I don’t care what anyone says. For my money, Martin Scorseses’, Goncharov, is the greatest gangster movie ever made and if you don’t think that, then you haven’t seen it. Goncharov stars Rebert Deniro as Lo Straniero/Goncharov, a Russian hit man and former discothèque owner. Alongside his wife Katya (Cybill Shepherd) and his friend/rival Andrei (Keitel), Goncharov must try and establish himself among the Italian mafia (Yes, Goncharov makes a fresh start in Naples) while keeping his family alive.
(Spoilers – if you haven’t seen this masterpiece, you have been warned)
Now, I remember seeing this movie during its theatrical release in ‘73 at the old Empire Theater on 42nd Street. In fact, as I recall, this movie won an Oscar for ‘Best Foreign Accents in an English-Language Film’ in its year of release. I even had a VHS copy of the film I purchased in ‘75, but it was destroyed in the Great Meteor Strike of ’88. I think one aspect that helps Goncharov succeed as a film is its broad appeal. There is enough richness in the surface plot, with its intrigue and twists, to keep folks just in it for the mafia film more than satisfied. However, there is so much nuancelurking just beneath that surface that shows why it’s a film still being discussed almost 50 years later. As a Goncharov enthusiast, I feel it is important to point out that the story does not take place “after the fall of the Soviet Union.” Not only is this chronologically inaccurate (dissolution of Soviet Union took place in 1988-1991) but also misses an important plot line relating to Valery Michailov, who is on the hunt after Goncharov to bring him back to the USSR. I understand that the sudden popularity of the old movie, which was lost in the media until a recent point in time means that a lot of people know of the plot only from third person accounts, but its themes and narrative are still very important to some of us.
Take the scene in the clock shop, Fermariello’s. It’s the only scene where Goncharov and Sofia meet without others present – only they don’t know who they are, how their lives are connected, at the time. There is, of course, some top-tier acting and great dialogue here, with each saying things that are only later revealed to have a double meaning. Consider Sofia’s line, “I love something I can hold in my hands,” which at the time refers to her disdain for the new digital clock trend, but we as the audience know foreshadows Katya’s eventual death – and perhaps Sofia’s feelings for her?. This is outstanding film making. But take a look at the scene on a deeper level, and you realize how much of the film it really encapsulates. Take the shop’s name. Fermariello was the mayor of Naples when World War II ended. That’s when the first domino fell, so to speak, when the clock started ticking for the inescapable web that eventually led to this film’s bloody climax. It helps demonstrate the creators ideas about fate and destiny, and the way powers far beyond the control of the every person – powers like a world conflict that ended before you were born – can shape and ultimately break you as a person.
Younger movie audiences will have most likely only seen the putrid remake of Goncharov from 2017 starring Nicholas Cage, Steven Seagall, Asia Argento and Gary Busey. Filmed in Crimea with Sevastopol standing in for Naples, it was a travesty, with twice the grisly murders and none of the lyrical, tragic emotional energy of the original. Also, it turns out there was a never released sequel: Goncharov 2: Iron Curtain (1976). I heard that Zack Snyder is working on a director’s cut of that one, fingers crossed.
Now, you cannot stream Goncharov. It plays every night in the theater of your mind, it’s a rerun in your dreams, it’s etched on the inside of your eyelids, it is everything you’ve ever wanted it to be, and more than you ever expected it to be. It is a masterwork. it will never be made.