Throughout this course we have reviewed many films and analyzed them very thoroughly. Many films observed in this class have had significant historical context. Many movies I have analyzed related to a life in the mafia or a life of crime. They express the moral dilemma that is presented when people have the choice of joining a life of crime or being an honest working man. Some of the films reviewed were A Bronx Tale, Goodfellas, American Gangster, Public Enemy, and Casino.
The first film reviewed was A Bronx Tale and it portrayed the life of a young man who had to make a decision between joining the mafia and living an honest life. It is a masterpiece about the life of a young boy New York City in the middle of the twentieth century. It shows the violence involved with the mafia and portrays the overall affect membership and association can have on a person’s life. The movie uses stories and research of the mafia to develop their characters and give viewers an understanding of their works. This movie views the two different sides of life that result from someone’s upbringing. Many other critics and researchers have evaluated the movie to guarantee the accuracy of the historical context within the film. This is a powerful film that gives viewers an understanding on the life that members of particular groups live.
Many analysts and movie reviewers have revealed their thoughts of A Bronx Tale through their own works and ideas. They looked into the reality and accuracy of the story and the reflections of the mafia within the film. After reading an article on the film, by Samantha Faragelli I discovered that the movie is based as an autobiography on a man named Chazz Palminteri, who is portrayed as Calogero in the film. The author of the article was able to conduct an interview with him which was very helpful in determining which aspects of the film were accurate and which parts were added simply for the enjoyment of the movie. Palminteri explains the truth about the movie and for the most part everything expressed in the film, was an accurate portrayal of what happened early in his life. He was the son of a hard working man but mentored by a leader of the Italian mafia in New York City. At a young age he was always interested in the working man and was able to gain an experience of working on both sides of the law. The article goes on to review the actions of the mafia in this time period in the bronx of New York City and proves to be an accurate depiction of their works. The mafia was an important part of shaping our history as a country and films such as this one help people to gain education on the subject.
This movie is an autobiographical film and is one of the only few to give a legitimate understanding of what was happening to people who were involved in this area and field of work. In another article published in nineteen ninety four the author Sheila Johnston explains the differences between the working man and the mafia. Her article fully considers both sides of work and she interviews other people with similar backgrounds to prove the accuracy of A Bronx Tale. Many other men she talked to had experienced a similar life that Palminteri experienced and had many influences in the mafia. They explained to her that at young ages they were taken advantage of by high ranked associates of the mafia and began to be put to work. They go on to that it was their own personal choice to affiliate themselves with these people but that they had a lack of sense at such a young age. The film studies the working man and all people interviewed admitted they always were taught to respect the working man early on in life, but they felt they could conquer the American dream by joining the mafia. This article uses stories from people who have lived similar life to prove the historical accuracy of the film.
Goodfellas is a film that reflects the actions and ideology of the Italian mafia in the blue collar side of New York. The movie follows the life and growth of a young Italian-American by the name of Henry Hill. He begins to take an interest in the works of the Italian mafia and intends to begin partaking in their actions. He starts at the bottom commiting small crimes and robberies. With his friend Tommy he befriends mafia leaders Paulie Cicero and Jimmy Conway. As Henry and Tommy mature into adults and gain experience they earn trust from more members of the Italian mafia in Brooklyn, New York. After over a decade has passed since Henry and Tommy became involved with the mafia they have moved much higher in the ranks. Henry, Tommy, and Jimmy Conway are involved in a murder of a competing mafia leader in the year that is now 1970. They bury the body but later in the movie are forced to relocate the decomposed remains. Henry and his wife Karen have an eruption within their marriage when she learns of Henry’s mistress. Paul is able to convince Karen to stay with Henry in order to ease tensions within the mafia. Later on and Tommy and Henry assault a man and are put in prison for four years. Upon departure they had made many connections for drugs in Pittsburgh. Paulie Cicero warns Henry not to get involved with drugs but Henry ignores his mentor. He is caught smuggling cocaine and arrested and puts his family in danger. The Italian mafia abandons him to save themselves. Paulie and Jimmy inform his family that if anything was to get back to them that Henry and his family would be eliminated.Fearing for the dangers his family is facing Henry decides to become an FBI informant and joins the witness protection program to save and protect his family. This film clearly shows the mafias effect on families and how they can tear people apart. These films portray the reality that thousands of people faced while the mafia was strong and prospering. The history of the mafia has been crucial to the development of our present day society. New York City especially was a major power of the Italian mafia. They had impacts on just about everyone’s lives in the area whether it be a negative or positive effect.
Another film portraying these relations is American Gangster. This film is about a man named Frank Lucas who was able to control drug relations and incorporate his businesses into places to maximize his profits. He had smuggled heroin into the United States when returning from the vietnam war. When his right hand man dies Lucas takes control over the Harlem crime scene in New York City. Using Vietnam servicemen to smuggle the drugs back into the United States he was able to start distributing the product at an extremely satisfying rate. He began to buy his product directly from its source in Thailand. In doing this Frank Lucas was able to cut out the middle man and create a monopoly in New York City. He was able to sell to drug dealers in wholesale to disperse his product more rapidly and expand at a tremendous rate. As his drug business continues to grow many people take notice in his earnings. Frank Lucas is blackmailed by corrupt New York Police Department officers to share a cut of his profits with them. As he continues to face problems another man by the name of Nicky Barnes enters the drug business. He has been selling Lucas’s drugs under the same brand name. A plane carrying Frank Lucas’s product is intercepted by the law enforcement and a warrant is obtained to search Lucas’s property. He plans to kill Trupo, an officer, but his family talks him out of it. He is arrested and attempts to bribe his way out of prison. He is offered a deal for a shorter sentence as long as he can give information as to which officers were corrupt in his drug business. About seventy five percent od DEA officers are convicted and Lucas is sentenced to 70 years. He serves fifteen years and is released in 1991. This is another phenomonal example of the negative impacts these criminal groups cause to people. There are of course people who benefit from these criminal activities but overall they cause harm to many and destroy relationships and accomplishments.
