Road to Perdition (Widescreen Edition)
starring: Tom Hanks, Tyler Hoechlin, Rob Maxey, Paul Newman, Liam Aiken
directed by: Sam Mendes
directed by: Sam Mendes
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Product Description:
Directed by Sam Mendes and based on the graphic novel by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner, the Depression-era crime epic ROAD TO PERDITION stars Tom Hanks as Michael Sullivan, a quiet hit man who is duty bound to Mafia boss John Rooney (Paul Newman). The mobster's close bond with Sullivan, however, leads Rooney's jealous blood son, Connor (Daniel Craig), to orchestrate a tragic series of events that results in Sullivan on the run with his 12-year-old son, Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin). Soon an unscrupulous crime photographer/assassin named Maguire (Jude Law) is sent after Sullivan and his son, and Sullivan must decide on a course of action as young Michael comes to terms with his father's violent way of life. Meticulously directed by Mendes and brilliantly photographed by Conrad Hall, each scene of ROAD TO PERDITION has the composition of an expertly crafted painting. Making effective use of rain, snow, and shadows, the filmmakers create a cinematic world that's as dark, cold, and unforgiving as many of its inhabitants. But the film also allows for glimpses of emotional warmth, particularly in Sullivan's relationships with his son and Rooney, his surrogate father. In these roles, the respective actors create complex characters that resonate even in their restraint. Hanks is outstanding as a man of action with little time for words, while Hoechlin creates an unsentimental portrait of a confused boy; Newman once again proves why he's a screen legend and, in a strikingly unflattering role, Law makes the most out of his screen time as a creepy, parasitic hit man. Even in its harshest moments, however, Mendes never fails to remind the audience that ROAD TO PERDITION is a film about fathers and sons; and this is what elevates it from an atmospheric gangster movie to a truly astonishing work of art.
Amazon.com:
In Road to Perdition, Tom Hanks plays a hit man who finds his heart. Michael Sullivan (Hanks) is the right-hand man of crime boss John Rooney (Paul Newman), but when Sullivan's son accidentally witnesses one of his hits, he must choose between his crime family and his real one. The movie has a slow pace, largely because director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) seems to be in love with the gorgeous period locations. Hanks gives a deceptively battened-down performance at first, only opening up toward the very end of the film, making his character's personal transformation all the more convincing. Newman turns in a masterful piece of work, revealing Rooney's advancing age but at the same time, his terrifying power. Jude Law is also a standout, playing a hit man-photographer with chilling creepiness. This movie requires a little patience, but the beautiful cinematography and moving ending make it well worth the wait. --Ali Davis
Directed by Sam Mendes and based on the graphic novel by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner, the Depression-era crime epic ROAD TO PERDITION stars Tom Hanks as Michael Sullivan, a quiet hit man who is duty bound to Mafia boss John Rooney (Paul Newman). The mobster's close bond with Sullivan, however, leads Rooney's jealous blood son, Connor (Daniel Craig), to orchestrate a tragic series of events that results in Sullivan on the run with his 12-year-old son, Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin). Soon an unscrupulous crime photographer/assassin named Maguire (Jude Law) is sent after Sullivan and his son, and Sullivan must decide on a course of action as young Michael comes to terms with his father's violent way of life. Meticulously directed by Mendes and brilliantly photographed by Conrad Hall, each scene of ROAD TO PERDITION has the composition of an expertly crafted painting. Making effective use of rain, snow, and shadows, the filmmakers create a cinematic world that's as dark, cold, and unforgiving as many of its inhabitants. But the film also allows for glimpses of emotional warmth, particularly in Sullivan's relationships with his son and Rooney, his surrogate father. In these roles, the respective actors create complex characters that resonate even in their restraint. Hanks is outstanding as a man of action with little time for words, while Hoechlin creates an unsentimental portrait of a confused boy; Newman once again proves why he's a screen legend and, in a strikingly unflattering role, Law makes the most out of his screen time as a creepy, parasitic hit man. Even in its harshest moments, however, Mendes never fails to remind the audience that ROAD TO PERDITION is a film about fathers and sons; and this is what elevates it from an atmospheric gangster movie to a truly astonishing work of art.
Amazon.com:
In Road to Perdition, Tom Hanks plays a hit man who finds his heart. Michael Sullivan (Hanks) is the right-hand man of crime boss John Rooney (Paul Newman), but when Sullivan's son accidentally witnesses one of his hits, he must choose between his crime family and his real one. The movie has a slow pace, largely because director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) seems to be in love with the gorgeous period locations. Hanks gives a deceptively battened-down performance at first, only opening up toward the very end of the film, making his character's personal transformation all the more convincing. Newman turns in a masterful piece of work, revealing Rooney's advancing age but at the same time, his terrifying power. Jude Law is also a standout, playing a hit man-photographer with chilling creepiness. This movie requires a little patience, but the beautiful cinematography and moving ending make it well worth the wait. --Ali Davis
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - A road well worth traveling...
