Kill the Irishman

（电影《杀死这个爱尔兰人》）

Kill the Irishman is a 2011 biographicalcrime thrillerfilm directed by JonathanHensleigh^[3]and starring RayStevenson, VincentD'Onofrio, ChristopherWalken and Val Kilmer. The filmis based on the story of Irish-American mobster Danny Greene, andis adapted from the book To Kill the Irishman: The War ThatCrippled the Mafia (1998)^[4]by Rick Porrello.^[5][6]

Kill the Irishman was in development for over a decade,before being green-lit in 2009.^[1]The movie chronicles the rise and fall of Irish-American gangsterDanny Greene, who initially worked as a longshoreman at theCleveland docks, until he was chosen to serve as interim presidentin 1961 after the previous president was removed from office.Greene quickly won the next election and served as union presidentuntil 1964, when he was convicted of embezzling $11,500 of theunion's funds.^[1][7]After his conviction, Greene rose through the criminal underworldin Cleveland andwaged war on the mafia for control of the city.

Plot

In 1960, Danny Greene is aunion worker at the Cleveland docks.^[8]Despite union rules, the workers are exploited by their boss,Jerry. Danny is approached by chronic gambler Art for help. Artowes a substantial amount of money to local gangster JohnNardi. Greene visits Nardi and offers him a businessproposition to deal with Art's debt; he tips-off Nardi about ashipment container that contains a large quantity of valuablegoods. Jerry warns Danny not to oppose him in the union's upcomingelection, and demands half of Danny's earnings from his deal withJohn Nardi. Jerry double-crosses Danny and tries to kill him. Dannystands as a candidate for the union's presidency, wins theelection,^[8]and begins improving the working conditions at the docks. Duringthis time, he marries his girlfriend Joan.

After doing business with John Nardi and other Mafioso figures,Danny is arrested by Joe Manditski, on charges of grand larceny andlabor racketeering.^[9]After paying off his lawyers, Danny is bankrupt and facing tenyears in prison. Federal policeoffer Danny a plea bargain: in exchange for becoming an informant,the charges against him would be dropped. Danny agrees to the dealand gives the police monthly tip-offs.^[10]Nardi gets Danny a job as an enforcer for loan shark Alex"Shondor" Birns.^[8]Danny and Nardi set up a meeting with JackLicavoli, who has been trying to get the garbage men ofCleveland to join the union. Danny and Nardi offer to help. Dannyhires Keith Ritson for muscle. They visit Mike Frato’s house, andtry to persuade him to join the union. Frato declines and Dannyconsiders killing him.

Art starts gambling again; accruing a large debt, he decides totestify against the mafia. Danny kills Art by blowing up MikeFrato’s car. Mike assumes Danny tried to kill him, so he tries tokill Danny. Mike fails and Danny shoots him. He is arrested by Joefor killing Mike, but is released without charge because it wasself-defense. Danny’s wife then decides to leaves him.

Four years later, Danny sees debt collectors at Mrs O’Keefe’shome. Danny decides to pay her debt; and she gives him her father’sgold crucifix in thanks. Danny then visits Shondor, who agrees toinvest money in a restaurant with Danny. Shondor borrows money fromthe Gambino's,but the courier is arrested. Shondor tells Danny he owes the mafia$70,000, but because Shondor had hired the courier, Danny tells himhe should pay back the money. Due to the breakdown in theirrelationship, Shondor hires a contract killer. After a failedattempt on Danny's life, Danny retaliates by blowing up Shondorwith a car comb.^[11]

After the death of John Scalish,Licavoli is made the new Don of Cleveland.^[12]He decides to charge Danny 30% for doing business on his turf.Danny refuses and Licavoli places a contract on his life. Billytries to warn Danny, but fails. Danny and his girlfriend escapeunharmed when his house is blown up.^[8]Another attempt to kill then Danny occurs in the meantime. Nardiand Danny decide to become business partners and take overCleveland together. They organize the killing of many of Licavoli’sassociates. At a meeting in New York, Anthony Salernooffers to help kill Danny. Licavoli accepts his offer.

Danny considers buying a cattle ranch in Texas. He needs toraise $2 million, so he and Nardi travel to New York and askSalerno for a loan. After Danny leaves, Salerno tells hisassociates to kill him and Nardi. They hire hit-man RayFerritto.^[13][14]Nardi is killed in a car explosion,^[15]and Billy is killed at the docks. Keith is killed after he mistakesFerritto’s car for Danny’s. Ferritto then taps into Danny’sgirlfriend’s telephone, and retrieves information about Danny’supcoming appointments.

After a dentist's appointment on October 6, 1977,^[14]Danny sees Ferritto driving slowly by, and accepts he is about todie. Ferritto detonates a bomb on the car next to Danny's; killinghim instantly.^[14]In a narration, it is said that Greene's death led to theindictment of multiple high-ranking members of organized crime, andas a result, put an end to mob activity in Cleveland.

