Joe Pesci Movies
A consummate character actor, Joe Pesci rose to success on the strength of a series of Martin Scorsese films which took full advantage of his gift for outlandishly menacing supporting performances. Born February 9, 1943, in Newark, NJ, Pesci was a child actor who began his radio career at the age of four. Broadway beckoned just a year later, and by 1953 he was a regular on the television variety program Star Time Kids. His acting career stalled during his teen years, however, and by the mid-'60s, he mounted a musical career under the name Joe Ritchie, recording an LP titled Little Joe Sure Can Sing and later playing guitar in the pop band Joey Dee & the Starliters. He also formed a vaudeville-style nightclub comedy act with Frank Vincent. Outside of 1961's Hey, Let's Twist!, Pesci did not appear in films prior to the little-seen 1975 feature The Death Collector; the film earned virtually no notice upon its release and he dropped out of acting, dejectedly returning to New York to run an Italian restaurant.While few people saw The Death Collector, one of those who did was actor Robert De Niro, who was so impressed by Pesci's performance that he brought the film to the attention of Scorsese, who cast Pesci in his 1980 masterpiece Raging Bull. The performance earned Pesci an Academy Award nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category, and he became one of the busiest character actors in the business, steadily appearing in films ranging from the 1983 Rodney Dangerfield comedy Easy Money to the 1984 Sergio Leone epic Once Upon a Time in America. After starring in a failed 1985 sitcom, Half Nelson, Pesci's onscreen visibility diminished, and over the next four years he appeared in only one film, 1987's Man on Fire. In 1989, however, he co-starred opposite Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the hit Lethal Weapon 2, a performance which put his talent for comic relief to such fine use that he later reappeared in the third chapter of the franchise, issued in 1992.
By that point, Pesci had already become a star; 1990 was his breakthrough year, as he appeared in the family comedy blockbuster Home Alone and Scorsese's brilliant GoodFellas, winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his vivid portrayal of a psychotic mobster. While his first major starring role in 1991's The Super proved disastrous, he won good notices for his supporting turn in Oliver Stone's JFK and in 1992 starred in the hit courtroom comedy My Cousin Vinny. While neither 1994's Jimmy Hollywood nor With Honors performed well, in 1995 he reunited with Scorsese and De Niro for the epic Casino, essaying a variation on his GoodFellas character. However, a pair of poorly received 1997 comedies -- Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag and Gone Fishin' -- again called Pesci's capabilities as a lead actor into question. He found more success reprising his supporting role in Lethal Weapon 4, released in 1998. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 2010
Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci star as a married couple whose faithfulness is tested with deadly results after starting Nevada's first legal brothel in this Capitol Films drama. Mark Jacobson adapts the screenplay based on a true story that ended with the death of boxer Oscar Bonavena at the Mustang Ranch in 1976. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Mirren, Joe Pesci, (more)
No other series of films has achieved greater commercial success, or captured the attention of as many viewers, as Star Wars, its two sequels, and the continuing series of prequels. Filmmaker Tariq Jalil had long been fascinated by the passionate following the films inspired, and when the publicity machine began rolling for the release of Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace in 1999, he assembled a camera crew to document the fans who waited in line (some for as long as a month and a half) in order to be among the first to see the long-awaited film on its first day of release. Along the way, Jalil also interviewed a number of other passionate Star Wars devotees, and the documentary A Galaxy Far, Far Away examines the cultural phenomenon of Star Wars fandom, from celebrities who stop by to see the film on opening weekend (including Samuel L. Jackson, Joe Pesci, Meat Loaf, and Roger Corman) to Star Wars-inspired rapper Jam Master Jedi and a number of rabid toy collectors who nearly riot while trying to get their hands on Episode I action figures. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Vogler, Roger Corman, (more)
The American Film Institute's Directors: Martin Scorsese profiles the great director and offers insight into Scorsese's working methods, philosophies, and intentions. The documentary examines his total career, including his apprenticeship with Roger Corman, the great controversy over Last Temptation of Christ, his award-winning gangster picks, and Bringing Out the Dead, which received mixed reviews. Directed by Robert J. Emery, the one-hour program features interviews with Scorsese, Jodie Foster, Willem Dafoe, Barbara De Fina, Griffin Dunne, Ray Liotta, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Paul Newman, and Joe Pesci. Films excerpted include Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, After Hours, Casino, and others. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide
