Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Steineded How sad is this?

MusicChat It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

calvinnme This is a Mafia drama about, among other things, conflict between some heads of the organization wanting to behave on the surface like a respectable modern business, as opposed to another who is ready to resort on occasion to "the old ways" of brutality and violence with opponents.This film died a quick death at the 1968 box office, becoming enough of a concern that some Paramount executives were worried about spending the big bucks on a film adaption of Puzo's The Godfather a few years later. The Francis Ford Coppola film, of course, was a huge hit which has gone on to become a film legend, while The Brotherhood is pretty much forgotten today.But this earlier Martin Ritt directed Mafia exploration, while lacking the drama and epic quality of the Coppola film, still has some things to recommend it. Kirk Douglas is solid as one of the heads of a Mafia syndicate in conflict with other heads of that organization as to how to deal with "finks," as Douglas calls them. The other heads want to stay out of the headlines as much as possible. They also want to expand the business in ways that the more cautious Douglas doesn't like.The Brotherhood precedes The Godfather by having a big marriage sequence in which all members of the family and old members of the Mafia gather for a festive occasion. Douglas plays the gracious host, and is full of ebullience and charm. At one point, though, he takes a few seconds to talk to two torpedoes who have just returned from having Douglas that is the highlight of the production. For reasons of plot giveaways I can't reveal the contents of this tense sequence. Suffice it to say, if the film had had one or two other scenes as potent as this one The Brotherhood might be better remembered today.A minor crime drama, in the final analysis, one distinguished by some good performances, and that gripping scene between Douglas and Adler. made a hit for him. Reassured from them that all went well, Douglas is immediately back to the smiles and charm as party host.Cast in the role of Douglas's younger brother who wants into the organization is Alex Cord. I'm tempted to call him Alex Cord of Wood because that would best sum up his performance. If ever there was a contrast in what is and is not charismatic on screen it would be a comparison between Cord and Douglas.Irene Papas, playing Douglas's wife, is largely wasted in the film, I'm sorry to say. However, playing an old time Mafioso big boss that Douglas respects is Hollywood veteran Eduardo Ciannelli, and Ciannelli is terrific in his part, with one scene that is quite riveting. It's nice to see the character actor with an opportunity to still strut his stuff in a role that was ideal casting for him (you might regard it as the character that he had played in 1937's Marked Woman thirty years before).Also impressive in this drama is Luther Adler as one of the heads of the Mafia. Luther will play a very strong scene in this film with Douglas that is the highlight of the production. For reasons of plot giveaways I can't reveal the contents of this tense sequence. Suffice it to say, if the film had had one or two other scenes as potent as this one The Brotherhood might be better remembered today.In the final analysis, this is a minor crime drama, one distinguished by some good performances, and that gripping scene between Douglas and Adler.

tieman64 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.

jotix100 Vince, the younger brother of exiled mafioso, Frank Ginetta, comes to visit his sibling in Sicily, where he has been hiding. Vince has come on a mission although we must wait until much later because we are taken back to get to know Frank's involvement in crime in New York.In flashbacks we are taken to Vince's wedding to Emma Bertolo, the daughter of a prominent mafia bigwig in Brooklyn, where Frank controls the criminal operations. Vince, a man that has gone into the US army and has studied, is also drawn into the illegal activities by loyalty to his brother. Family, among these men matters more than anything else. Vince, who grows disillusioned with Frank, is given the ultimate mission anyone in the organized crime can get.No one can accuse Lewis John Carlino, the screenplay writer, with copying the more famous "The Godfather", which came out later. The film, directed by Martin Ritt, is uneven, at best. The story is about power more than gore and shootouts. Kirk Douglas, the star, produced the film as well as appeared as Frank.Mr. Ritt got the atmosphere right, although the Sicilian locations are just a passing thought. Alex Cord, who made a career on television, is impressive in his take of Vince. Irene Pappas and Susan Strasberg have nothing to do. Luther Adler, Murray Hamilton, Eduardo Cianelli, are among the supporting players.

RonnieJamesDio 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.