Carlito's Way - Ultimate Edition | Al Pacino, Sean Penn | Excellent, one of Pacino's best...

Carlito's Way - Ultimate Edition | Al Pacino, Sean Penn | Awesome

DVDs:

Carlito's Way - Ul...

	Carlito's Way - Ultimate Edition Al Pacino, Sean Penn Universal Studios, 2005 average customer review:based on 147 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Excellent, one of Pacino's best performances

The first collaboration between director Brian De Palma and Al Pacino since Scarface, Carlito's Way boasts one of the best performances to ever be captured from legendary actor Pacino. The storyline can be summed up as a "what if Tony Montana wanted to go straight" kind of deal, and it works exceptionally. When Carlito (Pacino) is released from prison at the beginning of the film, he vows to go straight and forever leave behind his criminal past. He dreams of retiring to the islands with his estranged girlfriend (Penelope Ann Miller), but that's easier said than done as he finds that not many people can leave a life of crime behind alive, and his loyalties may prove to be his undoing. Carlito's Way is one of De Palma's best films, riding on Pacino's shoulders as he gives a knockout performance, while Sean Penn is perfectly cast as his sleaze ball lawyer. All in all, if you've never seen this film, I strongly recommend it, and seeing a modern day acting legend like Pacino give his best is enough reason to see this.

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Awesome

Need I say more. Best movie - my number one fave of all time.

Dirty $$$

i checked out this one about 3 years ago after first seeing pacino in The Godfather's & Scarface so decided to give it a chance. Good thing i did cuz it's a pretty damn good flick...

Third time's the charm?

There was a lot of anticipation when Carlito's Way was released in 1993. Director Brian De Palma had just come off a lukewarm reception for yet another Hitchcock homage, Raising Cain and was in need of a hit to appease the studios. And so, a re-teaming with Al Pacino in an effort to recreate the magic of Scarface made commercial sense. Carlito's Way was much more sombre in tone than the cinematic shotgun blast that is Scarface. It is a tragedy about how a criminal tries to go straight but is ultimately doomed from the get-go. This is the third version of the DVD, timed to coincide with the direct-to-video release of the prequel, but is it worth purchasing if you already own one of the previous incarnations?

Carlito is a role tailor-made for Al Pacino, allowing him to essay another larger-than-life character. Carlito is a smart guy who cannot escape what he is no matter how hard he tries and Pacino conveys the melancholy that lurks behind the bravado of his character. The real scene stealer, however, is Sean Penn's sleazy, coked-up lawyer. The actor reportedly did the film to help finance his directorial debut, The Crossing Guard. For a paycheck role, Penn does a great job as he disappears into the character, complete with a frizzy afro and cheap suits. It's almost as if Pacino's presence inspired Penn to step up his game. And this makes Penn's memorable turn so much fun to watch.

"Brian De Palma on Carlito's Way" features the director criticizing the current crop of movies that merely copy or quote from other movies or TV shows (Tarantino anyone?) and don't draw from real life. De Palma puts a lot of thought into the visuals of his movies in an attempt to surprise the audience. He goes on to slam film critics who don't like visual filmmakers and then, in an act of typical hubris, compares himself to Alfred Hitchcock.

There are nine deleted scenes totaling eight minutes. There are a lot of extensions of existing scenes that feature some nice moments between characters (like one between Pacino and Penn).

Included from the previously released "Collector's Edition" is "The Making of Carlito's Way," a 34 minute retrospective featurette. Sadly, Pacino and Penn are not present for this featurette that is nonetheless informative and well-made.

Also included from the "Collector's Edition" is a "Photo and Poster Gallery" that features some really cool poster designs, stills from the movie and some of De Palma.

"Original Promotional Featurette" was done back in the day and is more like a five minute trailer than anything of real substance.

Finally, there is an original theatrical trailer.

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Good Movie From the Middle to the End

This movie gets a 4 because the middle to the end of the film was really good. That's where all the action and drama come up. The beginning of the movie was not all that interesting as the last part was,the way I see it. The end was filled with all the backstabbings, betrayals, really smart moves, and action! I was glad when Carlito's (pacino) lawyer got dealt with in the end because he was so shady and conniving that no one knew it. Seriously, you could call this a Scarface-remake movie since Pacino,the thug dons, and thug storylines are in it, only thing is he tries to be good, though it's not that easy.

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