| The
Review: |
The two disc set is purported to
be a historical presentation on 'The True History of the Mafia',
focusing on the mafia (a.k.a. La Cosa Nostra) in the U.S.
The first disc begins in the late 19th century and follows
the mafia, which is different from 'organized crime,' primarily
beginning with Lucky Luciano and ending with 'The Chin' in
the late 1980s and early 1990s. ***
The second disc has four individual
features on it, each taking a closer look at three individuals
involved in the mafia: Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and Bugsy
Siegel and one feature looking at the Genovese family. ***
Having watched a number of mobster
movies, I was excited to actually see something looking at
the actual history of these groups. But this compendium has
a number of problems. ***
The first problem deals with something
I should have known but didn't: 'mafia' is not synonymous
with 'organized crime.' This distinction in itself isn't the
problem, but the implication, which is misleading, is a problem.
'Mafia,' as used in the titles of the discs, refers to the
organized crime families based in New York that immigrated
from Sicily. However, 'mafia' originally referred to organized
crime in Sicily, and then in Italy more generally. And now,
mafia is used to refer to organized crime in numerous locations
(e.g. Japanese Mafia, Chinese Mafia, Russian Mafia, etc.).
So, by claiming that the discs contain the 'true history'
of the mafia, they begin with what is a rather misleading
premise - that they are going to cover the entire mafia (Italian,
American, Japanese, etc.), when in actuality the discs only
cover the mafia originating in New York in the U.S. and only
illustrate that specific mafia's connections to the mafia
in Italy. None of the other mafias are even mentioned, nor
are the other organized crime syndicates around the U.S.,
though the most famous crime boss, Al Capone, is briefly mentioned
(about 10 seconds worth of footage). I guess the lesson to
be learned here is know what the discs are really about and
recognize that the scope is limited, very, very limited. ***
The second major problem with the
discs applies primarily to the first one. As the majority
of the disc is looking at the origins of the mafia circa late
1800s, there is virtually no footage from that era. Instead
what you have are occasional newspaper photos and a bunch
of stock footage from old films and newsreels. The historical
information comes primarily from the commentary as there isn't
really much to see, at least for the first 30 to 40 minutes
of the video. But even when they do move into an era when
film was more prevalent, say, the late 30s and 40s, there
is still only minimal footage and what you see is primarily
maps of the U.S., Italy, and Sicily with an occasional photograph
inserted between map animations. Also problematic with the
first disc is the very loose and haphazard treatment of the
individuals involved. I was hoping for a more detailed treatment,
but in order to cover everyone, including a number of very
peripheral characters, the video glosses over pretty much
everyone, with Lucky Luciano being about the only exception,
primarily because he is seen as the originator of the mafia
in its 'current' form (which is actually something of a misnomer
as the mafia has declined quite dramatically). ***
Another problem I had with the
first disc is that it included interviews with two former
New York City mayors as though they were experts on the mafia,
Rudy Giuliani and Mario Cuomo. They may, actually, know a
lot about them, but I think I would rather listen to someone
who has spent a good deal of time studying the mafia (e.g.
a history professor). The rest of the interviews on the discs
are conducted with two groups of individuals: former New York
or Italian detectives who specialized in organized crime or
book authors who wrote books on the mafia. Though I trusted
both of these groups more than I did the mayors, I was still
hoping for a history professor to pop up at some point and
verify everything that I was being told. For some reason I
just hold history professors to a higher standard, likely
because their career depends on getting the 'facts' right.
***
This criticism introduces my final
criticism of the discs. Because the features were separate
and likely produced independent of one another, they didn't
go to a lot of effort to check their facts. For instance,
the Bugsy Siegel feature contradicts the Meyer Lansky feature
when it says Lansky went straight from New York to Havana
after Luciano was imprisoned. The Lansky feature, which is
obviously more authoritative in this regard, is very explicit
about the fact that Lansky went to the Miami area of Florida
for a number of years before even stepping foot in Havana.
Small incongruencies like this can be found in almost all
of the features. However, sometimes the incongruencies aren't
small, like, for instance, the fact that the feature on the
first disc claims Lucky Luciano was shot (but lived, which
is when he got the nickname Lucky), when the feature just
on Lucky Luciano says he was just beat up (and used the nickname
Lucky before that point). If the producers had taken just
the five hours required to watch the contents and paid close
attention to what was being said they would have realized
that the features don't always mesh. And without someone standing
by to verify the facts (e.g. the history professor I kept
hoping would show up), these incongruencies made me wonder
what other things the producers missed. ***
I do have to admit, however, that
the second disc with its specialized features is much more
interesting than the first. It actually takes the time to
delve more deeply into the people involved and includes better
pictures and more footage, footage and pictures that were
lacking in the longer feature. I think I would still recommend
that you watch the first disc's feature, but only because
it provides a broad framework in which the smaller features
fit. ***
Overall, the discs are interesting
but a bit disturbing. I say this because as a sociologist
whose interest in mafia history is limited to wanting to know
if the mobster movies I've seen are even close to accurate
(which is arguable), I found a number of incongruencies in
the features. I don't call them mistakes because I don't have
the authoritative knowledge (nor the time to look up accurate
information) to say which one is right or wrong. As this disc
set is produced by The History Channel, I think I expect better
information than if it were by some independent group who
doesn't make its living off producing historically accurate
features. If you have an abiding interest in the mafia (keep
in mind I'm referring specifically to the New York based group
and not the mafia in general), you'll definitely like this
disc set. But if you are really looking for an authoritative
source of information, I'm sure there are some books out there
that are more accurate (and probably include better pictures
than the first disc does).
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