Kill the Irishman
| Kill the Irishman | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Jonathan Hensleigh |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by |
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| Based on |
To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia by Rick Porrello |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Patrick Cassidy |
| Cinematography | Karl Walter Lindenlaub |
| Edited by | Douglas Crise |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Anchor Bay Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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106 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $12 million |
| Box office | $1.19 million |
Kill the Irishman (alternatively known as Bulletproof Gangster) is a 2011 American biographical crime film directed by Jonathan Hensleigh, and starring Ray Stevenson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Christopher Walken, and Val Kilmer. Written by Hensleigh (along with Jeremy Walters), it is based on the life of Irish-American gangster Danny Greene, and was adapted from the book To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia by Rick Porrello.
Before entering production, Kill the Irishman had a troubled development stage that lasted over a decade. Production commenced in 2009, with filming taking place in and around Detroit. The film chronicles the rise and fall of Danny Greene. He worked as a longshoreman in the Cleveland docks, until being chosen to serve as interim president in 1961. In 1964, he was convicted of embezzling $11,500 of the union's funds. After his conviction, Greene rose through the criminal underworld in Cleveland, and waged war on the Mafia for control of the city. After many failed attempts, Greene was assassinated on October 6, 1977 by contract killer Ray Ferritto. His death ultimately led to the demise of the Cleveland Mafia.
Released in the United States on March 11, 2011, Kill the Irishman premiered at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema in New York City. Most of the cast, including Stevenson and D’Onofrio, were in attendance.Shondor Birns' niece was also present. The film was met with mixed-positive reviews upon release, but some criticized the purported similarities to Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas.Kill the Irishman grossed $1,188,194 at the domestic box office, against a production budget of $12 million.
In 1960, Danny Greene and his childhood friends Billy McComber and Art Sneperger are longshoremen at the Cleveland docks. Meanwhile, the members are exploited by corrupt union boss, Jerry Merke and the leadership of the ILA union urges Greene to run against him. Meanwhile, Sneperger can't pay a gambling debt to Cleveland Mafia Capo John Nardi. In return for Sneperger's debt being forgiven, Greene supplies Nardi's crew with goods stolen from the docks. Merke finds out, demands a cut of Greene's profits, and then sends an enforcer to kill him. Instead, Greene beats up the enforcer, then beats up Merke, throws the union leader out of his office, and is later elected union president. He improves the working conditions at the docks while continuing his dealings with Nardi.
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Wikipedia