Paradise Alley (1978)

Written by The Parsi Prince on April 7, 2016

• Paradise Alley marks the Directorial Debut of Sylvester Stallone. It is a highly under-rated period piece, set in 1940's Hell's Kitchen, (where Stallone was born in New York), about the three Carboni brothers and the sibling rivalry they endure against the backdrop of professional wrestling.

• Featuring a breath-taking opening sequence involving rooftops with parkour-like free running and Cinematography by renowned DP László Kovács (F.I.S.T.) It also has an amazing soundtrack by Bill Conti of Rocky fame with the title track, "Too Close to Paradise" sung by Sylvester Stallone. There are also songs by Frank Stallone, Jr and Tom Waits.

• There is a tender story of romance, fraternal exploitation and familial redemption. There are some famous wrestlers like Dory and Terry Funk (Over the Top).

• It co-stars Armand Assante (The Lords of Flatbush and Judge Dredd) and Golden Gloves Champion Lee Canalito, as well as Godfather to Sage Stallone, Joe Spinell (The Godfather 1 & 2, Farewell My Lovely, Rocky 1 & 2 and Nighthawks).

• Very Notable as Old Glory is Frank McRae (F.I.S.T., Rocky II and Lock Up) who is strong, empathic and full of pathos.

Director John Landis (Deathrace 2000 and Oscar) uses an homage in Trading Places (1983) with Eddie Murphy copying Cosmo Carboni (Stallone) as a disabled war vet begging on the streets of Philadelphia, complete with the Rocky statue.

The only negative is the use of racial slurs that spoils what would have been a masterpiece. This is similar to a rant in The Lords of Flatbush four years earlier, which is a shame.