Kill the Irishman

Plot synopsis:
In 1960, Danny Greene and his childhood friends Billy McComber and Art Sneperger are longshoremen at the Cleveland docks. Meanwhile, the members are exploited by corrupt union boss, Jerry Merke and the leadership of the ILA union urges Greene to run against him. Meanwhile, Sneperger can't pay a gambling debt to Cleveland Mafia Capo John Nardi. In return for Sneperger's debt being forgiven, Greene supplies Nardi's crew with goods stolen from the docks. Merke finds out, demands a cut of Greene's profits, and then sends an enforcer to kill him. Instead, Greene beats up the enforcer, then beats up Merke, throws the union leader out of his office, and is later elected union president. He improves the working conditions at the docks while continuing his dealings with Nardi.
Greene's corruption is exposed by the Plain Dealer newspaper and Cleveland Police Detective Joe Manditski, who grew up with Greene in Collinwood, arrests him. Bankrupt and facing prison, Greene plea bargains to lesser charges in return for becoming an FBI informant and being banned for life from organized labor. Greene is released and moves his unhappy wife and daughters back to Collinwood. Nardi gets him work as an enforcer for Hungarian Jewish loan shark Shondor Birns, and later helps pitch a deal to Mafia Capo Jack Licavoli: Greene will force the city's garbage haulers to join the union Licavoli controls. Greene, McComber, Sneperger, and ex-Hells Angel Keith Ritson terrorize many into joining, but Greene's friend Mike Frato refuses. Licavoli orders Greene to kill Frato, but Greene balks because Frato has ten children. Nardi tells him privately, though, that, "You wanted to play in the big leagues. Sometimes you have to do things you don't wanna do."
As Greene prepare's to kill Frato with a car bomb, he learns from the FBI that Sneperger has returned to gambling, and has become an informant for Manditsky. That night, Greene assigns Sneperger to set the bomb under Frato’s car and presses the detonator as he does it. An enraged Frato later shoots at Greene in a park. Greene returns fire, kills Frato, and is arrested for murder, but released after Frato's driver tells Manditski that Greene acted in self-defense. Having had enough, Greene's long suffering wife leaves him and takes the children.
Greene sees his elderly Irish neighbor, Grace O’Keefe, being evicted. He intervenes, pays her rent, and she gratefully gives him her father's gold Celtic cross to wear for protection. Greene begins to use his money and connections to help other Irish-Americans in need, and earns the nickname "The Robin Hood of Collinwood".
Greene wants to open his own restaurant, and asks Shondor Birns to help him. Birns arranges a $70,000 loan from the Gambinos, but Birns' courier buys cocaine with the money and gets arrested. Birns and Greene argue over which of them should pay back the money; when Greene refuses to pay, Birns hires a hitman to kill him. Greene narrowly escapes, and later kills Birns with a car bomb.
After Mafia boss John Scalish dies, both Nardi and Licavoli are considered for succession. Licavoli is chosen due to his closer ties to the Five Families and decides to charge Greene 30% "street tax" for doing business in Cleveland. Greene refuses to pay, crudely mocks Licavoli's Italian heritage, and vows, "The Irishman's in business for himself now."
An outraged Licavoli has Greene's house blown up, but he survives. He then attempts to demote Nardi and take away his crew, only to have the latter join forces with Greene. Vowing to take over Cleveland together, Greene and Nardi start by organizing the murders of Licavoli’s associates, many of whom are blown up. Thirty-six car bombings occur during the summer of 1976, drawing national attention and humiliating Licavoli. After failing multiple times to kill Greene, Licavoli is forced to humbly ask Genovese boss Anthony Salerno to help him kill Nardi and Greene.
