The 1950’s through the 70’s were a pivotal time for the Italian American Mafia as there was a great deal of change and adaptation that had to occur to continue family profits and connection. During this time the mafia can be referred to as the “transitional mafia” because of the drastic differences made during this time frame to move the families from being of “traditional mafia” mindset (adopted from their fathers and grandfathers), including their legal and illegal affairs, to the “new mafia” which involved cohesion and peace amongst the five families.

         In his book titled, Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia, John Dickie describes how the mafia is transforming into a semi-legal operation, such as “…the 1940s and 1950s were years when organized crime invested heavily in the rapidly expanding, desert betting Mecca of Las Vegas.” (Dickie 232) However; with the mafia’s push for legitimacy and legal operations, there remained an equal, if not more prevalent, existence in narcotics trade. Because of the mafia’s secrecy, their involvement with drugs can best be explained through this excerpt, written by John Dickie about Tommaso Buscetta, “Until his death, he [Buscetta] continued to deny that he had ever made any money from drugs. Rather contradicting himself, Buscetta also maintained that ‘There is no one is Cosa Nostra who is unconnected with narcotics trafficking.’” (Dickie 232) It’s almost comical just how contradictory the two statements from Buscetta are but after understanding the sheer amount of secrecy surrounding the mafia it becomes apparent why their involvement in drug trafficking was explained in a way of only allowing half-truths through. To prove the mafia’s heavy involvement in drugs is from a US police estimate, “…by the time Joe Bananas came to Sicily to ‘unwind’, as he put it, one in every three members of the Bonanno Family had been arrested on narcotics charges.” (Dickie 233) Because of the mafia’s efforts to become a more legal organization while continuing to carry out illegal drug trade and countless murders, one of the most notorious mafia movies was released in 1972… The Godfather.

         Based on the book, with the same title, by Mario Puzo, The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, continues to captivate audiences, even today, with its depictions of the inner workings of the mafia. Following two of the main characters, Vito Corleone and, his son, Micheal Corleone, we get an insider view of the Corleone Family boss and the family’s business affairs. This film pulls on sympathetic strings of the audience by showing several aspects of the made-men’s lifestyles which include loyalty to their individual families, work ethic, and the emotional passing of their loved ones. On the same token, the film also shows the infidelity, murder, and feuds that occurred within the family as well as with the other mafia families. One of the most notable scenes is that of the baptism of Micheal’s Godson. This is a cross-cut scene that shows the religious ceremony of the baptism while simultaneously cutting to the murders of each crime family’s bosses. (Coppola 02:37:04- 02:42:00) This pivotal scene represents many things of the film; the death of an old-way of business for the families, settling long-lived quarrels, and a bit of Micheal’s revenge for the initial attack of his father, Vito, which led to a rapid decline in his health and, eventually, death. Another scene worth mentioning is the physical death of Vito Corleone. (Coppola 02:30:30- 02:33:00) The death of Vito can be interpreted as the end of an era for the mafia and the beginning of a new kind of mafia that led way for what it is today and has a sense of connection to the same kind of changes that can be observed in the film Il Gattopardo (The Leopard), directed by Luchino Visconti. Another film, released in 1990, titled GoodFellas, directed by, Martin Scorsese, gives a different perspective of the mafia’s operations.

         GoodFellas is a film that follows the main character, and narrator, Henry Hill, who is a non-Italian associate of the mafia. Henry carries out various tasks for the mafia with two other associates, Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito. GoodFellas differs greatly from The Godfather mainly because none of the main characters are made men and any experiences with the mafia family is from an outsider’s perspective. Through its cinematography, the film also feels more first-hand and gives the audience the impression that their point of view is from a fourth associate that accompanies the main characters during their endeavors. Though both The Godfather and GoodFellas are films depicting the mafia’s various jobs and inner workings, they differ in their editing and camera work.

         The camera angles in The Godfather appear to be wider and more open, allowing the audience to experience more than just the focal point, which gives a better view of everything else happening around the character. As described by Dana Renga in the book Mafia Movies: A Reader, “…from the perspective of the camera behind both Vito and Fredo, we cast our eyes on a winter street scene of an open fruit and vegetable market, with a fire burning in a street barrel drum nearby…” (Renga 72) This passage describes how many details can be observed by the audience with the camera’s view in the scene just before Vito is shot. Contrary to The Godfather, GoodFellas features narrow camera angles and very defined focal points where the audience is required to look at something specific. By using narrow angles in GoodFellas the intensity and anticipation of the scene is greatly increased since you, as a viewer, are unable to see much of the surroundings and can’t be completely sure of what might happen next. Aside from the obvious inability to view the surroundings, the style of shooting can be thought of on a deeper level of that “the shot is symbolic of the character’s moral blindness, as well as his distance from the world he observes.” (Renga 105)

         Both films are of the greatest films made about the mafia and are continuously watched repeatedly by fans of the movies and the Italian American mafia alike. Although similar in nature, these two films depict very different sides of the same story of money, corruption, and violence of the mafia in America and gives a glimpse into how the mafia expanded to reach almost every corner of the country. In the wise words of Peter Clemenza, remember to, “Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.” (Coppola 57:50:00- 58:08:00)

Works Cited

Dickie, John. Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia. New York, St. Matin’s Griffen, 2005

Renga, Dana. Mafia Movies: A Reader. 2nd ed., University of Toronto Press, 2019

The Godfather. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Paramount Pictures, 14 Mar. 1972.

