Prizzi's Honor

1985, Comedy/Romance, 2h 9m

40 Reviews 5,000+ Ratings

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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. Read critic reviews

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Prizzi's Honor Photos

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Movie Info

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.
  • Rating:
    R
  • Genre:
    Comedy, Romance
  • Original Language:
    English
  • Director:
    John Huston
  • Producer:
    John Foreman
  • Writer:
    Richard Condon, Janet Roach
  • Release Date (Theaters):
     wide
  • Release Date (Streaming):
  • Box Office (Gross USA):
    $26.6M
  • Runtime:
  • Distributor:
    MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., 20th Century Fox
  • Sound Mix:
    Surround

Cast & Crew

Jack Nicholson
Charley Partanna
Kathleen Turner
Irene Walker
Anjelica Huston
Maerose Prizzi
Robert Loggia
Eduardo Prizzi
William Hickey
Don Corrado Prizi
John Randolph
Angelo "Pop" Partanna
Lee Richardson
Dominic Prizzi
Michael Lombard
Rosario Filargi
John Huston
Director
Richard Condon
Writer
Janet Roach
Writer
John Foreman
Producer
Alex North
Original Music
Andrzej Bartkowiak
Cinematography
Kaja Fehr
Film Editing
Rudi Fehr
Film Editing
Alixe Gordin
Casting
J. Dennis Washington
Production Design
Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Prizzi's Honor

All Critics (40) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (34) | Rotten (6)
Full Review… Variety Staff Variety Full Review… Dave Kehr Chicago Reader Full Review… Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Full Review… Chase Burns The Stranger (Seattle, WA) Full Review… Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Full Review… Eleanor O'Sullivan Asbury Park Press (NJ) Full Review… Molly Haskell Vogue Full Review… Matthew Lucas From the Front Row Full Review… Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid Full Review… Wesley Lovell Cinema Sight Full Review… Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Full Review… Sean Axmaker Seanax.com
View All Critic Reviews (40)

Audience Reviews for Prizzi's Honor

  • Mar 29, 2018
    Weirdly paced, especially for a black comedy. It does sort of lull you into a false sense of security so that when the bigger twists come you're more surprised, especially for that dark ending.
    Alec B Super Reviewer
  • Feb 11, 2014
    Jack Nicholson "fooled around" a bit in the eighties and made some of his worst work. This falls into this character. There is enough Nicholson to make it work but still a bit lacking.
    John B Super Reviewer
  • Sep 29, 2012
    A hit man falls in love with a counterpart who robs his employers. Anjelica Huston's icy but damaged mob daughter earns this film a full star in my book, not mention the Oscar it won Huston. With a cool, reserved vulnerability, her performance is captivating. The rest of the film is not as good. The love story plot is horribly developed. There is very little chemistry between Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner, and the characters senselessly dive into a relationship that is based on so little that it makes one wonder why they would give up so much for its sake. The eventual plot twists are formulaic and predictable. Overall, the film makes no sense as a drama, and though it's meant to be a comedy, I don't get the joke.
    Jim H Super Reviewer
  • Mar 24, 2012
    John Huston has a little fun with the by now typical New York family crime tale when one of their main killers spots a beautiful blonde at a Mob wedding and is instantly smitten. There's a catch though ... she's a contract killer too. Nicholson and Turner are good enough for charm and Huston's daughter gets to shine too, enough to win Best Supporting Actress for that year.
    Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
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