Crazy Joe (1974)

　　Crazy Joe perfectly melds two cultural aspects of a fantastic seventies genre, the crime thriller. With a New York location and loads of terrific American character actors in addition to Italian direction, production a...展开nd veterans of Italian poliziotti, this film stands out on many levels. Peter Boyle is chillingly effective as Joe, a power hungry Family soldier who desperately wants his own piece of the action with his brother and a small, but loyal army. He wages a war in New York to the dismay of the Capo di tutti capi and ultimately winds up in prison on a federal charge of liquor distribution. Once out, Crazy Joe plots his next move with his new partner, members of the Black Mob. What makes Crazy Joe stand out are the tons of familiar faces from movies of the era. Rip Torn, Luther Adler, Charles Cioffi, Carmine Caridi, Louis Guss, Eli Wallach, all appear in this movie. Even small roles are handled by well-known faces. Michael Gazzo (Godfather 2) plays a cook who still can't speak English despite being in NYC for years and years. Herve Villechaize of The Man With The Golden Gun and Fantasy Island fame is seen briefly as one of Joe's soldiers. There are veterans of Polizotti films (Fausto Tozzi) and Enzo the baker from the Godfather makes an appearance (Gabriele Torrei) to devastating effect.The gritty locations, bloddy violence, period music, and dialogue are all top-notch. A must for all organized crime film buffs.