This video captures Tony Bennett performing before an adoring audience during a 1998 concert that was recorded for A&E as part of their Live By Request series. Featuring appearances by such luminaries as Elvis Costello, Billy Joel, and Sting, the concert fins Bennett performing timeless favorites like "Fly Me to the Moon", "Steppin' Out With My Baby", "Chicago", and "They Can't Take That Away From Me". ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 1992
This 1992 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Joe Pesci and features musical guest Spin Doctors. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Pesci, Spin Doctors, (more)
- 1992
It takes a failed business effort by a Vegas nightclub owner to open his eyes to see the things that are really important in his life. ~ All Movie Guide
Originally prepared for European release under the title Catchfire, Backtrack wasn't given a wide distribution until 1991, and then only to capitalize on the Oscar win of Silence of the Lambs star Jodie Foster. In Backtrack, Foster plays a youngish innocent who witnesses a mob hit. Professional assassin Dennis Hopper is contracted to silence Foster for keeps. Instead, he falls in love with her. Directed by star Hopper, Backtrack has some of the feel of his earlier, better Easy Rider: the cast is populated by such old Hopper chums as Dean Stockwell, Charlie Sheen, Joe Pesci, Bob Dylan, Vincent Price and Julie Adams; and, like Easy Rider, it looks as though the story was improvised during filming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Jodie Foster, (more)
- 1988
Even non-fans of Michael Jackson will be caught up in the exuberance and virtuosity of Moonwalker. This 84-minute music video casts The Gloved One as host of a futuristic TV special. Highlights include an extended Claymation sequence and a 3-D vignette put together by the Disney Company. The most endearing aspect of Moonwalker is Jackson's willingness to poke fun at his own tabloid-headline image. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Jackson, Sean Lennon, (more)
- 1985
Half-Nelson was a very brief TV cop series which made its bow on March 24, 1985, with a two-hour "special". Joe Pesci, sporting lots and lots of hair, stars as ex-Manhattan cop Rocky Nelson, nicknamed "Half" Nelson because he stands well under six feet. Nelson is now a Beverly Hills security guard who dreams of launching an acting career. Guest star Morgan Brittany shows up just long enough to die along with an old buddy of Nelson's. The official police verdict is suicide, but Nelson suspects foul play. Also showing up in cameo roles are Dean Martin, John Matuszak, Larry Holmes and Jerry Reuss. The Half-Nelson pilot was telecast on a Sunday; the subsequent series settled into a Friday night slot (but not for long). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
In this take-off on Italian corruption, the indefatigable Alberto Sordi appears as Annibalo Salvemini, a morally upright and slightly eccentric judge determined to root out the causes of crime in his jurisdiction, even if the criminals lead all the way up to the highest echelons of political, corporate, and social power. His archenemy is Corrado Emilio Parisi (Joe Pesci), a crime boss who manipulates his minions and those who owe him favors like a puppeteer pulling the strings of his marionettes. Italian viewers will spot the many allusions to people in power and/or in the news with little difficulty, which may account for a twisted ending that lets most of the "accused" off the hook. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alberto Sordi, Joe Pesci, (more)
This off-kilter German film attempts to tell a purely American story as filtered through European sensibilities. Joe Pesci plays Ruby Dennis, a Jewish bowling alley/nightclub manager in New Jersey. Despite his tacky surroundings, Ruby convinces himself that he's just about to hit the big time in Las Vegas. It takes him 100 minutes to realize that he's never going to be any better off than he is now. Just tap your bowling shoes together three times and say, "There's no place like Jersey." Tony Martin shows up in the film's highlight, a dream sequence in which a handful of songs co-written by star Pesci are featured. Dear Mr. Wonderful was released to video as Ruby's Dream. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Pesci, Karen Ludwig, (more)
A reclusive, unhappy gold magnate finds his isolated tropical paradise threatened by the intrusion of organized criminals in director Nicolas Roeg's convoluted, arty drama. Gene Hackman stars as Jack McCann, a one-time gold prospector who his parlayed the discovery of a rich deposit in the Canadian wilderness into an immense fortune. Instead of satisfaction, McCann's wealth leads to depression and paranoia, and he moves to a remote island and withdraws from the world. The bulk of the film centers on what has become of McCann some thirty years later, as he attempts to deal with a troubled daughter (Theresa Russell) and the attentions of the Mafia, who want to build a new casino on his tropical home. As the pressures increase, his efforts to protect his property and maintain his family become increasingly desperate, culminating in an extended public trial. Even stranger and more stylized than most of Roeg's work, the disjointed Eureka will seem incomprehensible and painfully pretentious to those with little patience for his indirect narratives and purposefully exaggerated approach. Devoted fans, however, will find further proof of the director's impressive visual sense, especially during the film's earlier sequences. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Theresa Russell, (more)
