Il capo dei capi

A great mafia film in six parts with excellent acting, I've watched it a few times, something I couldn't understand was the lack of detail in more than one occasion when killings took place in cars, during the killings it was clear to see the windows shatter in the cars but as the camera panned away there was no damage to be seen, this however didn't spoil the film, I speak Italian so it was bonus for me but I had to wait a bit to find an Italian that had also seen it to compare opinions, he thought it was great as well. The story started with the death of Totó Riina's father and the responsibility of Totó becoming head of the family at a young age, Totó soon got the idea of wanting more out of life than working the land as a peasant, he teamed up with three other youths, one of them followed the path of the law and became the fictitious Biaggo Schiró that represented any tenacious and brave cop that was to fight against the mafia over decades, the character of Biaggio as a cop always wanted to investigate even when his superiors would rather leave things alone for the sake of an easy life an he would drop everything to continue his work at the expense of his family. The character Luciano Ligio also played a great part in this film.

I am a Sicilian and I also happen to know quite well all the characters represented, apart from Schiro' which is the only fictional one. I am amazed at the way Sicily and the Sicilians are portrayed: so accurate. The dialogues, the accents, the tics, the looks in their eyes are incredibly real. A lot of the actors are not Sicilians yet they manage to capture the essence of the culture of the island. Never during the series does anyone speaks in a less than perfect Sicilian (with a Palermo accent even). The Sicilian dialogues in the Godfather are ridiculous... But apart from this, the series manages to show how it is possible that someone after all so ignorant like Riina becomes so powerful, because he's very smart and clever, and uses his own code of communication in which he's very articulate. The mixture between reality and fiction never comes to the detriment of one or the other, it's a perfectly fine balance. I appreciate that Sicily is not abused in the photography, the background is never too idyllic or too crude. A real masterpiece!

Truth & fiction Having read the John Dickie's Cosa Nostra I found the Corleone series a bit disappointing.The main reason is the introduction of the fictitious police officer Bragio Shiro. Unfortunately a most common interspersing strategy in series based on a true story. In this case the trick did not function very well in my opinion. Too much of the story was focusing on the relationship between Schiro and Riino from an early stage, and then later Falcone and Schiro. A series that started out most promising ended up in irritation on my account. A rating of 4 points are all I'm willing to give.

Terje Ådland Bergen Norway..

After I bought this series on DVD and watched the first episodes, I found myself glued to the television, and finished the 4DVD set in two days. Riveting stuff! The Series follows 4 young boys from the town of Corleone. Two of these are celebrities like Toto Riina and Bernando Provenzano, eventual leaders of the Cosa Nostra, and the hero Biagio Schiro – who in the face of Mafiosi turns to the straight and narrow path (something of a rarity in the mafia stronghold of Corleone). Biagio vs Riina drives the story throughout the better part of 50 years and it is a classic case of cat and mouse.

The Main characters and the people connected to them (wifes and children) are well developed. I quite often found myself in the mindsets of both Schiro and Riina, and the actors portraying this pair did a great job. The only character I felt lacked something was Provenzano. He was a very important figure to the corleonesi-cosa nostra but is not as prominent as one would expect. However, acting, directing and dialogue are top notch in general. The hours just fly by! I particularly enjoyed the scenes between Schiro and Boris/Falcone, where there is some much needed comic relief and nice one-liners.

Don't get scared by the Italian, put the subtitles on and enjoy one of the best mafia tales of the 00's!

Firstly, if you are looking for the early story of Corleone, the godfather. This isn't it. Secondly, if you can find it, the version I got was almost unwatchable for first few seasons (unless you speak fluent Italian) the subtitles available are completely out of synch. Finally, there are more plot holes/gaps than bank station. Enjoyable in so many ways but could have been so so much better.