‘The Alto Knights’: Two De Niros in One Mob Movie Is Too Many

‘The Alto Knights’ is not a bad gangster film, but unfortunately Barry Levinson is not Martin Scorsese when it comes to the telling of terrific mob tales.

Vito Genovese (Robert De Niro, L) and Frank Costello (Robert De Niro) hash things out in a diner, in “The Alto Knights." Warner Bros. Pictures

R | 2h | Drama | 2025

The Alto Knights, initially a Manhattan meeting spot for prohibition bootleggers, was turned into a social club by Mob boss Vito Genovese in the 1950s. The movie of the same name depicts the growth and development of the New York La Cosa Nostra dynasties, and the power struggle between Mafia dons Frank Costello and Genovese. It’s one of the foundational stories of American organized crime. Robert De Niro plays both of these men in the film