Wouldn’t it be great to see Robert De Niro be a gangster one more time, or two?
De Niro, best known for his works in Goodfellas, Once Upon a Time in America, The Irishman etc., is set to return to his crime roots in the upcoming mafia movie Alto Knights. For someone whose best works are in his Mafia and Gangster roles, knowing that De Niro will be starring in Alto Knights alongside himself when he plays a dual role of two legendary crime figures: Vito Genovese and Frank Costello should be more than enough to keep his fans who have loved him right from his days of Goodfellas, Casino, and The Godfather Part II, on tenterhooks.
The movie will be directed by veteran director Barry Levinson —Which means that there’s every chance that this movie would be a hit. But then again, I might be jumping the gun on this one seeing how the movie has previously undergone a change of name. The movie which was initially titled Wise Guys was changed to Alto Knights after undergoing multiple test screenings, and this might not be a good sign for the movie.
What Is Alto Knights All About?
This is a story of the rivalry between the two world’s most notorious gangsters Vito Genovese, and Frank Costello that took place in the late 1950. Their animosity for each other ran so deep that Vito had to employ the services of a young mobster to assassinate and murder Frank. Here’s how their true life story goes.
It happened that when it comes to ranking, financial earnings and political power, Vito is nothing compared to Frank. And being a member of such a clan where power breeds fear and respect, it’s only fitting for someone to envy such power and want it for themselves. That was Vito’s case. Seeing how he was incapable of getting to Frank’s level, he hired a young Vincent Gigante to delete his competition for him.
Vincent carried out his assignment and attacked Frank, however he failed to get the job of killing Frank done. Frank on the other hand got the message loud and clear and voluntarily reached out to Vito to announce his decision to retire from the mob and make Vito his successor.
The attack on Frank happened on May 2, 1957, and the movie title Alto Knights was coined from the name of the popular mob club in New York City’s Little Italy district frequented by Vito and his gang.
Writer, Casts, Trailers & Release Date
Alto Knights is written by Nicholas Pileggi. Nicholas is the writer behind De Niro’s award winning mafia movies Goodfellas, and Casino. He is one of the reasons why this movie would have high expectations because, not only is De Niro a legend in playing mafia characters, but Nicholas is the writer of those great movies.
As far as casts go, Debra Messing star of The Mysteries Of Laura will play Frank Costello’s wife, Bobbie, while actress Kathrine Narducci known for her role in The Irishman will play the role of Vito Genovese’s wife, Anna. British actor Cosmo Jarvis will also play the role of Vincent Gigante, the young mobster hired to kill Frank.
The trailer for Alto Knights which would be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures was released on January 14. The clip opened with the rivals Frank and Vitro (both played by De Niro) in a face-to-face confrontation, with one of them telling the other, “You can’t have it both ways.” The trailer gives off signs of upcoming revenge following the failed hit on Frank.
Alto Knights is set to release domestically on March 21, 2025, with a scheduled international window starting on March 19, 2025.
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