Cast

Development

Kill the Irishman had been in development since 1997.Producer Tommy Reid heard that Rick Porrello, an Ohio policeman,was about to publish a book about Greene called To Kill theIrishman. Reid flew to Ohio and met with Porrello, who toldReid his grandfather was a high-ranking mafia figure in Clevelandduring the prohibition era. Reid and Porrello bonded with eachother during the meeting. On March 17, 1998, they signed a deal forthe film rights to Porrello’s book.^[1]Getting Kill the Irishman produced was difficult. Reidfrequently left deals unconcluded, and discovered that the scripthe’d commissioned was attached to a cover with another screenwriterand producer’s name listed. Reid said this was a common occurrencein Hollywood.^[1]Tommy Reid spent over $1,000,000 to ensure the movie wasmade.^[1]

Pre-production

Inspiration

Producer Tommy Reid, who grew up in New Jersey, was fan of mafiamovies (such as The Godfatherand Goodfellas) andaspired to become a film maker. Being of Irish and Italianancestry, he wanted to make a film that would relate to bothnationalities.^[19]Reid first heard about mobster Danny Greene from his roommates inOhio, and believed that New York, Chicagoand Boston were the "threemeccas of mafia crime". There wasn't much documentation aboutGreene, but Reid remembered the story he had been told. Afterhearing that Rick Porrello was about to publish a book on Greeneand the mafia in Cleveland, Reid was inspired to make a movie aboutGreene’s life.^[1]

Background research

Prior to making Kill the Irishman, Tommy Reid didresearch on Danny Greene's life and organized crime in Cleveland.He spoke with nun Sister Barbara Eppich, who helped to raise DannyGreene during his childhood. Reid said that Greene's life was "laidin front of him for the rest of his life". Sister Eppich told Reidof how Greene was abandoned during childhood and was raised by hisgrandfather. Because his grandfather worked nights, Danny was leftto walk the streets at night. He would go to school dirty on aregular basis, so Sister Eppich would have to wash him. She alsostated that Greene would sleep all the time, but was a "phenomenalathlete".^[20]

Reid spoke to number of law enforcement agencies, including theFBI.The FBI wanted to make sure that Reid wasn't glorifying the mafia.Reid stated he had no intentions of glorifying crime, and that "thewhole message at the end of the movie is that crime doesn’t pay".It was very important to Reid that audiences didn't misinterprethis intentions.^[19]

Screenplay

Although the film's screenplay was adapted from Rick Porrello'sbook, Porrello "minimum involvement" in its writing, most of whichwas done by Jonathan Hensleigh. Hensleigh regularly contactedPorrello and they agreed not to use the real names of anyone whowas still alive, "out of respect and sensitivity towards thesepeople". Porrello also considered that many of the relatives of theorganized-crime figures portrayed in the film were stillalive.^[21]

Casting

Due to the troubled development of Kill the Irishman,Reid decided to make a documentary about Greene's life; called"Danny Greene: the Rise and Fall of the Irishman". Due to theresearch he had done for the movie, Reid became specialized in theNorthern Ohio crime scene and Greene’s life.^[20]Reid felt that by doing the documentary, at least he could go tohis "grave 'saying I tried'".^[1]In 2009, with 17 hours of the documentary shot, Reid heard that hisfilm had been green-lit. He joined forces with production companyCode Entertainment and engaged with a "reliable" director,JonathanHensleigh. They then signed actors Val Kilmer andChristopherWalken to the project.^[1]This was followed by the signing of actors VincentD’Onofrio (Full MetalJacket), Paul Sorvino(Goodfellas), andIrish actor RayStevenson, respectively.^[1]Stevenson was filming The Book ofEli when he got a telephone call from Hensleigh, and theyarranged to meet in Los Angeles. Stevenson was drawn to the scriptand immediately made a deal. He said Hensleigh's script was "thebiggest draw ever [to the movie]".^[22]

Production

Filming

Kill the Irishman entered production in 2009, with abudget of $12 million. The film was shot within seven weeks, mostlyin and around Detroit. The locationfilming was done in Detroit, partly because the city gave taxcredits that Cleveland would not match.^[1]Detroit also more closely resembled Cleveland during the 1970s. RayStevenson said Cleveland "has prettied itself up" and that theywanted to film there but the city had changed. Stevenson also saidDetroit is still "on its knees", and that the city resembles theeconomic struggles that plagued Cleveland during the1970s.^[20]

Two incidents occurred during the filming of the movie. On thefirst, seven bullet holes were shot into one of the trucks usedduring production. Ray Stevenson said, "Detroit is a dangerousplace" and that you've "just got to roll with it".^[22]On the second, the cast and crew were driving from the set, and apedestrian was shot in the neck outside a supermarket. Theambulance took 35–45 minutes to arrive, and the victim waitedanother 35–45 minutes for the police to arrive. The paramedicsrefused to take the victim to hospital without a police escort.Stevenson said this was a "known gang area" and that "if it's agang member they're trying to resuscitate", there was a chance thata rival gang would shoot at the ambulance.^[22]

