★ 9 / 10
* **Paradise Alley** marks the Directorial Debut of
The Parsi Prince
* **Paradise Alley** marks the Directorial Debut of **Sylvester Stallone**. It is a highly under-rated period piece, set in 1940's Hell's Kitchen, (where…
* **Paradise Alley** marks the Directorial Debut of **Sylvester Stallone**. It is a highly under-rated period piece, set in 1940's Hell's Kitchen, (where Stallone was born in New York), about the three Carboni brothers and the sibling rivalry they endure against the backdrop of professional wrestling.
* Featuring a breath-taking opening sequence involving rooftops with parkour-like free running and Cinematography by renowned DP László Kovács (F.I.S.T.) It also has an amazing soundtrack by Bill Conti of _Rocky_ fame with the title track, "Too Close to Paradise" sung by Sylvester Stallone. There are also songs by Frank Stallone, Jr and Tom Waits.
* There is a tender story of romance, fraternal exploitation and familial redemption. There are some famous wrestlers like Dory and Terry Funk (Over the Top).
* It co-stars Armand Assante (The Lords of Flatbush and Judge Dredd) and Golden Gloves Champion Lee Canalito, as well as Godfather to Sage Stallone, Joe Spinell (The Godfather 1 & 2, Farewell My Lovely, Rocky 1 & 2 and Nighthawks).
* Very Notable as _Old Glory_ is Frank McRae (F.I.S.T., Rocky II and Lock Up) who is strong, empathic and full of pathos.
> Director John Landis (Deathrace 2000 and Oscar) uses an homage in Trading Places (1983) with Eddie Murphy copying Cosmo Carboni (Stallone) as a disabled war vet begging on the streets of Philadelphia, complete with the Rocky statue.
> The only negative is the use of racial slurs that spoils what would have been a masterpiece. This is similar to a rant in The Lords of Flatbush four years earlier, which is a shame.
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★ 7 / 10
Under Rated and Forgotten Movie
slightlymad22
Continuing my plan to watch every Sly Stallone movie in order, I come to to one of his most under rated movies. After rewriting the script to 'F.I.S.T' Sly…
Continuing my plan to watch every Sly Stallone movie in order, I come to to one of his most under rated movies. After rewriting the script to 'F.I.S.T' Sly went the full hog, and wrote, acted, directed and sings (Yes sings!! AndI think the style of music suits his voice well) the opening title track.
Plot In A Paragraph: The film tells the story of the three brothers Cosmo (Stallone) Lenny (Armand Assante) and Victor (Lee Canalito) in Hell's Kitchen, New York City in the 1940s who become involved in professional wrestling.
The tag line for this movie read "Three brothers... One had the brains, one had the muscle and one had the suit. Together they had a million dollar dream."
Sly isn't "the muscle" you would expect him to play here, but the con-man brother "The brains" and I think he does a decent job as the fast talking Cosmo, Assante is very impressive in his first movie role, and Canalito (whilst not the most gifted actor) has a real charm to him, as the sweet natured, but tough as nails Victor, who dreams of leaving Hells Kitchen and living on a houseboat with his girlfriend. Kevin Conway and Frank McRae both of who starred with Stallone in 'F.I.S.T' appear here, as does Joe Spinell, who had a role opposite Stallone in 'Rocky'.
Sly seems to be trying to add a bit of everything at his first attempt at directing, Action, drama, love, laughs and an underdog story. It's almost as if he was worried he may not get another chance to direct again, and wanted to try his hand at everything. He probably got his shot at directing this movie, for the same reasons a lot of actors get a shot at directing. They are hot property. But for some reason (like with his previous movie the brilliant F.I.S.T) audiences stayed away from this. I would recommend anyone to check it out!!
As a side note: He actually wrote this before 'Rocky' and tried to sell it to producers for years, to no avail. Once 'Rocky' became a smash hit, producers were willing to look at the script, and Universal Pictures green-lighted the production.
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★ 6 / 10
Wonderfully Bad
imbluzclooby
I have to admit that this film to many critics was a turgid mess, but I cannot help but enjoy and have true sentimentality for it. You have to watch Paradise…
I have to admit that this film to many critics was a turgid mess, but I cannot help but enjoy and have true sentimentality for it. You have to watch Paradise Alley when you are in the right kind of mood. What mood is that? The mood I was in when I saw it on TV years ago.
It's got heart, good wrestling, believable characters, funny moments, a couple of hot babes, suspense and a bit of violence. It even has a good "Rocky" feel ending that wins your heart ending with a strong ballad. This is entertainment and who cares if it doesn't live up to any purists idea of good film-making. It's fun. If this movie were to be redone it might have a chance at the Oscars. It's quirky and offbeat and contains all the elements to get your moneys worth.
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