One man bears witness to the secret history of America during the Cold War in this drama directed by celebrated actor Robert De Niro. In 1939, Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) is a young man with a bright future ahead of him -- he's a top student at Yale and the protégé of one of the school's leading English professors, Dr. Fredericks (Michael Gambon). But Wilson's life changes dramatically when he's invited to join Yale's powerful secret society, Skull and Bones. Through his Skull and Bones connections, Wilson meets Sam Murach (Alec Baldwin), an mysterious FBI agent who asks Wilson to investigate charges that Fredericks is a Nazi sympathizer working with the German government. Later, at a Skull and Bones party, Wilson is introduced to Clover Russell (Angelina Jolie), the sister of one of his classmates and the daughter of a powerful politician; their one-night stand leaves Clover pregnant, and Wilson must leave the woman he loves, Laura (Tammy Blanchard), to wed Clover and give their child a name. Shortly after their wedding, thanks to his work with Murach, Wilson is invited to join the Office of Strategic Services, a military intelligence organization organized by Bill Sullivan (Robert De Niro), and Wilson accepts. Through World War II, Wilson serves with the OSS, and learns he can trust no one in the game of international espionage, which helps make him little more than a stranger to his wife, his son, and his few friends. As the OSS evolves into the Central Intelligence Agency after the war, Wilson becomes party to America's darkest and most dangerous secrets, and in the wake of the futile Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, Wilson is forced to make a terrible choice between the security of his nation and the safety of his family. Inspired by the true-life story of CIA founder James J. Angleton, The Good Shepherd boasts an impressive supporting cast, including William Hurt, John Turturro, Billy Crudup, Joe Pesci, and Timothy Hutton.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, (more)
Detectives Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) reteamed for their fourth foray together in this buddy-cop action-comedy series based on characters created by Shane Black. With the passage of years, Murtagh's daughter Rianne (Traci Wolfe) is now about to upgrade Murtagh to grandfather status, while Riggs' relationship with Internal Affairs officer Lorna Cole (Rene Russo) means he'll become a proud papa. Elsewhere on the family front, Chinese triad members in Los Angeles smuggle families from the mainland, but this is only one item on the criminal agenda of triad leader Wah Sing Ku (Jet Li), who executes balletic martial arts maneuvers with blinding speed (fight sequences were staged by Hong Kong director Corey Yuen). The film opens with fire (when Riggs and Murtaugh encounter a flame-thrower in a bulletproof suit) and travels an entertaining popcorn plot path to a frightening, watery climax (which we won't reveal here). In between, Riggs and Murtaugh tackle the troublesome triads with an assist from wickedly witty, sharp-edged newcomer Lee Butters (Chris Rock) and private detective Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), the character first seen as a mob accountant in the second film of this highly popular series. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, (more)
Cross What's up Doc with Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and you get this dark screwball comedy of murder and lost luggage. Mafia hitman Tommy Spinelli (Joe Pesci) is flying to San Diego with a bag that holds eight severed heads, which he's bringing to his superiors to prove that some troublesome rival mobsters are permanently out of the picture. Medical student Charlie Pritchett (Andy Comeau) is headed to Mexico with his fiancée Laurie Bennett (Kristy Swanson) to meet her parents. Charlie's suitcase is identical to Tommy's, and it's not until Tommy arrives in San Diego that he discovers that there are no heads in his bag, while Charlie realizes his duffel most certainly does not contain his vacation wardrobe. Tommy finds Charlie's address in the bag and heads to the fraternity house he calls home, where he drafts Charlie's friends Ernie (David Spade) and Steve (Todd Louiso) into finding him some replacement heads post-haste. Meanwhile, Laurie's parents (Dyan Cannon and George Hamilton) are a bit miffed to discover that their future son-in-law is travelling with a bag full of rotting heads, while Laurie is ready to give Charlie his walking papers. Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag was the directorial debut of screenwriter Tom Schulman, who won an Academy Award for his script for the movie Dead Poets Society. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Pesci, Andy Comeau, (more)
