Frank D'Angelo, a homegrown auteur

Making a movie is the most pervasive and influential art. Movies have been made for many years, and for many years they have been a great form of entertainment for us and it is probably the main reason why we love watching movies. Cinemas take us to places we’ve never been and inside the skin of people quite different from ourselves. To the answer of a question why we watch movies, the answer is beautifully summarized by Academy Award winner actor Jack Nicholsen, in one of his speech during Oscar award ceremony, “they entertain us; they offer hopes (and) give traumas; they take us places, we never been, just even for few moments; they can take us away, when we want to get away; Movies inspire us; they challenge us and despite our differences, they are (the) common link to humanity, in all of us.” The art of the performers stays fresh for us, their beauty as beautiful as ever. It's the feeling of freedom from repeatability we have always enjoyed at the movies. The creatio...

The best thing about Frank D’Angelo as a director is that he gives chances to the new faces and firmly believes in their acting skills. It is perhaps the main reason that once an actor debuts in the D’Angelo’s arena, they become a star fixed in his ever-expanding constellation. In his hugely successful movie the Sicilian Vampire he has given chance to so many newcomers to display their acting skills and win the heart of the audience. Along with the popular and veteran actors such as James Caan, Paul Sorvino and Robert Loggia- Frank has paired so many unfamiliar and not so famous faces like, Eric Roberts, Daniel Baldwin and Tony Nardi. With the production budget of $11.3 million, which is also the highest-budgeted film of D'Angelo, the movie celebrates the triumph of youth. Sicilian Vampire is considered as the equal parts of Dusk till Dawn and Goodfellas. The fascinating story of the Sicilian Vampire- The plot and sub-plot of the film are well conceptualized and c...

The meteoric rise of Frank from a business tycoon to capturing the Canadian film and TV world is truly remarkable and praiseworthy. Born to Sicilian parents in Toronto, Frank’s upbringing, education and inborn talent helped him to become so popular and supremely successful director. The Red Maple Leaf, the star-studded feature film by Frank D'Angelo received The Indie Spirit Best Picture Award. It is a matter of real prestige for Frank and his team as it is the film won its third Best Picture Award. Here he crafts a tale that is enriched, not overwhelmed, by its look, and whose humanity shines through its gorgeous, elaborate, award-worthy production design. He’s aided by one of the year’s best ensemble casts, led by the extraordinary Robert Loggia, James Caan, Martin Landau, Paul Sorvino, Kris Kristofferson, Mira Sorvino, Michael Paré, Armand Assante, Eric Roberts, Margot Kidder, Daniel Baldwin, Laurie Fortier, Doris Roberts and Marc Blucas. It is a movie that’s at once ecce...

The contribution of Frank D’Angelo in taking Canadian cinema to the world is immense and commendable. The most common theme in all his stories is of the connections of people, and it is this wide treatment of human relationships. D’Angelo represents the stark reality of the world in the most comprehensive way. His characters speak the language that we use in our daily life and that’s why we can relate with them quite easily. His legacy has been to encourage films that are unadulterated in their action and effects, while still maintaining strong character roots. Whether it is Sicilian Vampire: An uncomfortable, bizarre trip through Frank D'Angelo or The Big Fat Stone, Real Gangsters or No Deposit, his films situated themselves more readily into mainstream culture. His film The Neighborhood that released in the year 2017 was premiered in Toronto at the Italian Contemporary Film Festival. We also have to tip our hats to Frank D’Angelo for being willing to mix it up on TV and mus...