Vincent Gallo Movies
Steely-eyed and greasy-haired with an adventurous taste in fashion, Vincent Gallo has certainly achieved some level of name recognition for his arrogant eccentricity. Notorious for talking about himself at great length without ever really saying anything of consequence, he's become something of a hipster icon to legions of fans. Though claims about his home life are dubious, he was born in Buffalo, NY, as the middle child of Sicilian immigrants. Playing in garage bands at an early age, he ran away to New York City at 16 and proceeded to seek fame and fortune by hanging out with the right people. Working as a musician under various names and in numerous bands, he showed his paintings in trendy N.Y.C. galleries and made the short film If You Feel Froggy, Jump. Appropriately, his first film appearance was as himself for the New York Beat Movie (1981), starring painter Jean Michel Basquiat and other big-name art scenesters. This was followed by an appearance in the New York underground film The Way It Is (1984), starring a young Steve Buscemi and Rockets Redglare. Gallo started acting as a TV guest star to make money and also fell into modeling for the same reason, becoming a fixture in Calvin Klein advertisements for clothes and fragrances. After playing the lead in the little-seen Doc's Kingdom, he made brief appearances in the films Goodfellas, The House of the Spirits, and The Perez Family. During this time he also started working with French director Claire Denis, who cast him in the short film Keep It for Yourself, the made-for-TV U.S. Go Home, and its follow-up feature Nénette et Boni (1996).Back in the States, he played more significant roles in Arizona Dream, with Johnny Depp, the crime comedy Palookaville, and Abel Ferrara's The Funeral. After starring in Kiefer Sutherland's directorial debut Truth or Consequences, N.M., he released his own independent debut, Buffalo '66. Made with a budget of 1.5 million dollars, Gallo wrote, directed, starred in, and composed the music for this largely autobiographic comedy drama. Certainly not ignored by critics or festivals, Buffalo '66 gained him a solid fan base as well as a boost to his music career. He then formed the short-lived band Bunny with Lukas Haas and released two solo albums on Warp records. Continuing his acting career opposite young attractive actresses, he starred in the crime drama Freeway 2: Confessions of a Trickbaby, with Natasha Lyonne; the Spanish drama Stranded: Náufragos, with Maria de Medeiros; the thriller Hide and Seek, with Jennifer Tilly; and the romantic comedy Get Well Soon, with Courteney Cox. He also reunited with director Denis for a lead role in the strange sex horror film Trouble Every Day, opposite Tricia Vessey. In 2003, he made his second effort as writer/director/star for The Brown Bunny with Chloë Sevigny, which premiered to much derision at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 2009
- R
On the heels of the self-financed, modestly budgeted 2007 drama Youth Without Youth -- his first directorial outing after a ten-year hiatus -- filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola remains situated in the director's chair for this semi-autobiographical family drama concerning an artistic family of immigrants whose fierce rivalries span several generations. Vincent Gallo stars with newcomer Alden Ehrenreich, with Carmen Maura, Maribel Verdú, and Alden Ehrenreich rounding out the cast. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Gallo, Alden Ehrenreich, (more)
- 2007
Oscar Wilde's Salome is given a new contemporary interpretation in this independent drama from director Erick Ifergan. Sally (Nina Brosh) is a young woman who lonely and emotionally isolated, despite her beauty. When she isn't busy looking after her ailing mother (Louise Fletcher), Sally works as a hair stylist in a salon along the seedy side of Hollywood Boulevard. One day Sally encounters Johnny (Vincent Gallo), a street preacher who spends his days talking to passers-by and handing out leaflets in which he testifies to his belief in God's love. Sally is drawn to Johnny and the gentle passion of his message, and she attempts to seduce him. While Johnny is drawn to her, in time he decides that his calling to the Lord is more important than a physical relationship with Sally and while she tries to follow in his spiritual path, ultimately he rejects her. Sally, however, refuses to allow Johnny to ignore her need for him. Also known as Hollywood Salome, most of Johnny 316 was shot in 1998, but the film was not completed until 2006. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Gallo, Nina Brosh, (more)
