Bonanno: A Godfather's Story

By golly, if you watch this movie, you will end up thinking Joseph Bonanno was the most moral and fairest of men, who spent his Mafia days talking others out of killing. No joke. Now, here at IMDB, I see why. This writing credits for this film go to Joseph Bonanno and his son Bill Bonanno.

Toni Nardi, who plays Joseph Bonanno, from ages 35-61, is as likable as can be. (I think he also narrates it, but am not sure.) Why Martin Landau got top billing is beyond me. He plays Mr. Bonanno in his 90s, has few scenes and no lines! Why didn't they just make Mr. Nardi look much older? I'm sure a make-up person could have easily done so. Moreover, why is Toni Nardi not even pictured on the movie poster? He carried the whole film!

Mr. Nardi is a perfect Mafia boss for those who wish to believe Mafia godfathers are great family men, out to help others succeed in life; certainly not the criminals law enforcement agencies want everyone to believe. In the beginning of the movie, his wife is shown, as is his daughter. His wife is an intelligent, interesting person.

After son Bill becomes an adult and part of the Mafia, however, his mother and sister are no longer seen in the movie. Why did they become non-existent characters? They didn't die in real life! Is this suppose to be strictly a guy movie? It does have some very violent scenes, which I fast-forwarded through.

Finally, one highly interesting part of the film concerned the assasination of JFK. According to this story, JFK was killed by the Mafia. Lee Harvey Oswald was nothing but a patsy, and Jack Ruby was working for the Mafia when he shut him up. They were furious at Kennedy because of the Valachi hearings, and because Joseph Kennedy told them his son would be a friend to the Mafia if elected. So, they worked to get him elected. He did not become a friend. They had him shot dead.

The made for TV movie "Bonanno: A Godfather's Story" from 1999 tells the fascinating story of true life Italian-American Mafia boss Giuseppe "Joseph" Bonanno, perhaps more known as "Joe Bananas". We get to follow Bonanno through his very long life, born in 1905 he was still alive when the TV movie was made (he died in 2002). The TV movie is listed on the IMDb as 170 minutes long, but the version I saw on Hallmark Television was divided in four episodes and about 360 minutes long. The first two episodes gives a realistic and insightful description of the conditions of many Italian-Americans in New York during the first decades of the 20th century, the last two episodes concentrates instead on the intrigues and the power struggle in the US Mafia from WWII until the late 1960s. It is very well done and entertaining throughout, even though it is made in an almost semi documentary fashion. By following Bonanno's fascinating life and crime career we also get to meet other interesting protagonists of the US Mafia such as Salvatore Maranzano, Joe "the Boss" Masseria, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Frank Costello, Vito Genovese, Carlo Gambino, Joe Profaci, Buffalo's Stefano Maggadino, Chicago's Al Capone and Sam Giancana, New Orlean's Carlos Marcello and Tampa's Santo Trafficante Jr. We also get to learn more about the mob's support of Politicians such as Franklin D Roosevelt, John F Kennedy and NYC mayor Robert F Wagner. The actors are all very good, particularly Tony Nardi who plays Bonanno for most of the third and fourth part. Edward James Olmos is also quite good as Don Maranzano. You notice that a great part of the cast is Canadians of Italian origin, since their Italian pronunciation is superior to most US actors of Italian origin. Among the negative parts of the TV movie is the glorification of the protagonist, which is however common to most films dealing with the US Mafia. Here is it even more evident, perhaps because the movie is produced by Bonanno's son Bill. It is for example heavily underlined that Bonanno is an anti-fascist, that he supports the US Democrats by ideological reasons, that he opposes Cuba's Batista and that he reflects thoroughly before ordering any murders. We must however remember that he committed a lot of criminal acts and like most mobsters was against Mussolini not because of democratic beliefs, but because the Fascists clamped down on crime. Neither has it been proved that the Mafia, as suggested in the movie, was involved in the murders of journalist Carlo Tresca in 1943 and JFK in 1963. You shouldn't compare this TV movie with Coppola's "The Godfather" which is fictional, but partly based on the true events described in Bonanno's story. Mostly however the TV movie is a great deal more faithful to real events than similar products and it is greatly recommended to anyone interested in the history of New York's Italian-American Mafia. As a mini series made for Television I would give it an "above average" rating.

