The Boondock Saints

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The Boondock Saints

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Troy Duffy
Produced by Elie Samaha
Lloyd Segan
Robert Fried
Chris Brinker
Written by Troy Duffy
Starring Willem Dafoe
Sean Patrick Flanery
Norman Reedus
David Della Rocco
Billy Connolly
Music by Jeff Danna
Cinematography Adam Kane
Editing by Bill DeRonde
Studio Franchise Pictures
Distributed by Indican Pictures
Release date(s) January 21, 2000
Running time 110 min.
Country  Canada
 United States
Language English
Spanish
Papiamento
Budget $6 million[1]
Gross revenue $30,471[1]
Followed by Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

The Boondock Saints is a 1999 crime thriller film written and directed by Troy Duffy. The film stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as Catholic Irish American fraternal twins, Conner and Murphy MacManus, who become vigilantes after killing two members of the Russian Mafia in self-defense. After a message from God, the brothers, together with their friend David Della Rocco, set out to rid their home city of Boston, Massachusetts of crime and evil; all the while being pursued by FBI agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe).

Duffy indicates that the screenplay was inspired by personal experience, while living in Los Angeles.[2] The film experienced a limited theatrical release of only five theaters for one week,[3] and was met with poor critical reviews. It proved divisive among viewers, ultimately developing both a large cult following[4][5] as well as enmity from viewers and critics who have called it a film undeserving of cult status.[6] The film's cult following may have been partly due to the efforts of Blockbuster Video, which made the film a "Blockbuster Exclusive." The ending credit sequence, which features the media asking the people of Boston, "Are the 'saints' good or evil?", was shot by Mark Brian Smith, co-director of Overnight, a documentary film about the making of The Boondock Saints, and Troy Duffy himself.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The movie opens with Irish fraternal twins Conner (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus) MacManus attending Mass at a Catholic church. Next, (the film is chronologically unclear) while celebrating St. Patrick's Day with friends, the two get into a bar brawl with three Russian mobsters, who receive a sound beating. The morning after, two of the Russians seek revenge on Conner and Murphy, who kill them in self-defense kill the mobsters.

FBI agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe), is assigned to the case and surmises that the death of the Russians was not a professional hit, but probable self-defense. The brothers decide to clear their names and arrive at the police station, where they find that the police and local news reporters see them as heroes. To avoid press attention the brothers decide to spend the night in a holding cell, where they receive a vision from God telling them to hunt down wicked men so that the innocent will thrive.

Conner and Murphy resolve to rid Boston of "evil men" with the help of their friend and former mob errand boy Rocco. Conner learns of a meeting of Russian syndicate bosses at a hotel from a pager taken from one of the dead Russian mobsters and the brothers quickly kill nine bosses and underbosses—saving the leader later called "Fat/Fag Man" for last. They recite a short prayer and kill him with two gunshots to the back of the head.

After hunting down Vincenzo Lipazzi (Ron Jeremy), underboss of the Yakavetta crime family, the three vigilantes undertake a series of increasingly violent missions, cleansing the city of the most vicious criminals. In response to this threat, Papa Joe (Carlo Rota) contracts the feared hitman, Il Duce (Billy Connolly) —"The Duke", in Italian and original nickname of Benito Mussolini— to deal with the vigilantes. Later the brothers and Rocco infiltrate the Yakavetta headquarters to finish off the family. Rocco is shot and killed by Papa Joe, the brothers escape from their chains, and as they say their family prayer over Rocco, Il Duce sneaks up behind them. As he recites the family prayer with them, it becomes clear that Il Duce is the brothers' father. He joins them in their mission to kill all wrongdoers.

Papa Joe is sent to trial and though there seems to be enough evidence to convict him, the reporters on-scene anticipate his acquittal due to his "Gotti-esque" demeanor. The brothers and Il Duce, aided by Agent Smecker, infiltrate the trial and make a speech stating that they intend to eradicate evil wherever they find it before killing Papa Joe. The media dubs the three "Saints", and the movie ends with various people reflecting on the question "Are the Saints ultimately good, or evil?"

