Gone with the Pope

Gone with the Pope (2010)

** (out of 4)

Wiseguy Paul (Duke Mitchell) agrees to kill seven people so that his friends can live a better life with the money once they're released from prison. Once out, Paul and his friends take a cruise around the world when he gets an idea to kidnap the Pope and request a dollar from every Catholic in the world for his return.

GONE WITH THE POPE was produced, written and directed by Mitchell but the film was never complete and after Mitchell's death in 1981, the film pretty much remained unseen until the folks at Grindhouse Releasing discovered a print and took the next fifteen years trying to piece it together. It's clear that there's stuff missing but I'm not sure if this is due to a few reels being missing or the fact that it seems Mitchell was just filming stuff for the sake of filming and in the end none of it added up to much. This film is no where near as entertaining as MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE but fans of the (now) cult filmmaker will still want to check it out.

If you're expecting the over-the-top craziness of MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE then you're probably going to be disappointed. This movie here is pretty laid back in its approach and there's really nothing too crazy outside the entire kidnapping of the Pope storyline. Even that there is somewhat deceptive considering that plot point only takes about thirty-minutes worth of running time if that. There are a few Mafia hits throughout the picture that contain some blood but nothing too graphic. There's some bizarre humor scattered throughout aimed at women, which is certainly something you'd only see from a movie in the 1970s. This includes a black woman who gets some racist jokes thrown her way and then there's a really bizarre sequence dealing with an obese woman.

The film certainly isn't what you'd call well-made but there's no doubt Mitchell had something that is..... Well, I'm not sure what it is but there's no doubt that his two films as writer-director have given him some fame that sadly he never saw in his lifetime. GONE WITH THE POPE is going to be hated by most people and you know who you are. Fans of cult movies will find some mild entertainment here thanks mainly to Mitchell. Even his performance as his plays this tough guy is charming to say the least. This certainly isn't a masterpiece but it's got a certain Mitchell charm. Not to mention, the actor manages to turn in a good performance and especially during a more dramatic moment where he breaks down speaking with the Pope.

After viewing the trailer since it first came out, and showing it to all my friends I would say I was VERY MUCH looking forward to seeing this film.

Man was I disappointed...They threw every good part of the film into the trailer and all of the good lines in it just ended up being throw-away dialogue in the actual story.

There are a few good scenes in this film, but they could have turned this into an amazing 15 minute short instead of making me suffer. It's crazy to think that from an original 5 hour rough cut they couldn't find better material to pack into this film. It also didn't help at all that there must not have been a focus puller for this film, and roughly 1/4 of the film is all out of focus. The sound mix is barely audible as well.

Save your money, watch the trailer...watch it again and again so you may imagine that Gone With the Pope is a great film.

Duke Mitchell spent most of his life in nightclubs. As a Singer and an Actor, Duke struggled to showcase his talent. Throughout the movie, it's hard to decipher between Duke Mitchell and the character Paul for whom he portrays. Both men are victims of the life they chose. Each is fighting to survive and are living on the run. Duke would die from lung cancer at the age of 55. Its hard not to remind yourself while watching the movie as Duke smokes countless amounts of cigarettes. Duke's character deals with being a prisoner, having a burden and feeling cheated. He is angry and manipulates many of his close friends. Wanted to be loved, the only real woman in his life is distant and a minor character. The so called "leader of the band" or head gang member, Duke always tries to stay in charge and be one step ahead of everyone else. You could say that Duke lived like this for most of his life. The ending is very powerful as well as unexpected. You need to ask yourself if Duke is running away or running after something. The ending show's his true fear and that he has been running his entire life. He is angry at America, his friends, and even his Faith. For the low budget / grind house picture that it is, Gone with the Pope meant much more to Duke Mitchell then you think. Having accomplished what it did not set out to do, the movie showcases timeless images of Los Angeles and Las Vegas from the 1970's. The wardrobe alone makes this movie worth watching. For an entertaining movie, any grind house fan will not be disappointed. Then again, for a deep hidden message, Duke's final message to the audience is one that many might not be able to witness.