This film is the best and most important mafia movie ever made that was based on a true story, because it is not just a really amazing film, but also because of the amount of details and facts it gives, and the accuracy and truth of them. Most mafia films that are a taken from true events are just loosely based on them, or inspired by them, and the film makers will take so many creative liberties that they greatly misinform the viewers about what really happened. This film may not be the great directorial work of art of the Godfather or Goodfellas, but it is the true story that The Godfather is actually inspired by...and in Goodfellas they even changed the names of the mobsters so the actors could make it their own characters. And other mafia films that are about the 5 families like Mobsters have very little truth to them because they have been so adapted.

If you are looking to learn about the real story of the history of the 5 families of the new york mafia in the 1900's this is the movie for you. Because this movie is based on the autobiography of the life of the longest reigning Godfather (Mafia Don) who was head of one of the 5 families for over 40 years! It starts in Sicily where the Italian-American Mafia (La Cosa Nostra) originated with the actual Italian Mafia there and shows you what growing up in the Mafia town of Castelamare Sicily and being a part of Mafia family who was at war with another family there was like, and then shows how it was brought to America, and then details the Castellamarese war of the early 1900's, the murder of the 2 first big Mafia bosses in America, the forming of the 5 families of NY and "The Commission", what the Mafia initiation ceremonies were like, the Mafia's involvement in WWII, the Mafia's involvement in the Cuban Revolution, the Mafia's involvement in the election and assassination of JFK, and so much more! This movie contains more mafia history than all other mafia movies combined! No exaggeration! So if you are a mafia movie fan this movie is an absolute must see! I highly recommend trying to find "The Complete Saga", as it was originally a series of 4 movies which I feel are much better to watch separately one day at a time rather than try to sit through 2 hours and 45 minutes of highlights edited together. But either way, just make sure you see it!

You could say I'm biased a) because my grandparents were Sicilian and b) because I love the genre. I also have a screenplay about my grandparents' story, and I see sections my own script magnificently produced in many scenes of this movie.

Some comments are negative because they claim the movie "glorifies" criminals. Personally, I don't agree with that view. In any event, regardless of the value judgments one might pass, this movie is full of merit for many reasons.

It is a wonderful time piece, taking us from Sicily of the early 1900s to the US of the 1990s. The sets are wonderful, the wardrobe outstanding. And the actors are excellent, except for the man playing Joe Masseria, who I think overacted a bit. Although, perhaps that's what Masseria was like.

The script, the critical element that truly makes (or breaks) a film, IMO is also very good. In addition to telling the story it has to tell, it includes a bonus. And that is small tidbits of "universal wisdom," if you will.

• The importance of one's word. The movie evokes a time when that meant a great deal, in contrast to current times.

• The importance of never forgetting those who have lent you a hand in the past, and expressing gratitude for it by returning the favor when the opportunity arises.

• Maxims such as "When it's your life that's on the line, you can only trust yourself".

Perhaps a 10 is a tad too generous, but I'd give it no less than a 9.

The reason it gets a 10 is as kudos for having produced a great script. Great scripts of all genres need to be produced, and not the garbage that keeps getting cranked out. The saying goes, "you can have a bad movie with a good script, but you can't have a good movie with a bad script." In this case, we have a great script and great production, which equals a great movie.

I found parts of this movie rather slow, especially the first part; the second part seemed to go a lot faster, but it's not totally clear to me as to why one part was faster than the other. I somehow managed to find it enjoyable. The acting was good, the writing was good (yet vulgar). There was also another good side to it: it was easier to understand than say, the Godfather movies. You knew who was on whose side, etc. All in all, the movie wasn't half-bad.