[edit] Cast

[edit] Production

"I decided right there [after seeing a heroin dealer put his hand into a dead woman's boot to retrieve cash] that out of sheer frustration and not being able to afford a psychologist, I was going to write this, think about it. People watching the news sometimes get so disgusted by what they see. Susan Smith drowning her kids... guys going into McDonald's, lighting up the whole place. You hear things that disgust you so much that even if you're Mother Teresa, there comes a breaking point. One day you're gonna watch the news and you're gonna say, 'Whoever did that despicable thing should pay with their life. You think—for maybe just a minute—that whoever did that should die, without any fuckin' jury. I was going to give everybody that sick fantasy. And tell it as truthfully as I could."
—Troy Duffy on the inspiration for The Boondock Saints[2]

Troy Duffy's screenplay for The Boondock Saints was inspired by his disgust at seeing a drug dealer taking money from a corpse across the hall from his apartment. Duffy, who was working as a bartender and bouncer, had never written a screenplay before.[2]

Duffy completed the screenplay in fall of 1996 and passed it to a producer's assistant at New Line Cinema to be read by a senior executive. The screenplay changed hands through multiple studios and Duffy was approached by multiple producers for the rights. In March 1997, he was contracted by Paramount Pictures for $500,000, and later in the month, Miramax Films won a bidding war to buy The Boondock Saints. The studio offered $450,000 to Duffy to write and direct the film.[7] The documentary Overnight, which chronicled Duffy's "rags-to-riches" story,[5] showed that the script was worth $300,000, and the film itself was originally given a $15 million budget by Miramax's Harvey Weinstein.[8] Duffy's band The Brood would do the soundtrack, and as a bonus, Miramax offered to buy and throw in co-ownership of J. Sloan's, where Duffy worked.[9] It was in Overnight that Duffy showed abrasive behavior, causing tension for many people involved in the project. Filming of The Boondock Saints was scheduled for the coming autumn in Boston.[10]

Duffy sought to cast Stephen Dorff and Mark Wahlberg as the Irish brothers, though Wahlberg passed for Boogie Nights. The director also wanted to cast Billy Connolly and Kenneth Branagh in the film, with Branagh playing the gay FBI agent.[11] Duffy also expressed interest in casting Brendan Fraser, Nicky Katt, and Ewan McGregor, with 2 of them as the brothers, but no decisions were finalized. The director later sought Patrick Swayze to play the FBI agent, but Miramax preferred Sylvester Stallone (with whom the studio had an existing relationship), Bill Murray or Mike Myers.[12] Before pre-production work was supposed to begin in Boston in December 1997, Miramax pulled out of the project. Producer Lloyd Segan said that the project had stalled due to casting and location problems.[13] While Duffy was able to keep the writer's fee of $300,000, the studio required the reimbursement of the $150,000 director's fee and the $700,000 advance to develop the project.

The independent studio Franchise Films sought to finance the project once other elements were in place. Duffy approached actor Sean Patrick Flanery and actor Norman Reedus to play the Irish vigilante brothers and actor Willem Dafoe to play the FBI agent.[12] Having found someone to back the film, filming began in Toronto, with the final scenes being filmed in Boston.[2] The name of Duffy's band The Brood, was changed to The Boondock Saints, following the movie's release. The film featured two songs from the band: "Holy Fool",[14] which played during Rocco's tavern shootout, and "Pipes", which played during the credits.

