Product Description

New York City's Hell's Kitchen is a pressure cooker of pent-up anger and it's about to explode! Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman, Robin Wright, John Turturro and John C. Reilly deliver exceptional performances (The Hollywood Reporter) in this finely drawn tale of betrayal, redemption and guilt (Los Angeles) that'll put you on the edge of your seat (Newsweek)! Terry Noonan (Penn) returns to his old neighborhood with a score to settle. He's now an undercover cop dead-set on taking down an Irish mob family headed by Frankie Flannery (Harris) and his hot-headed brother Jackie (Oldman). But when Noonan infiltrates the family, his old feelings for the Flannerys sister (Wright) further heighten the stakes as he enters a violent showdown with them during a crowded St. Patrick's Day Parade!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19317 in DVD
• Brand: MGM HOME VIDEO (UNDER FOX)
• Released on: 2002-12-03
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 134 minutes

Features

• New York City s Hell s Kitchen is a pressure cooker of pent-up anger and it s about to explode! Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman, Robin Wright, John Turturro and John C. Reilly deliver exceptional performances (The Hollywood Reporter) in this finely drawn tale of betrayal, redemption and guilt (Los Angeles) that ll put you on the edge of your seat (Newsweek)! Terry Noonan (Penn) returns to his

Amazon.com
Overshadowed by GoodFellas when it was released in 1990, State of Grace gradually emerged as one of the best New York gangster films of its decade. It was also the first to feature the Irish American mob known as the Westies. Here, their territory west of Times Square is being gentrified by an unwelcome infusion of yuppie cash, squeezing them into a reluctant alliance with Mafia kingpins. Frankie (Ed Harris) is the boss; little brother Jackie (Gary Oldman) is his volatile muscle; their friend Terry (Sean Penn) has returned from an extended absence, harboring a dangerous secret while rekindling his love for Frankie and Jackie's sister Kathleen (Robin Wright, Penn's future wife). Giving one of his scariest, most violent performances, Oldman offers stark, brutal contrast to Harris's pent-up fury, while Penn breathes life into his character's standard-issue dilemma. A former protégé of Steven Spielberg's, director Phil Joanou handles this gritty potboiler with confident, unobtrusive style, ramping up the tension of divided loyalties, even as the plot grows increasingly familiar. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

"We're not tough, Nick! We're just crazy."
New York City's "Hell's Kitchen" is always a great setting for mob movies (for obvious reasons), and here it is used to perfection by director Phil Joanou. Add to that an impressive cast (Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman, Robin Wright, and John Turturro) plus wonderful music by one of the world's greatest composers, Ennio Morricone, and you've got a gripping character-driven mob story. By the way, has anyone noticed that Morricone's score for State of Grace is amazingly similar to his score for Oliver Stone's film U-Turn? Oh well, who cares, I love Morricone's music!

Terry Noonan (Sean Penn), an undercover cop, has just returned to his old Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. His goal: infiltrate Frankie Flannery's (Ed Harris) Irish mob and find enough evidence to put him and his murderous gang behind bars. But there's a problem, Frankie's younger brother Jackie (Gary Oldman) is an old close friend of Terry's, having grown up with him in the tough streets of Hell's Kitchen. Jackie is hot-tempered and is second-in-command with Frankie's mob, a fact that makes Terry's job much harder for him as time goes by. Terry's job becomes even harder when he begins seeing an old girlfriend (Robin Wright), who is the sister of Frankie and Jackie. Terry's love for her and his close bond with Jackie eventually leads to betrayal and murder, culminating in a bloody showdown between Terry and Frankie (and his mob) on a St. Patrick's Day.

Because this type of story has been overdone so much by Hollywood, the story is a little predictable. However, the top-notch cast puts a whole lot of energy and effort into the acting. Previously, I'd thought Ed Harris (with those fierce, piercing blue eyes) couldn't play a more unlikable character than the German sniper who kills a child in Enemy at the Gates, but as you'll see he's even more brutal in this well made thriller. Sean Penn and Robin Wright had great chemistry together and both delivered intense and convincing performances. Gary Oldman was very good at playing a psycho mobster, but maybe a little too extreme at times. Anyway, fans of mob movies will definitely enjoy this underated film. Highly recommended.

The irish connection.
I think that this is one of the best movies ever made. The elegance of cinematography, a perfect performance of director Phil Joanu, a great casting (Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman, Robin Wright, John Turturo), a complex story, and a very fine ethical dilemma. All these components, in a equilibrated mix, with a perfect result: a masterpiece.

I triend to record it in several times from cable TV, but it's time is over 2 hours, and I forget it every time, and never had a complete record. Often, the TV version it was translatedd to spanish, losing a part of actor's performance.

I don't understand why the DVD wasn't released before 2005. I expected it long time ago.

A character acting free for all
Phil Joanou had an incredible palette of talent to work with in creating this dark and troublesome work of art. Even the lesser parts are filled with personalities such as John Turturro, Robin Wright (then without the Penn), RD Call, John C. Reilly and Burgess Meredith. The score composed by Ennio Morricone has a haunting, eerie saunter, infected with an obvious full note that jerks you out of its hypnotic trance. Watching this film in 2005 takes one back to a number of other great and powerful films of the early 90's that used the noir anti-heroes as their central character. Comparing State of Grace to Abel Ferrara pieces such as Bad Lieutenant and King of New York would not be far-fetched.

Penn's performance as Terry is wrought with inner turmoil, culminating in his bedside confession to Wright's Kathleen. While explaining Hell's Kitchen and it's irk to Turturro he wanes "we're Irish, all we know how to do is drink," a telling testimony that typifies the culture soon to be taken over by the newly christened Clinton inner-city development. His inward reflection is mirrored by the exuberance of Jackie, played with perfection by Oldman. With his cavalier swagger he seems to lack the part of the genetic code that relays fear. Jackie takes risk to new levels while seriously jeopardizing older brother Frankie's (Harris) plans to form an alliance with elements of the Italian mob. Harris's taught composure throughout the film is a fine study in character definition; a true Jeckyl and Hyde persona, playing the suburban family man by day, and slitting the throats of childhood friends by night.

We've seen little in the form of feature offerings from Joanou, aside from U2's Rattle and Hum and Heaven's Prisoners. It is interesting to note his continuing contribution to U2's music video collection, as well as a number of TV commercials. His close association with the mega band lent a big break in acquiring music rights for his 2000 production Entropy.