Il giorno della civetta

In a town in Sicily, a truck driver is found dead by the side of the road, his truck nearby. Newly appointed captain of the Caribinieri, Franco Nero, investigates, and notices a nearby house. Claudia Cardinale is there with her daughter. Her husband, she says, went out looking for work and she doesn't know when he will be back. As Nero investigates, he knows it has to do with the Mafia, under the control of local capo Lee J. Cobb. He's the man in charge of dividing up local contracts for public works, although he is not the top man; that's someone in Rome. His fellow Mafiosi continue on with business as usual, while Miss Cardinale's story changes as she realizes her husband is dead. But no one will talk in public.

It is directed by Damiano Damiani from his own novel, loosely based on the 1947 murder of Sicilian trade unionist Accursio Miraglia. Everyone gives good performances, but it's Cobb, of course, who stands out as a man who comes to respect Nero, who's willing to use extra-legal methods to obtain justice, and who is constantly frustrated by the fear that enforces silence among the people of the town. Slower and more deliberate than the usual movies about the Mafia, it offers a telling portrait of a system that no one is willing to change.

Being the first of a series of expose' films directed by Damiano Damiani and starring Franco Nero, this was more sober than the rest - with few of the typical "Euro-Crime" trappings - even receiving some accolades when it emerged; it's really a police procedural, with the only action sequence occurring at the very beginning.

The film is also among the first to deal with the Mafia - though it's never mentioned by name - with the characters governed by their own sense of honor and Sicily's distinctive rustic feel lending vividness to the setting. As with the other Damiani/Nero films, the downbeat ending offers no easy answers.

Apart from a dynamic score by Giovanni Fusco, it features an above-average international cast - Claudia Cardinale (as the defamed wife of an eye-witness to murder, who has gone missing), Franco Nero (as the rugged young cop), Lee J. Cobb (as the 'boss'), Nehemiah Persoff (as one of his associates) and Serge Reggiani (as a stoolie); the hilarious contribution of Gaetano Cimarosa as the wisecracking hit-man is also noteworthy.

Highly intense and intriguing Poliziesco film with a good cast who gives fine performances . ¨Il Giorno della Civetta" - Italy original title or "Mafia" - , International , USA title , results to be a nice cop/political/Sicilian Mafia thriller , being professionally filmed and rightly made by Damiano Damiani . It's a hard boiled movie that packs a noir story , police procedural , intrigue , detective inquiries and a final twist in the plot . It concerns a dedicated captain what tries to wipe out the Mafiosi and bureaucratic corruption that is infecting his village . This story deals with the difficulties facing a northern Carabinieri captain named Bellodi (Franco Nero), he is a proverbial honest men , a stiff , idealistic officer and investigating a Mafia killing in a small Sicilian town in 1961 . He is helped by an upright Brigade , both of whom contend dangerous enemies , but determined in their will to fight crime and corruption . Salvatore Colasbena , a construction supplier has been killed because he refused to join the Mafia-controlled road building bunch . His widow, Rosa (a gorgeous Claudia Cardinale) , is investigated by the Carabinieri , but Captain Bellodi comes to suspect Mafia boss Don Mariano Arena (Lee J. Cobb) when he can encounter no witnesses , no evidence, only hostile obstruction by sabotage and blackmail . Captain Bellodi holding a firm belief in the law and justice system but he has no idea that his chase of the truth will stir up powerful foundations , but the Carabinieri takes on Mafia which the fight is hopeless . Everyone in the village is afraid to inform to Bellodi for fright they will be silenced forever and fearing the main Mafiosi and his hoodlums (Nehemiah Persoff) . The Carabinieri on the edge while investigate ties between the mob , politics and State departments . Important figures have a vested interest in ensuring that the very existence of the Mafia can be denied . Meanwhile , Bellodi finds corpses buried under a blanket of tar and faces several risks . But ambition , vendetta , corrupt government influences and decay reach everything and everybody .

This exciting and thought-provoking Italian cop thriller turns out to be one of the first and best films about the mafia . This heavy-going tale has an interesting and politically incorrect writing by the same director Damiano Damiani along with Ugo Pirro and especially dealing with corruption interwoven between high authorities and Mafia . Based on the Leonardo Sciascia novel of the same title , the movie dramatizes the hold that the Mafia has on Sicilian life : the blackmail, the Omertá , the power and politics . The picture displays thrills , disturbing issues , suspenseful , great visual style and is pretty entertaining , though sometimes is hard to follow . Excellent main cast as Franco Nero as a rough-and-ready captain who attempts to prove the wealthy man in the city is in the mafia , being very good played by the great Lee J. Cobb . Supporting cast is frankly magnificent such as Nehemiah Persoff as Pizzuco , Tano Cimarosa as Zecchinetta and Serge Reggiani as informer . Colorful and appropriate cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli though being necessary a right remastering . Sensitive as well as appropriate musical score by Giovanni Fusco who composed an enjoyable soundtrack .

