Pssst, want to check out Paradise Alley in our new look?
Information
- Year
- 1978
- Runtime
- 107 min.
- Director
- Sylvester Stallone
- Genre
- Drama
- Rating *
- 5.8
- Votes *
- 2,853
- Checks
- 187
- Favs
- 7
- Dislikes
- 4
- Favs/checks
- 3.7% (1:27)
- Favs/dislikes
- 2:1
Top comments
-
Zeltaebar
Paradise Alley was a pleasant surprise. I did not expect Stallone's directorial debut to be so crafty and emotionally charged, especially not after hearing him sing, though not that badly, during the opening credits.
I assumed I was heading for a vanity project, but the writing is pretty solid all the way through (not counting a few of Cosmo's embarrasing jokes which reminds us too much of Rocky - a far superior character) and we are treated to an interesting story of three Italian brothers, down on their luck, trying to turn things around for themselves - in slummy Hell's Kitchen.
Stallone does a great job on all fronts, but the star players in this tale is not him (so no vanity project after all), it is actually the amazing acting debut of Lee Canalito who gives a funny, heart-warming performance as the strong, but dim-witted younger brother, and Armand Assante truly shines as the crippled war veteran who puts dead, unclaimed bodies into boxes for a living. He is wonderfully subtle in the first half of the movie, but slightly one-note towards the end.
There are some romantic entanglements along the way which provide a handful of scenes with excellent performances from the acting ensemble, but they are really secondary to the main plot which revolves around the wrestling career of the youngest brother.
The final climax could have been handled a little better as the fight itself and the lack of any resoultion to the quarrels and dreams of the brothers felt missing, as well as some embarrasing slapstick-comedy on the behalf of the Sticky-character. All in all, though, as I said, a pleasant surprise. 8 years 10 months ago