Great Mafia Movies
The Outfit, The Syndicate or La Cosa Nostra -- by whatever name you know them, the Mafia has emerged as the major crime organization in America. Now preserved on DVD, these films bear witness to the Mafia way of life and death, providing a fascinating window into the appalling underbelly of blood and power in The Mob.
Honor Thy Father (1973, 102 min.) - An inside look at the bloody life in one of New York's most powerful underworld families - the Bonannos. This is the vivid portrayal of the brutal Joe Bonanno, the Mafia Don who ran one of New York's major crime families. Starring Joseph Bologna and Brenda Vaccaro and based on the best-selling book by Gay Talese.
Family Enforcer (1975, 80 min.) - In his first big role, Joe Pesci is a young man who is bent on becoming the best hood in the underworld. Pesci is truly vicious as the neighborhood kid who gets to work as a debt collector for the Mafia, where the favors are repaid in kind or paid for in blood.
Mob War (1988, 96 min.) - Former Middleweight Champion Jack LaMotta stars in this violent gangster film chronicling the bloody results of conflict within the Mafia. In an organization that is as vicious as it is tradition-bound, the slightest misstep will lead to blood in the streets.
Member Reviews
Successful underworld project, film and sountrack great - Porkchop
Family Enforcer (1976), stills holds its own 30 years later.
The music is crafted superbly, in shaping the mood of the underlying action.
The filming (on the DVD release) is better than one would expect.
Those partaking in this underworld, are clearly psychotic, and live in their own
reality, considering what is seen... rubouts, point blank murders, actual breaking
of legs with a baseball bat, shotguns, eye-for-an-eye revenge, contracts put out,
bad debtors, collectors, key contacts in assigning work having an identical role as
a recruiting agency (only this time, for the underworld), burials, traps laid out,
stripper bars, underground gambling rooms, horse bets, bookies, car thefts, stake
outs, gunsmiths destroying murder weapons/ evidence, the stooling, etc.
A lot of street jargon is used, effectively conveying the mentality and education
of those involved, such as "he's on the wheel" (training), "piece", " score " ,
"strong-arm", "mechanic", "playing the Don", etc.
It also realistically demonstrates that effective collectors may exceed the threshold
at which a bad debtor changes his mind, (the pain of not paying greater than
the comfort of resisting), by intimidation with a lethan weapon, or ripping
off the doors of a home with tow-truck. There's also the reverse ... the risks taken,
from the ease in taking out a collector may be greater than teh struggle of paying him back.
The entertainment definitely takes the viewer to another time, place and dimension
and is well worth a release in theatres again, for those on a slow day.
Successful underworld project, film and sountrack great
Member Reviews
Read All...
Successful underworld project, film and sountrack great - Porkchop
Family Enforcer (1976), stills holds its own 30 years later.
The music is crafted superbly, in shaping the mood of the underlying action.
The filming (on the DVD release) is better than one would expect.
Those partaking in this underworld, ...