El siciliano

"Heaven's Gate" was Michael Cimino's worst film and one of the worst of all time? Never. The troubled making of it was a disaster, indeed, but the movie is almost a masterpiece and a good film on its own. The ones that came after Cimino's "ban" from Hollywood are the excellent "The Year of the Dragon", the average "Desperate Hours", his last "The Sunchaser" (a nice film for those with eyes to see), and this one "The Sicilian", adaptation of Mario Puzo's novel and based on the life of criminal Salvatore Giuliano. In my humble opinion, this is his worst film. Confusing, ineffective and trapped in a weird chaotic fashion with scenes going from good to painfully bad. But it's better to blame on Steve Shagan's script and the studio who trimmed down the film in a few minutes making the story even more confusing than what already is.

What we gather is that Giuliano (played by a dreadful Christopher Lambert) and his Sicilian group of criminal peasants cause horror in Sicily stealing land from its rich owners and giving to the poor, working for the cause of making Sicily independent. He defied politics, the church and everyone against his actions. His popularity was so great that even a powerful mafioso (like the one played by Joss Ackland) gave him some support until the day his arrogance for more power drives him off course, and no one's there to help him anymore. I guess this film could be called "Salvatore Giuliano: The Beginning" as it ends from the part where Francesco Rosi's good classic begins with the disastrous and controversial investigation about the mysterious robber's murder, a political crime that devastated Italy.

If built on the same tradition of "The Godfather", with substance and greatness it would have turned out to be a great endeavor. However, it all looks phoney, simplistic and we feel as if watching a poor version of "Scarface". Another story about a man trying so hard to be a powerful criminal, difference is that he has some ideals of respect, justice and fights for others though he's no hero - but he seems more reliable than all the other corrupted Italian institutions. And in Giuliano's role, Lambert comes off a stiff, unnatural, only pleasing to look at when he's dressed with his elegant trench-coat. Ruined the movie just as much as Barbara Sukowa as the American lady who "rapes" the gangster.

And there are qualities to be found in this Cimino work, qualities that remind us of his previous works. The cinematography bears similarities with the shots captured in "The Deer Hunter" and "Heaven's Gate" and Vilmos Szigmond is not the director of photography here yet it looks like one of his works; David Mansfield score has its moments; Mr. Ackland was a strong presence, as John Turturro as well, playing Giuliano's best friend. It's the story that is wrong. I couldn't get anything from it, no life, no truth, nothing new.

Worthy of a view? Maybe, out of curiosity. Bear in mind that Cimino lost his mojo with this thing with badly staged scenes (but some horrifying and effective moments as well, demonstrated in the barber's execution in front a whole village after being discovered as a traitor who denounced Giuliano) and no story to work with. The book has to be ten thousands better to get ruined this way. 5/10

One of the underlying problems with Michael Cimino's film is that it makes the remarkable Sicilian countryside do too much of the narrative work. If you were to watch the film with the sound turned off -- saving you from the stilted dialogue and the gushy score -- you might think much better of the whole enterprise, so powerful is the photography of those rugged mountains and steep canyons. But everything is so visually splendid that it undermines any sense that the poor are actually suffering and starving out there. A travelogue does not always make for good storytelling. And, of course, the pan-and-scan version, the only one currently available on DVD, chops out most of the landscape, limiting the impact of the movie's visual achievement.

Another problem for Cimino's film is that there's actually a much better version of the same story from an earlier director. Few people seem to be aware of the earlier treatment. In 1962, the great Italian director Francesco Rosi released his superb version under the title "Salvatore Giuliano." It's in black and white, but gloriously so. The massacre of the peasants in Rosi's version is one of the most heartbreaking and dramatically memorable sequences in the history of Italian film. And throughout, the dark ambiguity of the main character remains consistently compelling, within a far more complex storytelling mode than Cimino's surprisingly straightforward Hollywood-inflected retelling. The Rosi film deserves to be much better known.

This film is not as bad as many say. It is somewhat melodramatic at times, but not too often. I really enjoy watching it and recommend it. The main problems with the movie are, the music and acting. The opening song in the film is great and it leads you to believe the film will be a near masterpiece. But there is this one song that is used during some romantic moments, and it just plain sucks. It kills any effect the film had. Then there is the acting. Lambert is one of the worst actors i have ever seen. Simple. However, this movie is probably his best work. The violence in the film is intense which keeps your attention and the cinematography is rather beautiful (One of Cimino's greatest abilities) So, if you can find a copy, watch it.

Cimno obviously hadn't learned from "Heaven's Gate", which isn't the disaster it's made out to be, just too long and too caught up in its subplots. "The Sicilian" copies the mistakes, but this time around it doesn't even have the beauty or breath of "Heaven's Gate". Nor its good actors. Christopher Lambert is a disaster in the title role. He tries to get by on his good looks and roguish twinkle in the eye, but his charisma is non-existent and it's hard to believe him as a folk hero who can move the masses. Helena Sukova is also a disappointment. Terrence Stamp's performance is hard to measure fairly, due to a poor dubbing job inflicted on him in post production. Only John Torturro as his usual nervous self is worth the money, as is Joss Ackland as the don of dons in Sicily.

Apart from the acting problems, this film is also spectacularly dull. Cimino stretches a repetitious, drawn-out story over almost two and a half hours, when 90 minutes and some judicious editing would have served him better here. Because things shuffle on at a snail's pace and many scenes seem completely superfluous (also known as the "Heaven's Gate" syndrome), the viewer quickly loses interest. Which in turn is a problem with this densely plotted and at times confusing film. There are so many betrayals, broken deals and secret alliances, that at some point the viewer is bound to be confused, especially if he's trying to keep up interest in a movie that doesn't deserve it. Seriously, give "Heaven's Gate" a try instead of this. You might lose an additional hour of your life, but you'll be awarded with a flawed epic instead of this epic failure.

This is a very well made movie, especially as it concerns scenery and camera angles. However, the tempo of the movie is a little slow and after the initial fifteen minutes or so its seems to emphasize a lot on character development rather then unraveling a plot quickly to keep you interested. This movie gave me the impression that it was intended for a more subdued audience. Eventually it picks up here and there with some violent retribution from those that have betrayed Giuliano.

I can't emphasis enough about the scenery since that seemed to compensate for the poor dialogue a lot of the time. John Turturro was great in this movie as well as Chris Lambert. The character of Don Masino carried this movie as your classic stolid and shrewed mafia boss and Giuliano, whom Masino admires, poses a threat to his power.