The motion picture was well directed by Damiano Damiani . He's an expert on all kind of genres as Drama (¨Arthur's island¨ , ¨The Most Beautiful Wife" , ¨The witch¨ , and ¨Empty canvas¨ based on the Alberto Moravia novel) , Terror (Amytiville 2 : the possession) , Historical (¨The Inquiry¨) , Spaghetti Western (¨Trinity is back again¨and the prestigious ¨A bullet for the General¨) . Damiani was specialized on crime-thriller-Subgenre or Italian cop thriller (¨Confessions of a Police captain¨ , ¨How to kill a judge¨, ¨The case is closed , forget it¨, "Goodbye e amen" , ¨Mafia¨, "I Am Afraid" and ¨Warning¨ starred by Martin Balsam) . "Il Giorno Della Civetta" seems to be a ¨must see¨ for the Poliziesco fans . This is one of the crowns of the Italian Poliziotteschi (police thrillers) and Mafia film of the 1970s , along with other films directed by Enzo G . Castellari , Ferdinando Baldi or Umberto Lenzi . Rating : Better than average . Essential and indispensable watching , this highly recommended film is the same for the Italian "mafia-film" of that period.

I've always wanted to go to Sicily, but this tale of the law and the mafia clashing has now made me fear that an old woman might call me a whore from the window a passing car.

Just outside of a sleep Sicilian town, a construction manager is ambushed in his truck and shot dead while trying to escape. The assassin is spotted by a local man, and we forsee the problems the police are going to have as we as the audience witness people purposefully ignoring the corpse until a member of the Caribinieri forces the driver of the bus he is on to stop.

New hot-shot police Captain Franco Nero is straight on the case, being new to Sicily and naïve about the way things work there. He knows that the local Godfather Don Mariano (Lee Cobb) is behind it all, but in front of him there are endless underlings, hit men, liars and even the general public covering things up. It's all to do with building contracts for a new road, but how can Nero stop them when even the dead man's brothers are reluctant to help?

Hope lies in the shape of Claudia Cardinale, because it was her husband that witnessed the murder, but then again the husband has gone missing. Rumour and lies fly about the place trying Claudia's husband to the killing, claiming that Claudia had made him a cuckold. Claudia is adamant that she has been faithful to her husband, but what can one woman do against the might of the mafia, and their strange 'sweety wife' tactics that turn the public against her.

Those heading here from Andrea Bianchi's mental Cry of A Prostitute or Enzo Castellari's Big Racket will be wondering "Where's all the gunfights, car chases, and bitch slapping?", but they needn't worry. Yes, the only shots fired are at the start of the film, and the film is nearly two hours long, but the plot and the acting of those involved drew me into the story. Franco Nero comes across as a young, naïve and ambitious cop who will stop at nothing to get the biggest catch, but his faults also gradually start to shine through and erase his self-confidence. I'd say Claudia Cardinale stands out the most though, as the desperate mother who doesn't even know if her husband is still alive, with even the police trying to manipulate her, out on her own just trying to tell the truth. Lee Cobb was also good as the over-confident Mafia boss who struts around in front of the police like a rooster with his first hard-on.

Throw in a whole cast of supporting actors who also stand out and you've got an ever unfolding drama set in the sun that just shows you how difficult a job the police have in rooting out the mafia in Sicily. Damiano Damiani proves once again that he's a solid director. No trash here people.

For more years than I care to think about, I have strongly felt that anything shot/written by the venerable, hugely versatile Italian film-maker, Damiano Damiani is well worth any film fans attention; and as far as I'm concerned, his exemplary, compellingly acted, immaculately crafted crime thriller, 'Day of The Owl' is most certainly no exception to that rule. The uniquely refined entertainment quotient of, 'Il giorno della civetta' elevated by its dazzlingly stellar cast, featuring that implausibly charismatic icon, Franco Nero, the uncommonly beauteous, Claudia Cardinale, a barnstorming, Lee J. Cobb, and another fine performance by the singularly underappreciated character actor, Nehemiah Persoff.

It could be argued that, 'Il giorno della civetta' (1968) aka 'Day of The 'Owl' might also be regarded as one of the earliest examples of the gritty, soon to be ubiquitous, hyperbolically violent Italian police procedural, that would luridly devolve into the more overtly reactionary, action-orientated, Fiat-fragging, blood-spattered poliziotteschi genre which we fans know and love so dearly! As with many other thrilling, Damiani titles, his richly layered, elegantly nuanced Mise-en-scène focuses far more on dense, relatable character development, seamy political machinations, and spell-binding plotting, than tumultuous car chases, and skull-wreckingly vicious haymakers! (Aye!! That would be you, Maurizio Merli!) Even if one were not all that familiar with the more boisterous end of 70s Italian exploitation cinema, maestro Damiani's ceaselessly fascinating dissection of Mafia corruption should still prove to be a most edifying viewing experience!