Carlito's Way

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Movie
German title Carlito's Way
Original title Carlito's Way
Carlito's Way Logo.png
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1993
length 145 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Brian De Palma
script Edwin Torres (novel),
David Koepp
production Martin Bregman ,
Michael Scott Bregman ,
Willi Bär
music Patrick Doyle
camera Stephen H. Burum
cut Kristina Boden ,
Bill Pankow
occupation

Carlito's Way is an American gangster film directed by Brian De Palma in 1993 . It is a film adaptation of the second book After Hours from Edwin Torres ' series of books about the criminal life of Carlito Brigante. The title of the first book Carlito's Way was taken to a mix-up with Martin Scorsese's After Hours (After Hours) to avoid from the 1985th

action

The film begins with former Puerto Rican mafioso Carlito Brigante being gunned down. In a flashback, he remembers how he got into this situation. A few years ago he was sentenced to thirty years in prison. However, his shady lawyer David Kleinfeld was able to get him out of jail after five years due to procedural errors. Carlito thanks Kleinfeld profusely and tells him that he will be eternally grateful to him. Carlito has a close friendship with Kleinfeld. Through the mediated contacts to organized crime, Kleinfeld was able to expand his business during Carlito's imprisonment.

After his release from prison, Carlito desperately wants to get out of the criminal business and start a new life, but he still lacks the necessary money. He has the dream of emigrating to an old friend on Paradise Island, Bahamas and buying $ 75,000 in his car rental there. Shortly after his release, he inadvertently drives to a drug store with his young cousin, who works as an errand boy for a local gangster. Because of his instincts, Carlito has a very uneasy feeling there from the start and is right: his cousin is murdered by his boss's business partners, and Carlito has to shoot the gangsters in self-defense. He takes the $ 30,000 that his dead cousin brought to the drug dealers and goes to a nightclub to make the necessary money.

Carlito's attorney Kleinfeld is meanwhile being blackmailed by the mafia boss Taglialucci, who is imprisoned on a prison ship. He should organize his escape, otherwise he would be murdered. Taglialucci has Kleinfeld in hand because he has kept a million dollars of mafia money for himself instead of using it to bribe judges and juries. The public prosecutor's office is now trying to incite Carlito into a drug deal with an agent provocateur . He exposes the traitor, but leaves him alive.

In the nightclub run by Carlito, there is an argument with the young gangster Benny Blanco, who claims the company of a certain waitress, who is having sex with Kleinfeld in the men's room. Carlito has him thrown out, but not killed by his friend Pachanga, because he wants to leave his criminal past behind him, although Benny makes it clear to him that he will kill him as revenge for the expulsion.

Carlito gets closer to his ex-girlfriend Gail and is able to convince her to emigrate with him to the Bahamas. However, there is a dispute between the two, because Kleinfeld asked Carlito to accompany him on the escape of the mafia boss from the prison ship on Kleinfeld's boat and to fish the mafia boss out of the water. Kleinfeld himself has become more and more unreliable and uncontrollable due to his addiction to cocaine. The son of the boss Frankie Taglialucci is also present at the rescue operation. Gail pleads with Carlito not to participate in Kleinfeld's ventures, but he feels obliged to Kleinfeld. Gail predicts Carlito that one day at three in the morning she will be standing next to him in the emergency room because gangsters shot him down.

During the night everything goes according to plan, but Kleinfeld does not pull Taglialucci out of the water, instead kills him and kills his son Frankie Taglialucci. Carlito knows that the Mafia will take revenge, especially since Taglialucci has another son: Vincent "Vinnie" Taglialucci. He breaks off the friendship with Kleinfeld and says that they are even.

The next day there was an assassination attempt on Kleinfeld, which he survived with serious injuries. Carlito now apologizes to Gail and learns that he is pregnant. Prosecutor Norwalk informs Carlito that Kleinfeld has been investigated for a long time for corruption and bribery and that some time ago he offered to testify under oath that Carlito was again dealing in drugs, which the prosecutor recognized as a lie. Carlito is now supposed to testify against Kleinfeld because of the double murder of the Mafia boss and his son. Carlito refuses and instead wants to leave the city by train with Gail that evening. He wants to flee to Miami and from there to fly to the Bahamas. They arrange to meet at 11.30 p.m. at the train station where the train leaves.

Kleinfeld is now under police protection in the hospital. Carlito immediately recognizes a gangster in a policeman waiting in the hallway who is supposed to relieve his colleague in a few minutes. In fact, it's Vinnie Taglialucci. In the hospital room, Carlito speaks to Kleinfeld about his betrayal, but he only scoffs at Carlito's code of honor. Outwardly, Carlito remains calm and even shows Kleinfeld how he can most effectively kill a killer who storms into the room with his revolver and then goes on with the sarcastic words that Kleinfeld has a great future ahead of him. Shortly afterwards, Vinnie Taglialucci comes into the room and points a pistol at Kleinfeld, who can quickly grab his weapon, but has to discover that Carlito has removed the cartridges from the drum unnoticed. Vinnie shoots Kleinfeld in revenge for the murder of his father and brother.

However, Vinnie also wants to kill Carlito, as the Mafia is sure that he was on the boat and helped with the murder. He shows up with other gangsters in Carlito's nightclub and initially engages him in a small talk. Carlito can escape through a hatch in the floor with the $ 70,000 he has saved. A chase ensues as far as New York's Grand Central Station , where Carlito can shoot all the gangsters except Vinnie. Already seriously injured, he was shot dead by the approaching police.

Happy Carlito runs up to Gail, who is already waiting for him with his friend Pachanga, but suddenly Carlito's adversary Benny Blanco appears and shoots Carlito three times in the stomach. Pachanga betrayed Carlito to him, but is also shot by Benny. Carlito gives Gail the $ 70,000 and asks her to leave town with his unborn child, then he dies.

criticism

"The tightly staged film loses its appeal due to the exclusive concentration on gangster film clichés, which the furious, in-depth final scene cannot change."

- Lexicon of international film

"Sean Penn plays this small field [...] with such profound brilliance that the continuous theatrical duel between him and Pacino is half the pleasure of" Carlito's Way ". [...] De Palma demonstrates that he is still the greatest among the Hitchcock adepts when it comes to fueling up and exhausting a classic suspense situation or a chase. "

- Urs Jenny : The mirror

Awards

The film received two nominations for a Golden Globe Award in 1994 :

The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating particularly valuable.

Prequel

In 2005 the prequel Carlito’s Way - Rise to Power (German: Carlito's Way - Weg zur Macht ) was published, which tells Carlito Brigante's story. The film was not shown in cinemas, but was only available on DVD.

Novels

  • Edwin Torres: Carlito's Way . 395 pages, 1975, ISBN 0-380-72287-9 - The prequel film Carlito's Way is based on this novel .
  • Edwin Torres: After Hours . 480 pages, 1979, ISBN 0-385-27000-3 - The film Carlito's Way is based on this novel .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Carlito's Way. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ Urs Jenny : Vom Knast ins Paradies , in: Der Spiegel No. 9/1994, accessed on October 28, 2013