Italy and the mafia were at war in the early 1990s, as rival families fought for control of Sicily's streets, until a determined young prosecutor steps in to fight for the innocents caught up in the carnage
The true story of Italian prosecutor and ‘Mafia hunter’ Alfonso Sabella is dramatised in Sicilian crime thriller Il Cacciatore (The Hunter). Executive producers Michele Zatta and Ferdinand Dohna reveal the story behind the series.
It’s a story that has all the hallmarks of a classic Mafia drama. Rival families fight for control of the streets of Sicily until an ambitious young prosecutor proves he is willing to stand up for the many innocents caught up in decades of bloodshed.
Yet the premise of Il Cacciatore (The Hunter) is one entirely based on fact. Based on prosecutor Alfonso Sabella’s book Cacciatore di Mafiosi, it charts the author’s real-life war against the Mafia bosses and the period known as “hunting season” that led to more than 300 arrests.
Set in Palermo in 1993, the war between two Mafia clans is spiralling out of control when Saverio Barone, a young prosecutor played by Francesco Montanari (Romanzo Criminale), uses his distinct skills and a succession of brilliant hunches, spectacular raids and front-page arrests to return law and order to the city.
The 12-part series is produced by Cross Productions and distributor Beta Film in partnership with Rai Fiction, which airs the series on Rai Due. It has its international premiere as part of CanneSeries this week.
With Italian drama TV enjoying its own golden moment, new free- and pay-TV deals have been struck for two popular series from pubcaster RAI. “Rocco Schiavone,” which has already been bought by Starz in the U.S., and “The Hunter,” which was in competition at Canneseries, have sold in a raft of territories.
Based on the bestselling novels by Antonio Manzini, “Rocco Schiavone” follows the irascible deputy police chief of the title after he is posted to a remote Alpine region. Season 2 of the show launched recently on RAI 2.
Fox has snagged the pay-TV rights to the series in Germany, and pubcaster ARD has picked up the free-TV rights. AMC has the show for its networks in Latin America and ORF for free-TV in Austria. Deals in a total of 75 territories were sealed by Beta Film, which is handling distribution for both “Rocco Schiavone” and “The Hunter.”
International Deals for Buzzy Italian Dramas ‘The Hunter,’ ‘Rocco Schiavone’ (EXCLUSIVE)
A Look Back At 'The Valachi Papers': Fifty Years In The Shadow Of 'The Godfather'
Matt Davey at Cinemaretro.com takes a look back at the 1972 film The Valachi Papers.
As Davey notes, the organized crime film was overshadowed by The Godfather. Ironically, Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather was no doubt influenced by Peter Maas’ terrific true crime book, The Valachi Papers.
In Peter Maas' book, as in Valachi's congressional hearing, the veteran Cosa Nostra soldier (seen in the below photo) divulged the history of Cosa Nostra as well as many of the secrets, ways and expressions used by real mob guys.
Matt Davey writes:
Released in 1972, The Valachi Papers depicts the rise and fall of Mafia informant Joseph Valachi, who became the first member of the Mafia (otherwise known as Cosa Nostra) to acknowledge its existence in public. Directed by Terence Young (Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Thunderball) and produced by legendary Italian film producer Dino De Laurentiis The Valachi Papers stars Charles Bronson in the lead role, alongside his real-life wife Jill Ireland as well as Lino Ventura, Walter Chiari and Joseph Wiseman.
The film covers five decades of Valachi’s involvement in organised crime – from his burglaries with the Minutemen to working under mob boss Vito Genovese from the 1930s – as the film unceremoniously portrays life in the criminal underworld.
Told from the perspective of Valachi, the film begins with the ageing gangster in prison fearing for his life after a contract for his killing is ordered by Don Vito Genovese (Lino Ventura), who suspects him of betraying the Family. Determined not to be silenced behind bars and avoid an inside hit, Valachi co-operates with the U.S. Justice Department – unveiling the secrets of life in the Mafia as the film follows Bronson’s on-screen Joe Valachi through voice-over and flashback sequences.
The film is based on the biographical book of the same name, written by Peter Maas in 1968. Nearly five decades after the movie’s release, it’s difficult to truly comprehend the anticipation surrounding a Hollywood picture based on Joseph Valachi’s tell-all testimony to the FBI that was televised across the United States in 1963. Never before had the public, or indeed the FBI, really been aware of the true extent to which organised crime functioned in America. Valachi - who had been a former Mafia ‘soldier’ in the Genovese crime family – disclosed that the Mafia was called ‘Cosa Nostra’ in Italian – translating as “this thing of ours” in English. Valachi’s public testimony divulged the structure of the Mafia, from its hierarchy to the Five Families in New York City.
This incredible true story was always going to have golden Hollywood potential when being made into a motion picture, but there would be two competing Mafia movies in 1972. One became widely regarded as one of the best films ever made and the other would disappear from popular culture.
Perhaps, The Valachi Papers is worthy of a reappraisal in the modern era.
You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:
"THE VALACHI PAPERS"- FIFTY YEARS IN THE SHADOW OF "THE GODFATHER" - Cinema Retro
Paul Davis On Crime: My Piece On Cosa Nostra: The Threat Of Organized Crime In America
A pandemic hasn’t stopped many of the planet’s wealthiest dynasties from adding to their fortunes
For those curious about SoHan Sun’ tweets, they translate as follows-
‘Moscow was quick to react to the US message. A few hours ago Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers flew over Arctic airspace, visiting Greenland and Norway, which have the largest number of US strategic bombers.
The reason for the visit was to hit the largest NATO bases, and the video itself was released by the Russian military. The video footage shows the flight of Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers over the North Atlantic Ocean.
Today, the North Atlantic Alliance is trying to intensify the confrontation with Russia, including in the northern regions, by not only making provocative statements, but also by deploying its fighters and bombers near the Russian borders.’
Putting that through my own personal semantic analyzer, the Russians are saying ‘We see your border incursions and raise you a flight of Tu-160s!’