The Boondock Saints
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The Boondock Saints is a (1999) action film that follows two brothers, Conner and Murphy MacManus, who become vigilantes after killing two members of the Russian Mafia in self-defense. Believing they are on a mission from God, the brothers set out to rid their home city of Boston from the Italian and Russian Mafia. Along the way, the recruit their friend and former mob errand boy David Della Rocco, all while being uneasily pursued by FBI Agent Paul Smecker. Despite a limited theatrical release, the movie has developed a cult following for its action scenes and surprisingly deep storyline.
Movie information
Although the film is criticized for portraying vigilantism positively, the film's ethical question "is murder for good good?" is left for the viewers to answer. The theme of the movie can perhaps best be described as two people who break free from their role as bystanders (it also makes several references to the Kitty Genovese murder). The credits sequence shows a series of staged interviews with Bostonians regarding the actions of the Saints. There is no consensus.
Its cast includes Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as Conner and Murphy MacManus; Willem Dafoe as FBI agent Paul Smecker, David Della Rocco as David Della Rocco, Billy Connolly as Il Duce, and Ron Jeremy as an Italian mafia underboss.
Controversy and rumors
The Boondock Saints was given an extremely limited theatrical release; its distributor showed the film on only five screens. Troy Duffy later funded screenings of the film with help from Blockbuster Video. Despite interested receptions at screenings worldwide, the film remained without a major theatrical release. Blockbuster released The Boondock Saints as a "Blockbuster Exclusive", a collection of independent direct-to-video films. Fan rumors claim that video clerks would intentionally place The Boondock Saints in the case of a more popular film in order to promote awareness of the film[[Citing sources citation needed]]. Regardless of truth in those rumors, The Boondock Saints gained a large following mostly due to word of mouth publicity, and was a bestseller when released on DVD despite its nearly direct-to-video status. Despite its success, Troy Duffy never saw any of the profits from DVD distribution as he signed away the DVD rights in his contract with Indican.The 2003 documentary Overnight recorded the behind-the-scenes activities that took place when the movie was being written and filmed. Duffy's abrasive behavior was very apparent, causing tension for many people involved in the project. Overnight made the film festival rounds in 2003 and 2004.
A new showing of the film was held at select theaters on May 22, 2006 [link].
Possible sequel
According to the film's official website, the release date of the sequel The Boondock Saints: All Saints Day was September 2005 (this didn't happen, however). The sequel continues from the courtroom scene at the end of the first film. Industry insiders have long speculated that the actual production of this sequel is extremely unlikely considering that Troy Duffy has had no film directing or producing experience since 1999, and believe sequel rumors were being used as an attempt to promote the first film.
In late March of 2002, Duffy posted a letter to fans of the first film, claiming that financial backing had been found for a sequel. It would reportedly have twice the budget of the original film, and "experience a theatrical release." Willem Dafoe will not be returning, according to the posted letter.
Information for the sequel was formerly available on IMDb, where it was categorized as in development. However, as of January 2006 all information regarding the sequel has been removed from IMDb.
In a recent interview with IGN, Troy Duffy expressed his, as well as most of the cast's, interest in making the sequel. There are currently litigations concerning rights. Duffy explained once the legal battle finishes, a sequel seems likely.
However, also on IMDb is news of a film called Veritas, Prince of Truth, starring Sean Patrick Flannery as "Veritas". The synopsis is that "Kern has to fight an evil menace that could destroy the earth when Veritas, his favorite comic book hero, comes to life and seeks his help. " Kern is played by Bret Loehr
In June 2006, it was announced that due to the success of The Boondock Saints on DVD, Fox has agreed to finance a sequel [link].
The Real Boondock Saints?
The Boondock Saints is also the name of Troy Duffy's band, originally named The Brood. The band was renamed following the movie's success. To date, they have released one album called Release the Hounds, which featured two songs that appear in the movie: "Holy Fool", which played during Rocco's tavern shootout, and "Pipes", which played during the credits. The album was very low circulation, however it can be bought in the iTunes Music Store.
