Prizzi's Honor

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Prizzi's Honor

R

Released Jun 14, 1985

2h 9m

Romance

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

40 Reviews

62%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

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.

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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Pauline Kael

The 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

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Variety Staff

Variety

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

Feb 5, 2008

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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

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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

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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

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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

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AD 3

Started incredibly boring and weird, I turned it off

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

12/21/24

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Tom F

Disappointed in the ending. Amusing tough guy accent by Jersey guy Nicholson.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/30/24

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randall f

Just watched after many years. Definitely one of the better movies of the mid 80s. Great acting and story-you dont see much of either anymore

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/20/24

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Leaburn O

Well scripted plot helps carry this film in spite of it starring my bete noir, Jack Nicholson. He’s actually a bit less irritating in this one. Dragged in places but had enough in it to maintain interest and you know multiple twists and turns abound. Saw it on DVD.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/23/24

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Munkhchimeg T

Actually, it was not my type of movie, but after watching the movie it tirned quite interesting, recommended

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/22/24

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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

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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%

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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
Producer: John Foreman
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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