The Making of the Mob

A good doco but who ever edited this docudrama needs some lessons in how to lay down a good audio track and level. The music is over the top and far to loud, making it difficult to hear the narration. It's Really annoying!

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.

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.

I don't know about the accuracy of the story line but I do know that the 1959 Edsel cop car showing up at the 1957 upstate NY meeting is not accurate. There may be other inaccuracy in the show but I found it entertaining. I thought the casting was good but got tired of all the non-essential shots of gangsters standing or sitting around smoking. I also noted that one of the scenes of Costello being concerned about being hit in the last episode was the same scene from when he was "protecting' the waterfront from saboteurs during WWII. It would have been nice to see what happened to the guys who took over after Luciano but maybe that will be shown in an other series. We are looking forward to the series about Capone.

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.