Hey All,

Start a clean thread here, I'll do a few and see if anyone finds it useful and see what happens. These of course will only be my opinions and if someone agrees or not I welcome other opinions.

So, hope this can be of use.

Ron


La Cosa Nostra, The Mafia:An Expose
Madacy Home Entertainment
5 dvd, 2 episodes per disc, each episode about 45 mins, 7 and a half hours running time.
Released in 04 but was available on vhs in the early/ mid 90's
Around $16
Packaging- Tin case, booklet, fairly nice package.

Lower budget production, pretty weak re-enactments, uses film clips from movies ( GFI, Untouchables ) with a film negative type effect which I find irritating.

Each episode is titled to a certain subject but most of the time it actually touches very briefly and gives just general info. The Hollywood and Vegas episodes seem to stay somwhat on track and give some decent info.

But, all that being said, this does have it's little nuggets. News clips, some decent interviews etc.
This set would be really good for someoneone just getting into the subject and exploring different aspects of mob activity.
I guess I like it cause it was one of the first docs I ever got on the subject.

I do question some of the info on here though. Example: One segment an interviewed reporter claims that Capone was controled by Nitti, Ricca and Accardo. Nothing I've ever read supports that. Surely after Capone went to the pokey Accordo/ Ricca were running things including Nitti. But not before.

Some notable people interviewed: Gay Talese, Ramsey Clark, George Knapp, Sam Giancana Jr., Ed Becker, Millicent Siegel, Rudy Giuliani, Antionnette Giancana, Jimmy Breslin, Ralph Salerno.

D1
Coming to America: General info on Italian immigration, on the 1880's New Orleans Hennesey killing.
Capone: Bare bones. Colisimo and Torrio barely get mentioned. Frankie Yale/ White Hand/ New York days are'nt mentioned at all. Made it sound like Al took over as soon as he hit Chicago.

D2
Valachi/ Luciano/ Genovese: Nothing in depth about these guys. Gets into Apalachin and the La Stella incident.
Hollywood: Gets into the Bioff/Brown affair, Lana Turner/Stampanato, Mickey Cohen, Reagan and the MCA connection, Sinatra and Monroe/Kennedy.

D3
Vegas: Bugsy/Virginia, Rosenthal and Spilotro, Moe Dalitz.
Hoffa: More about Giancana and Cuba with a bit of Hoffa thrown in. Touches on the Justice Department blocking publication of the Valachi Papers.

D4
Kennedy Connection: Marcello, the assasination, Jack Ruby, Robert Kennedy, Sirhan Sirhan etc.
Gallo/Colombo/Bonanno: Touches on all 3 but seems like there's more on the Scarfo days of the Philly guys. Goes into the killing of Vincent Falcone.

D5
Gotti: Very little on Gotti actually. Goes into the Tommy Agro/Joe Doggs (can't think of his real name offhand)incident and about 15 mins of a zip informant talking about a drug deal.
Epilogue: A complete waste. A summary of all the other episodes with nothing new.

This set could be shorter by a couple of hours or so if the epilogue and some of the re - enactments that really add nothing had been dropped.

Overall though it's not bad for the money and worth a watch.

I have seen this same set under this same title and the title Mafia: An Expose for $25. As far as I can tell it's exactly the same except for the packaging. Have also seen the set broken up with each disc sold seperatly for around $10 each.

So if anyone decides to buy this set I would say definatly find the cheaper set. Found mine at Target and have seen it online at most electronics sites.

Back Home Years Ago: The Real Casino
Sub Rosa Films
1DVD, 25 min
Released in 2004
$15

Production is pretty good.

This is a pretty big disappointment. 3 versions of the film, 25mins, 14 mins and 7 mins. All pretty much the same info. It uses alot of clips from Goodfellas for some reason. Pretty much just some people who were connected by family or growing up around at the time or just knew of Spilotro and Rosenthal back in Chicago telling a few stories and giving their opinions of what kind of people they were. The one made guy they interviewed revealed that Spilotro had a bad temper, Lefty was arrogant and they knew each other. WOW!

Nothing really about Vegas and not very informative on this subject.The deleted scenes add a bit more info but not much.

Worth a watch I guess if you can catch it on the tube or borrow it but would'nt spend the $$.