When a Russian anthropologist disappears beneath the city of Moscow, the rescue team assigned the task of tracking him down makes a most unusual discovery in this subterranean thriller starring Vincent Gallo and Val Kilmer. Deep beneath the city of Moscow dwells a group of people who have grown tired of life on the surface. They exist in a complex, multilevel system of caves and catacombs. When a rescue team descends beneath the city in search of a missing anthropologist, they are shocked to discover the underground city, and come face to face with the man who serves as their leader (Kilmer). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Gallo, Val Kilmer, (more)
- 2004
- Add Rated R: Republicans in Hollywood to QueueAdd Rated R: Republicans in Hollywood to top of Queue
Attmpeting to shatter the image of Hollywood as a liberal haven, filmmaker Jesse Moss profiles a number of Red-Staters who call La-La Land home in this 2004 Documentary. Among the right-leaning interviewees are comedian Drew Carey, gameshow hosts Pat Sajak and Ben Stein, sitcom star Patricia Heaton, and controversial actor/director Vincent Gallo. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 2003
- NR
Actor and musician Vincent Gallo takes on the role of writer, director, editor, cinematographer, and star with his second filmmaking effort, The Brown Bunny. Motorcycle racer Bud Clay (Gallo) drives his van across the country in search of his lost love, Daisy (Chloë Sevigny). He stops at her parents' house and sees the brown bunny she left behind. Along the rest of the way, he stops for gas, rides his bike, and makes out with a woman at a roadside rest area (Cheryl Tiegs). He meets up with Daisy when he finally arrives in Los Angeles, leading to the revelatory conclusion in his hotel room. The Brown Bunny premiered in competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival in a working cut of 119 minutes that was widely panned; a 93 minute final edit was shown at subsequent festivals and premiered in the United States in the summer of 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Gallo, Chloë Sevigny, (more)
An international party of astronauts crash lands on Mars. Bummer. Since rescue is, oh, 26 months away, and they only have air, food, and water for a few days, the astronauts must come to grips with the idea of dying slow and painful deaths. The captain (María Lidón) and two others explore the planet, only to make an awesome discovery. Meanwhile, Baglioni (Vincent Gallo) tries to convince the very-Catholic Jenny (Maria de Medeiros) to have sex before dying. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Gallo, Maria de Medeiros, (more)
Wildly popular TV talk show host Bobby Bishop (Vincent Gallo) has a nervous breakdown during an on-camera interview with a pop starlet, with whom he makes a rather crude observation and offer. This lapse of taste sets off a series of scandals in his off-camera life, which his beleaguered agent (Jeffrey Tambor) is helpless to stop. Desperate for love, Bobby rushes to New York City to find his former girlfriend, Lily (Courteney Cox), who doesn't even like his show, and neither does her cross-dressing boyfriend (Tate Donovan). Can true love straighten out the messes that are these folks' lives? ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Courteney Cox Arquette, Vincent Gallo, (more)
- 2001
Two strangers share a strange and terrible bond in this stylish horror tale that juggles sex and graphic bloodshed. Shane Brown (Vincent Gallo) is a strange man with a forbidding nature who has just married lovely but nervous June (Tricia Vessey), and they've decided to go to Paris for their honeymoon. In the City of Lights, a beautiful but dangerous woman named Core (Beatrice Dalle) has been leaving a trail of dead bodies in her wake when she's captured by Leo Semeneau (Alex Descas), a mysterious scientist who spirits her away to his estate. As Core is placed under guard, Semeneau leaves to return to the city for an unnamed assignment; we soon learn that one of Shane's reasons for coming to Paris was to find him and retrieve some important information. In time, we also discover that Shane and Core have something rather unusual in common -- both are murderous cannibals who regularly feast on the flesh of their victims, and Semeneau's information may hold the key to the secret behind their deadly appetite. Trouble Every Day generated a certain amount of controversy in its screenings at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, where a number of patrons walked out in disgust at the film's intense blend of sensuality and cannibalism. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Gallo, Tricia Vessey, (more)
