The Alto Knights Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

The Alto Knights Blu-ray Movie Review

Two DeNiros for the price of one? No thanks.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 23, 2025

The re-teaming of actor Robert De Niro with both director Barry Levinson (Wag the Dog) and writer Nick Pileggi (Goodfellas, Casino) might normally be a cause for celebration, but The Alto Knights is more like a depressing class reunion. In what might be forever known as "the movie where De Niro plays both leads", this dual-casting misfire and box-office dud achieves occasional success as a methodical, intermittently piercing drama but it's crippled by terrible editing and stop-and-start momentum that can and will stunt viewer interest long before the credits roll.

As for a synopsis, even a basic one is difficult to convey without at least mild spoilers, one of which occurs in the film's very first scene. In short, it concerns the later life of Luciano family mob boss Frank Costello (De Niro) after he's almost assassinated by a man working for ruthless second-in-command Vito Genovese (also De Niro, and more on that later). Sheer luck and a small caliber gun ensure Costello's miraculous survival, angering Genovese even though his clear-cut message has been sent: there's a new leader, and you ain't him. It's a somber coda given that Costello and Gonovese were very close friends growing up, meaning that large portions of The Alto Knights -- which refers to a social club that both men frequented in their youth -- reflect on events that got them there as well as the fallout, with Costello finally looking to leave mob life along with his supportive wife of 38 years, Bobbie (Debra Messing).

For starters, it's painfully obvious that The Alto Knights is director Barry Levinson and writer Nick Pileggi's too-late attempt to revive classic gangster dramas in the same way Martin Scorsese, De Niro, and company were kind of able to do with 2019's The Irishman. But "attempt" is the key word here: The Alto Knights features so many repeated genre story beats, clichés, and familiar film techniques, many of them swiped wholesale from Scorsese, that large portions of it feel like a cheap photocopy. Fleeting moments of goodness (not greatness) are achieved early on and intermittently throughout, but these are usually overshadowed by a number of things that simply don't work in its favor. The most obvious one is two paragraphs down, but this film's uneven pace is perhaps a more fatal flaw.

I rarely notice editing in any film the first time through (which is usually a good thing), but the job here by Douglas Crise -- who has worked on films as surprisingly varied as Leprechaun 2, Barb Wire, 21 Grams (all three as an assistant editor), and Birdman -- is distracting and heavily contributes to the film's uneven and exhausting flow. Simply put, The Alto Knights is cut to within an inch of its life with countless shots barely lasting a full second; this style is often used logically for dramatic effect to show a character's disorientation (such as when a wave of photographers descends upon a crime scene, cameras flashing non-stop), but it continues during normal conversations and other "regular moments" too. I didn't exactly keep a notebook handy to log average shot time, but there are multiple scenes that aren't too far off this infamous moment from Taken 2. The Alto Knights has more problems than this but, had the editing been more classically relaxed, I think that several scenes would've been much more dramatically effective.

In the end, though, The Alto Knights mostly dies for the same reason it lives: Robert De Niro's dual lead performance as Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, which is more than capable considering his age but makes certain portions of the narrative needlessly confusing. Is the digital trickery impressive when they share the screen? Of course, But this kind of gimmick absolutely screams "we could", not necessarily "we should", as the whole conceit of an actor playing separate people (not including twin brothers, such as Paul Dano in There Will Be Blood and, more recently, Michael B. Jordan in Sinners) often makes any film feel like a self-indulgent stage play. Simply put, they should've known better.

Poor box-office performances rarely translate to stacked home video release, so it makes sense that Warner Bros. unceremoniously drops The Alto Knights on home video with no 4K option and no bonus features. Technical merits are solid, of course, but for obvious reasons this one can only really be recommended to established fans.

The Alto Knights Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Not surprisingly, Warner Bros.' Blu-ray is a quality effort, as this digitally-shot film earns a relatively seamless transition to HD home video; unfortunately as of this writing, a separate 4K UHD option has not been announced. Sporting all the signs of a film shot with HDR in mind, at least based on its particular color palette, this 1080p/SDR transfer nonetheless serves up a pleasing and mostly trouble-free image, which isn't all that surprising since the film gets a dual-layered disc all to itself. Color reproduction is very good, favoring bronzes and warmer tones contrasted by occasional cooler values, deep blacks, piercing neons, and an abundance of black-and-white stills and footage, some of it from stock sources and others newly-created to establish fictional context. Contrast, shadow detail, and overall density are largely impressive from start to finish, with only a few very minor and fleeting signs of ghosting visible during a handful of extremely dark scenes. Nonetheless, The Alto Knights is a handsomely-shot film for the most part, successfully transporting viewers back to the various time periods depicted (mostly the 1950s) while creating a slightly different visual look for all of them. I'd still love to see what it looks like in 4K, but most fans should be fine with what we get here.

The Alto Knights Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dolby Atmos mix follows suit with a supportively solid sonic presentation, one that obviously doesn't consistently use the surround and height channels to overwhelming effect but still provides a mostly warm and enveloping sound field that outshines your average 5.1 track. There are an abundance of crowded sequences featured here -- most taking place indoors, but some in bustling urban areas -- and these are perhaps the most reliable "performers" overall, with multiple conversations easily picked out thanks to the precision achieved by this object-based audio format. As such, the prioritized front-channel dialogue is clean and crisp, as are organic surround effects as well as added music cues and diegetic performances, both of which enjoy a rich and convincing sonic footprint. Action scenes are few and far between but add their own level of support on occasion, while sparse hits of LFE are usually employed for suspenseful dramatic effect rather than the punctuated hits of massive explosions and heavy gunshots. Overall, this is an equally strong effort, one that's slightly understated in a good way but perfectly supportive of the visuals.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are offered during the main feature only.

The Alto Knights Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with a Digital Copy, but with no slipcover and no extras.

The Alto Knights Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Barry Levison's The Alto Knights lives and dies by its baffling gimmick of using Robert De Niro for both lead roles; though he manages to create two distinct identities here, there's absolutely no reason why antagonist Vito Genovese couldn't have been played by someone else entirely. That's only one of several nagging problems with this occasionally interesting but mostly flat crime saga, a dragged-out drama whose uneven editing and momentum will exhaust viewer interest before the credits roll. Die-hard fans of the director, actor, and/or writer may want to give it a chance anyway, but WB's Blu-ray has no extras and no 4K option despite solid technical specs. Try before you buy, obviously.