Having learned of this from the FBI, Greene claims that he wants to leave Cleveland and buy a ranch in Texas, but needs to raise $2 million. Wishing to size up their enemies, Greene and Nardi travel to New York and invite Salerno to invest in the ranch. After they leave, Salerno orders his associates to hire professional hitman Ray Ferritto to kill them both. Nardi is killed in a car explosion, McComber dies in a bombing at the Cleveland docks, and Ritson is shot near his house. Detective Manditski lets Greene know that a master killer is after him. He offers Greene protection, but is told, "My enemies will be taken care of."
After a dentist's appointment on October 6, 1977, Greene notices Ferritto driving by slowly, and accepts that he is about to die, giving his gold cross to an admiring boy. Ferritto detonates a bomb on the car next to Greene's, killing Greene instantly. An epilogue, by Manditski, reveals that the investigation of Danny Greene's murder led to the collapse of the Mafia, not only in Cleveland, but all over the United States.

Tags: violence, murder

Review:
As far as i know, the film also had a very limited theater release in the USA, which is a sad thing because this movie was surprisingly good and well-crafted and was one of the best films I've seen in the last months.The film tells the true story of Danny Greene, a tough irish gangster - and let me tell you, it is definitely a story worth telling.I guess many of you are informed about the story of Danny Greene, so i won't go further into the story.The movie features an impressive cast including Ray Stevenson, Val Kilmer, Christopher Walken and many other familiar faces known from other mob movies.
Ray Stevenson gives an incredibly good performance as Danny Greene and manages to keep his character really violent, but also likable.
Review by Ruby: If you are reading this, you have probably read the background info about The Irishman Danny Greene and his Italian buddy John Nardi who worked and broke the law many times over in the streets of Cleveland throughout the 1970s.
But there was an actual story to follow also, so it offered more substance than much of the drivel that manages to run in the theatres today.Even though they were gangsters, Greene and Nardi were surprisingly likable characters—for killers, that is—mostly because of the charismatic acting of the two leads, Ray Stevenson and Vincent D'Onofrio.
The supporting characters were interesting also, including the talents of Christopher Walken, Val Kilmer, Steve Schirripa, Paul Sorvino, Tony Lo Bianco, and Mike Starr.Interspersed with the actors' scenes were actual clips of film footage from local newscasts of the day, which added authenticity and a touchstone to the amazing story that unfolded in Cleveland some 30-40 years ago.I highly recommend "Kill the Irishman" as an action-packed, escapist, period piece, featuring superior acting and excellent film editing.
Ray Stevenson and Linda Cardellini give exceptional performances as Danny and Joan Greene in this hard hitting story based on his life.
In the year 1976 in Cleveland 36 bombs went off but could they get Danny Greene?Based on the life events of Irish American gangster Danny Greene KILL THE IRISHMAN is by far one the most involved movies I have watched of its kind.
A good one for the mature audience who savor biographies and slow paced dramas.This is how I see it, nothing more nothing less!Title: Kill the Irishman Directed by: Jonathan Hensleigh Starring: Ray Stevenson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Val Kilmer, Robert Davi, Vinnie Jones & Christopher Walken Rated: R for strong violence and some sexual content/nudity Rating: 07/10 106 Minutes.
A series of bomb explosions made Cleveland one of the most violent American cities of the era.The movie is brutal but also has great wit and Stevenson is as charming as can be as Danny Greene.
It doesn't take much research into the real story of Danny Greene and the Cleveland mob war to recognize that there was potentially a great Mobster movie waiting to be made.
And we never connect with them.The acting is fine, Ray Stevenson's Greene is tough and smart and world-worn, everyone else is fine but they just stay on the periphery and play stock characters who come and go for the most part.If the script had made a choice to either be the story through the eyes of Val Kilmer's Cleveland police detective, or the story through the eyes of Irish Danny Greene, instead of just a linear montage of standard gangster film clichés, we all could have been treated to a top-notch tale.The movie just proves you need a great script to make a great movie, and it didn't have one..
Based on the life of real Irish crimelord Danny Greene this is very similar in style to Goodfellas and also shares some of the support cast of aforementioned mob classic .