I got a chance to view this film on 35mm in Rochester New York with my brother. Bob did a Q&A after the screening to explain how he acquired the film and the editing process. I love gone with the pope. It is very funny, a little bit of violence, very charming and I must say one of best undiscovered films out there. Highly recommend checking it out on 35mm - heads up to Grind house with the 35mm film print. Very clean print and crisp audio. I've seen many of the grind house releases on 35mm and Gone with the Pope is absolutely the best, considering the sources grind house had to work with. If you are a fan of 70'S grind house/mobster type of movies then def check this out on its road show tour on 35mm film.

This is a film that, yes, was technically released for the first time in 2010. But it's also a kind of Grindhouse example of Metropolis, another movie that was restored this year. New footage was found and meticulous care was put to editing something that people had never seen before. One was a testament to man and his inner quest for self-knowledge set against an oppressive world, and the other was Metropolis.

But I jest. This was shot by real (and I mean REALLY) no-budget director Duke Mitchell, who made only one other film in the 1970s, and did shoot the footage for this film (you can tell, all HUGE warts and out-of-focus shots and all). But it was never finished due to lack of funds. Years later (as in two years ago) some former friends and people at the Grindhouse DVD company, got together and took all the footage Mitchell had shot and made a movie as competently as they could.

Frankly, that it turned out as well as it did is something of a miracle because, quite frankly, this stinks. But it stinks in a way that is friendly to fellow bad-movie lovers. The craftsmanship is so terrible, the acting so non-existent, the story so WTF, that I wondered at certain points if Torgo from Manos the Hands of Fate would make an appearance. All I could really gather about anything relating to a "story" was that Paul (also Mitchell) is released from jail, kills some gangsters, and then takes a boat trip with some friends from California to Rome to kidnap the Pope and hold the world hostage: every Catholic pays 1 buck. That's a lot of bucks.

From the dialog that is at best decent street-tough stuff to at worst really racist and sometimes just dull dialog - and the racist stuff especially, as Paul makes wisecracks (and not the subtle kind) to a black prostitute who, somehow, takes it in stride, is hilariously painful to hear spoken - to the cinematography that gives cinematography a bad name (FOCUS, goddamn it, FOCUS!), to the one or two actors such as Paul's wife or Giorgio, who both look like they were picked up from the local deli counter, to the very mixed messages sent about religion (a very *nice* Pope who somehow gets everyone except Paul on his side! and a polemic speech by Paul at one point that rivals ANY of the preachifying in Machete), this is trash cinema at its base level.

It's not a good movie really. If you're looking for things like, say, motivation on the character's part, be it things like killing lots of other people we haven't seen before (sometimes with telephones) or to a random "prank" scene with a huge fat woman getting naked and surprising one of Paul's friend asleep and proceeding to lock her in the room for a good, it's more than absent. It's almost like Mitchell seemed to forget what a movie makes - albeit he is awe-inspiring at making montages, such as one with him and his wife frolicking at a park - and was more transfixed by his own sideburns than anything else. When he tries to get genuine laughs, such as the fat woman scene, it feel so awful that you just recoil in your seat. The movie also disappoints, if in one major way as a Midnight Movie, in not having more craziness with the religious angle. Without saying too much, the film needed to be more like the last scene, which did leave me with a big smile and almost clapping with the rest of the audience.

But for all of the dull moments, and believe you-me there are plenty, and the cringe-worthy performances, it's a very funny movie without knowing that it is. It's also commendable to the editors and producers of this finished version that there are some scenes and transitions that move to a cool beat, maybe in ways Mitchell himself never envisioned. Song selections vary; some are genuinely fantastic, while others go along with the hokey nature of the film. It frustrates and entertains, and it actually has a sense of admiration for the Pope (!) in all his cardboard-performing glory. Then again, his dead-pan is just what's needed on the flip-side of Mitchell's mugging.