The Making of the Mob

The Making of the Mob: New York is an entertaining but not entirely accurate portrayal of the rise of prominent mob figures Lucky Luciano and Myer Lansky in early 20th century New York.

Its an interesting tale that employs acting, as opposed to utilizing a documentary format. Ray Liotta is a great choice for narrator, with his gravelly, New York accent and gangster film pedigree.

The approach however does take dramatic license and there are some historical inaccuracies that means this series is part fact, part fiction. There is little to suggest, for example, Lucky Luciano was dining with Joe Masseria at the time of the latter's execution. The role of Nucky Johnson in the mob underworld of the time is not properly explained or placed in context either. Johnson was not a mobster but instead a corrupt politician.

If you accept the limitations present in this series it is, in most respects, an entertaining, colourful romp through early US gangster land. The acting is of a good standard and the story is presented in an engaging and lively manner. Seven out of ten from me.

With such excellent source material this had the potential to be awesome. It was good but could have been better. It's easy to follow and the story runs along at a nice pace without too much repetition from earlier eps. Unfortunately, the script and acting are a bit unconvincing at times. The comments are insightful and assist. It really is a good story, Just could have been a bit more polished.

The acting is pretty ify at times. But it's just barely good enough to endure and follow along the story.

For some ridiculous reason, they bring in actors from fictional mob movies, to talk about the history of the mob as if they are experts or have real experience. It's so hard to take the show seriously when I see them talking with a tone of authority. However, there are historians and actual people that were in the mob, or related, that speak from time to time.

Also, if you have spent any amount of time studying the history of the mob, you'll notice many inaccuracies. So it's best to take it all with a grain of salt, not take it too seriously, and view the show mostly as fiction that's inspired by real events.

An educating and entertaining show. The life of lucky Luciano and associates. Very interesting to see the beginnings of the Mafia in New York, particularly Luciano's rise and creation of the commission. Great supporting characters from Genevese and Meyer Lansky. The stories of Frank Costello and Bugsy Siegal are also fascinating. Narrated by Ray Liotta, any fan of mafia movies will love this historical portrayal of the real life goodfellas.

I watched the premiere of making of the mob and I was pleased with the storyline. If you like stories about the mobsters,their rise to power and infamy this is a great show. The show is built around a strong cast with good on screen chemistry. I believe that Rich Graff who plays Lucky Luciano really does a great job in this first episode and this might be his breakthrough role. I am not too familiar with his other work but well done! Kudos to AMC and the directors for putting on such an entertaining series! I cannot wait to see the up coming episodes. I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves movies/TV series like boardwalk empire, mobsters, the sopranos, goodfellas, casino, etc.