kapelusznik18 ****SPOILERS**** Somewhat fictionalized movie about the life and times of Joseph "Crazy Joe" Gallo played by a scaled down Peter Boyle who's last name-Gallo-for some reason in the film is never once mentioned and slipped in when he's in a liquor store shaking down the owner, that he ended up getting sent up the river or prison for,by showing Crazy Joe standing next to a case of Gallo wine. As for Crazy Joe himself we get to see him and his gang including his ulcer ridden big brother Richie, Rip Thorn, that feel that their getting the short end of the stick from their Mafia bosses by receiving just $100.00 a hit, knocking off someone, that they preform for them.Wanting respect as well as a place in the mob hierarchy in the end gets Crazy Joe in hot water with his boss of bosses Mafia Don Vittorio, Eli Wallach, who at first tries to placate the crazy guy by giving him control of the Brooklyn Red Hook sections mob operations that Crazy Joe and his boys come from. This is after Don Vittorio had one of Crazy Joe's rivals for Mafia promotion Coletti, Charles Cioffi, knocked off at an Italian anti defamation rally at New York's Central Park for not keeping his big mouth shut and not drawing attention to the mobs criminal activities! Crazy Joe was in no way as crazy as a fox he was really crazy and got his name after being diagnosed by the prison doctors as suffering from sever schizophrenia which explains his actions in the movie. One of them integrating the black Harlem mob lead by his friend and former cell-mate Willy, Fred Williamson, into his at the time all white Italian gang!This had Don Vittorio's blood boil especially when Crazy Joe invited Willy and his boys to the Don's mansion-That shocked and enraged Don Vittorio- who made a complete mess, by not showing any respect to the Don, of the place! With Crazy Joe now too big for his own bridges and completely out of control Don Vittorio ordered a hit on him and waited for his 43rd birthday, April 7, 1972, to execute it on the wild and crazy guy as well as his good friend black mob boss now known as Uncle Willy who's invited to his birthday party at the Victorio's Clam Bar in Little Italy.P.S Crazy Joe paid the price in the saying that those who "Live by the gun die by the gun". Crazy Joe always admired Johnny Udo in the 1947 film "Kiss of Death" and styled himself after Mr. Udo in being as he always called those he hated in the film a "Big Man" or the guy in the movie-Victor Mature-who's ratting him out to the police that sent Johnny Udo up the river. In the end Crazy Joe shared the same fate as his screen idol-Johnny Udo-who unlike himself lived to face justice for the crimes that he committed.

MarTiminTN Saw this movie many years ago. It was quite unique and well made. If you enjoyed the Godfather or enjoy true stories this one is worth watching. Peter Boyle did a great job! Especially good if you,like me, enjoy retro 70's almost forgotten films. Has such a stellar cast, it is a real surprise that it is not a cult classic. Enjoyed especially the brief character of the Fonz as a mobster guy. I would have to say if I had been a reviewer when I saw it in 1974 I would had to give it 3 stars. I also found it very easy to follow even if you don't know a lot about Joe Gallo or the story of his life and murder. Fred Williamson who did the cult classic Superfly is also in the cast and gave a great performance. Anyone who likes gangster movies should seek this out.

blur81 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 and 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. If "Mean Streets" were combined with "Il Consigliori", this movie would be the end result!!! The only fault I find with this movie is that it is so HARD TO FIND!!! This classic needs a DVD treatment ASAP!

RonnieJamesDio Crazy Joe is a well made gangster picture starring Peter Boyle as the title character The names are all changed up but it's not hard to tell who's who. The cast is terrific Henry Winkler,Eli Wallach,Charles Cioffi all support a terrific cast of faces that any mob movie buff such as myself would recognize. There's only one problem this movie is very hard to find so catch it any way you can it's well worth it