American Mafia: The Rise and Fall of Organized Crime in Las Vegas

What a great documentary covering the beginnings of Las Vegas and the mafia. I just love seeing all the old photos and video of a time long gone. The interviews and footage are wonderfully woven together to tell a great story that does not disappoint. Hats off to the filmmakers. I highly recommend this doc to anyone interested in the birth of Las Vegas and how the mafia shaped it.

The story of organized crime in Las Vegas is an intriguing tale of murder greed and corruption. Learn how the mob built the most dazzling and decadent city in the West before being dismantled by federal prosecutors hell-bent on taking them down. Through newsreels, archival photos and first hand accounts from those who participated, American Mafia: Las Vegas takes you inside the story from the people who know it best.

Anyone who is a fan of Bugsy, Casino, and The Godfather I and II would love this documentary. It mines all that Mafia lore those films touch on, but goes much deeper. Though the film is anything but a glorification of organized crime, it's nonetheless a fascinating history. Especially fun to see all the famous people who, even if tangentially, connected to the mob through shows in Vegas. A very smart and entertaining look at a really interesting subject.

This documentary repeats itself so many times it's really laughable. How many people do we need to tell us how the "Hole in the wall" gang got its name? Well evidently it's three times by three different people back to back. This thing feels like it's on loop. If it has one good fact, it has every interviewee repeat it over and over again. It feels like when my high school teacher said I needed to write a 1500 word essay and I've only got 500 words of content. Also, for a documentary that beats a dead horse over and over again, we really don't need to hear the name of every single person's first and last name that committed every single crime and made every single purchase. I feel like the interviewees are just showing off the fact that they know all these name, even though that have absolutely no relevance to the main stories. The only more infuriating documentary that got me to write a review like this was "The Spirit of the Pony Express."

This documentary does not receive a passing grade from a high school film editor.

This is a very comprehensive look at the elements that came together to shape the Las Vegas we know today. Mark Curran does a wonderful job bringing to light the beginnings of what was once a small, dusty, old west-looking way station in the middle of the desert to the arrival of the gangsters who built and shaped Las Vegas to the corporate run mecca it is today. I found it very interesting to see photos of these people who shaped the city and the parts they played. With time and the change it brings, it's good to know this record will be available for future generations.

I love Mafia anything. I am Sicilian so, it hits home! I thought this was really well done. Informative and had a point of view. I loved the original footage. There was WAY more than I thought there would be. The ones being interviewed were incredibly knowledgable and really sold the validity of the documentary. I thought the interview setups were also done well. One thing that can also be very troubling about documentaries are that they can sometimes have poor audio. While this one has a zoom caller (it looked like), the audio was still very well done in the interview sessions. If you love Vegas, History, Mafia or all of the above, I would highly recommend checking this one out!