Mafia: The Inside Story
Madacy Home Ent.
5 dvd, 1 episode per disc, 45 min each, about 4 hrs
Released in 2003
$17 - $35
Packaging - Fold out case.

Lower budget production, video portion is pretty good but sound is distorted and irritating. Lotta cheesy soap opera type re-enactments. Story is that this is from an unpublished manuscript from a highly ranked mafia informant. Uses alot of the same footage and clips in each disc.

D1
Nuclear Mafia: Mentions mafia as being dealers and smugglers of nukes
D2
Mafia Nations:Briefly touches on mafia history and RICO. Very briefly.
D3
Killers of the Underworld: Touches on Murder Inc and Abe Reles testimony prior to his attempt at flight.
D4
Gangland Confessions: Mildly interesting part on Pablo Escobar and Juarez cartel, touches on Judge Falconi.
D5
International Syndicates: Briefly Touches on Tomasso Buscetta and the Sicilian trial.

You might be able to get a half hour or so of actual mafia info outta this. What there is often gets polluted by the re-enactments though.More about worldwide organized crime in general but even for that this is a pretty bad set. This thing jumps from subject to subject and then back to another from 2 subjects ago with no real apparent connections.

Forgot how much I actually paid for this but it was too much. Have seen it online at various prices. If you have a choice between watching this and Jerry Springer go for Springer.

Excellent Cadavers
First Run Icarus Films
1 DVD, 90 mins.
Released in 2005
$19

High production. In English and Italian with subtitles.

No nonsense and thorough doc on Giovanne Falcone and the Maxi Trial in the 80's. No re-enactments here, the only film clip used was a brief scene from the HBO movie of the same name. Plenty of actual footage, interviews etc. Awesome one to have and this'll be one to watch again.

Gangland Graveyard
PBS Home Video - Secrets of the Dead series
1 DVD, Approx. 60 mins
Released in 2005
$10

High production. Not much in actual footage of the dig other than some distant shots.

Story of the vacant lot where Sonny Red was found and the later dig after Massino talked. Goes into the Pistone and Massino stories. Interviews with Pistone and Jerry Capeci. Re - enactments are ok. Pretty good watch overall.

Nice work, Ledblimp. You seem to have come to the same conclusion that I and others here have re. documentaries: with some exceptions (like Falcone), they're short on real Mob stuff and pretty mediocre.

The American Gangster
Columbia Tristar Home Video
1 DVD, Approx. 45 mins
Released in 2008
$12

Higher production.

Goes through the early mob days. Capone,Luciano, Lansky, Costello. Worth a watch.

Narrated by Dennis Farina ( Get Shorty, Snatch etc.. )

Al Capone - The Untouchable Legend
Digiview Entertainment
1 DVD, Approx. 50 mins
Released in 2006
$15

Lower Budget production but not too bad.

Breezes through alot of Capone info and cotradicts itself at times. For example: One "expert" claims Al turned to crime cause he was a poor uneducated immigrant. In the very next segment it talks about Al being born in New York in 1899. ???

Briefly goes through the Dion O'Bannion killing and other key info. Never mentions the Elliot Ness portion of the story ( I know....but he should at least get an honorable mention ).

I got this at the checkout counter at Wal Mart for $1. I've seen it online for the above price. If you can find it for a buck cool but wouldn't pay much more for it.

The Underboss
Investigative Reports
A&E Home Video
1 DVD, Approx. 45 mins.
Released in 2002 from a '96 broadcast.
$25

High production value but quality of product is crap.

Goes through the Philly mob story from the Scaro period. Interviews with Phil Leonetti and Nick Caramandi. Pretty informative and definatly worth a watch.

I love the A&E productions but the problem I have with this is that A&E sends out a burned DVDR. For the $$ you pay that's pretty disappointing. To be fair, they do state this on the site. BUT...only if you buy the episodes seperatly. I got a five pack of episodes and it said nothing about DVDR. I ended up getting 4 DVDR and 1 pressed silver dvd.

So...if you go this route be careful and be sure you know what you're getting.

Well, thanks Tunbull!

Hopefully someone will find this useful to get more bang for the buck if they decide to do some buying.

