La Mafia 7 - Enquête sur la mort du commissaire Cattani

When magistrate silvia conti returns to sicily to solve the murder of pentito Rosario granchio she has no idea of the local war going on between boss Nuzzo and a streetgang,meanwhille Savario Bronta Nuzzo's old friend also returns to sicily to take part in a great illegal operation.

this 7th part brings us back to the first two series as we go back to the town it all has began. Patricia Millardet is still excellent as Silvia Conti and except her and Florinda bolkan as Olga Camastra who we now from part 1 and 2 we all see new faces, only one person is missing Remo girone as Tano Carridi doesn't take part of this series for some this might be a disapointment. But despite his absence this is a great miniseries that is very different from the other parts, it shows more attention to how civiliens must deal with the maffia than the Maffia/Bussines/Politic connection

if you like good crime/maffia film this is one to check out

La Piovra, or SPRUT in Russian, the version that I saw as a boy in early nineties is nothing short of a masterpiece. American audiences are all over the Sopranos, a good series in its own right, but that is because they did not experience La Piovra.

The story of the series at first follows Commissar Cattani and his relentless fight against the Italian mafia and the corrupt bureaucracy. Every episode is full of smart dialogs, rich characters, suspenseful plot,and action. The newer episodes follow the work of a new commissar (I don't want to give away why this happens, watch it and you will see), who just like his predecessor selflessly fights the mob.

The series is mostly shot in Italy and later on in Czech Republic I believe, so scenery does change.

Fortunately for me the local Los Angeles Armenian mom and pop video stores carry the Russian language VHS tapes of the complete series as it was shown in the early nineties, all I need now is a summer holiday to re watch the whole series, it is absolutely worth it.

Since the best film about mafia theme has always been Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece trilogy THE GODFATHER, a lot of people skip this one. LA PIOVRA, appearing also under the English title of THE OCTOPUS, deals with Comissario Corrado Cattani's attempts against mafia in its heart land, the island of Sicily. Moreover, it develops Cattani's private life in a very interesting way: it focuses on how he and his family have to cope with suffering due to the very specific job he does against the mob. I remember seeing the mini series as a young boy and although I have not seen this since then, a lot remained in my memory. The reason is simple: the mini series stands out as one of the best and most unforgettable action films.

The most outstanding actor among the cast is, in my opinion, Michele Placido. He does a great job in the main role as Cattani, a man who copes with huge difficulties in the exceptionally cruel reality. Although he sacrifices everything, his struggles seem endless... Whenever I see him in any film, he always reminds me of this role. Other cast include not very famous people whose performances I cannot evaluate easily since I saw the film a long time ago.

Besides, throughout the series, there is a thrilling sense of suspicion. In this way, a viewer gets involved in the action. Sometimes, I felt the events so intensely that I could not wait for the following episode. All that happens looks very realistic and watching it meant for me feeling it. This is all intensified by the wonderful music by Ennio Morricone and Riz Ortolani, the best Italian film musicians.

Finally, the beautiful landscape of Sicily that can be found in a number of moments provides a viewer with authenticity of the story. Filmed in Trapani on the western coast of the island near Palermo, the movie is a great experience. When I was in Sicily a few years ago and walked in the narrow streets of its cities, the mini series was unintentionally in my mind's eyes.

Since I have seen this mini series many years ago, I cannot discuss cinematography or some details like the single performances or memorable moments. Yet, I felt compelled to entail my opinion on LA PIOVRA because it has its place in my dearest memories from my early teenage years. Generally speaking it is one of the best action films I have seen. Pity they don't show this on TV anymore. I'd really enjoy seeing it after all these years.

I consider "La Piovra" as a movie (despite of being it TV-series) equal to such masterpieces as "Godfather" by Copolla or "Once Upon A Time in America" by Leone. It seems that only italians may create really impressive and realistic movies about mafia. There must be something in the blood ;-)

If you are looking for the intelligent script, impressive pace and atmosphere, real characters from the blood and flesh, perfect acting - you will like "La Piovra". There is not much action but there is a lot of life. And death.

La Piovra is simply the best film about the mob. I'm very sad, that only the seasons 1-7 had been shown in German TV. I can't understand, that there is no way to buy it on DVD or on VHS. The series was a big success and I know a lot of people who have watched every repeat of the seasons 1-7, like myself. Only the 6. Season is a little worse than the other ones. The pace is fantastic, even it is a TV-series. The cast and acting is great. Not only fantastic Italian actors had been casted, but a lot of great European actors join the series too, like Bruno Craemer, Rolf Hoppe, Mario Adorf. Now, in 2005 in Germany the first three seasons a released on DVD (German dubbed and Italian) and, as I read in the net, they startet on DVD in Portugal, France and Sweden. In the Netherlands you got the first four seasons in Italian with dutch subtitels. I hope, that this will bring more people to the series.