The inner-workings of a corrupt Las Vegas casino are exposed in Martin Scorsese's story of crime and punishment. The film chronicles the lives and times of three characters: "Ace" Rothstein (Robert De Niro), a bookmaking wizard; Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), a Mafia underboss and longtime best friend to Ace; and Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone, in a role she was born to play), a leggy ex-prostitute with a fondness for jewelry and a penchant for playing the field. Ace plays by the rules (albeit Vegas rules, which, as he reminds the audience in voiceover, would make him a criminal in any other state), while Nicky and Ginger lie, cheat, and steal their respective ways to the top. The film's first hour and a half details their rise to power, while the second half follows their downfall as the FBI, corrupt government officials, and angry mob bosses pick apart their Camelot piece by piece. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, (more)
Clad in a blonde wig, Joe Pesci stars as the title character, a luckless actor. Unable to make it in the real showbiz world, Jimmy starts fantasizing about fame and fortune. His delusions eventually turn into reality when, through a fluke, Jimmy becomes known to one and all as "Jericho," a Robin Hood-like vigilante. Victoria Abril appears in a supporting role and the film's climax features a number of cameo performances. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Pesci, Christian Slater, (more)
- 1993
- R
- Add A Bronx Tale to Queue
Robert De Niro made his directorial debut with this expanded adaptation of Chazz Palminteri's one-character play. DeNiro's role of Lorenzo Anello, an Italian-America bus driver, is secondary to the part of his son Calogero, played by young Francis Capra. The top dog in Calogero's Bronx neighborhood is flashy "wiseguy" Sonny (Chazz Palminteri). When the boy witnesses Sonny commit a murder, he honors the code of the streets and refuses to tell the cops. Sonny befriends him and introduces the impressionable youngster to the creature comforts that mob connections can bring. But though he idolizes Sonny, the boy loves and respects his decent, honest father. It takes a major tragedy for the 17-year-old boy (now played by Lillo Brancato) to decide his true course in life. Though titled A Bronx Tale and set in the Bronx of the 1960s, the film was actually shot in the somewhat safer environs of Brooklyn and Queens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Chazz Palminteri, (more)
Superstars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover return with director Richard Donner for Lethal Weapon 3, the third in the phenomenally successful action series. In this film, Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) is only eight days away from retirement and his partner Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) once again manages to get them both into hot water with the both LAPD and the bad guys, who this time are Jack Travis (Stuart Wilson) and a gang of hoodlums selling armor-piercing bullets. Joe Pesci returns as the fast-talking schmuck Leo Getz. A new addition to the cast is Rene Russo as Lorna Cole, a sergeant from internal affairs sent to investigate Riggs and Murtaugh, but who ultimately ends up falling in love with the caffienated Riggs. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, (more)
When sweet Northern college kid Bill (Ralph Macchio) and his buddy Stan (Mitchell Whitfield) are picked up and thrown into the slammer in a hick Southern town, at first it looks like no big deal. Then they are informed that they are accused of murder. Penniless and without a single friend in the area, Bill decides to call his goofy cousin Vinny (Joe Pesci), who has somehow recently become a lawyer. Full of family feeling and bravado, Vinny, who has never tried a criminal case in his short life as a lawyer, rides south to defend his trusting relative. He's an expert motormouth and street-level logician from the wilder reaches of metropolitan New York, complete with a thick accent and the attitude to go with it. Otherwise, he's much less well qualified than your average public defender. When he arrives on the scene with his equally brassy girlfriend Lisa (Marisa Tomei), Bill is fairly sure he's going to be sentenced to death. His buddy Stan is even less confident of his legal representative, if that's possible, and the first thing Vinny has to do is to regain the consent of his clients to represent them. The local judge doesn't seem any too sympathetic to Vinny's verbal shenanigans either, and even the most optimistic supporter of the boys would begin to have doubts at this point -- and Vinny's no exception. With the insistent moral encouragement of his girlfriend, Vinny somehow accomplishes the impossible and wins grudging (if very irritated) respect from all concerned, for once studying as if his life depended on it. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, (more)
- 1992
- R