Kill The Irishman has one of the best supporting casts around which includes Vincent D'Onofrio, Christopher Walken, Vinny Jones and Val Kilmer(plus half of the cast of Goodfellas ).
True story of famous '70's Cleveland based Irish mobster Danny Greene.
Danny Greene's story - narrated by Val Kilmer (who lends some heavy support throughout the film) - tells of a tough Irishman working the grain silos at the Cleveland Docks whose rise to infamy begins when he goes to work for the mafia after a jail term for larceny makes headlines due to his muscling in on his former factory boss's business.Greene is an old fashioned street fighting man who will stand up to anybody and although readily willing to commit crimes to make money, he is an honest and caring man by nature and this quickly endears us to the complex character so easily portrayed by Irish-born up and coming actor Ray Stevenson.
Naturally, what follows is the titular plot; the mafia attempting and failing over the duration of many years to hit the unflappable Irishman as he goes to great lengths to rub it in their faces and get revenge where necessary.The film, based mostly in Cleveland throughout post-war '70's America, looks and feels authentic but it is the strong, earthy Irish charm that sets it apart from all those old classic I-tallian-American gangster films and a style of film-making that sometimes takes you back even as far as the forties for its occasionally rich film-noir texture.What I find amazing because this is actually no huge Hollywood film is that 'Kill The Irishman' boasts a hugely classic cast including Val Kilmer (Heat), Christopher Walken (explanation???), Vincent D'Onofrio (Law & Order), Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas) and Robert Davi (Die Hard and The Goonies) to name a few.
It is the story of Danny Greene an Irish mobster who would not sell out to the Italian mafia as they fought over turf in Cleveland.And the Director, Jonathan Hensleigh did a great job on the direction and script.
Jonathan told the story in 70's film language which has a lot of natural lighting, some hand held camera, realistic scenes, and sort of a cinema-verite feel to the movie.
The lighting, film stock, and camera work was reminiscent of The French Connection, a gritty 70's film.Ray Stevenson was almost a look alike for the real Danny Greene and added to the realism of the story.Even the fights were very realistic.
Thank goodness the fights didn't go on forever with 'artsy' camera angles.The feel of this movie was gritty, and matched the grittiness of the story and labor (garbage and longshoreman activities) and you didn't feel the supporting cast was acting but that you were watching a mafia spy cam on their activities.
Funny how bombs are the "weapon"of choice for criminal types.Thank goodness Scorsese did not direct this movie as it would have been over lit and much more hyped up and with those whack fist effects and other posed scenes.And people died in these explosions, they didn't run ahead of them like Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford to "beat" the blast.If want to learn about the historic story of mobster vs.
dug all the actors --Ray Stevenson did terrific job -- also the rest of the cast was fun and quirky --- among the standouts are Chris Walken and Robert Davi any film would be worth seeing just for them-- even in small roles these guys bring so much and are more versatile that a lot of the stock in play stereotypes ---Danny Greene story was true!!
I initially heard of Danny Green from the Mobsters series on BIO Channel, so I already knew the background story, and overall this movie keeps things pretty real in that regard(with some dramatics added here and there for the sake of entertainment).
The film focuses on the life of Danny Greene (a bulked, sturdy Ray Stevenson), who was an Irish American mobster working out of Cleveland back in the 70's, a guy who seems to have caused quite a stir of chaos amongst organized crime back then.
The cast is enormous, and includes the like of Vinnie Jones as a bruiser of an Irish street soldier, Robert Davi in an explosive third act cameo as a lethal specialist brought in to neutralize Danny, and your usual kennel of Italian American character actors like Mike Starr, Bob Gunton, Tony Lo Bianco, Steve Schirippa, Paul Sorvino and others.
In "Kill the Irishman" we are now given a new underdog, bad guy to cheer for, Danny Greene (played by Ray Stevenson).
All-American tough guy.In Jonathan Hensleigh's latest movie based on Danny Greene's life in the 1970s, we see the tough guy who works his way up from the docks in Cleveland, Ohio.
