- De Niro plays both Vito Genovese and Frank Costello
- Goodfellas writer Nicolas Pileggi has written the film’s script
- Shogun star Cosmo Jarvis also stars
The most dangerous enemy is an old friend. The tagline of ‘The Alto Knights’ could very well be true for Robert De Niro taking on Barry Levinson’s mob thriller about the deadly feud between rival mafia dons Vito Genovese and Frank Costello.
Because De Niro, at 81years of age, is playing both lead roles.
Of course, the octogenarian, two-time Oscar winner is a master at crafting iconic organised crime figures on the silver screen, as he did with his Academy Award winning turn as a young Vito Corleone in The Godfather II, as Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas, Ace Rothstein in Casino and Frank Sheeran in The Irishman. However, playing both leads instead of having another Hollywood heavyweight to spar with feels like quite an unnecessary undertaking for Bobby D.
The Alto Knights focuses on Vito Genovese’s attempt at cementing himself as the Capo di tutti i capi (Boss of Bosses) in 1957 by having Albert Anastasia and Frank Costello assassinated. While Anastasia was laid out on the floor of a Midtown barbershop in Manhattan, riddled with 10 bullet holes and draped in white towels, Costello was only wounded by gunfire from Vincent ‘Chin’ Gigante, but rather than retaliate, retired from organised crime (although he still retained a large amount of power and influence among New York’s criminal underworld until his death in 1973).
With a script penned by Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy and subsequent co-writer of Goodfellas and a supporting cast featuring Shogun protagonist Cosmo Jarvis, Emmy winner Debra Messing (of Will and Grace fame) and Sopranos alumni Katherine Narducci, Michael Rispoli and Matt Servitto, there is plenty going for The Alto Knights, but how it stacks up against the previous mob classics De Niro has starred in remains to be seen.
With a script penned by Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy and subsequent co-writer of Goodfellas and a supporting cast featuring Shogun protagonist Cosmo Jarvis, Emmy winner Debra Messing (of Will and Grace fame) and Sopranos alumni Katherine Narducci, Michael Rispoli and Matt Servitto, there is plenty going for The Alto Knights, but how it stacks up against the previous mob classics De Niro has starred in remains to be seen.
The trailer is promising enough, however, so roll on March 21 for when we can judge for ourselves how The Alto Knights stacks up against the classic mafia works that are so prominent in De Niro’s pantheon of iconic performances.
Director Levinson, who has the likes of Good Morning, Vietnam, Rain Man and Disclosure under his belt has worked with De Niro three times before; on Sleepers, Wag the Dog and What Just Happened. Here’s hoping The Alto Knights is more Wag The Dog and Sleepers than What Just Happened.