[edit] Release

[edit] Theatrical run

When Boondock Saints was completed, it was given a very limited theatrical release, with its distributor showing the film in 1999 on only five screens in the United States for a duration of a week. However, the original unrated version of the film was later re-released in theaters on May 22, 2006.[15] Troy Duffy later funded screenings of the film with help from Blockbuster Video. "Blockbuster saved us [...] They agreed to take it on exclusively, and from there the rest is history."[15] According to Troy Duffy on his audio commentary of the film on DVD, the film's distributor allowed the limited screening only in the United States due to the then recent Columbine High School shooting.[16] The film was shown on major foreign screens (most notably in Japan) with success.[15] Blockbuster released The Boondock Saints as a "Blockbuster Exclusive", a collection of independent direct-to-video films. The Boondock Saints gained a following mostly due to word of mouth publicity and was a bestseller when released on DVD. Despite its success, Troy Duffy never saw any of the profits from DVD distribution, having signed away the DVD rights in his contract with Indican.[5]

[edit] Home media

Boondock Saints has been released numerous times on DVD, including an import on March 13, 2001 and an uncut Japanese release published by Toshiba Entertainment, whose special features include anamorphic widescreen, audio commentary, trailers, and interviews with the Japanese media.[17] On May 23, 2006 The Boondock Saints Collector's Edition was published and released by 20th Century Fox on DVD, as well as UMD for the Playstation Portable.[18] The special features include English and Spanish subtitles, commentary by Billy Connolly and Troy Duffy, deleted scenes and outtakes. It also featured the film's trailer, cast and crew filmographies, and a printable script of the film.[19] 20th Century Fox and Duffy showed an interest in doing a new audio commentary for the special release, but he was unable to because of unresolved legal issues.[20] Daulton Dickey of gmcplanet.com said in his review of the special edition's special features:

“ Billed as an unrated edition, it appears as though the film has only been altered by swapping in bloodier alternate takes, pumping up the gore but offering nothing else. Although the movie contains a new audio commentary track by actor Billy Connolly, the track with Troy Duffy has been ported over from the previous DVD edition. Included on the second disc are a handful of deleted scenes and outtakes that have also been ported over from the previous release.[21] ”

A Blu-ray Disc edition containing both the theatrical and unrated directors cuts was released on February 10, 2009.

[edit] Reception

The film has received poor reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 15 out of the 18 reviews they tallied were negative for a score of 17% and a certification of "rotten".[22] It also received an overall Metacritic score of 44/100.[23] Nathan Rabin of the A.V. Club described the film, in his review of the DVD, as "less a proper action-thriller" than "a series of gratuitously violent setpieces strung together with only the sketchiest semblance of a plot". Rabin went on to describe the film as "all style and no substance, a film so gleeful in its endorsement of vigilante justice that it almost veers (or ascends) into self-parody."[24] Other reviews were more positive, with Robert Koehler of Variety describing the film in his review as,

“ A belated entry in the hipster crime movie movement that began with Reservoir Dogs," Troy Duffy's "Boondock Saints" mixes blood and Catholic-tinged vigilante justice in excessive portions for sometimes wacky and always brutal effect. [The film is] more interested in finding fresh ways to stage execution scenes than in finding meaning behind the human urge for self-appointed righting of wrongs. ”

Koehler also described Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as "curiously stolid and blank", while praising supporting actors Billy Connolly and Carlo Rota for making the most of their screen time. Koehler also praised the tech personnel, "This uneven exercise in pacing and cutting is abetted by an eclectic score by Jeff Danna and whiz lensing by Adam Kane. Other tech credits fire bull's-eyes."[25] New Times film reviewer Luke Y. Thompson described it as "a redundant Tarantino/Marty wanna-be."

Film critics have taken note of the film's extreme violence and "slow-motion bloodletting".[26] Despite this, the film has developed a devout cult following.

