Carlito's Way

1993 Directed by Brian De Palma

He’s got a good future if he can live past next week.

A Puerto-Rican ex-con, just released from prison, pledges to stay away from drugs and violence despite the pressure around him, and lead a better life outside NYC.

Al Pacino Sean Penn Penelope Ann Miller Luis Guzmán James Rebhorn Viggo Mortensen Richard Foronjy Joseph Siravo Adrian Pasdar Jorge Porcel Ingrid Rogers John Leguizamo Frank Minucci John Ortiz Ángel Salazar Al Israel Rick Aviles Jaime Sánchez Edmonte Salvato Paul Mazursky Tera Tabrizi Víctor Sierra Caesar Cordova Jon Seda Ruben Rivera Sherie Mambru Brenda Hernandez Elliot Santiago Frank Ferrara Show All…

Alternative Titles

L'impasse, Carlito, Carlitova cesta, Atrapado por su pasado, Путь Карлито, O Pagamento Final, À la manière de Carlito, Fanget af fortiden, Υπόθεση Καρλίτο, Carlitov način, Carlito útja, Karlito kelias, Carlitos Weg, Путь Карлитo

thriller crime

144 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Patrick Willems ★★★★ 12

De Palma's a legend for only casting Sean Penn as the most unlikable scumbags
Review by nathaxnne ★★★★½ 12

Although Carlito's Way in a sense represents the falling motion to Scarface's rising action, it lacks the nervous, overstuffed agitation of Scarface, replacing it with a kind of wistful, elegaic burnout, a paean to uninvolement, to not-doing, or doing other-than. Carlito's Way is more of a piece with The Untouchables, both sweeping historical epics which have the time and space to collect themselves, develop characters, build whole worlds in which to enact tensely clever set-pieces, some of the best of De Palma's career. Carlito's Way and The Untouchables also share a grand, constructed artificiality. They know they are movies, hearkening back to an older-school vibe, when movies had to span the whole of what cinema could do, to offer suspense…
Review by SilentDawn ★★★★★ 16

96
"Adiós, counselor."
Brian De Palma sets the stage and Al Pacino just walks off, disco blaring. The two are usually only as electrifying as their material, and here, with a sharp, swooning machismo weepie, they both shine as bright as can be. De Palma's set-pieces, whether operatic (the final nightclub/train station chase) or intimate (the playful seduction between Carlito and Gail behind the apartment door) are perfect, and Pacino is given plenty of space to create. A key moment for both artists involves Carlito waiting in the bathroom and taunting the assailants outside after a drug-deal gone bad. De Palma watches from above with a high-angle as Carlito gets up the courage to leave the room, but even before…
Review by katie ★★★★ 4

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

would do literally anything to have al pacino break down my door just to have sex with me
Review by josh lewis ★★★★★ 5

michael mann's Scarface.
full discussion on episode 129 of my podcast SLEAZOIDS.
Review by Nakul ★★★★½ 4

Carlito's Way deserves all of the fame Scarface gets, this Brian De Palma & Al Pacino reunion owns so goddamn hard. Masterful direction on display here by De Palma with some terrific set pieces and a powerhouse performance from Al Pacino.
The finale is an all-timer, featuring the greatest foot chase sequence in film history.
Review by josh lewis ★★★★★ 3

"yeah, i had a dream. but now i'm awake... and i hate my dream."
"the dream don't come no closer by itself. we gotta run after it now."
"rough night. tired, baby... tired."
full discussion on episode 129 of my podcast SLEAZOIDS.
Review by matt lynch ★★★★

Once it was "The World is Yours", now it's "Escape to Paradise". Shit ain't what it used to be.
Review by SilentDawn ★★★★★ 3

96/100
ESCAPE TO PARADISE
Review by Jizzmonkey ★★★★ 5

Style to behold, a nonchalant flirt with the camera, acting skills most humans cannot possess, a beautiful sheen, perfect protection against the elements, decent protection against Italian mobsters. And I'm of course talking about the star of this film, Carlito's leather coat.
Review by Neil Bahadur ★★★★★

When you can't see the angles anymore, you're in trouble, baby.
Review by Kaliofthedolls ★★★★★ 3

15th DePalma
Here come the pain
Strong. This was shot so masterfully, I was shaking my head in awe at a lot of the sequences.
My hot take on this is that there are a lot of films about the struggle to "get out" and fly straight and how because of life experience and the folks surrounding the guy he can't pull it off, but this might be my favorite. Simply because of how well it was filmed, that foot chase, Pacino and his girlie's boobs, just yeah... strong.
It bees that way sometimes

Recent reviews

Review by Combo McKinney ★★★★★

Holy shit
Review by Michael Benson ★★★★★ 1

Better than 'Scarface'. Fight me!
Review by Casado ★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Que absoluto icono es Al Pacino. Otra vez con ese acento puertorriqueño. Pese a considerarse secuela espiritual de Scarface para mi no lo es. Pese a sus similitudes el planteamiento inicial es bien distinto. Aquí Brian de Palma nos cuenta una historia de redención, de reinserción. Pero eso, habiendo nacido en el mundo del crimen, parece resultar imposible. Penelope Ann Miller no es Michelle Pfeiffer ni pretende serlo, ni mucho menos las aspiraciones de Carlito son parecidas a las de Tony Montana. El final se nos revela desde el principio; pero aún así su destino ya se puede predecir. Una dirección excelente de Brian de Palma que deja innovadoras escenas filmando en espejos y notables primeros planos. La última escena, con esos planos de los ojos llorosos de Al Pacino y sus palabras, para después mostrar ese letrero de "Escape to Paradise" es absolutamente maravillosa.
Review by FortuFori ★★★ 1

Viggo Mortensen playing a disabled Hispanic guy from the Bronx may be the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.
Review by John Ferrer ★★★★½

I ♡ Disco Goodfellas
Review by Len Fearnside ★★★★

Throughout this entire re-watch (a re-watch I very much enjoyed) all I could think about was this being the feature length film adaptation of Pacino's "just when I thought I was out..." line from Godfather 3.
Review by TonyCocktana ★★★★

Carlitos way 3: Scarlett Johansson plays Al Pacino’s Puerto Rican granddaughter, who’s also Puerto Rican.
Review by SantiOrani ★★★★★

La mejor actuación de Al Pacino de todos los tiempos! Una verdadera joya visual, que te agarra desprevenido. Empezar a consumir a un director, es empezar por su mejor obra? Sin duda, de entre las mejores.
Review by SoggiestWaffle ★★★★★

Based...
Review by mipratiik ★★★★½

DePalma and his pivotal scenes at train stations.❤️🔥 (See: Untouchables)
Pacino is charming as ever but how weirdly amazing is Sean Penn!!
Review by svmoht ★★★½

Brian de Palma et Al Pacino, est-ce qu’il en faut plus pour que ce film soit bon ? Pas vraiment.
Review by Space Cop ★★★★½

That's Saso. Used to be Ron.