Set among the Italian-American community of Manhattan and adapted by Vincent Patrick from his own novel, 1984's The Pope of Greenwich Village just about gets by on its charm. It stars Mickey Rourke as Charlie, a small-time grafter who is on the point of making his big move and breakaway. Unfortunately, the pull of family ties means that he's hampered by his cousin Paulie (Eric Roberts), an ambitious and excitable idiot who manages to cock up absolutely everything he turns his hand to, bringing down Charlie with him every time. After he gets the pair of them sacked from a restaurant, Paulie helps set up a safecracking deal with older hand Kenneth MacMillan. Trouble is, they’re robbing the local mafia boss.
Rourke and Roberts' relationship is modelled closely on that of Harvey Keitel and Robert DeNiro in Scorcese's Mean Streets, only without quite the same harrowing consequences. This being the 1980s there's much De Niro-esque methodology, which generally consists of repeating lines at least twice ("Fix your tie! Fix your tie!"). The element of improv sees the film veer off course occasionally, while Darryl Hannah is her usual oddly semi-detached self in the role of Rourke's girlfriend. However, it's Roberts' performance as the exasperating and energetic Paulie which carries the film, with solid support from numerous Goodfellas and Sopranos regulars.
On the DVD:The Pope of Greenwich Village arrives on disc in a decent enough but hardly pristine print. The sole extra is the original trailer, which means the only real benefit of acquiring this on DVD is storage convenience. --David Stubbs
Release Date: May 6, 2002 Audio:
Mono
Video:
1.85 Wide Screen
Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, French, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish Features:
Original Theatrical Trailer Interactive Menu Chapter Selection
Movie Database
DVD Home
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