Sadly MOR is a mafia pic, that falls under par, of other mafia greats we've come to love. The movie doesn't suffer totally. It had good intentions, and isn't like a lot of other movies. It stands alone, an admiring aspect here, but there are some painfully obvious flaws in a film that could of been better executed as well as explained. It's amateurism is expelled from the latter particularly, as the disjointed aspect is what really made it so. The actors deliver, the film doesn't, and Kathryn Borowitz is bloody sexy. Again this film has been inspired by the tragedy of Macbeth, again an underlying disappointment with that factor, in a film that had potential. Opening with a graphic massacre scene with Turturro and co taking out a few of his competition, surviving this, him and best mate, Farina, on the run, seek refuge, where Turturro's fortune is told, and it's not good. He's taken in by made man, Steiger and co, where he's initiated into their elite mob fraternity. With his beautiful wife harking onto him, to brazenly take out Steiger and co, he does, not really considering the hell that's gonna come raining down on him, where you somehow know (e.g. is seeing Scarface, Oz's Macbeth) he's pretty well sealing his fate, so you pretty know how this chapter will ensue. This film seemed to be an ambitious project, where the investors, whatever, got a bit too head of themselves, and just jumping in, where much more detail, and proper care should of given to the story structure. And at times, this film feels like it's jumps a scene, whatever, story seems patchy, rushed. I felt that particularly with that last scene, and the acute viewer will see a kind of sloppiness, in a film that really could of been something. I'm tempted to give this film a six, but it falls towards a 7, and here I kind of feeling I'm being a little generous, but somehow like the film's title, I kind of feel respectful, indebted to it. Still recommended for mafia lovers though.

This self-conscious adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' updates the stage play to an urban crime setting, largely as a vehicle for John Turturro, who gives an atypically overwrought performance in the title role. The film arrived late in what was, at the time, a cycle of big screen gangster dramas, giving it an uncomfortable sense of redundancy even without the blatant similarities to 'The Godfather' (the character of Macbeth is here named Michael, not without coincidence). Writer director William Reilly makes no effort to camouflage the source material, adding nothing new to either the original play or its adapted genre. Even worse, the film has little discernible pace or rhythm: it just sits on the screen like a cheap wax replica of a priceless heirloom.

This is definitely worth checking out if you enjoy the story of "Macbeth". The challenge of turning the characters into mobsters was met well. It was done creatively, and it follows all the main points without cheating. John Tuturro and Peter Boyle are good; everyone else is fine. If this was a completely original work, it would rate lower, but I think it is very good considering what they were trying to do, and that's why it is ultimately satisfying. The other comments posted by another viewer are undeservedly harsh. It's a bum wrap. Again, if you like "Macbeth", this is pretty cool. If you love iambic pentameter and period pieces, go rent Roman Polanski's version of "Macbeth", or something of Shakespeare's with Kenneth Brannagh.

William Reilly's "Men of Respect," starring John Turturro and the fascinating Katherine Borowitz, is one of the few genuinely innovative gangster films produced in recent years. Chronicling the rise of a very bold, but not very decisive hit man (Turturro, the film's characters are carefully and convincingly delineated, and the frequent scenes of grotesque violence are almost a diversion from the development of the characters themselves. Although Turturro is splendid as the bloodthirsty, but slightly addled killer, the film is stolen by the performance of Ms. Borowitz, who plays his long-suffering, titanium-spined wife. Other characters include the ill-starred mob bosses played by Rod Steiger, Peter Boyle, and Rod Steiger. Other scene-stealers include three unforgettable "witches," whom Turturro consults for a glimpse of his future. If this is beginning to sound familar, it should: "Men of Respect" is a very faithful update of "The Tragedy of Macbeth!" A movie to savor, and an actress not to be forgotten.