Post-production

Effects

Due to the films’ limited budget, some of the effects could notbe replicated. Stevenson said everyone “had to be on point”, andthat any mistakes could not be rectified by re-filming. Beforefilming the effects, the production crew and the actors checkedeverything on the set. Time was also lacking; Stevenson saideveryone “had to be extremely focused” on the production. The moviewas shot in seven weeks.^[22]The movie's final scene, in which Greene is killed, could not bere-filmed. Producer Tommy Reid said they could not afford to filmthe shot twice.^[1]

Editing

Writer Rick Porrello had second thoughts about one scene, inwhich a police car is blown up with two officers inside, beingincluded in the film. Porrello felt uncomfortable approachingHensleigh about the scene, but he did anyway. Porrello said, "ifyou are going to kill a cop", it is "going to change the tone ofthe story". The scene was nevertheless included in the finishedfilm.^[21]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the movie includes 26 songs.^[23]

1. I'm Gonna Keep On Loving You - Kool Blues
2. Crazy Little Notion - The Two Guys
3. All I Want Is You - Leroy Osbourne
4. I Like The Way You Look At Me - The Pentagons
5. Wrong Or Right He's My Baby - Helene Smith
6. How About You - Steven Lang, Jamie Dunlap & ScottNickoley
7. Meet Me For A Martini - Daniel May
8. Paddy On The Landfill - The Irish Experience
9. Courting Clarinets - Stefan Maciejewsk
10. Heart Of Gold - Norman Chandler
11. This is It - Lewis Lamedica
12. Get In A Hurry - Eugene Blacknell
13. You're A Prisoner - Death
14. Broadway Shing-A-Ling - Soul Blenders
15. Daffy Dotty Day - Lake Smash
16. I'm Running Out Of Time - Gary Michael Allen
17. Cielo E Mar - Paul Pritchard
18. Sulla Riviera - Bruno Bertoli
19. Eternal Father For - Michael Hankinson
20. Your Smiling Face - Norman Chandler
21. It's Not Too Late - Christopher Blue
22. Drive Drive Drive - Pat Cusick
23. Like A Moth Into A Flame - The Automatics
24. Don't Worry Tracy - Christopher Blue
25. Bonny Portmore - The Rogues
26. Seaport Lane - Athena Tergis

Release and reception

Distribution

Kill the Irishman premiered on March 11, 2011, at theLandmark Sunshine Cinema in New York City. Most of the cast,including Ray Stevenson and Vincent D’Onofrio, attended thepremiere.^[24][25]The film also premiered simultaneously in Los Angelesand Cleveland before expanding to Detroit, Chicago and Boston onMarch 18.^[25]

Box office

Although the film was generally well received, it wasunsuccessful at the box office. It grossed $1,188,194 at thedomestic box office against a budget of $12 million, and gathered$2,435,527 in domestic DVD sales.^[26]

Critical reception

Kill the Irishman received mixed-to-positive reviews fromfilm critics. Mike LaSalle of the SanFrancisco Chronicle said, "What makes this film special andmemorable is the character of Danny Green, who is not the usualneighborhood hoodlum you see in movies, the kind who gets in deepand gradually loses his soul".^[27]Marshall Fine of Huffington Postgave the film a mixed review. He criticized it for jumping throughdifferent events in a "jerky fashion", but summed up the review bycalling it a "movie with a lot of meat on the bone, even if some ofit is tough or stringy. It's not fancy, but it's alwaystasty".^[28]

Rotten Tomatoesreported that 63% of critics gave the movie a positive review,giving it a rating of 5.6 out of 10.^[29]

Home video

After a limited theatrical release, Kill the Irishman wasreleased on DVD by Anchor BayEntertainment on June 14, 2011.^[26]As of 2015, the movie has grossed $2,435,527 in domestic DVDsales.^[26]

Historical inaccuracies

Kill the Irishman contains four historical inaccuracies.This has been noted by critics, one of whom said the film's mainproblem is that it seemed "all too willing to sacrifice historicalaccuracy in the name of an easy-to-digest narrative".^[30]Shondor Birns was murdered on March 29, 1975, whereas in the filmthis occurs on March 8. The movie also misspells the name of anearby parish known as 'St. Malachi's'; in the movie it is spelled'St. Malichy's'.^[31]

The death of Alex "Shondor" Birns

In the movie, Danny Greene kills Shondor Birns by detonating abomb on his car. In reality, even though Birns was killed by a carbomb, there was no evidence to link Greene to hismurder.^[32]Even though it is commonly speculated that Greene killed Birns, hismurder remains officially unsolved.^[33]

The death of Art Sneperger

In the movie, Greene discovers his friend Art Sneperger is aboutto become an informant and decides to kill him in a car bombing.Greene has have Sneperger place a bomb on Mike Frato’s car; Greenethen detonates the bomb early, killing Sneperger. In reality,although many rumors surround Art Sneperger’s death, it remainsunsolved. Some investigators speculated that radio interferencecaused the bomb to detonate early; others speculated that Greenekilled him after learning he was going to become aninformant.

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