Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

King of the Gypsies Blu-ray Movie Review

Bland video and audio keep a good film down.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 23, 2015

From Director Frank Pierson (A Star Is Born) and Producer Dino De Laurentiis (Serpico) comes 1978's King of the Gypsies, a film that desperately yearns to be the second coming of The Godfather, here focusing on the gritty life details of New York's Gypsy community rather than its Italian mafia community, and the film shares some of the same basic arcs and character complexities that shaped Mario Puzo's story and Francis Ford Coppola's Oscar-winning masterpiece. King of the Gypsies comes based on the novel of the same name by Peter Maas and, even considering its push to imitate the aforementioned classic, does a surprisingly good job of compartmentalizing a broad, sweeping, and complex story into a two-hour runtime, thanks largely to its ability to discern its most important characteristics that are embodied in the clash between traditional cultural and familial values and one individual's rebellious craving for change. In that way, in the most grossly simplified analysis of its story, the film offers a timeless portrait of the clash that exists between the generations, about those who see tradition as either a cornerstone of life or a weight to which one is permanently shackled.

Transfer of power.

Gypsy "King" Zharko Stepanowicz (Sterling Hayden) has payed several thousand dollars to Spiro Giorgio (Michael V. Gazzo) so that his son Groffo (Judd Hirsch) may marry Spiro's daughter Rose (Susan Sarandon). Spiro efforts to back out of the deal, but the Stepanowicz clan flees the scene with Rose nevertheless. Groffo and Rose bear a son, Dave (Eric Roberts), who is raised in the ways of the Gypsies. But as he matures, he comes to realize that the Gypsy life isn't for him. He's seen it up-close and personal -- what it's done to his family and the unbreakable grip tradition has on the community -- and he distances himself from it, and to the disappointment of his family. But when Zharko, on his deathbed, hands over the reigns of control to young Dave -- bypassing his son Groffo -- it creates a deeper rift in the family and places Dave in a situation in which he holds both his own future and the future of the Gypsy community in his hands.

King of the Gypsies presents audiences with two distinct, yet inseparable, pieces. One is the detailed, and often difficult, depiction of protagonist Dave's early life -- going back so far as to cover, in detail, the arranged marriage that would ultimately lead to his conception and birth -- and, later, his young adult years when the influences of his childhood have defined his existence but also brought about a refinement of his own ideals and a rebellion against the system in which he was raised, which necessarily means rebellion against his family. A confrontation with his father at one point leads to blows which in turn leads to Dave's father fighting to force his son to rape his mother. Dave's world, then, is one in constant upheaval, of shunning the world around him and the history that made him in favor of the life he craves. The center narrative conflict comes from the family patriarch choosing Dave to lead the family -- essentially, then, the New York (and eastern Pennsylvania) Gypsy community -- rather than Dave's more traditionally set father. What does that mean for the Dave, for his father, for the entire family, for the Gypsy community, for the very traditions that community holds dear but Dave finds deplorable? It's through that conflicting prism where the movie finds its greatest dramatic value, and it does a fine job of exploring the inner conflict and relating it externally, of digging deep into the characters and the community in which they live and unearthing both the tangible results of the conflict and focusing on the more intangible, yet very much authentic, inner conflicts that define the characters more so than even their physical actions.

The cast is excellent and the movie is simple yet sophisticated. Eric Roberts' Golden Globe-nominated performance is a standout amongst several impressive efforts from a top-tier cast which includes Judd Hirsch and Susan Sarandon as Dave's parents and Sterling Hayden, Shelley Winters, Brooke Shields, Annie Potts, and Annette O'Toole in key roles, all completely invested in their roles and understanding of the deeply rooted ideals that shape them, one way or another. The film feels appropriately gritty and gets plenty of milage from its meshing of the 70s era New York shell with the conflicting worlds of tradition and change playing out inside, creating a fascinating backdrop that not only hits on the idea of progress versus tradition but oozes it in a broader, outer context as well. That grit, that sense of deeply rooted conflict yields an almost tactile feel that's both welcoming in cinematic structure but necessarily distant in its details. The film boasts several intoxicatingly strong scenes that shape the story in a moment but drape over it for the duration, managing to create a tangibly realistic meshing of characters and influences that are more than narrative blips on the radar but instead deeply rooted, soul-shaping, world-defining events that, for these characters, are inescapable realities and not simply one-off moments that don't mean anything in the end. The film proves beautifully capable of detailing its world and shaping its characters with grace and subtlety on one hand but broad hammer strikes on the other, bringing together the best and worst the entire landscape has to offer and essentially placing it all on the shoulders of the man tasked with carrying that banner or burying to forever. The scene in which Dave receives the symbolic passing of the torch from his grandfather is a mesmerizing example of the film's character depth, its performances, and the power of its core story.

King of the Gypsies Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

King of the Gypsies features a bland and dull and ultimately disappointing 1080p transfer. It's hopelessly washed out and rarely ever reflective of a film-like appearance. Details are flat and lifeless, rendering skin, clothes, and supportive interior and city exterior accents pasty and devoid of more than cursory texturing. Grain does spike on occasion, buzzing over darker scenes in particular. Heavy bouts of noise also appear throughout. Colors are drab and washed out with even bright reds and purples barely standing out. Flesh tones are pasty and black levels fluctuate between pale and crushed. The transfer additionally sees quite a bit of age-related wear-and-tear throughout. Certainly the film's artificially blown-out, soft, and hazy appearance appears at least somewhat intentional, but it's hardly a looker and there's plenty of room for technical improvement with this Blu-ray release, even as there's no evidence of serious banding, edge enhancement, or macroblocking to report.

King of the Gypsies Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

King of the Gypsies features a passably bland DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. Dialogue is adequately centered but proves fairly scratchy and poorly defined. There's some decent instrumental detail but music on the whole lacks precision and struggles to stretch across the front. A few support effects, like gunfire, car chases, traffic, and general city din, are disappointingly flat and lacking more than cursory distinction. This is a classic example of a track that carries the material but does so only to the simplest, least demanding of results.

King of the Gypsies Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of King of the Gypsies contains no bonus content. The main menu only offers selections for "Play" and "Chapters."

King of the Gypsies Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

King of the Gypsies is gritty yet beautiful, complicated yet simple, unnerving yet approachable. While it's not The Godfather, it's nevertheless a deep and satisfying portrait of a mysterious world in which tradition and rebellion against tradition clash in both expected and unexpected ways. The film boasts quality storytelling by way of terrific characters, strong performances, and incredible dramatic depth. Olive Films' Blu-ray release of King of the Gypsies features adequate video and audio. No extras are included. Recommended, but only on the strength of the film; wait for a price drop more in-line with the Blu-ray's technical quality before purchasing.