Some people just shouldn't have children, and this offbeat thriller shows why. Jack (Bruce Greenwood) and Ann (Daryl Hannah) are a married couple whose lives seems nearly perfect, and they couldn't be happier when, after months of trying, Ann discovers that she's going to have a baby. Jack is understandably distraught when Ann is kidnapped, and he's later told that she's been killed. Actually, the truth is considerably more disturbing -- a psychotic doctor (Vincent Gallo) and his wife (Jennifer Tilly) want a child but have been unable to conceive, so they kidnap the pregnant Ann and attempt to falsify her death, intending to keep her until her child is born, and then raise the baby as their own. Hide and Seek was also released under the title Cord. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daryl Hannah, Jennifer Tilly, (more)
- 1999
- R
Despite the efforts of her sleazy attorney, Mr. Butz (David Alan Grier), teen drug dealer/car thief Crystal (Natasha Lyonne) is sentenced to a 25-year prison term, the first segment of which will be served in a youth correctional facility where she will be treated for her rampant bulimia. There, in-between binge/purge marathons with her fellow eating-disordered inmates and relentless harassment of the hapless authorities, she fends off the lesbian advances of her psychotic cellmate, Cyclona (Maria Celedonio), a serial killer who's just received a life sentence. The two escape together and embark on a cross-country road trip in search of Sister Gomez (Vincent Gallo), the beneficent nun who protected Cyclona from the sexual predations of her family during her troubled childhood south of the border. Where writer/director Matthew Bright's original Freeway was a modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, Freeway 2 riffs on Hansel and Gretel; it borrows only the trailer-park trappings of the earlier film, making the titular allusion to automobiles somewhat tenuous. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natasha Lyonne, Maria Celedonio, (more)
A darkly comic whodunit about greed, deceit, and romantic deception, Goodbye Lover stars Patricia Arquette as Sandra, a seemingly moral and obsessively cheerful woman who sells real estate and is fascinated by the movie The Sound Of Music. But Sandra has a secret; while she's married to Jake (Dermot Mulroney), an ad executive who is having problems with both his career and his drinking, she's having an affair with his brother, Ben (Don Johnson), a successful public relations man. Ben, on the other hand, is already dallying with Peggy (Mary-Louise Parker), a woman on his staff who is beautiful but insecure, though she has a darker side few people know about. When Ben decides to break it off with Sandra so he can pursue his relationship with Peggy, Sandra is furious, and, knowing Jake would be just as angry, tells him about their affair. A vengeful Jake confronts Ben, which leads to a knock-down, drag-out fight -- and Ben's death, as he falls from a window. Ben leaves behind a hefty insurance settlement, and soon the surviving characters are scrambling over the money. Enter Police Detective Rita Pompano (Ellen DeGeneres), who has seen too much in her time on the force to not develop a deep cynicism about the people she protects -- or to not be tempted to get in on the payday herself. Goodbye Lover was directed by Roland Joffé, in something of a departure from his best-known work in high-minded dramas such as The Killing Fields and The Mission. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Arquette, Dermot Mulroney, (more)
Actor Vincent Gallo (The Funeral, Palookaville) made his feature directorial debut with this drama about convict Billy Brown (Gallo), released after half a decade spent behind bars. Drifting into downtown Buffalo, Billy kidnaps teen Layla (Christina Ricci) and has her pose as his loving wife when he visits his parents (Ben Gazzara and Anjelica Huston). Layla praises him and goes along with his fanciful tale that they met at CIA headquarters, where they both worked. Mom and dad not only fall for this, they are entranced by Layla, who soon begins to embellish her act. When she claims to be pregnant by Billy, he hustles her out to a bowling alley and on to a restaurant, where they run into trampy Wendy (Rosanna Arquette), who might be Billy's former girlfriend. Eventually, Billy seems ready to track down and kill the person he feels was responsible for his five years in the slammer. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Gallo, Christina Ricci, (more)
