UPDATE: The trailer for Barry Levinson’s “Alto Knights” has finally been officially released by Warner Bros. What a total clusterf*ck. I’m not sure what happened yesterday, but someone must have been too quick on the trigger.
Last year was supposed to mark the return of 81-year-old director Barry Levinson. His latest, “The Alto Knights,” Formerly titled “Wise Guys,” was set to become Warner Bros’ first original feature of the Warner Bros. Discovery era — a period mobster drama starring Robert De Niro in dual roles.
“The Alto Knights,” now set for March 21, 2025 release, had test-screened in January, and the more I hear about this one, the more it looks like a a total disaster for Warner Bros. A trailer has been released on Warner Bros UK’s X account. It’s still not available on YouTube. Warner Bros couldn’t care less. This film is clearly not a priority for them.
The film revolves around Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, two Italian-American crime bosses of the 20th century. In 1957, Genovese attempted to assassinate Costello but failed, then things got out of hand. Why did they decide to have De Niro play both roles? The trailer makes it look like a very bad creative decision on the part of Levinson.
Here’s one of the test reactions I received about ‘Alto Knights, dated 01.20.24:
One of the worst films I had ever seen tested, and a huge letdown given the pedigree. De Niro plays the dual roles to almost no end, and it results in a movie where the two main characters can only interact while sitting perfectly still across from one another, on opposite ends of a table. The entire story hinges on the dissolution of a lifelong friendship between two mobsters, and the eventual betrayal in the form of an assassination attempt. But it takes no time to explore the foundation of that friendship before the feud is already underway. There are a handful of really outstanding sequences, but between the dull and obliging “wife character,” they stick Debra Messing in, and some really sloppy filmmaking, it doesn’t amount to anymore than the sum of its parts. It looks like there’s 10 months to fix things up, but I can’t see a path to salvaging this without at least some reshoots.
I have no idea if reshoots actually occurred on this one, or if they’re just going with whatever cut was tested. I don’t know if giving Levinson $50M to make this movie was the smartest idea either. In terms of theatrically released, Levinson hasn’t directed anything great since 1997’s “Wag the Dog.” I will say that a few of his HBO movies, especially 2010’s “You Don’t Know Jack,” were quite good.
This is being touted as Levinson’s return to “big and bold studio filmmaking.” Nicholas Pileggi, who wrote “Wiseguy,” the 1985 book that was the basis for “Goodfellas,” penned the screenplay for “Alto Knights.”
Levinson was all the rage in the ‘80s and ‘90s, a go-to filmmaker for smart, adult-oriented Oscar contenders. His résumé includes “Diner,” “Rain Man,” “The Natural,” “Good Morning Vietnam,” “Bugsy,” “Sleepers,” and “Wag the Dog.”