The Hit on Barzini: Sloppy Work

Is that Al Neri in the cop uniform at the courthouse where the driver, the bodyguard, and Barzini get hit?

Anyway, wasn't the hit on Barzini sloppy work? Almost unbelievably so?

Barzini gets shot at a distance from behind what, 3 times? Then the killer takes off, apparently assuming Barzini was dead?

Point: A competent and professional dago guinea wop goombah hood would have put a couple of shots in Barzini's head to be sure the work was done properly. Even taking the time to reload if necessary...

For that matter, Sollozzo's button men made the same (inexcusable and inexplicable) mistake when they hit Don Vito...

Yes, it's Neri. Yes, it's incredibly sloppy.

It's another example of "dramatic license." The Barzini hit was the most important one that day. Yet Neri takes it on armed only with a six-shot .38 Special revolver--and kills three men, Barzini at a considerable distance that would have stretched both accuracy and stopping power of the .38. By contrast, Rocco and a confederate whack Tattaglia and the hooker he was with from a distance of about five feet--using a pair of Madsen submachine guns.

I don't agree TB. The whole idea of Neri posing as a cop was so he could hit Barzini in the open which was probably the only place they could get to him. Also, that's a realtively close range for a police pistol. Neri was a weapons-trained cop and he took his time to fire the shots. All were in the upper back and would have more than likely penetrated vital organs. Also, we don't know what ammunition he fired, but I'll bet it would have been the most devastating stuff.

That's all possible, Olivant. And Neri in his police mufti was the right ploy to get close to Barzini. But putting it all on him and his six shots left no margin for error. A carefully laid-out plan (i.e., not driven by directoral license) would have had backup shooters as pedestrians or in cars, if needed. Even a dunce like Gotti used multiple, identically clad shooters in the Castellano hit--and had himself and Da Bull in reserve in case needed.

There are, of course, differences between the final hits in the book and in the movie. In the book, though, several of Barzini's capos switch sides immediately after the hit, which opens the possibility that Barzini had been betrayed. So the tactical hit on Barzini might have been a result of Michael's earlier strategic victory.

Of course, I'm sure that the Corleones would still have wanted Barzini dead for certain, as opposed to alive, wounded, and in police custody.

While in reality, it might have been "sloppy" work, I think that, that assassination, was the most "artistic" and enabled FFC to use the stereotypical "Black Cadillac" that was greatly favored by mob guys for many years, with the notable exception of Michael, who preferred Packards and Imperial Ghias.

olivant;

i agree, how may times in neri's career do you think he practiced using that gun on and / off duty and in training? back then you didn't have the luxury ( usually so ) to have anything more for police work than a .38 caliber revolver. not like today where you can get pretty much any caliber and magazine capacity you want and in any combination of sizes, finishes, etc.. not only that, but shooting at moving and stationary targets and make those 6 shots count. when neri takes those 3 shots at barzini, the pose he takes as he aims at barzini and steadies his arm for the shot, he's not going to miss. the 3 shots that barzini is hit with are right in the area of (a) the spinal cord, (b) the heart and (c) the lungs. any combination of which would be fatal. you're only talking a distance of what, maybe a 100 - 125 feet, which is nothing for a .38.. he had to use his "duty" .38 to make it appear to be a "rogue duty cop" to divert an investigation in a different direction. if he had used a .45 or anything else, it could have possibley aroused suspicion if any witnesses report anything to responding officers.



neri is good at his job, because he doesn't leave room for mistakes.

he knew that barzini would'nt be packing,so he could afford to hit him last.he had to do away with the others first who could have stopped him.

I have an issue with Barzini's death. First, its very obviously a stunt man that falls down the steps.

And what was that completely unaided walk down the hall all about? Seeing as the Don has been quoted as blaming Barzini for everything, surely the guy would be surrounded by more than one guy and a driver?

It was timely and credible. Vito deliberately made himself appear weak at the Don's meeting, and Michael made himself appear weak by not fighting Barzini's incursions on his territories and by agreeing to a meeting. Both of them accomplished what you saw: they fooled Barzini into thinking that the Corleones were finished. He had nothing to fear from them, hence only one bodyguard.

Why did Vito want to appear week, he really didn't want to break the peace...that was legit.

I don't think Barzini would take a risk like that, he wouldn't be that cocky, quite the contrary, he seems very smart, a worthy adversary to the Don.

Both Vito and Michael believed in fooling adversaries into believing that they were weaker than they appeared--the better to have them relax their guard. Vito's apparent weakness was in rising from his sick bed to call off the war, and in agreeing to provide police/political protection to the drugs business in the East. But his objective was to strengthen his family by bringing Michael safely back to the US as his successor. Michael pretended not to react to Barzini's incursions into his territories, and to agree to a meeting with Barzini. His objective was to get Barzini and the other Dons to lower their guard by regarding him as a no-account. Both Vito and Michael succeeded.

I get what you're saying mate. But Barzini would have read the body language of Mike at the Funeral, not even a nod of thanks for Barzini's attendance, second, surely Barzini would know that Vito would warn him that the man who came to him with a meeting proposal is the traitor. Barzini didn't care about throwing Tessio to the lions...but never would Barzini leave himself open to such an attack in broad daylight.

This bad mood acting was part of the trap. If Michael appeared to be too friendly towards Barzini, Barzini would have smelled a rat.
In the novel we find an interesting part about this irritation, when Clemenza prepares to have Paulie killed.

Barzini knew that Michael knew that Barzini chiseled into the Corleone territory. When Michael acted stiffly, it was only natural.

Agreed.

But my point that Mike would guess that Tessio will betray him is still valid. Barzini is old school like Vito. I'm surprised he was killed so easily.

Agreed, using just a Smith & Wesson Model 10 for the hit on Don Barzini with his two bodyguards would be sloppy. In contrast, in Sonny's death scene, gunmen are emptying their .45 M1928 Thompsons into him yet he gets out of the car and stands on his feet screaming for a while.

That was FFC paying homage to Arthur Penn in "Bonnie and Clyde." The reality is that the .45ACP fired by the Thompson is the proverbial "big heavy round." The first hit would have knocked him down--probably for good.

Well, sloppy or not he got it done!

Anyway, if the bullets in the back alone hadn't killed Barzini, that tumble down the steps would've finished the job.

The hit on Sonny with automatic weapons was for dramatic purposes. In the novel, he is murdered with handguns.

Barzini only had one bodyguard if he had any. His driver was waiting in his car. The other guy with him may have been his attorney and was probably unarmed anyway. There was nothing sloppy about the hit. Using a policeman's disguise would have not alerted anyone. Castellano was murdered at drive time in the middle of Manhattan and with pistols. There's been any number of dons murdered over the decades and many if not most in broad daylight and without much difficulty. The range from which Neri shot Barzini given his experience would have made the shots easy.