Kill The Irishman, spends an hour building up to a good last thirty minutes, but it certainly is not Goodfellas.The problems lies partially in a script that lacks imagination and chooses instead to deliver a linear plot that is frankly good at first but dulls after the first twenty minutes until it picks up again after the first hour; and secondly, and perhaps more seriously, the leads are only competent - what we get is exactly what another review had said - a made for TV film feeling on this - but nothing akin to big film.Given the cast and story perhaps more could have been done; all in all if crime is your favorite genre then you're going to enjoy this anyway - I was left bored by the first hour, and while the last half-hour is good the film never raises above a very simple and simplistic story.
we never really get inside the mind or world of Danny Green - and it all feels very much as though we're just skimming the surface all the time.Good beer and pizza movie, but certainly no classic..
This based on a true story set in Cleveland of Danny Greene takes us through the life of a career thug whose pride wont let him lay down for the mob.
Crime movies attract me like a magnet, and so I landed on this.It shows the continuous attempt to kill Danny Greene (the Irishman), and his story of pauper and king substantially.This movie catches imagination and seesaws Danny Greene as a good and bad guy.
Still at the end you end up liking Danny played effortlessly by Ray Stevenson.At times it even reminds you of Robinhood like baddies, a classic as modern fanatics go; this movie resembles.The Mafia and crime syndicates are back with this flick, enjoy the chase to kill the Irishman.......
It also bordered on ridiculous...there was no way this guy could survive everything, go on TV, mock the mob, and stay in a trailer when they could easily kill him...it was just too crazy.Then I watched the special features...the main feature is an hour long documentary featuring real news programs, the real people involved, interviews, and film of the shootings, crime scenes, and bombings...it shows that the film was about 90% accurate save for a few small details and some exaggerated parts in the beginning...this made me really appreciate the character and the story a lot more.Bottom line, this is HIGHLY recommended viewing provided that you watch the special features (yes even on the redbox it's included)...I agree with other reviewers, if this had been given a bigger budget and shot with a more seasoned director it would go down as one of the greatest stories I've ever seen..
The true story of Danny Greene (Ray Stevenson), a tough Irish thug working for mobsters in Cleveland during the 1970s.Despite my love for Cleveland, and a moderate interest in the Mafia, I had never heard of Danny Greene.
I don't like long reviews so I'll get right to the point.A movie based on the real life story of Danny Green,an Irish thug played by Ray Stevenson who did a great job to his role.You know how it goes,if you want an Irish character,pick an Irish actor to play it.Unfortunately the movie is underrated,God knows why...I like how Danny was a "good person in a bad person" and sticked to his pride no matter what happened.It was nice to see that the producers gave the actors hairstyles and whiskers just like the ones back then.I really recommend this film,mostly because it's a biography that has complied exactly what happened and it focused on Danny's emotions and ego.One more thing that I loved about this film was that the director used actual footage from 1970 between frames..
The movie deftly shows that level of incompetence.Ray Stevenson does a credible job as Irish Danny Green and Vincent D'Onforio is even better as the conflicted John Nardi.
The movie deftly shows that level of incompetence.Ray Stevenson does a credible job as Irish Danny Green and Vincent D'Onforio is even better as the conflicted John Nardi.
Kill the Irishman had potential to be something big, something memorable, something reminiscent of old time gangster movies; instead, it came up short and disappeared like a fart in the wind.
My expectations were a little too high after seeing the trailer, Ray Stevenson did a great job you can't argue against that but overall there were too many clichés the supporting cast was terrible, familiar faces such as Val Kilmer, Vinnie Jones, Christopher Walken and Steve Schirripa were more distracting than anything.
All the parts were on the table.Unfortunately, despite an amazing, nationally covered, true story as a starting point, a fantastic soundtrack, excellent work by the DP and masterful supporting cast, who turn in great performances throughout, Jonathan Hensleigh has managed to squander all that and come up with something resembling a mediocre network TV movie, trying desperately hard and failing to capture the essence of the Irish gangster...(Danny)"Clean up this yard...and then repaint these steps".
