The Valachi Papers

America has always been a land of opportunity. For the Italians, none more so than giving rise to an American icon, the Gangster. For many years, the U.S. government denied the existence of Organized crime. Even the top U.S. law enforcement officer and head of the famed Federal Bureau of Investigation, J.Edgar Hoover, denied such an organization existed. His apathy was due in part to his own shadowy complicity with the Giancana crime family. That's pretty much how it stayed until the advent of the McClellen commission. The movie " The Valachi Papers " is the direct result of that investigation and brought to the forefront of public awareness the vast network of the underworld's crime bosses and their families. The wellspring of that knowledge was none other than the most famous gangster since Al Capone, one, Joseph Valachi. His testimony, created a healthy respect and awe for the Mafia or as Valachi termed it, La Cosa Nostra. (Our thing) This movie is a compilation of his criminal life, dastardly deeds and the revelation of some of the nation's most notable names. Men like Vito Genovese, Anastasia, 'Lucky Luciano' Don Masseria and Marazano. The film is honest when it deals with its legendary brutality and bodies are left throughout the story including its most graphic moments. The end result is perhaps the best Mafia movie since the Godfather. ****

I give this a 7 stars because it was made the same year as Godfather I, so it didn't benefit from all the film-industry wisdom that followed that production. Rather, this is a character study of one mafioso, which is a separate issue from the operatic, all-systems-GO no-holds-barred approach Coppola was able to employ in The Godfather. it's a smaller film, and should be compared to, say, Mobsters (1991), which deals with the same period and some of the same characters as V.P. Charles Bronson's Valachi is adequate. He's a workaday, uneducated, down- home mob guy, and Bronson plays him as if he were Polish, with a job that he goes to every day, where everyone talks Italian. Because it is through his eyes that we see his world, some of the other characters become more vivid, e.g., Joseph Wiseman as Salvatore Maranzano. When I compare the casting of the incomparable Joseph Wiseman in this role as opposed to, say, Michael Gambon in the same role in Mobsters, or Anthony Quinn as an equally old-school rival in the same film, I wonder: None of these actors are Italian -American or even simply Italian; why do some of them work, and the others don't? Granted that Wiseman, Quinn and Gambon are all consummate professionals and true craftsmen as actors, if anyone mentions Salvatore Maranzano and the Castellammarese gang war of 1929, the face that will come to my mind is that of Joseph Wiseman. He and Charles Bronson make this film worth seeing.

I truly think if this film had come out earlier it would today be thought of as a better film. After all, it's FAR better than its current rating of 6.8. That's because 1972 was the same year that "The Godfather" debuted and the utter greatness of "The Godfather" probably overwhelmed "The Valachi Papers"---as both touch on very similar subject matter. The main difference is that "The Godfather" was based fictionalized characters and had a true elegance about the film. "The Valachi Papers" in contrast was a much more straight forward story based on real mob figures--and it's a dandy film.

The film begins in the early 1960s. Mobster Joseph Valachi is in prison and multiple attempts are made on his life. It seems that someone in the organization has talked--and the mob of bosses, Genovese (Lino Ventura) believes it was Valachi. And, not surprisingly, a contract has been placed on Valachi's head. This has the unintended consequence of forcing Valachi to to authorities. Almost all the rest of the film consists Valachi giving his story to the government agent. What follows is a very long story about Valachi's earliest days in the mob (about 1930) up to the arrest that brought him to prison--and a bit beyond.

The story is helped a lot by the films's length--a little over two hours. You'd need at least this much to tell such a long and complicated story. It also helps that Charles Bronson is given some excellent support. Among the many wonderful actors, one really surprised me--Lino Ventura. I've seen him in many French films (mostly Pierre Melville productions) and have LOVED his acting--he plays a great mobster--cold and tough. I never realized that he spoke English so well--everything I've seen him in up until now has been in French. Here, he very credibly plays an Italian-American! The script also was quite good. While not quite as human and interesting as "The Godfather", it sure was good...very, very good.

There's almost nothing negative I could say about the film other than very minor things. Bronson was too old for this role. When the film began he was supposed to be 27--but looked about twice that. Also, a few times anachronistic elements somehow made their way in--such as cars that were from the wrong time period. But, as I said, this is all very minor.Aside from this, a top quality production that deserves more recognition. Gritty, exciting and fascinating as well.

By the way, although IMDb lists the movie as being rated PG, the version I saw was way too bloody and filled with nudity to have been rated PG. The lesbian scene along would have merited a rating of R. Perhaps this was a director's cut or perhaps it was not rated PG or perhaps there were just multiple versions.

One of the other reviewers to The Valachi Papers makes the suggestion through his review heading that "It probably didn't help that this came out the same year as The Godfather". Ironically the release of The Valachi Papers was brought forward to 1972 from its original 1973, to cash in on the huge publicity and general buzz The Godfather was creating world wide. Because of such an occurrence it's difficult not to compare and contrast both films, especially since their content involves Mafia stories. At the same time, their main point of difference as the above reviewer again correctly points out, is that The Godfather is a fictional work, whilst Terence Young's The Valachi Papers is based on Peter Maas's non-fiction book of the same name.

I'm always amused particularly after watching historical fiction, when fans argue the case over historical veracity, with the frequent protest being tendered, that some scene or episode wasn't real enough or true to the facts, bearing in mind that anything not labelled documentary in my view, has a licence to take artistic liberties with the truth to enhance the story. A perceptive audience will generally always know and be aware of changes made.

The Godfather is a masterpiece of cinematic storytelling and in the telling of the tale, there are also significant insights into the workings of a fictional Mafia operation.