Ron

Yeah, doesn't that irritate you? The problem with people who write and produce on organized crime is that they take too damned many shortcuts and liberties with the truth, knowing no one will contradict them.

Capone was born in New York in 1899.

The Iceman Interviews
HBO - America Undercover series
1 DVD, Approx. 90 mins
Released in 2003
$10

High production.

Three interviews with Richard Kuklinski. Iceman Tapes (1991), The Iceman: Secrets of a Mafia Hitman (1998) and The Iceman and the Psychiatrist (2002)

Very interesting interviews. Informative. Definatly worth a watch. I've watched this one on numerous occasions.

There is another title out there under Iceman: Confessions of a Mafia Hitman which is the first two segments. Definatly go for Interviews over that. The shrink interview is pretty good.

Mafia History : The History of the NY Mafia
Northshore Ent.
1 DVD, 45 mins
Released in 2004
$11

Lower budget but not too bad.

Goes into the usual early mob days and the formation of the American mob. A bit of the Sicilian origins. A little difference in this one is it gets into Frank Carbo and the boxing racket as well as the mafia stigma on Italians. For the $$ it's worth a watch.

Some notables interviewed: Gay Talese, Robert Loggia, Geraldine Ferraro, Tommy Lasorda, Bill Balsalmo. ( most on the stigma part )

The True History of the Mafia: Godfathers Collection
The History Channel
2 DVD, 5 episodes, Approx. 4 1\2 hrs.
$18

DVD1 - One program running about 90 mins. Gets into the usual early mob days but does go into some other subjects you don't see alot of. Vito Cascio Ferro, Michele Sindona, Salvatore Giuliano and New Orleans in the late 1800's. Jumps around a bit in timelines and back and forth from American to Sicilian topics.

DVD2 - Four episodes of Biography each running about 45 mins.
Meyer Lansky, Charlie Luciano, Bugsy Siegel and Vito Genovese.

The Genovese episode is more about the history of the family and not so much Vito.
I really like the Bugsy episode as it tells the actual story of the Flamingo and not the myth of him having a vision as he stared into the desert.

Sometimes the info is a bit sketchy and questionable but overall pretty good.

Al in all a pretty good set for the money. I paid about $25 a few years back but have seen it online for the above price. Considering you would pay $25 for each episode of Biography if bought seperatly from A&E this set is worth it.

Some notables interviewed through out the set: Rudy Giuliani, Mario Cuomo, Robert Lacy, Ralph Salerno, Ed Becker, Jackie Mason.

Henry Hill: Goodfella
A&E Biography
1 DVD, Approx. 45 mins
Released in 2001
$25

High production but one of those crappy DVDR discs.

Story of Henry and the Goodfellas gang. Good watch.

As I previously stated, for the money this is not a good deal at all considering the quality of the product. Even if it was a pressed dvd the price is pretty high for one 45 min episode. Good show, crappy product.

Mad Frank: Britain's Most Dangerous Criminal
EPI Ent.
1 DVD, Approx. 50 mins
Released in 2006
$15

About Frank Fraser...kind of. Not much in the way of an historical document but interviews with him and other known (I guess...othe than being familiar with the Kray story I'm not up on the British guys)British gangsters giving opinions on Frank and telling some stories.

A bit on the cheesy side but an ok watch. There are quite a few extras that I breezed through. Some looked ok, some really cheesy. Total running time with the extras is about 145 mins.

I got this with 3 other British episodes from the same series for $28. Saw them listed seperatly for the above price.

[/quote]
Yeah, doesn't that irritate you? The problem with people who write and produce on organized crime is that they take too damned many shortcuts and liberties with the truth, knowing no one will contradict them. [/quote]


Yeah, kind of expect to hear different info from seperate shows considering the number of differing stories on any given topic but I would expect info to jive in a single production. Or at least some type of statment of " No one knows for sure, but..." type thing.
But yeah, anything else I ever read/ saw claims Capone was born in NY.

Ron

Yes, the story of Bugsy Siegel and the Flamingo encapsulates all the BS about the Mob--what people like to write about, and what really happened:

Bugsy Siegel didn't "invent Las Vegas." When he took up residence ca. 1940-41, it was a boomtown with seven hotel/casinos, some of them air-conditioned. The Flamingo had been named by its builder, Billy Wilkerson, the publisher of the Hollywood Reporter, a degenerate gambler whose debts left him unable to finish the hotel. Siegel bought him out and got his NY pals to invest.

