American Mafia vs. Italian Mafia in Cinema

2642 Words6 Pages

The gangster genre within films in America has accomplished numerous positive criticisms and constant willing audiences due to containing outstanding spectacles and mind-blowing action. The Godfather, being second on the IMDb Top 250 Movies, has set a new popular concept to life within the Mafia from their point of view. Doing so, creating a positive association. Yet within Italy, the same topic contains a complete different view. Movies such as I Cento Passi demonstrate unenthusiastic view by those whom are outside yet negatively affected by those members. Unlike American films, the gangsters are not as often viewed at the protagonist and are the main causes for the problematic events. But how different is Italian Mafia and American Mafia in cinema? The Godfather, which is one of the most famous American movies of all time, started out as a book written by Mario Puzo (published March 10th, 1969) and was later directed by Francis Ford Coppla in 1972 with the trilogies following in 1974 and again in 1990. The trilogies are seen as an epic tale of the Corleones, an Italian-American family, and their rise in and around organized crime. The story begins as "Don" Vito Corleone, the head of a New York Mafia "family", oversees his daughter's wedding. His beloved son Michael has just come home from the war, but does not intend to become part of his father's business. Drug dealer Virgil Sollozzo is looking for Mafia Families to offer him protection in exchange for a profit of the drug money. He approaches Don Corleone about it, but the Don is morally against the use of drugs, and turns down the offer. Being this only request Don Vito has turned down, displease Sollozzo and has the Don shot down. The Don barely survives, which leads ... ... middle of paper ... ... and negative associations within the genre. Even with the obvious differences, both styles have borrowed concepts from the other, enriching each of their popularity in cinema. Bibliography Bondanella, Peter. (2009), A History of Italian Cinema, NY, The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. Ferraro, Thomas. (1993) Ethnic Passages. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. Grahm, Paul. (2005) The Journal 
of Religion and Film: Revisiting Violence 
in The Godfather: The Ambiguous Space of the Victimage Model. http://www.unomaha.edu/jrf/Vol9No2/grahamGodfather.htm accessed 10 December 2010 Nowell-Smith, G. (ed) (1996), Companion to Italian Cinema, London, BFI Russo, G. (1995). Mafia nation: Cinema, ethnicity & identity. Amherst, Mass: s.n Small, Pauline. (2005) New Cinemas: journal of Contemporary Film Volume 3, Queen Mary, University of London

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