variety . The script details "Capone's rise from the slums of Brooklyn to the head of the criminal underworld in Chicago during Prohibition, when his gang operated casinos and speakeasies throughout the city. In order to operate outside Chicago city limits, the gangster set up headquarters in suburban Cicero, Ill., where he famously took over the city government in 1924." John Lesher is set to produce with Adam Kassan executive producing through their company Le Grisbi Productions. Leonard Ackerman, a producer on Warner Bros.' 1959 film Al Capone , is attached to executive produce.
- 9/14/2010
- Comingsoon.net
The Untouchables is the classic crime TV series that ran from 1959 to 1963 on ABC, based on the novel by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, following the adventures of Ness, the Prohibition agent, who fought gangsters in 1930's Chicago with the help of a special team of agents nicknamed the 'Untouchables'. The mostly violent stories revolved around Ness' enmity with the criminal empire of Chicago mob boss 'Al Capone', starring actor Robert Stack as Ness and Bruce Gordon as 'Frank Nitti'. Desilu produced 118 episodes, introduced by radio newsman Walter Winchell, featuring memorable orchestrated theme music by Nelson Riddle. Notable guest-stars included actors Jack Lord, Lee Marvin, James Caan, Mike Connors, Martin Balsam, Peter Falk, Telly Savalas, Lee Van Cleef, Charles Bronson, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York. Click on any of the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek a clip from an episode of The Untouchables.
- 9/7/2009
- HollywoodNorthReport.com
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