[edit] Sequel

Main article: Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

The director of the original film, Troy Duffy, filmed a sequel in which the Irish vigilante brothers return. The film is anticipated to be released in 2009.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b The Boondock Saints at Box Office Mojo
  2. ^ a b c d Finch, Amy (November 2, 1998). "Boondock Saints". filmvault.com. http://www.filmvault.com/filmvault/boston/b/boondocksaints1.html. Retrieved on March 30, 2009.  (Republished from Boston Phoenix.)
  3. ^ Richards, Jonathan. "Filmbreak.bu Overnight". Filmbreak.be. http://www.filmfreak.be/index.php?module=filmfreak&func=viewpub&tid=9&pid=34&title=Overnight Filmbreak.bu. Retrieved on 2006-11-28. 
  4. ^ "Boondock Saints, the infamous Cult Classic". Detroitbuzz.com Cult Corner. http://www.detroitbuzz.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=585&Itemid=95. Retrieved on 2006-12-14. 
  5. ^ a b c "Overnight". Roger Ebert review. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041118/REVIEWS/41116007/1023. Retrieved on 2006-12-14. 
  6. ^ "DVDfutue.com DVD Review - Boondock Saints unrated edition". DVDfuture.com. http://www.dvdfuture.com/review.php?id=838 DVDfutue.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-28. 
  7. ^ Waxman, Sharon (April 14, 1997). "Forward Fast: Hollywood's suddenly drunk on a bartender's idea". The Washington Post. 
  8. ^ "Overnight". Filethirteen.com. http://www.filethirteen.com/reviews/overnight/overnight.htm. Retrieved on 2006-11-28. 
  9. ^ "The Fall of Troy". LAcitybeat.com. http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=1397&IssueNum=76. Retrieved on 2006-11-28. 
  10. ^ Johnson, Jason B. (April 1, 1997). "Hub-to-Hollywood dream comes true for scriptwriter". Boston Globe. 
  11. ^ O'Toole, Lesley (December 4, 1997). "Hollywood's young guns". The Times. 
  12. ^ a b Waxman, Sharon (April 10, 1998). "The two faces of Hollywood: A screenwriter's success story had a happy ending. Then someone changed the script.". The Washington Post. 
  13. ^ Raposa, Laura (December 13, 1997). "Miramax 'Saints' hits devil of a snag". Boston Herald. 
  14. ^ "IMDb.com The Boondock Saints soundtrack listing". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144117/soundtrack IMDb.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-02. 
  15. ^ a b c "Boondock Saints and Troy Duffy". Moviefreak.com. http://www.moviefreak.com/features/dylan/boondocksaints.htm. Retrieved on 2006-11-30. 
  16. ^ Troy Duffy. DVD-Audio commentary. [DVD]. 20th Century Fox May 21, 2002 release. 
  17. ^ "The Boondock Saints uncut". Hkflix.com. http://www.hkflix.com/xq/asp/filmID.533790/qx/details.htm. Retrieved on 2006-12-12. 
  18. ^ "The Boondock Saints (Unrated Special Edition) (UMD For PlayStation Portable)". Turnerclassicmoviesunlimited.com. http://turnerclassic.moviesunlimited.com/product.asp?sku=U85020++&mscssid=G. Retrieved on 2006-12-12. 
  19. ^ "The Boondock Saints (Unrated Special Edition) 20th Century Fox 2006". Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Boondock-Saints-Unrated-Special/dp/B000EHSVXM. Retrieved on 2006-11-30. 
  20. ^ "Interview: Troy Duffy". IGN. http://dvd.ign.com/articles/708/708836p1.html. Retrieved on 2006-12-02. 
  21. ^ "Boondock Saints unrated review". GMCplanet.com. http://www.gcmplanet.com/movies/reviews/b_reviews/52706/boondock_saints_unrated_review.html. Retrieved on 2006-11-30. 
  22. ^ The Boondock Saints at Rotten Tomatoes
  23. ^ The Boondock Saints at Metacritic
  24. ^ "The Boondock Saints". AVclub.com. http://www.avclub.com/content/node/3502. Retrieved on 2006-12-12. 
  25. ^ "Boondock Saints". Variety. http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=review&reviewid=VE1117775584&categoryid=31&query=boondock+saints&cs=1. Retrieved on 2006-12-12. 
  26. ^ "Boondock Saints". Brent Simon of Entertainment Today — through Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/author-6101/worst.php. Retrieved on 2006-12-12. 

[edit] External links

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