Allein gegen die Mafia

10 hours seems to be a long run but after 5 minutes you immideately get sucked into a story about justice,loyalty,blackmail,romance,betrayel and murder it's fast moving all the way. Everything is just excellent from production values to the music and most important the great acting especially from Michele Placido as Cattani Patricia Millardet as Judge conti, Simona cavalari as esther but the finest of all is Remo Girone as Tano Carridi his performance is absolutely over the top the character Tano is one of the most fascinating evil persons i have ever seen

a little bit about the story cattini has arrested a man who has killed the owner of a casino but the suspect refuus to speak to the police during the investigation he get's help from a female Judge sivia conti meanwhile the maffia has given Tano the manager of a great bank a whole lot of money to invest for them together with a corrupt senator and and an allknowing man called Espinosa he is going to make big plans and everybody who's crossing there way get's doomed or death

you don't have to see the first 3 part the understand the movie and even if you know how it's gonna end it's still worth another view!

In this Piovra movie Davide Licata is shot down by a mafia killer he survives and after months of recovering he comes in contact with the anti mafia group Nucleo, Davide decides to work for them. his first mission; to find Tano carridi the master brain of the mafia wherever he is and bringing him to them. They want tano as Bait for the New Godfather but Tano isn't exactly what he used to be.

This one has a whole other concept than the other Piovra movies, its concentrating more on the Mafia KGB connection than the Politic intrigues we also getting to see a whole other Tano than we know, the relation with his sister Maria is one important parts of the story. unlike the other parts there is not really much violence, there is more threat than shooting. The Acting is Very Good again we get a wide variation of characters who aren't just good and bad but are just a human as you and me, Camera work Music it's al just fine the only thing weak here is the final which is a little bit to long, but like the rest of the series it's Great entertainment

La Piovra is simply the best film about the mob. I'm very sad, that only the seasons 1-7 had been shown in German TV. I can't understand, that there is no way to buy it on DVD or on VHS. The series was a big success and I know a lot of people who have watched every repeat of the seasons 1-7, like myself. Only the 6. Season is a little worse than the other ones. The pace is fantastic, even it is a TV-series. The cast and acting is great. Not only fantastic Italian actors had been casted, but a lot of great European actors join the series too, like Bruno Craemer, Rolf Hoppe, Mario Adorf. Now, in 2005 in Germany the first three seasons a released on DVD (German dubbed and Italian) and, as I read in the net, they startet on DVD in Portugal, France and Sweden. In the Netherlands you got the first four seasons in Italian with dutch subtitels. I hope, that this will bring more people to the series.

Since the best film about mafia theme has always been Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece trilogy THE GODFATHER, a lot of people skip this one. LA PIOVRA, appearing also under the English title of THE OCTOPUS, deals with Comissario Corrado Cattani's attempts against mafia in its heart land, the island of Sicily. Moreover, it develops Cattani's private life in a very interesting way: it focuses on how he and his family have to cope with suffering due to the very specific job he does against the mob. I remember seeing the mini series as a young boy and although I have not seen this since then, a lot remained in my memory. The reason is simple: the mini series stands out as one of the best and most unforgettable action films.

The most outstanding actor among the cast is, in my opinion, Michele Placido. He does a great job in the main role as Cattani, a man who copes with huge difficulties in the exceptionally cruel reality. Although he sacrifices everything, his struggles seem endless... Whenever I see him in any film, he always reminds me of this role. Other cast include not very famous people whose performances I cannot evaluate easily since I saw the film a long time ago.

Besides, throughout the series, there is a thrilling sense of suspicion. In this way, a viewer gets involved in the action. Sometimes, I felt the events so intensely that I could not wait for the following episode. All that happens looks very realistic and watching it meant for me feeling it. This is all intensified by the wonderful music by Ennio Morricone and Riz Ortolani, the best Italian film musicians.

Finally, the beautiful landscape of Sicily that can be found in a number of moments provides a viewer with authenticity of the story. Filmed in Trapani on the western coast of the island near Palermo, the movie is a great experience. When I was in Sicily a few years ago and walked in the narrow streets of its cities, the mini series was unintentionally in my mind's eyes.

Since I have seen this mini series many years ago, I cannot discuss cinematography or some details like the single performances or memorable moments. Yet, I felt compelled to entail my opinion on LA PIOVRA because it has its place in my dearest memories from my early teenage years. Generally speaking it is one of the best action films I have seen. Pity they don't show this on TV anymore. I'd really enjoy seeing it after all these years.

This was the apex of La Piovra, an Italian miniseries that is unsurpassed. In its own way it is the Godfather in an operatic way. Its villains are over the top (Remo Girone has a great performance going overborad but within limits) as the heroes and heroines are above reproach (great performances also by Michele Placido and the judge). Even the beautiful pawn acted by Simona Cavallari is well done.Its ending is real, if a bad omen to the Piovras that followed ,that went into a sea of mediocrity. I learned Italian especially to understand this miniseries. It is a great pity that it is not on the net. If you like mystery and police stories this is for you. I have never seen a miniseries as good.