Plot synopsis
Prologue
The movie opens with the McManus brothers, two very religious and close Irish fraternal twins who work at a meat packing plant. One of their many talents is that in addition to English they speak Irish Gaelic, Russian, Italian, Dutch, French, Latin, and Spanish. The setting is modern day Boston, which has been wracked with gangland violence as a result of the presence of the Russian and Italian mobs.On St. Patrick's Day, Conner and Murphy are enjoying a beer at the local pub with their friends, among them David "Funny Man" Della Rocco, who is a small time delivery boy for the Yakavetta crime family. In come three Russian "soldiers", whose employers have bought the lease for the building and are attempting to close down the pub. Conner and Murphy at first try to reason with the mobsters, but to no avail. After making a crude joke, Rocco gets punched in the face, which stirs the brothers into action. Speaking in Russian, the brothers berate the mobsters and a bar fight ensues, with the numerically superior patrons on top. One mobster is hit over the head with wine bottles while the other is tied to the bar and his pants set on fire. The mobsters are mainly humiliated, rather than seriously injured.
Vengeance from above
The morning after, the armed mobsters seek out Conner and Murphy at their fifth floor apartment, intending to kill them. Conner is handcuffed to the toilet while Murphy is taken outside the building for his execution. In a fit of desperation, Connor rips the entire toilet from the floor and positions himself on the balcony above the mobsters. He drops the toilet on the would-be killers head, while simultaneously jumping from the ledge, landing on the second gangster. He passes out from the impact, leaving Murphy to pick up the shattered remains of the toilet to bash the still-conscious mobster over the head. Both are now dead. Murphy picks their pockets, steals their guns, then heaves Conner over his shoulder and runs from the alley.
Paul Smecker, FBI
Since the mob was involved in the incident, an FBI agent, Paul Smecker, is assigned to the case. From his subtle, and later more obvious actions, it becomes clear to the other detectives that he is gay. This does not affect their professionalism (much) in his company, as Smecker is a slightly unorthodox genius when it comes to analyzing crime scenes. It is Smecker who surmises that the death of the two mobsters was not a professional hit, but probable self-defense.Conner and Murphy decide to clear their names and arrive at the police station. It turns out that the police, as well as the local news see Conner and Murphy as heroes. The interview between Smecker and the brothers is a friendly and respectful affair, and it is here that we learn that Conner and Murphy can speak a variety of different languages. The police station is surrounded by reporters so the brothers decide to spend the night in a holding cell in order to avoid them. Rocco pushes his way into the station, passing Smecker and the police captain to give Conner and Murphy their clothes and crosses.
The 'Fat Man'
A small scene shows Rocco interacting with his superiors, an underboss played by Ron Jeremy, and the head of the Italian crime family, Papa Joe Yakavetta. Off screen, Rocco is given an assignment to be carried out later.That night, a sermon that the brothers had listened to earlier in the movie comes back to them: "We must all fear evil men, but there is another kind of evil, which we should fear most: and that is the indifference of good men."
They simultaneously wake up, looking at each other, apparently having had the same dream. The next morning, using the pager from the dead Russian mobster, Conner calls the number and learns of a meeting of Russian syndicate bosses at a Boston hotel. Unknowingly, this is the same meeting that Rocco will arrive at to complete his "assignment".
Wearing masks and carrying a variety of weapons and tools (including "50 feet of rope, like in the movies"), the two crawl through the ventilation ducts of the hotel and accidentally crash through the ceiling into the middle of the mob gathering. They quickly take out the nine bosses and underbosses with pistols, saving the leader for last. They recite a short prayer and kill him with two gunshots to the back of the head. The brothers place coins on the dead men's eyes. Rocco, under the guise of the hotel's room service deliveryman, then knocks on the door. As Rocco does not yet know the identities of the two masked men, Conner and Murphy scare him witless before jokingly revealing themselves. Before long they grasp the seriousness of Rocco's mission. Rocco was given a "big break" by Papa Joe, being told to kill the top Russian mob leaders at the hotel. He had been told there would only be two Russians present, and was given a six-chamber pistol. Upon discovering this, the brothers surmise that he was set up by Papa Joe, as he couldn't have taken out nine bosses that way; "What were you gonna do? Laugh the last three to death, funny man?".
Escalation
As this is another international crime incident, Smecker is called in to investigate. Smecker even pinpoints the cause as "bad television"; Conner and Murphy appear to have gotten many of their ideas from television, as their attempt at stealth by crawling through the air duct to ambush the Russians exemplified. While everyone else is puzzled by the coins over the eyes, Smecker announces that the ancient Greeks and Romans did this because they believed that the dead had to pay the boatman (Charon) to get across the river of the dead (Acheron or Styx).Rocco is unwilling to believe that his employer could set him up with a death mission. However, when his supposed friends tell him in a light-hearted manner at a nearby cafe that they had known all along that Rocco's big break was a death job, he becomes enraged and kills both of them, and an unwitting bartender, before running home in a panic. Rocco declares that he wants to help the brothers hunt down all the mobsters he once worked with, starting with the underboss (Ron Jeremy) who spread the news of Rocco's impending death.