Stevenson stars in and as Danny Greene, a tough Irish thug working for mobsters in Cleveland during the 1970's.
Calls himself a descendant of the Celtic Warriors in short " one tough son-of-a-gun!" The movie follows Greene's rise to power, although his practices were corrupt he maintained a certain amount of dignity and a code to how he went about doing his work.Great performance by Stevenson, but poor supporting performances makes the viewer lose the flow of the movie, Director Jonathan Hensleigh fails to use actors like Christopher Walken and Val Kilmer effectively, definite shades of the Scorsese classic Goodfellas in the narrative perspective, in fact the knife stabbing scene behind the car boot is directly lifted from there, Alas Jonathan did not have Joe Pesci to liven up the screen!
Kill the Irishman tells the story of mobster Danny Greene (Ray Stevenson) and his rise to power in 1970s Cleveland.
Green rose to be a local Union boss became a police informer when the heat got too much and then got into conflict with the mafia.The film is told from the viewpoint of cop, Val Kilmer who is too fat to be a cop is in conflict with Greene and actually wasted in the role.This is really low rent version of Goodfellas with less charismatic characters, B list cast, dodgy wigs and bad cgi.
The story as presented here is actually somewhat dull and clearly disappointing.Danny Greene may be the hero of the film but make no mistake he's not a good guy.
The Italian bosses actually come across as somewhat pathetic, acting like big-shots as they run their little Cleveland family but needing to call in some real mafia guys from New York to try to clean up their Danny Greene mess.
Christopher Walken shows his face too - a plus perhaps, only he's not in it enough to make much of a difference.Ray Stephenson plays Danny Greene, an Irish gangster in America.
The film stars B movie tough guy (and notable character thug) Ray Stevenson as Greene.
The film co-stars the likes of Vincent D'Onofrio, Val Kilmer, Christopher Walken, Linda Cardellini, Vinnie Jones, Robert Davi, Paul Sorvino and other well known character actors.
But we need those extra 40 minutes, because it gives us time to get explore the points listed above."Kill the Irishman" feels like wasted opportunity.It could have been a "Heat" style film, exploring the relationship between Ray Stevenson and Val Kilmer's characters.
"If any of these maggots from the so-called mafia want to come after me, I'm not a hard man to find." This is the true story of Danny Greene (Stevenson), the man the mob couldn't kill.
When captured by the FBI he sells out his friends and colleagues to become an informant, and exploits this position to advance his criminal career.Set in the 1970s at the height of the infamous 'Mafia versus pretty much anyone who's not Italian' wars, this action packed film based on real life events has a star studded cast, including Ray Stevenson, Val Kilmer, Christopher Walken, Fionnula Flanagan, and Michael Finn Seamus McDonnell O'Flahahaherty.I rate Kill the Irishman at 26.64 on the Haglee Scale, which works out as an impressive 8/10 on IMDb..
It has a definite feel for the era it represents, Cleveland in the mid Seventies, and the use of news and film clips of the time lend a degree of authenticity to the the story of mobster Danny Greene.
The cast is played by recognizable actors such as Ray Stevenson (Danny Greene), Vincent D'Onofrio (John Nardi), Val Kilmer (Joe Manditski), and Christopher Walken (Shondor Birns).
Resulting in a designated hit on Danny Green, the tough Irish gangster who lead the revolt against the Italian mob in Cleveland.The lead character played by Ray Stevenson really has got charisma, the likes of Sean Connery had: bravoure with brass balls and a wink.
Kill The Irishman goes so far overboard with making Danny Greene a folk hero that it loses any sense of perspective and any chance at being a really good mob movie.
It all feels so fake that you can't fully appreciate the unique qualities of the real Danny Greene and the ultimate significance of his story.It's too bad because the movie has a good rhythm and pace and a strong, though perhaps overly large, cast of characters.