From what little I've watched of Ferrara's work up till now - 6 films including the one under review - this emerges as easily the most substantial (I liked his BODY SNATCHERS [1993] but have always deemed it an unnecessary update).
It's generally compelling and filled with typically intense performances - Christopher Walken and Annabella Sciorra from Ferrara's THE ADDICTION (1995), Chris Penn, Vincent Gallo and Benicio Del Toro (though some of the over-the-top histrionics, usually involving Penn's bad-tempered character, do raise the occasional unintended chuckle). The plot, adopting a flashback structure which leads up to the titular occasion, deals with the director's favorite themes - honor, faith, violence - and, as such draws parallels with the gangster films of Coppola, Scorsese and even Tarantino.
On the strength of this, I rented two more Ferrara titles - FEAR CITY (1984) and KING OF NEW YORK (1990; again, with Walken) - to go along with BAD LIEUTENANT (1992; which I just recorded off late-night Italian TV, where it was presented in the original language); the latter two, in particular, are films that I've been meaning to check out for years (I just hope it'll be worth it).
By the way, though I rented THE FUNERAL from my local DVD outlet as part of a 2-Disc Set with THE ADDICTION, I was actually the one to have brought it over to him from London!
It's generally compelling and filled with typically intense performances - Christopher Walken and Annabella Sciorra from Ferrara's THE ADDICTION (1995), Chris Penn, Vincent Gallo and Benicio Del Toro (though some of the over-the-top histrionics, usually involving Penn's bad-tempered character, do raise the occasional unintended chuckle). The plot, adopting a flashback structure which leads up to the titular occasion, deals with the director's favorite themes - honor, faith, violence - and, as such draws parallels with the gangster films of Coppola, Scorsese and even Tarantino.
On the strength of this, I rented two more Ferrara titles - FEAR CITY (1984) and KING OF NEW YORK (1990; again, with Walken) - to go along with BAD LIEUTENANT (1992; which I just recorded off late-night Italian TV, where it was presented in the original language); the latter two, in particular, are films that I've been meaning to check out for years (I just hope it'll be worth it).
By the way, though I rented THE FUNERAL from my local DVD outlet as part of a 2-Disc Set with THE ADDICTION, I was actually the one to have brought it over to him from London!