just watch it!

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Blistering performances.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

A precursor to "The Godfather", "The Brotherhood" is a 1968 crime drama by director Martin Ritt.Another forgotten auteur of the 1960s, and at one time loosely affiliated with left-wing and communist groups, the majority of Ritt's films feature ideological clashes. His 1965 masterpiece, "The Spy Who Came In From the Cold", for example, features Russian "communists" and Western "capitalists" engaging in games of deception and infiltration. "The Molly Maguires" (1970), meanwhile, features union groups being infiltrated by strike busters, whilst "Norma Rae" (1979) does the opposite, with unionists and agitators covertly infiltrating a textile factory. Such themes infect the majority of Ritt's films. "The Front" (1976), for example, finds an unwitting communist sympathiser hounded during the Red Scare years, whilst his 1963 and 1967 masterpieces, "Hud" and "Hombre", revolve around very specific cultural clashes, unhinged greed winning in "Hud", altruism and self-sacrifice in "Hombre", both to disastrous effects. The rest of Ritt's films ("Sounder", "Conrack", "Great White Hope" etc) tend to focus on the victims of racism, sexism or early 20th century capitalism. In this way, Ritt resembles many of the iconoclastic auteurs of mid century American cinema (Altman, Ashby, Michael Ritchie etc).One of Ritt's lesser films, "The Brotherhood" stars Kirk Douglas as Frank Ginetta, a powerful mafia lord. Frank belongs to a "brotherhood" of gangsters, a collection of warlords who have their own codes, laws and shared interests. When this "brotherhood" attempts to diversify, expand and extend its reach in the search of new profits, Frank protests. Market expansion is fine, he says, but gangsters have their place. Encroach on the spheres and monopolies of the state and/or other "legitimate" businesses, and you'll draw unwanted attention. The other crime lords don't agree. They can make the transition, they insist. As he remains steadfast in his convictions, the "brotherhood" attempt to oust Frank; they hire Frank's brother Vince to assassinate him. In scenes which recall the many "undercover agents" which litter Ritt's filmography, Vince "infiltrates" Frank's island stronghold and plots the latter's demise. Vince then takes over his brother's business, his entire body now epitomising the objectivity and impersonality of the New Economic Order.At its best, "The Brotherhood" watches as a kind of nascent, tribal capitalism tries to sneak its way into the 21st century. All who oppose are killed, an act which echoes the fratricide of Ritt's "Hud" and genocides of Ritt's "Hombre". Caught in the middle of this "progress" is Ginetta, who embodies the kind of ideological confusion most Ritt leading men face. "Don't get confused which side you're on!" a character in Ritt's "The Molly Maguires" bluntly states.Whilst "The Brotherhood" is interesting in relation to Ritt's other films, as a standalone picture it's mostly weak. Lewis John Carlino's script is superficial and Douglas is wholly miscast.7.5/10 – Worth one viewing.

You cannot truly enjoy Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" with Marlon Brando and Al Pacino unless you've seen Martin Ritt's "The Brotherhood" with Kirk Douglas and Alex Cord. Ritt's saga about La Cosa Nostra lacks the scope and spectacle of "The Godfather," but it touches all the traditional bases for an Italian crime thriller. Kirk Douglas is an old-fashioned Mafioso named Frank Ginetta and he refuses to change with the times. Alex Cord plays Kirk's brother Vince who has survived a tour of Vietnam with the U.S. Army. Unlike Al Pacino ex-G.I., Vince knows he must get into the family business. He explains that he is too old and it's been too long since his college days. He wants into the business and Frank couldn't be happier. Initially, all Vince does is review business deals. Eventually, Frank finds out that the board that he is a part of plans to expand. Frank worries about this change. He worries about the repercussions of the deal and he fears the government. Frank is traditional and likes to hang out with the old mafia types. These types were the company that his father kept. Frank discovers that one of the board member is a canary. Earlier, in the first display of violence, Frank ordered the murder of a canary. Moreover, Frank learns that this canary was responsible for the death of his dad. Later, Vince questions Frank's decision about these new interests. As it turns out, Vince's father-in-law is a member of the board on which Frank serves with other business-minded people. When the feces hits the fan, everybody is into conflict, and blood isn't thicker than business.Despite several similarities, "The Brotherhood" differs. Whereas Brando refused to traffic in narcotics, Douglas doesn't want anything to do with electronics. Whereas Pacino didn't want to be in the business, Cord asks to be in the business. "The Godfather" cannot match the climax when brother turns on brother. Nevertheless, "The Godfather" boasts more violence and characters in a narrative that occurs over decades. "The Brotherhood" is really the last reel in "The Godfather." Vince commits an unpardonable crime against the board and flees to the safety of Sicily. Frank knows it is only a matter of time before the board dispatches somebody to ice him. When his brother Vince shows up in the old country to visit Frank, Frank welcomes him with open arms and assure everybody, including his suspicious wife that Vince isn't going to kill him. Kirk Douglas makes a convincing mafia don, and Alex Cord looks like he could be Douglas' kin. Director Martin Ritt takes the subject matter of Louis John Carlino's screenplay with sobriety. The body count of "The Brotherhood" amounts to three. The canary dies in an isolated field. Later, Douglas kills more out of revenge. Finally, his younger brother Vincent carries out an underworld rite of passage. Basically, "The Brotherhood" doesn't wallow in one bloodbath after another. Ritt puts his first-rate through the paces in 94 minutes without let-up, but half of the time nothing exciting happens. The dialogue is largely forgettable, but the situations are genre conventions. Unfortunately, too much talking takes place when more shooting should have rung out. Ritt treats the subject matter as if he were making a crime version of "Death of a Salesman." Lalo Schifrin contributes a fine orchestral score. Part of the action is told in flashback. "The Brotherhood" is a dignified crime drama without a surfeit of violence.

A famous failure when it premiered, The Brotherhood is a prime example of how badly made gangster films were before Coppola's The Godfather. Populated by actors who are Jewish, Greek, Mexican--and whatever Murray Hamilton is, The Brotherhood has no feel for Italian culture, New York City (where it's primarily set) or how modern gangs are structured and operate. Director Martin Ritt is most famous for rural-based films or films of social conscience and is seriously out of his depth in a crime film. The acting, save for Kirk Douglas' shameless over-acting, is competently done. Douglas gives the kind of hammy, schmaltzy "ethnic" performance that blemished much of Anthony Quinn's later career. The other actors seem to know their lines and recite them clearly enough for the audience to hear. The script is a time-worn template: the older, hot tempered traditionalist brother vs. the younger, college-educated one as they struggle to run their business. The one potentially interesting sub-plot, a Senate investigation of the mob,is mentioned but never developed. Like most of the film, it's lost in a sluggish flow of clichéd brother vs. brother generational conflict. Finally though, The Brotherhood isn't a bad film, just a very dull one. Watch this only if it's late and you're home sick with the flu.

When this movie first came out it was unfairly shunned by critics and the movie industry. But now 31 years later The Brotherhood can now fully be enjoyed by fans as an excellent precursor to the Godfather. Kirk Douglas heads an all-star cast in this excellently written, excellently acted,and most of all excellently made picture.