Overview
Love and crime intertwine in a dangerous game of passion and betrayal.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- sardonic
- witty
- darkly comic
- classic film night
- dark comedy night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised its disturbing, sardonic black comedy, deadly serious farce, and game ensemble performances.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Prizzi family's murderous schemes and Charley and Irene's professional contracts are played as ordinary relationship and family complications.
Charley and Irene are both hired killers, making their love inseparable from competing assignments and criminal obligations.
Charley's work and romantic choices are controlled by the Prizzi syndicate's hierarchy and demands for family allegiance.
The film frames Mafia scams, killings, and family craziness through heightened comic performances and an extravagant criminal milieu.
Films like Prizzi's Honor, and why
The War of the Roses
darkly comic criminal underworld, romantic entanglement, and sardonic ensemble performance
Married to the Mob
stylized crime-family comedy with ruthless behavior treated as farce and strong ensemble chemistry
The Big Lebowski
blackly comic collision between romance, criminal violence, and dysfunctional family obligations
Grosse Pointe Blank
crime satire built around professional killers, deadpan humor, and morally grotesque situations
Movie Details
- Director
- John Huston
- Release Date
- 1985-06-14
- Runtime
- 124 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (445)
Cast
- Jack Nicholson
- Kathleen Turner
- Robert Loggia
- John Randolph
- William Hickey
- Lee Richardson
- Michael Lombard
- Anjelica Huston
- Lawrence Tierney
- CCH Pounder
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video
- Buy
- Amazon Video
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Prizzi's Honor about?
- A sardonic Mafia romance turns two professional killers’ mutual attraction into a lethal test of family loyalty and occupational duty.
- What is Prizzi's Honor like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Prizzi's Honor as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Prizzi's Honor violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Prizzi's Honor as graphic.
- What did critics think of Prizzi's Honor?
- Critics broadly praised its disturbing, sardonic black comedy, deadly serious farce, and game ensemble performances.
- Which films are like Prizzi's Honor?
- Films with a similar feel include The War of the Roses, Married to the Mob, The Big Lebowski, and Grosse Pointe Blank.
- How long is Prizzi's Honor?
- Prizzi's Honor runs 124 minutes.
- Where can I watch Prizzi's Honor?
- In United States, Prizzi's Honor is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video.
