Australian distributor Imprint Films has done a spectacular job in recent years of providing bluray editions of underrated and previously unavailable feature films from around the world. One of their most recent releases, of which there have been nearly 300 to date, is Frank Pierson’s 1978 drama King of the Gypsies. It was a commercial failure on release – partly due to Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie sucking much of the oxygen out of the American box office – so this kind of legacy release is a valuable opportunity to give it a second chance.

Dave Stepanowicz (Eric Roberts) was born into a New York gypsy dynasty, but ran away from the community to live his own life away from their traditions. When the dying leader of the community (Sterling Hayden) – and Dave’s grandfather – names him as successor, Dave is dragged into a violent conflict with his own father Groffo (Judd Hirsch).

Director Frank Pierson came to King of the Gypsies hot off the success of his 1976 remake A Star is Born. He left it with his career sorely damaged – he would not direct another film until 1990. While Gypsies is far from the unheralded masterpiece its fan claim, it has plenty to recommend, primarily in its lead performances.

Sadly the film takes its sweet time in getting to them. A lengthy first act is dominated by screen veterans Sterling Hayden and Shelley Winters, neither of whom present an appropriate performance. They play their characters loudly and broadly, perhaps acceptable in early decades but woefully out of step with the 1970s’ gritty, more realist style. King of the Gypsies came to cinemas six years after The Godfather and five after Mean Streets. The exaggerated, decidedly old-fashioned presentation of the Romani community feels badly outdated. It takes a generational leap for the film to find a better footing, and for the lead cast of Eric Roberts, Susan Sarandon, and Judd Hirsch to assume control.

This was Roberts’ film debut, and he bursts from the gate with a blend of deep intensity and nervous energy. Dave is pulled one way by family obligation, and in another by his deep disgust of the petty criminal society into which he was born. He is dragged back in by his grandfather Zharko, despite every encounter he has with family being marked by conflict and tragedy. I think it is fair to say Eric Roberts remains one of America’s most underrated dramatic actors. From Gypsies he leaped to the likes of Star 80 (1983) and The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984) before scoring an Oscar nomination for his role in Runaway Train (1985). While he still secures supporting roles in mainstream Hollywood from time to time – an Expendables here, a Dark Knight there – the bulk of his career has played out on made-for-television and direct-to-DVD B-pictures. He deserves better.

Hirsch and Sarandon both energise their respective scenes, although Sarandon gets short shrift from Pierson’s screenplay. For a film with so many engaging female performers – including Annette O’Toole, Brooke Shields, and Annie Potts – it generally fails to properly showcase them. O’Toole in particular seems to simply vanish from the film halfway through.

The entire film is underlaid with typically lazy depictions of Romani culture, depicting the entire extended community as a superstitious and out-of-date rabble of in-fighting, small-time criminality, and ancient traditions. Where the film works, it is fighting against that depiction. Where it fails, it is often because it sinks back into stereotype. Ultimately the film only works in fits and starts; a 1970s curiosity for sure, but not a classic in waiting.

For more information on Imprint’s limited edition release of King of the Gypsies, click here.