Howard Franklin wrote and directed this film noir character study based on the famed New York Daily News photographer Weegee. Joe Pesci plays a character named Bernstein, a freelance photographer for the New York City tabloids of the 1940s. His life is dedicated to his work; with a police radio under the dashboard of his car and a darkroom in his trunk, he quickly and efficiently races to the scene of crimes, accidents and murders to snap photographs of gangsters, politicians, cops, and prostitutes, which he promptly delivers to the newspapers. His knack for arriving at a crime scene before the police earns him the nickname the Great Bernzini. The trouble begins for Bernstein when he agrees to look up a gangster for Kay (Barbara Hershey), the sexy owner of a fancy Manhattan nightclub. After making inquiries, Bernstein traces the man Kay is looking for, but he turns up dead. When he informs the police, he becomes a suspect in the murder; it also turns out that the FBI is interested the case. Bernstein then uncovers an elaborate conspiracy concerning gas rationing, the mob, and the government. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Pesci, Barbara Hershey, (more)
The November 22, 1963, assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy shocked the nation and the world. The brisk investigation of that murder conducted under the guidance of Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren distressed many observers, even though subsequent careful investigations have been unable to find much fault with the conclusions his commission drew, the central one of which was that the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, acted alone. Instead of satisfying the public, one result of the Warren Commission Report was that an unimaginable number of plausible conspiracy theories were bruited about, and these have supported a sizeable publishing mini-industry ever since. In making this movie, director Oliver Stone had his pick of supposed or real investigative flaws to draw from and has constructed what some reviewers felt was one of the most compelling (and controversial) political detective thrillers ever to emerge from American cinema. Long before filming was completed, Stone was fending off heated accusations of artistic and historical irresponsibility, and these only intensified after the film was released. In the story, New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) is convinced that there are some big flaws in the investigation of Oswald (Gary Oldman), and he sets out to recreate the events leading up to the assassination. Along the way, he stumbles across evidence that a great many people had reason to want to see the president killed, and he is convinced that some of them worked in concert to frame Oswald as the killer. Among the suspects are Lyndon Baines Johnson (the next president), the CIA, J. Edgar Hoover, and the Mafia. Over the course of gathering what he believes to be evidence of a conspiracy, Garrison unveils some of the grittier aspects of New Orleans society, focusing on the shady activities of local businessman Clay Shaw (Tommy Lee Jones). Garrison's investigations culminate in his conducting a show trial that he knows he will lose and which he is sure will ruin his career in order to get his evidence into the public record where it can't be buried again. This movie won two of the many Academy Awards for which it was nominated: one for Best Photography (Robert Richardson) and the other for Editing (Joe Hutshing). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek, (more)
Joe Pesci stars as Louie Kritski, a heartless landlord who has been so negligent in keeping up his ghetto apartment that he is threatened with jail time. The judge gives him another option, which he accepts -- he must live in his rat-infested hell hole until he brings it up to liveable standards. The judge gives him 120 days, during which time Louie meets many of his tenants, including drug dealer Marlon (Ruben Blades). Over time, Louie grows more sympathetic with their problems and sees the results of his own greediness. Unfortunately, Louie's father, Big Lou Kritski (Vincent Gardenia), is the real owner of the property, and he resists his son's entreaties to spend money to clean up the place. Famed screenwriter Nora Ephron co-scripted the story with Sam Simon. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Pesci, Vincent Gardenia, (more)
Martin Scorsese explores the life of organized crime with his gritty, kinetic adaptation of Nicolas Pileggi's best-selling Wiseguy, the true-life account of mobster and FBI informant Henry Hill. Set to a true-to-period rock soundtrack, the story details the rise and fall of Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian New York kid who grows up idolizing the "wise guys" in his impoverished Brooklyn neighborhood. He begins hanging around the mobsters, running errands and doing odd jobs until he gains the notice of local chieftain Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino), who takes him in as a surrogate son. As he reaches his teens, Hill (Ray Liotta) is inducted into the world of petty crime, where he distinguishes himself as a "stand-up guy" by choosing jail time over ratting on his accomplices. From that moment on, he is a part of the family. Along with his psychotic partner Tommy (Joe Pesci), he rises through the ranks to become Paulie's lieutenant; however, he quickly learns that, like his mentor Jimmy (Robert DeNiro), his ethnicity prevents him from ever becoming a "made guy," an actual member of the crime family. Soon he finds himself the target of both the feds and the mobsters, who feel that he has become a threat to their security with his reckless dealings. Goodfellas was rewarded with six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture; Pesci would walk away with Best Supporting Actor for his work. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, (more)