I feel really sad for Sam Mendes.I guess I really shouldn't, since he won a Directing Oscar on his first shot out the box in 1999, but in this particular case I feel really bad for him.Much like the Coen brothers in 1990, Sam Mendes made a wonderful Gangster movie that was trampled over by an inferior one; both by Martin Scorsese.Sure, `Road to Perdition' is no `Miller's Crossing' (which is a masterpiece), but then again `Gangs of New York' is far from `GoodFellas'.Truth be told though, `Road ... Read More
Rating: - Beautifully filmed...
...but very unsettling.I liked this movie-I liked it a lot.Yet I feel ambivalent towards it at the same time.Lots of seemingly unnecessary death, lots of blood, lots of violence.But then, I suppose that's the world of the gangster.Unfortunately, their families get drawn in to this hellish world and it usually never ends well.But for Michael Jr it kind of does.It wasa pat, tidy ending, but that's OK...we needed a little happiness by that point!Again though...gorgeous sets-very evocative.
Rating: - Can the son survive his father's death?
Nothing to brag about. One more film about the end of prohibition and Al Capone. One more film on the mafia, both Italian and Irish. And yet this film has a slightly different touch. It is the fact that the father-son issue is widely explored. A mafia boss has a foolish and cheating son. He protects him and takes under his wing another man, Michael Sullivan, to transfer his paternal love onto someone worth it. Unluckily a detail one night brings the son of this latter man, Michael Sullivan Jr., into the act ... Read More
Rating: 
- piece of garbage
Road to Perdition (Widescreen Edition)
this is the worst movie I have ever seen in my life. The whole movie is pointless. The storyline is very unclear.
Rating: 
- A KILLER FINDS HIS HEART
ROAD TO PERDITION has become my favorite crime-drama. Hanks, and Newman turn in powerful, subtle performances in this poignantly beautiful film, but the cinematography almost steals the show. Conrad Hall's camera work throughout this quiet epic gangster story of family, and redemption is almost as magical as the still photography of Ansel Adams, and Mendes' direction is every bit as good here as it was in AMERICAN BEAUTY. This is a true gem of a movie and one of the few that has explored filial love this eloquently ... Read More
- A road well worth traveling...I feel really sad for Sam Mendes.I guess I really shouldn't, since he won a Directing Oscar on his first shot out the box in 1999, but in this particular case I feel really bad for him.Much like the Coen brothers in 1990, Sam Mendes made a wonderful Gangster movie that was trampled over by an inferior one; both by Martin Scorsese.Sure, `Road to Perdition' is no `Miller's Crossing' (which is a masterpiece), but then again `Gangs of New York' is far from `GoodFellas'.Truth be told though, `Road ... Read More
- Beautifully filmed......but very unsettling.I liked this movie-I liked it a lot.Yet I feel ambivalent towards it at the same time.Lots of seemingly unnecessary death, lots of blood, lots of violence.But then, I suppose that's the world of the gangster.Unfortunately, their families get drawn in to this hellish world and it usually never ends well.But for Michael Jr it kind of does.It wasa pat, tidy ending, but that's OK...we needed a little happiness by that point!Again though...gorgeous sets-very evocative.
- Can the son survive his father's death?Nothing to brag about. One more film about the end of prohibition and Al Capone. One more film on the mafia, both Italian and Irish. And yet this film has a slightly different touch. It is the fact that the father-son issue is widely explored. A mafia boss has a foolish and cheating son. He protects him and takes under his wing another man, Michael Sullivan, to transfer his paternal love onto someone worth it. Unluckily a detail one night brings the son of this latter man, Michael Sullivan Jr., into the act ... Read More
- piece of garbageRoad to Perdition (Widescreen Edition)
this is the worst movie I have ever seen in my life. The whole movie is pointless. The storyline is very unclear.
- A KILLER FINDS HIS HEARTROAD TO PERDITION has become my favorite crime-drama. Hanks, and Newman turn in powerful, subtle performances in this poignantly beautiful film, but the cinematography almost steals the show. Conrad Hall's camera work throughout this quiet epic gangster story of family, and redemption is almost as magical as the still photography of Ansel Adams, and Mendes' direction is every bit as good here as it was in AMERICAN BEAUTY. This is a true gem of a movie and one of the few that has explored filial love this eloquently ... Read More