The Valachi Papers in my opinion is a good film about a middle level Mafia soldier and his life in the Cosa Nostra amongst many real life gangsters. It's a truer story than The Godfather, but not of the same quality and neither is the film. It's worth remembering that both films were commercially successful, though The Godfather was the mega-hit. The Valachi Papers was less critically successful too. In fact many of the critics, in my opinion were unjustifiably harsh, though I do understand from where they are coming.

Terence Young is guilty of following the book too closely. His story is just too episodic in nature.There's no smooth narrative flow. There's Joe Valachi doing something in 1929 and there he is again in 1937 etc. Though always interesting, it isn't helped by us continually returning to the (1962) present, where Joe is being interviewed/interrogated by the FBI guy Ryan. I liked the movie, but its uneven pacing is notable. Just another very brief example. We see Joe get married in your typical Italian Mafia wedding. The next time we actually see he and his wife together, they are middle-aged!

But don't be put off. In my opinion the Valachi Papers is still a very interesting film which features one of Charles Bronson's better performances, where he is really forced to act and to enunciate a lot more dialogue than you'd normally see him do. After all, he's in about 95% of the movie's scenes. One of the few times I can remember him playing a real life figure. It's a worth while watch.

This picture is plenty of mayhem , strong stuff , drama and amount of gangland violence . A biography heavily influenced by Valachi memoirs and by interviews was written by journalist Peter Maas and published in 1968 as The Valachi Papers, forming the basis for this film . The flick deals with tough Joe Valachi (Charles Bronson) , he has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese (Lino Ventura) who is in prison and from there, he still runs his criminal empire . An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to die . Valachi must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. Because of the bounty on his head from his own, a federal agent named Ryan (Gerald O'Loughlin) convinces Valachi really to be a mob informant in return for safety inside . Valachi tells a story that starts in 1929, when he was first imprisoned in Sing Sing . Valachi's criminal career began with a small gang known as "The Minutemen," so-called for carrying out smash and grab burglaries and escaping within a minute and subsequently as a chauffeur.I n the early 1930s, through mob contact Dominick "The Gap" Petrilli (Walter Chiari) , Valachi was introduced to the Cosa Nostra or Mafia, and soon became a soldier in the Reina Family (now known as the Lucchese Family) during the height of the Castellammarese War. Valachi fought on the side of Salvatore Maranzano, who eventually defeated the faction headed by rival Joseph Masseria (Sperli) . After Masseria's murder, Valachi became a bodyguard for Maranzano. However, this position was short-lived, as Maranzano (Joseph Wiseman) himself was murdered in 1931. Valachi then became a soldier in the family headed by Charles "Lucky" Luciano (eventually known as the Genovese Family), in the crew headed by Anthony "Tony Bender" Strollo (Leontini) .

This landmark gangster movie is strong stuff , being dominated by the tenacious acting of Charles Bronson as the gangster of the title who follows his way venomously since a simple gangster , chauffeur until his prison as he breaks the sacred code of silence , the Omertá . Bronson captures the special excitement or mood of paranoia on Valachi role . Director Yerence Young's body-strewn look at the feud between Maranzano , Genovese , Masseria , Gaetano Reina , Lucky Luciano and other famous mobsters , but especially concerns about the informer Joe Valachi . This is a violence-ridden story full of action, drama, thriller , drama but being overlong . The notorious gangster Vito Genovese being splendidly played by Lino Ventura who makes a good character study of one of the most colorful mobsters of the history .In the film appears famous gangsters such as Salvatore Maranzano played by Joseph Wiseman , Gaetano Reina acted by Amedeo Nazzari , Albert Anastasia by Fausto Tozzi , Letizia Reina played by Pupella Maggio and Lucky Luciano performed by Angelo Infanti . Jill Ireland , Bronson's real wife , makes an appealing heroine , providing an elegant touch amid the 'macho'machine gun mayhem of the rest of the film .

The motion picture is based on the book ¨Joe Valachi papers¨ and on real events , these are the following : ¨In October 1963, Valachi had testified before Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations that the Mafia did exist.Although Valachi's disclosures never led directly to the prosecution of many Mafia leaders, he was able to provide many details of its history, operations and rituals, aiding in the solution of several uncleared murders, as well as naming many members and the major crime families. His testimony, which was broadcast on radio and television and published in newspapers, was devastating for the mob, still reeling from the November 14, 1957 Apalachin Meeting, where state police had accidentally discovered several Mafia bosses from all over the United States meeting at the Apalachin home of mobster Joseph Barbara. Following Valachi's testimony, the mob was no longer invisible to the public. He was the son-in-law of Gaetano Reina, having married Reina's oldest daughter Mildred over the objections of her mother, brother, and uncles. Valachi's motivations for becoming an informer have been the subject of some debate. Valachi claimed to be testifying as a public service and to expose a powerful criminal organization that he blamed for ruining his life, but it is also possible he was hoping for government protection as part of a plea bargain in which he was sentenced to life imprisonment, avoiding the death penalty for a murder he committed in prison on June 22, 1962. While in prison, Valachi feared that mob boss Vito Genovese had ordered his death as a traitor. Using a pipe left near some construction work, he bludgeoned to death an inmate whom he mistook for Joseph DiPalermo, a Mafia member he believed was commissioned to kill him. (Valachi and Genovese were both serving sentences for heroin trafficking. After time with FBI handlers, Valachi came forward with a story of Genovese giving him a kiss on the cheek, which he took as a "kiss of death". In 1966, Valachi attempted to hang himself in his prison cell, using an electrical extension cord. On April 3, 1971, Valachi died of a heart attack at Federal Correctional Institution, La Tuna in Texas, having outlived Vito Genovese by two years. The $100,000 bounty, placed on Valachi by Genovese, went uncollected.¨