VividSimon
Simply Perfect
Rosie Searle
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Fleur
Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
drew-turner-1
Not everyone gets the just of this movie but for those that do it is a laugh riot!! Stallone is hysterical as the animated Cosmos Carboni who is incessantly trying to make an easy buck with random scams. Armand Assante plays Lenny, Cosmos' older brother and voice of reason for the Carboni Boys. Finally, there is the younger brother Vick who can haul 300lbs of ice up 15 flights of stairs without blowing his breakfast but has the IQ of a gnat. So many scenes are gut busters in this movie and I don't want to give them away but a few of my favorites include: Stallone waking up hungover to discover a plate full of roaches on his previous night's dinner. He proceeds to take aim on the plate with his Louisville Slugger and shatters it along with the roaches with his brother and pet bird looking on. The same day he is out in the streets freezing with a stolen concierge outfit on, holding a monkey chained to a table and chanting "see the dancing monkey!" This is his latest money making scheme after Vick won the monkey in a previous night's arm wrestling match. Anyway, it's crude and low brow humor, but that is what makes this film a great Friday night viewing among good buddies.
rb-211
I don't know what happened to Stallone after he made this movie. He showed so much talent in this movie that was never to be repeated. I keep seeing Cobra, what a joke. How can the same guy be in both movies? Did he get a head injury or something? My favorite part is when Victor drops the ice down the stairs. Very symbolic, sad in a way. He finally realized that he was wasting his time on the "straight" life. In all, a very enjoyable movie. I have seen this movie about 5 times, and I plan to watch it again when it comes on. The problem is that the people who control the programming want Rambo and Rocky. Good movies in their own way, but both lack the depth of Paradise Alley. OK, the first Rocky was pretty good. I wont discuss Cobra, it's not worth discussing. Watch this movie if you get a chance, it's worth your time..
budsvet
This film has got to be the best thing next to Rocky 1 that Sly has done. Though I had yet to be born in 1946, I know some of those people, that is the main reason that it is one of my fav's of all time. Every one of them was a freak and the whole film was a freak show. I lived a long time in south Baltimore and Bunchi, Victor, Len, Frankie, and even Cosmo I have known in real life. The time and place were perfect, it was well shot and easy to follow as it should have been for this type of film. The roof race, the Christmas cheer truck ride, the ice block on the stairs, Bunchi's Christmas presents scene, this is great stuff. Am I biased cause it's a city movie, yea I am but I gave it a 10 for a lot of reasons other than that.
slightlymad22
Continuing my plan to watch every Sly Stallone movie in order, I come to to one of his most under rated movies. After rewriting the script to 'F.I.S.T' Sly went the full hog, and wrote, acted, directed and sings (Yes sings!! AndI think the style of music suits his voice well) the opening title track. Plot In A Paragraph: The film tells the story of the three brothers Cosmo (Stallone) Lenny (Armand Assante) and Victor (Lee Canalito) in Hell's Kitchen, New York City in the 1940s who become involved in professional wrestling.The tag line for this movie read "Three brothers... One had the brains, one had the muscle and one had the suit. Together they had a million dollar dream."Sly isn't "the muscle" you would expect him to play here, but the con-man brother "The brains" and I think he does a decent job as the fast talking Cosmo, Assante is very impressive in his first movie role, and Canalito (whilst not the most gifted actor) has a real charm to him, as the sweet natured, but tough as nails Victor, who dreams of leaving Hells Kitchen and living on a houseboat with his girlfriend. Kevin Conway and Frank McRae both of who starred with Stallone in 'F.I.S.T' appear here, as does Joe Spinell, who had a role opposite Stallone in 'Rocky'. Sly seems to be trying to add a bit of everything at his first attempt at directing, Action, drama, love, laughs and an underdog story. It's almost as if he was worried he may not get another chance to direct again, and wanted to try his hand at everything. He probably got his shot at directing this movie, for the same reasons a lot of actors get a shot at directing. They are hot property. But for some reason (like with his previous movie the brilliant F.I.S.T) audiences stayed away from this. I would recommend anyone to check it out!! As a side note: He actually wrote this before 'Rocky' and tried to sell it to producers for years, to no avail. Once 'Rocky' became a smash hit, producers were willing to look at the script, and Universal Pictures green-lighted the production.
