Friday, July 10, 2015

Friday's Film Adaption: The Road to Perdition by Max Allan Collins


Summary:
The basis for the major motion picture, ROAD TO PERDITION is an enthralling crime noir story of revenge, morality and family loyalty. Michael OSullivan is a deeply religious family man who works as an Irish mob familys chief enforcer. But after his elder son witnesses one of his fathers hits, the godfather orders the death of OSullivans entire family. Barely surviving an encounter that takes his wife and younger son, OSullivan and his remaining child embark on a dark and violent mission of retribution against his former boss. Featuring accurate portrayals of Al Capone, Frank Nitti and Eliot Ness, this book offers a poignant look at the relationship between a morally-conflicted father and his adolescent son who both fears and worships him.


Film:
Bonds of loyalty are put to the test when a hitman's son witnesses what his father does for a living.
Release dates: July 12, 2002
Running time: 117 minutes
Cast:
Tom Hanks as Michael Sullivan, Sr., a top-notch hitman who works for John Rooney. 
Tyler Hoechlin as Michael Sullivan, Jr.  The actor was 14 years old at the time of filming so for scenes in which the character assisted his father as a getaway driver, Hoechlin was trained by a driving instructor.
Paul Newman as John Rooney, a crime boss who treats Sullivan as a surrogate son. 
Jude Law as Harlen Maguire, a crime scene photographer who moonlights as an assassin. 
Daniel Craig as Connor Rooney, the unstable, violent son of John Rooney. 
Stanley Tucci as Frank Nitti, the underboss for the Al Capone Outfit. 
Jennifer Jason Leigh as Annie Sullivan, the wife of Michael Sullivan, Sr.
Liam Aiken as Peter Sullivan, the doomed younger son of Michael Sullivan, Sr.
Dylan Baker as Alexander Rance
CiarΓ‘n Hinds as Finn McGovern
Anthony LaPaglia as Al Capone, the notorious crime boss. This character was filmed for a single scene, which was omitted from the final cut, and can be found in the DVD's deleted scenes.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Dennis Gassner, Nancy Haigh Best Art Direction Nominated
Conrad L. Hall Best Cinematography Won  (Nomination and award were posthumous. His son Conrad W. Hall accepted the award on his behalf.)
Thomas Newman Best Score Nominated
Scott Millan, Bob Beemer, John Pritchett Best Sound Nominated
Scott A. Hecker Best Sound Editing Nominated
Paul Newman Best Supporting Actor Nominated

Golden Globes
Paul Newman  Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture  Nominated

BAFTA Awards 2003
Conrad L. Hall   Best Cinematography  Won  Posthumously.
Dennis Gassner  Best Production Design 
Paul Newman Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role   Nominated

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA 2003
Won  Saturn Award Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film
Tyler Hoechlin Best Performance by a Younger Actor  


Trailer

Clips




A well acted, well written tale of classic mob friction and backstabbing.  Where the lines of good and bad blur, it's not always easy to know who you should be cheering for but in Perdition you can't help but cheer for Hanks and his surviving son and the connection to each that they cling too.  If you love mob tales than this is definitely one for you.  This is Paul Newman's final on screen performance and he's wonderful in it, he was made to play John Rooney.

RATING: 

Author Bio:
Max Allan Collins is an American mystery writer. He has written novels, screenplays, comic books, comic strips, trading cards, short stories, movie novelizations and historical fiction. He wrote the graphic novel Road to Perdition, created the comic book private eye Ms. Tree, and took over writing the Dick Tracy comic strip from creator Chester Gould and one of the Batman comic books for a time. He wrote books to expand on the Dark Angel TV series. He has also written books and comics based on the TV series franchise CSI. In 2006 he wrote Buried Deep, based on the TV series Bones.

Illustrator Bio:
Richard Piers Rayner is an English comic book artist. He is best known for his work on Road to Perdition. Richard Piers Rayner began his professional comic career in 1988, illustrating for DC Comics and Marvel Comics. His works include Hellblazer, Swamp Thing, L.E.G.I.O.N., Doctor Fate, and Doctor Who. His most notable work is Road to Perdition, which was adapted into a film in 2002, starring Tom Hanks, and directed by Sam Mendes.


Max Allen Collins
WEBSITE  /  AMAZON  /  GOODREADS

Richard Piers Rayner
LINKEDIN  /  WIKI  /  GOODREADS



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Film
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