The three vigilantes then proceed to go on a series of increasingly violent missions, cleansing the city of the most vicious, merciless criminals; covering their tracks all the while. Papa Joe contracts Il Duce ("The Duke", in Italian, and original nickname of Benito Mussolini), the most feared killer-for-hire that has ever been used in the Yakavetta Family. The family only used him three times in 20 years, "only when things got totally fucked," whenever they needed one of their own men bumped off. "Trust me kid, you don't want this guy unless you're absolutely sure you need him. He's a fucking monster!" The brothers and Rocco run into a serious problem. In an epic gun battle, the three barely manage to survive the onslaught of Il Duce, and Rocco's finger is shot off as they struggle to escape the scene.
While looking up the fingerprint in a police database, after finding the finger at the crime scene, Smecker recognizes Rocco from when he visited the brothers in the holding cell after the original fight with the Russians. However, by this time he has found he agrees with their vigilantism, but still feels bound by his duty as a law enforcer. He eventually goes to confession for advice, despite not being religious. Through the chain of events following, he earns the brothers' trust and is contacted by them, agreeing to help them take down Papa Joe.
The True Il Duce
Later the McManus brothers, Rocco, and Smecker all infiltrate the Yakavetta headquarters to finish off the family. The brothers and Rocco are caught and bound in the basement, while Smecker, posing as a female prostitute, takes out several mobsters. Rocco is shot and killed by Papa Joe, who leaves his henchmen to clean up all loose ends. The brothers escape from their chains but are too late to save Rocco. Though, Rocco gives them his last words on earth before he dies, " You guys get out of here. Don't stop, don't ever stop!" Referring to them destroying all "evil." As they say their family prayer over his body, Il Duce arrives and sneaks up behind them. In an unexpected plot twist, it is revealed that they are all on the same side. Il Duce is actually the father of the brothers as he repeats the family prayer with them. " And shepherds we shall be for Thee, my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy Hand, that Our feet may swiftly carry out Thy Command. So we shall flow a river forth to Thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be, In Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti." He then joins them in their mission to kill all wrongdoers.The Boondock Saints
Papa Joe is sent to trial for his many crimes. There is little hard evidence to prove his guilt, thus it is widely believed among the reporters present that he will go free. The trial is forcibly interrupted when the two brothers and Il Duce are helped by Agent Smecker and lock down the court room. " You people have been chosen, to reveal our existence to the world. You will witness what happens here today, and you will tell of it later. All eyes to the front." After the dramatic speech stating they will eradicate evil wherever they find it, they kill Papa Joe in the middle of the courtroom. As the spectators flee from the scene, the brothers and the Duke make their escape. The media dubs the three The Saints, and the movie ends with various people reflecting on the question "Are the Saints ultimately good, or evil?""Now you will recieve us, we do not ask for your poor, or your hungry, we do not want your tired and sick, it is your corrupt we claim, it is your evil that will be shot by us, with every breath we shall hunt them down, each day we will spill their blood 'til it rains down from the skys, do not kill, do not rape, do not steal, these are principles which every man of every faith can embrace, these are not polite suggestions these are codes of behavior and those of you that ignore them will pay the dearest cost, there are varying degrees of evil, we warn you lesser forms of filth, not to push the bounds and cross over into true corruption, into our domain, but if you do one day you will look behind you and you will see we three, and on that day you will reap it, and we will send you to whatever god you wish"
Body Count
Over the course of the film, 31 people and a cat are seen dead or dying on screen. A breakdown is as follows:
- 2 Russian mobsters in the alley, killed by Connor, who saves Murph.
- 9 Russian mobsters in the hotel shootout, killed by Connor and Murph.
- 1 cat, accidentally shot by Rocco.
- 3 (two of Yakavetta's underlings, one bartender who was in on it) in the bar, killed by Rocco.
- 3 in the Sin Bin (Lipazzi killed by Connor & Murph, the other two, a drug dealer and an abusive pimp, killed by Rocco).
- 8 mob henchmen at the poker game, killed jointly by Connor, Murph, and Rocco.
- Rocco is killed by Yakavetta.
- 4 mob henchmen on the night of the Saints' capture, two shot by Smecker, one's throat slit by Il Duce, and one stabbed by Connor.
- Yakavetta is publicly executed by the Saints.
External links
- [The Boondock Saints] official website
- [}}}] at Rotten Tomatoes
- [The East Coast Saints] - a Flash parody by TLG Media
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