GoodFellas. Directed by Martin Scorsese, Warner Bros. Pictures, 9 Sept. 1990.

Although the film, directed by Luchino Visconti, Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) does not directly issue the origins of the Sicilian Mafia, it does provide insight into the groundwork to begin the process of understanding why the mafia was formed. Through the film’s use of its character development, acting, and cinematography we can see the events that led to the changing of times and inevitability of the mafia’s formation. Before dissecting the film’s motives and messages, it is important to reflect on the writings of John Dickie in his book titled Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia.

         Dickie describes the historical and political reasons as to why some Sicilians began to band together and, eventually, form the mafia. He explains that the island of Sicily has long been a land of volatility through the changing of reigning kingdoms so frequently. The island has, over time, been left to internally resolve conflict in its own manner. Looking through a historical lens, the mafia was formed after Italy had claimed the land following the revolution that led to the Bourbon regime’s falling. Dickie states, “The incorporation of 2.4 million Sicilians into the new nation brought in its wake an epidemic of conspiracy, robbery, murder, and score-settling.” (Dickie 36) Unfortunately, the formation of the mafia also stemmed from political necessity. After the revolution, “The Sicilians who had invested their political ambitions in the patriotic revolution were infuriated by what they saw as the government’s arrogant refusal to allow them access to power-the power they needed to address the island’s problems.” (Dickie 36) Since the Italian government would not allow the participation of Sicilians, they ended up finding other ways to govern outside of the Italian government’s purview. With the exclusion of the government during this time, illegal activities would begin to plague the island; one of the first began in the highly profitable and delicate lemon tree orchards, “It was this combination of vulnerability and high profit that created the perfect environment for the mafia’s protection rackets.” (Dickie 39) These beginning stages of-and reasons for-the mafia’s formation can be seen within the theme of The Leopard, depicting events through the view of characters such as Prince Don Fabrizio Salina, Tancredi Falconieri, and Father Pirrone, which tell the tale of changing times, the death of an era, and the birth of new beginnings.  

         The three, aforementioned, characters play the biggest roles within the film as far as character development and story development are concerned. Prince Don Fabrizio Salina, a man stuck in his ways and unwilling to change, comes to terms with the changing times and is consciously aware of his ideals being on the wrong side of the new history of Sicily. The prince’s character further pushes the film’s undertone to the death of the old ways; this is especially clear in the ball room scene when Prince Salina is sitting alone in a study, staring at a painting of a dying man in bed and reflects on his own life. The scene concludes with the prince telling Tancredi and his fiancée, Angelica, his thoughts on his own death and that he is no longer young enough to dance and party with them all night as he once could. (Visconti 2:33:40-2:38:14)

         Tancredi Falconieri is the nephew of Prince Salina and is first introduced when meeting with his uncle to inform him he would be leaving to fight alongside the Redshirts. Tancredi is a young, charismatic, man who is trying to find a way to fight for what he believes in and is the correct side of history. Given his young age, it’s much easier for Tancredi to adjust to the changing times and it’s reflected in the film during a scene where he’s explaining to his uncle why his uniform had changed after the dissolution of the Garibaldini infantry. (Visconti 1:42:53-1:44:37)

         Father Pirrone acts as a kind of moral advisor to the prince through his encouragement for confession from the prince and serves as a lending ear for the prince. Father Pirrone knows the ins and outs of the noble family’s lives and affairs and can be somewhat of a liaison between the noble and commonwealth. Father Pirrone’s character seems to keep Prince Salina grounded in times of stress or agitation, which helps the prince in making pivotal decisions throughout the entire film.

         The film is riddled with aspects that help drive the points of the film to the audience. One of those scenes involves Count Caviraghi and Concetta. Through the character’s acting we can see that Caviraghi is overly excited to present Concetta with a book of poems by his favorite author and Concetta appears to be uninterested and not present in the conversation because her focus is directed toward Tancredi. As described by Dana Renga in her book, Mafia Movies: A Reader, “…Northerner Caviraghi’s courtship of Concetta is firmly rejected on cultural grounds-in effect, she refuses anything not Sicilian.” (Renga 195) Another scene that uses the exterior set to further emphasize the underlying impending mafia is during a conversation between Prince Salina and Father Pirrone while walking to cast their votes. After Father Pirrone complains of the wind being so terrible, Prince Salina replies, “You should thank the Lord. Without this wind, the air would smell like a putrid pond.” (Visconti 1:12:34-1:12:49) This statement not only refers to the current weather conditions but is also a metaphor for the economical conditions they are facing. Prince Salina does this several times throughout the film and, “The fact that the character Fabrizio attributes much of Sicilian history and character to the island’s climate naturalizes the feeling that Sicilian and Mafioso characteristics are coextensive.” (Renga 195)

            This film allows the audience to learn of the forthcoming Sicilian Mafia from the standpoint of a noble prince and his family but in a way that is not so obviously clear of impending mafia terror. It provides the backstory to the Sicilian Mafia that people so rightfully long for and deserve to know.

Works Cited

Dickie, John. Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia. New York, St. Matin’s Griffen, 2005

Renga, Dana. Mafia Movies: A Reader. 2nd ed., University of Toronto Press, 2019

Il Gattopardo (the Leopard). Directed by Luchino Visconti, 20th Century Fox, 27 Mar. 1963.