Mika Kaurismaki directed this British-French-Finnish romantic comedy adapted from Richard Rayner's autobiographical novel about a series of Hollywood misadventures. Vacationing in the North of England, aspiring Los Angeles actress Barbara (Vinessa Shaw) stops briefly in a village where she meets town undertaker and obit writer Richard (David Tennant) -- who just can't stop thinking about her. Flying to California, Richard arrives at the Japanese restaurant where Barbara is a waitress, and a relationship begins -- while Richard learns about Hollywood at the hands of various hustlers and agents. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Tennant, Vinessa Shaw, (more)
The directorial debut of Kiefer Sutherland is part-Western, part-gangster flick in the style of Quentin Tarantino. Raymond (Vincent Gallo) is paroled from prison but decides to do one last robbery to get money to help him successfully woo his love Addy (Kim Dickens). With fellow ex-con Curtis Freley (Sutherland) and his friend Marcus Weans (Mykelti Williamson), who is really an undercover narcotics agent, Raymond botches a drug heist. Fleeing to Mexico, they pick up a pair of young yuppie lovers, Donna (Grace Phillips) and Gordon (Kevin Pollack), and hold them hostage for the ride. They change their getaway vehicle to Gordon's Winnebago mobile home. In Las Vegas, they try to sell stolen drugs to a mob kingpin, Tony Vega (Rod Steiger). ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Gallo, Mykelti Williamson, (more)
Cult figure Abel Ferrara directed this dark, emotional tale of life among the criminal underworld, set in the late 1930s. The Tempio Brothers -- Ray (Christopher Walken), Chez (Chris Penn), and Johnny (Vincent Gallo) -- work with the mob; Ray is the cool and methodical type, Chez is an angry man who tends to fly off the handle, and Johnny is the odd man out, whose work with labor unions has given him a strong interest in socialism. When Johnny is murdered by rival mobster Gaspare (Benicio del Toro), it has a profound effect on his brothers. Ray is determined to seek revenge, even though his wife Jeanette (Anabella Sciorra), realizing a reprisal will only lead to more violence, begs him to reconsider, while Chez begins losing his tenuous grip on reality, causing no small discomfort for his wife Clara (Isabella Rossellini). In time, both brothers are forced to deal with the ugly repercussions of their family's long-standing criminal lifestyle. Chris Penn's performance as Chez earned him the "Best Actor" trophy at the 1996 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, (more)
Nenette (Alice Houri) is a 14-year-old girl with an attitude problem who runs away from her boarding school only to knock on the door of her older brother Boni (Gregoire Colin). Boni has his own problems most of which center around an erotic fixation with the baker's sexy wife (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi). He is very reluctant to take Nenette in. Then he finds out she is pregnant. As their relationship grows and adjusts, each begins to understand what maturity it takes to bring a new life into the world. Claire Denis, best known for her film Chocolat, directed. This French film won top honors at the 1996 Locarno Film Festival. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Grégoire Colin, Alice Houri, (more)
Three likable losers attempt "a momentary shift in lifestyle" by becoming part-time thieves in this comedy. Russ (Vincent Gallo) is living with his family, who don't get along especially well, and he fools around with the teenage girl who lives next door. Jerry (Adam Trese) is married to Betty (Linda Gay Hamilton), who -- unlike her husband -- has a job and wants to keep it, even if that means having an affair with her boss. And Sid (William Forsythe) has a soft spot for dogs, which helped derail his plans for a taxi service for senior citizens. All three guys are out of work and need quick money; Russ comes up with a plan to rob a jewelry store, but things go haywire when they accidentally break into a bakery instead, though they at least make off with a large supply of doughnuts. Despite their initial failure as criminals, the would-be thieves raise their sights and plan to knock over an armored car, but they soon discover just how far out of their league they really are. Palookaville was based on a series of short stories by Italian writer Italo Calvino. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Forsythe, Vincent Gallo, (more)
