The son of a powerful Mafia don comes home from his army service in Vietnam and wants to lead his own life, but family tradition, intrigues and powerplays involving his older brother dictate otherwise, and he finds himself being slowly drawn back into that world.
Acting
Kirk Douglas's volcanic patriarch rage
Direction
Martin Ritt's documentary-realist mob world
Cinematography
Sicily sequences that ache with fatalism
Director
Martin Ritt
Kirk Douglas
Frank Ginetta
Alex Cord
Vince Ginetta
Irene Papas
Ida Ginetta
Luther Adler
Dominick Bertolo
Susan Strasberg
Emma Ginetta
Murray Hamilton
Jim Egan
Eduardo Ciannelli
Don Peppino
Joe De Santis
Pietro Rizzi
Connie Scott
Carmela Ginetta
Val Avery
Jake Rotherman
Val Bisoglio
Cheech
Alan Hewitt
Sol Levin
Barry Primus
Vido
Michele Cimarosa
Toto
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released the same year as The Godfather novel, this film's commercial failure arguably cleared the path for Coppola's masterpiece by proving audiences wanted romanticized mobsters, not Ritt's unflinching realism.
Kirk Douglas lobbied hard for this role after being passed over for The Godfather's Don Corleone—his Frank Ginetta is essentially his bitter alternate-universe audition.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
US
