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. . . . . . Everything seems to conspire against me updating the site. I couldn’t let it go any longer without mentioning a cool find on Youtube. For some reason a company called ‘Crackle’ has posted the entire film ‘Crazy Joe’ on Youtube. This is significant because to the best of my knowledge, ‘Crazy Joe’ has never been released on DVD. The only home versions of the film were some crummy looking VHS fullscreen releases. While the HD Youtube |
| video doesn’t look as good as a Widescreen DVD release can, it still looks pretty good and even better it is in Widescreen and it is uncut. You may not be familiar with ‘Crazy Joe’ but if you are a fan of the late, great, actor, Peter Boyle (pictured above from 'Crazy Joe',) you will be in for a bit of a treat. (This film, by the way, is not to be confused with the similarly titled ‘Joe’, which also features Boyle.) 'Crazy Joe' is based loosely on the exploits of mobster “crazy” Joe Gallo but those who are big on the real life Gallo will be disappointed at the creative liberties the story takes. Backing up Boyle is a strong cast including Fred Williamson, Rip Torn, Eli Wallach, and an early onscreen appearance by a young looking Henry Winkler. The movie is a fast paced, violent mob-action film this better than its almost nonexistent reputation. Director Carlo Lizzani loses some of the pace around the halfway point and after the strong first half; the conclusion seems a bit weak. You may want to be aware that the pacing, violence, and tone plays more like a European action film than an American Mafia epic. This is in part due to ‘Crazy Joe’ being a largely European production. Interestingly enough, a TV Guide review (located HERE) of the film says that Boyle is never refereed to by name to avoid problems with the Gallo family. Actually, Joe Gallo seems like he would be a great subject for a new film as he was quite the character. You read some about him at the Wikipedia page HERE. 'Crazy Joe's IMDb page is HERE. Crackle does not allow their videos to be embedded in websites so you have to check it out at Youtube HERE (or by clicking the above photo.) Anyway if you are game, give ‘Crazy Joe’ a try and see it while you can! -Nate |
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