Il cugino americano

A pretty good little gangster story, with the proviso that this was originally a four hour television series that's been severely cut down to fit an hour and a half running time. As such they've kept all the 'juicy' action scenes and killing in but left out all of the background and character work. It has a strong cast and good milieu, but you feel like you're missing something...

This movie is about the greed and power of a bunch of gangsters in the mafia from Sicily. They kill and torture people by blowing up cars and buildings in sick and disturbing ways. The characters are really crappy and the direction is really bad. Don't watch it.

This is a wonderful movie if you have the chance to see the long, non-cut version. In the short version many important scenes are cut out and the movie loses basic background-information, the story seems a bit violent and only "runs" through to the end. But the non-cut version is a sensational movie, especially if you have an interest for Italy and Italian mentality. It really gives a deep insight into the Mafia-world of Sicily, provides solid stories behind the crime and furthermore, highlights a sensational appearance of Vincent Spano as Mark Ciuni. He gives an outstanding performance and dominates the movie. I was deeply impressed by the way he played Mark Ciuni, especially towards the end when his character became more and more difficult to portray. I received the 3 videos on a Saturday and originally planned to start with the 1st one and watch the 2nd the next day.....what can I say, I couldn't stop watching and so I started around 8 pm on Saturday and finished around midnight after having watched all tapes completely. 10 stars for the story and another 10 for Vincent Spano's sensational job.

Obviously by the teensy number of reviews, I feel this movie needs immediate attention, and we have a commanding lead, Davis, perfect in the role of an American, forced to take out his mobster Uncle, or else. Davis's pop (Dean Jaegar) is held as collateral. Bianco is strong as always, as the marked one, where Davis has his own plan to overthrow the blackmailing mafia goons. I was quite surprised just how good this film was. It's very well made. Spano is fun to watch, as a young hothead, rival gangster, and at times, becomes a bit too much. Highly recommend this.