The only thing new about the Flamingo was that it was the first Vegas hotel/casino to be built in a "modern," "eastern" style, not the western "corral" style of the El Rancho Vegas or the the other six hotels. Siegel lost his shirt on the
Flamingo. But after he was assassinated, his successors (Gus Greenbaum, Little Moe Sedway, and especially, Moe Dalitz) made a fortune on the Flamingo's model.

When I first saw the movie, "Bugsy", I thought that he had actually peered out into the desert, but reading some web material and Gus Russo's "The Outfit", made me see the truth.

Is it true that in the movie, "Bugsy", the casino in it is identical on the exterior as it is in real life?

Like they looked at an old black and white photograph and replicated it onto the films movie set.

It bears a resemblance at least in the movie as compared to pics I've seen of the original hotel. Wether it was exact or not I don't know. There's not much left of the original now. I was waundering around in there a few years back and remember going into a very small ( compared to casino standards now) banquet type room and reading a plaque that stated that that was all that was left of the original hotel. The outside bears no resemblance to the original. Nor does the strip itself. If I remember correctly all the original cowboy joints are gone.

Ron

Mafia: The History of the Mob in America
A&E Entertainment
2 DVD, 5 Episodes, Approx. 45 min each, 3hrs. 45mins. total running time.
Released in 2001 from a '93 broadcast.
$20

High production.

D1
Prohibition Years - Usual stuff but goes into Booboo Hoff and the early Philly years.

Birth of the American Mafia - Sicilian origins, early New Orleans days, Joe Petrisino, Frankie Yale, mob connections with entertainers (Lena Horn, Milton Berle, Joe E Lewis, Jimmy Durante.

The Kennedy's and the Mob - Joe's connections, the assasination etc.

D2
Unions and the Mob - Goes into Dopey Benny Fien, Monk Eastman, Harry Bennett. Looks at the Ford Co., Hollywood unions, Garment district, ILA etc.

Mafia Empire - The usual Lucky/ Lansky story. Murder Inc. etc..


Original broadcast was an American Justice 5 part series called Target Mafia. Overall a pretty good set. I paid around $20 a few years back but have seen it online at various prices from $18 - $25.

The Gangster Chronicles
Timeless Media Group Productions
2 DVD, 5 Episodes, Approx. 50 Mins. each, Approx. 4 hrs. total running time.
Released in 2006.
Packaged in tin case.
$9

Lower budget production but not too bad.

D1
Roaring 20's - Prohibition, Immigration, Chicago, Bill Thompson/ Capone, Arnold Rothstein, Luciano/ Siegel/ Lansky.

The Violent Years - Machine Gun Kelly, Baby Face Nelson, Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd.

Crime Inc. - Bugsy/ Vegas, Stompanato/ Turner, Micky Cohen, Hoffa, Kennedy.

D2
Thieves - Dillinger, Bonnie & Clyde, Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid, 1950 Brinks Job, D.B. Cooper.

Rackateers - Capone, Luciano/ Siegel/ Lansky, Valachi, Kefauver hearings, Gotti.


The episodes overlap each other alot and give alot of the same info on subjects but just put a different way. This could've been put together better and shortened by an hour or so. Lots of the info in here is questionable or just plain wrong. Often rambles from subject to subject without a definable break in between.

The one really good thing I can say about this set is it's loaded with alot of unusual clips/ still photos you don't normally see in other docs. Bunch of Gotti,Kefauver hearings, Scarfo, Siegel stuff. While not strictly Mafia stuff the Thieves episode is pretty interesting.
One thing I found irritating is that the narrator often refered to the subject of the moment in derisive terms.

Mob Hitmen
A&E American Justice series.
1 DVD, Approx. 45 mins
Released in 2006 from a '96 broadcast.
$22

High budget production.

Good show. Should be titled Philly Hitmen as it focuses on just Philly during the Scarfo/ Riccobene war and then the Stanfa/ Merlino war after Scarfo was put in the pokie.
Pretty thorough episode.

