Product Description

Denis Leary (TV's THE JOB) and Martin Sheen (THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT) star in this explosive story about the power of loyalty, community, and friendship in the world of organized crime. In a tough Irish-American neighborhood, Bobby (Leary) is a small-time car thief working for the area's top mobster (Colm Meany -- CON AIR, THE SNAPPER). But then, Bobby's own gang kills members of his family, leaving Bobby faced with a tough choice: defend his family honor or obey the rigid neighborhood code of silence! With co-stars Billy Crudup (ALMOST FAMOUS) and Famke Janssen (GOLDEN EYE), MONUMENT AVE. is gripping entertainment in the tradition of GOODFELLAS!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36454 in DVD
• Brand: Disney
• Released on: 1999-05-18
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 93 minutes

From The New Yorker
Director Ted Demme and screenwriter Mike Armstrong have come up with a skillful, hard-hitting gangster tale involving Irish hoodlums in Boston's blue-collar neighborhood of Charlestown. Denis Leary plays a heavy-drinking small-time thief, and the crew of actors he's surrounded by (Colm Meaney, Ian Hart, Billy Crudup, and Famke Janssen, among others) never strike a false note-their working-class desperation is entirely believable. But it's Leary who's the real surprise here; his sincere, tough-guy performance is mesmerizing. He lifts the film above its familiar, claustrophobic environment into the gritty realism of very good urban drama. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

One of the Great Gangster Movie Performances
This is an unjustly neglected film. Director Ted Demme died far too young, leaving behind a solid list of films that suggested great possiblities from the mature filmmaker we will never get to see. One of the significant things about his work is that he is the only person who really understood how to use Dennis Leary. In a word, Leary is great here. His conflicted emotions about escaping the narrow confines of his violent world and the actions he takes that only ensure his failure power a character that rivals Micheal Corleone (without the operatic granduer) or John Garfield in Force of Evil. The harsh locations, the sub-culture within a subculture, the suddenness of the violence, the twadriness of the criminal enterprise are all vividly captured in a film justly called "the Irish Mean Streets".

An underrated gem that should've gotten more notice
Monument Ave. is probably one of the best films I have ever seen. Instead of the Hollywood happy ending, we have a dark and grim tale of family morals and the loyalty between being a stand up guy and a family man. Denis Leary proves he doesn't always have to play piss and moan roles and he's at his best as the reluctant Bobby. The cast is excellent with Colm Meaney as a remorseless crime boss, Ian Hart as Bobby's energetic friend, Famke Janssen as Bobby's girlfriend, and the rest of the cast are in top form. Director Ted Demme manages to get down to the bare nub of the script with the Boston accents and attitudes. This film definitely should've gotten more notice. Grade: A-

Denis Leary shines!
This movie is one of these small gems that manage to slip by everybody in the theatres. But fortunately, it's now available on DVD and for rental. Monument Ave. is pretty cliched in terms of it's story line about a criminal who must choose between his loyalty to his friends or that of his boss. However, the true ingenuity of the film is the dialogue. It flows off the screen in a current of truth and harsh realities that rivals that of Tarantino. Listen to it carefully. The performances are very good, especially that of Denis Leary. The way he balances comedy, which is his forte, and drama is very good. I was truly impressed with this breakout performance by him and hope to see him in more dramatic roles. Colm Meany, who plays the Irish crime boss is equally effective as a character who will be your best friend and stab you in the back at the same time. This film was directed by Ted Demme, yonger brother of Jonathan Demme, the dude that directed the Silence of the Lambs. With this film, Ted Demme again proves that he is a distinct talent, seperate from his brother.