Two children from a working-class family in New York struggle to understand the story of God versus Lucifer as they try to deal with a mentally ill mother in this intense, realistic, spiritual drama. Angela is ten-years-old and has visions of angels. She spends much of her time trying to comprehend the tale of God and Lucifer. She also tries to protect her baby sister, six-year-old, Ellie by cautioning her to stay clean and good lest the Devil take her away. Ellie and Angela have been moved several times in their life. Their father, Andrew, is a hard worker; their mother, Mae, is becoming increasingly mentally ill. The children frequently witness her outbursts, but can do nothing to stop her sad descent. Sometimes Angela spies on them as they make love. After Mae is finally placed in an institution the girls must spend many hours on their own. At one point they assist their pregnant sitter when her water breaks. At another they manage to get away from a child molester at a carnival. In the final scene, Angela decides to baptize herself in the river and finally finds the transformation she sought. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Ventimiglia, Miranda Stuart Rhyne, (more)
Old and new loves are turned upside down through a complex case of mistaken identities in this romantic comedy-drama. In 1980, Juan Raul Perez (Alfred Molina) is released from a Cuban prison after spending 20 years behind bars and is allowed to join a mass emigration to the U.S. While Juan was incarcerated, his wife Carmela Perez (Anjelica Huston) escaped to Florida with their daughter, and Juan lives for the day when they can be reunited. En route to Miami, Juan meets Dottie Perez (Marisa Tomei), a fiery young woman who wants to leave behind her career as a prostitute. Juan and Carmela miss finding each other when his boat reaches Miami, and immigration personnel mistakenly assume that Juan and Dottie Perez are husband and wife; when they learn that families tend to find American sponsors much faster than individuals, they play along with the mistake, even convincing other Perezes to pose as their child and grandfather. Juan discovers that trying to renew an old relationship isn't easy as one tries to start a new life, especially since Carmela has attracted the attentions of police lieutenant John Pirelli (Chazz Palminteri). Cuban jazz legend Arturo Sandoval contributed to the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marisa Tomei, Alfred Molina, (more)
- 1994
This film is part of the nine volume "Tous les Garcons et les Filles de Leur Age" series which chronicles the adolescent eras of nine prominent directors. "U.S. Go Home," set in 1965, chronicles 24 hours in the lives of three teenagers as they try to finally lose their virginity. Martine, Marlene, and Martine's older brother Alain, live in a small town outside of Paris. They are preparing to attend a wild party where Martine hopes to get laid. Unfortunately Martine is a shy wallflower, and does not get lucky at the party despite the tender consolation of her equally unlucky brother who tried to score with Marlene. Martine's prospects brighten when she accepts a ride home with an initially reticent American soldier. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alice Houri, Jessica Tharaud, (more)
Bille August directed this film version of the Isabel Allende novel, featuring a cast that includes Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close. The story is a sweeping and brooding melodrama, spanning generations and filled with violence, revenge, and telekinesis. The tale begins in South America in 1926, when a young man, Esteban (Jeremy Irons), falls in love with the daughter of a rich man, Rosa Del Valle (Teri Polo). He vows to become rich enough to make her his wife and spends months of toil in the gold fields to earn enough money to do just that. Before the two marry, however, Rosa is killed by poison meant for her father. After the tragedy, Esteban moves to Trés Marias, an abandoned ranch, and spends 20 years of his life turning the ranch into a thriving estate, exploiting the labor of the poor who live off the land. When he returns to the city, he comes across Rosa's younger sister Clara (Meryl Streep), now a woman with telekinetic abilities. Clara took a vow of silence years before, but upon the arrival of Esteban, she speaks