Interviews with Nick Caramandi, Harry Ricobene, Brenda Colletti.

This is available in a 4 pack of shows which costs the same as the individual episode. I've seen the single show at various prices from $16 - $22 at different online sites.

Note: As I've said in the above posts, the stuff A&E sends out is often a burned DVDR. It seems if you can find their stuff at other retailers, which I did with this 4 pack, you get a pressed DVD. The prob with that is that the A&E stuff at other locations is really limited.

Al Capone: Scarface
A&E Biography series.
1 DVD, Approx 45 mins.
Released in 2005 from a '95 broadcast.
$18

High budget production.

The Capone story, little more detailed than other docs on Capone.

I've seen this show at various prices online from $12 - $22. Got this as part of the 4 pack I mentioned with Mob Hitmen.

Sammy The Bull Gravano
A&E Biography series.
1 DVD, Approx. 45 mins.
Released in 2002 from a '98 broadcast.
$25

High production. Quality of product is awful. (DVDR)

The Sammy story from beginning to the Gotti fiasco. Good show, pretty thorough.

Interviews with Peter Maas and Jerry Capeci.

The Donnie Brasco Story
A&E American Justice series
1 DVD, Approx. 45 mins.
Released in 2006 from a '97 broadcast.
$25

High production.

Good show, thorough info but the facts of the Sonny Red hit were a little jumbled.

Mafia Wars
Columbia River Ent.
1 DVD, 2 Episodes, Approx 23 mins ea, Approx 45 min total running time.
Released in 2005
$8

Episode 1
Casino Wars - Focuses somewhat on Atlantic City.

Episode 2
The End of the Sicilians - Falcone, Gotti and goes into other organized crime outfits around the world.

Gives basic info, some newsclips, some re-enactments. Overall not very good. Save the $ for something better.

Crime Inc. Pts I&II
Freemantle Video originally a Thames production.
1 DVD ea, 7 episodes, Approx. 50 mins. ea,just under 6 hrs running time.
Released in 2006 on DVD,original date in 1984.
$7 ea.

Not so much a low budget production as more of a dated one. I'm sure this was high production for the time. Still definatly watchable.

D1
Ep1 All in the Family: Apalachin, informers, violence of mobsters, Angelo Bruno/ Philly, general info.

Ep2 Making of the Mob: Prohibition, Graft, Kennedy/Giancana. The episode focuses mainly on Chicago history.

Ep3 Racket Busters: FBI/Hoover, Bureau of Narcotics/Anslinger, Cleveland/Licavoli.

Ep4 The Birthright of Gangsters: Focuses on gambling, Vegas, Atlantic City, Policy, Sinatra casino licensing hearings.

D2
Ep5 The Mob at Work:Focuses on unions, Teamsters, ILA.

Ep6 Make it Legitimate: Mob getting into legit businness, Colombo and the IA Civil Rights League.

Ep7: The Old Mob and the New: Focuses on the drug trade. Most of this episode focuses on others than the mob but ties in their connection towards the end.

I like this set even though it is pretty dated.Lots of interviews, newsclips, unusual footage not seen in other docs. For the $$ it's definatly worth watching.Should be one 2 disc set instead of having to buy seperatly.

Some notables interviewed: Jimmy Fratianno, Hank Greenspun, Judith Exner, Joey Cantalupo, Gerry DeNono.

Mafia Empire
MPI Media Group
1 DVD, 3 Episodes, 50 mins. ea, 2 1/2 hrs. running time
Released in 2006
$15

Higher production quality.

Ep1:Vow of Silence - General info,FBI/Hoover,Italy/Mussolini, Lucky/Navy deal,Palermo Conference,Apalachin,Gambinos.

Ep2:Breaking the Vow - FBI/Commision Case and Pizza Connection.

Ep3:Vendetta - Gotti,Gigante,Falcone,Salvatore Reina, Buscetta.

A touch of cheese in this but overall a pretty good watch.

Some notables interviewed: Joe Dogs,Thommasso Buscetta,Ralph Salerno,Selwyn Raab,Joe Coffey,Alex Stille,Jerry Capeci,Bruce Cutler,Dom Montiglio,Bruce Mouw.