Prizzi's Honor

R

Released Jun 14, 1985

2h 9m

Romance

Comedy

List

85%

41 Reviews

Tomatometer

62%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

For Charley Partanna (Jack Nicholson), life in the Prizzi family is good as long as he honors the wishes of the Godfather (William Hickey). Partanna is respected for ruthlessly carrying out murder contracts, but his wise-talking Brooklyn existence is turned on its head when he falls for a beautiful hit woman (Kathleen Turner) from the West Coast. He follows her back to California, balancing work commitments and his love interest until a new contract makes things difficult.

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Critics Consensus

Disturbing and sardonic, Prizzi's Honor excels at black comedy because director John Huston and his game ensemble take the farce deadly seriously.

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isla s

This is a slightly slow moving crime drama. As far as comedy goes, its quite dark or black comedy. The American-Italian (or, to be more precise, sicilian, so characters claim) accents sound like stereotypes but I suppose I dont know anyone of that ethnicity to say whether their genuine or not, it just seemed a little over the top in some regards. In any case, the main plot is fairly slow to build pace - Nicholson gives an alright performance and there are some engrossing scenes but there are scenes featuring many characters talking around tables, which I took little obvious substance from. Its not an awful film, its definitely ok, it just didn't maintain my interest enough for the most part. There are definitely some amusing moments but not enough for me to feel like this is primarily a comedy film - I'd say its primarily a crime drama film. If it weren't for Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner, this would be a much more cringe-worthy, bad film I imagine but the main performances are entertaining enough for it to be worth a watch, so I suppose I'd cautiously recommend this film, as long as you have relatively low expectations - you may be pleasantly surprised but I doubt it'll be many peoples favourite film or anything like that. Its ok - amusing and diverting, if a little bland/long winded perhaps.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie is so good!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Terrific black comedy.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

s r

1001 movies to see before you die. This was a big letdown despite an amazing cast. I understand what Huston was trying to do, but it was not for me and was became too long and tedious. It was STG DVD.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I don't understand how this was Oscar nominated. The plot and tone are all over the place. The ending is absolute crap. It's just not a very good movie.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

antonis k

Despite a pretty good cast 'Prizzi's Honor' is a silly and forgettable comedy. (3/10)

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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John Huston

Director

Jack Nicholson

Charley Partanna

Kathleen Turner

Irene Walker

Anjelica Huston

Maerose Prizzi

Robert Loggia

Eduardo Prizzi

William Hickey

Don Corrado Prizi

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88%

49%

Married to the Mob

38%

75%

Creator

57%

35%

No Small Affair

94%

72%

She's Gotta Have It

73%

85%

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Pauline Kael

New Yorker

If John Huston’s name were not on Prizzi’s Honor, I'd have thought a fresh new talent had burst on the scene, and he’d certainly be the hottest new director in Hollywood.

Sep 13, 2023

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

John Huston's Prizzi's Honor packs love, sex, and murder -- and dark comedy -- into a labyrinthine tale.

Feb 5, 2008

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

As usual, Turner works hard and manages to lend some conviction to a shoddily written part, but she can't connect with Nicholson, whose obscure hamminess leaves him isolated on some other planet.

Feb 5, 2008

Full Review

Chase Burns

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

Huston also directed this movie, and the Academy just loves this family legacy stuff. Beyond that, I find the movie to be pretty dull.

Dec 8, 2021

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Since first catching the film during its original run, repeated viewings have always yielded the same reaction: sheer joy at the intricate plotting and delightful performances, yet pronounced disappointment in a problematic climax that leaves a bad taste.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 11, 2021

Full Review

Eleanor O'Sullivan

Asbury Park Press (NJ)

Prizzi's Honor, a tongue-in-cheek flipside of crime melodramas, delivers a powerfully funny punch.

Aug 16, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

For Charley Partanna (Jack Nicholson), life in the Prizzi family is good as long as he honors the wishes of the Godfather (William Hickey). Partanna is respected for ruthlessly carrying out murder contracts, but his wise-talking Brooklyn existence is turned on its head when he falls for a beautiful hit woman (Kathleen Turner) from the West Coast. He follows her back to California, balancing work commitments and his love interest until a new contract makes things difficult.

Director: John Huston
Screenwriter: Richard Condon, Janet Roach
Distributor: 20th Century Fox, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
Rating: R
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 14, 1985, Wide
Release Date (DVD): Sep 16, 2003
Box Office (Gross USA): $26.6M
Runtime: 2h 9m
Sound Mix: Surround

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