for the first time in years -- "You have come to propose marriage to me," she says. Esteban and Clara marry, and Esteban takes her back to the ranch, where they have a daughter, Blanca (Winona Ryder). Their daughter falls in love with the son of one of Esteban's foremen, a hot-headed revolutionary named Pedro (Antonio Banderas). Now, the country is in the throes of revolution. Esteban banishes his sister Ferula (Glenn Close) from the ranch, beats his wife, and rapes a peasant woman. The product of Esteban's rape (Joaquin Martinez) grows into an angry young man who convinces Esteban to send him away to military school. When there is a military coup, the illegitimate son returns to Trés Marias with revenge and torture on his mind. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, (more)
- 1993
- R
Director Emir Kusturica and screenwriter David Atkins crafted this absurdist comedy in which Johnny Depp plays Axel Blackmer, who lives in New York State and is obsessed with fish. He tags fish and monitors their habits for a living, but his greatest curiosity is when and how they dream. Axel's uncle, Leo Sweetie (Jerry Lewis) would prefer Axel take over the family business, a Cadillac dealership in Tucson, Arizona; against his better judgment, Axel drives from New York to Arizona to check out the lot and attend Leo's wedding to Millie (Paulina Porizkova), a woman who is hoping that marriage will keep her from crying all the time. While watching the Cadillacs, Leo meets Elaine Stalker (Faye Dunaway), the sexy widow of a wealthy mine owner, and the two strike up a romance, while Elaine's daughter Grace (Lili Taylor) wanders through her mother's home playing "Besame Mucho" on the accordion to her pet turtles. Needless to say, Warner Bros, the film's United States distributor, didn't figure this was a sure bet for box-office success, and they trimmed Arizona Dream of 22 minutes before putting it into limited release and eventually dumping it onto home video without opening it in most major cities. Kusturica's original 142-minute cut was released in Europe (where it did respectable if not ground-shaking business) and to a few art houses in America; the shortened 120-minute version is available on home video. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis, (more)
- 1990
- R
Less an example of the native giallo subgenre than an Italian attempt to imitate the erotic thrillers then popular in America, this film went so far as to use an English-language title and mask its director Enrico Grassi as "Bob J. Ross" even in Italy itself. The frequently nude Loredana Romito stars as Carla, a beautiful woman married to the owner of a luxurious hotel in the country. When her husband is blinded in an accident with a handsome young man on a motorcycle, Carla takes over the daily operations of the hotel and hires the motorcyclist, Alessio, as a handyman. When Carla discovers her blind husband sleeping with his mistress, she takes Alessio to bed and begins to sexually control him, eventually persuading him to push her husband off a cliff to his death. Unfortunately, the hotel maid discovers what has happened and attempts to blackmail Carla, receiving a bullet in the head for her efforts. After disposing of the body, Alessio and Carla engage in the film's central set piece, a blood-smeared sex scene which graphically fuses the lust for flesh and the lust for blood in a way that few American films have dared since the opening scene of Basic Instinct. It's a common enough occurrence in giallo films, however, and shouldn't offend many devotees, particularly coming as it does in the middle of a fairly bloodless endeavor as far as Italian thrillers go. John Armstead co-stars with Ann Margaret Hughes, James Villemaire, and Carmen Manzano. Various prints run 84 and 87 minutes. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1990
A number of colonial wars in Africa in the 1970s have resulted in the conscription of Alex's father Pedro into the Portuguese Army. The young man and his father write to one another frequently, and it seems as if they are still close. However, at some point, the letters stop coming. Alex and his mother are worried that Pedro might have been killed or captured, but that particular concern is soon replaced by another when they learn from a returning soldier that Pedro has been back in Portugal for several months. When he is persuaded to return to his home, it becomes clear that he might have been wiser to stay away. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Gallo, Teresa Roby, (more)