In the early nineteen seventies a mafia associate named Sam Rothstein is sent to run the Teamster’s casino in Las Vegas which is secretly controlled by the Chicago Outfit. After being sent there Sam who is commonly known as “Ace” was able to double the profits of the casino by taking advantage of weak gaming laws and rules. Mafia boss Remo Gaggi is impressed by his work he sends Sam’s childhood friend Nicky to Vegas as well. He is also a top enforcer for the mob and goes to offer protection for Sam with his younger brother Dominick and another trusted associate named Frank Marino. Nicky’s short temper soon gets him banned from every casino in Las Vegas, so he, Dominick, and Frank begin to partake in their own burglaries and shakedowns. Sam meets a young hustler named Ginger and they fall in love and have a daughter. Their marriage is complicated because of Ginger’s ex boyfriend who is a con artist. Sam, Nicky and their crew beat him up after discovering he had been trying to con Ginger out of money. Sam Rothstein believed that this incident was Nicky’s fault and asked him to leave Las Vegas. Eventually she becomes more and more difficult and Sam divorces her. Ginger kidnaps their daughter with intentions of fleeing to Europe with her former con artist boyfriend. Sam is able to stop her but she is still crazed. She asks Nicky for help breaking in to Sam’s security box and they start to have an affair. Eventually Ginger leads the FBI to the operation and Nicky flees Las Vegas. After Sam refuses to give up any names Ginger dies of an overdose and Sam is almost killed by a car bomb. He suspects it was Nicky, but before he can retaliate Nicky and Dominick are ambushed by Frank and his crew. With the power of the mob at a low the casinos are bought by corporations and Sam retires in San Diego.
Another filmed I studied in class was Public Enemy, this had very good information on the mafia. As the movie begins a determined FBI agent named Melvin Purvis kills a man named Charles Floyd. His boss, J.Edgar Hoover, promotes him to lead the hunt for a bank robber named John Dillinger. Dillinger meets a woman named Billie Frenchette at a restaurants during a series of robberies and begins to take interest in her. They both fall for eachother and Dillinger reveals to her the truth about himself. Purvis has a reason to believe that Dillinger is staying in a hotel so he leads a team to ambush him and an FBI agent is killed. Purvis asks Hoover to bring in more experienced law enforcement officers to help assist the hunt for Dillinger. Eventually Dillinger and members of his crew are arrested in Arizona and sent to a jail in Indiana. They manage to escape the prison using a fake gun but must remain in hiding. Dillinger is not able to see Frenchette and no associates of his are willing to help them out. Dillinger is involved in another bank robbery but is shot in the process. Purvis organizes another ambush and kills many of Dillinger’s associates, while losing his partner in the shootout. Dillinger escapes and tells Frenchette he will participate in one final robbery before they flee together the next morning. The police find Frenchette and interrogate her as to Dillinger’s whereabouts. She does not tell them but Dillinger is set up by someone he trusted and shot by the police the next day before he can draw his gun to defend himself.
I have also viewed many articles on the subject from various sources and different authors. A New York Times article reviewed the actions of the mafia in New York City has many similar relations to these films. They discuss the activities and violence that the mafia was a part of in New York City. All the issues and dilemmas expressed in these films are said to be accurate and completely valid. They explain how children were tricked into joining as they thought they would gain respect from high level members of the mafia. They had positive role models as family members in many cases but were not able to take their advice at all times as they were intimitated by associates of the mafia. At a young age they would partake in pointless violent crimes and were influenced by money. The mafias did many illegal activities in order to gain financial wealth for themselves. This article also explained the downfall of the mafia within New York City and all across America. As the FBI began to investigate more thoroughly they began to find members who were ratting on each other, they were able to infiltrate the mafia. Many high ranked associates of the mafia were arrested and only cared to save themselves. By the nineteen ninety’s many of the highest level associates had been questioned by officers and began to give up other members. Over time they were able to imprison the most ruthless leaders of the mafia.
There are many other sources that talk about the accuracy of these films. Many people who grew up in similar situations and agree that these films show relevance and are extremely depictive and accurate.The Italian mafia was extremely important in the development of our present day society especially in New York City. Many films that we have reviewed explain their significance and how they affected people’s everyday life. After viewing all these movies it is clear that the mafia did not give much of a choice to anyone. Although all the children in the films we watched were influenced and not forced they were too young to understand the difference. There was a path of right or wrong for each character and in every case the mafia seemed to be the wrong path and harmed their lives. Throughout this course I have reviewed many movies and have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge on this topic and the historical context of the matter. The mafia in the mid nineteen hundred was at its strongest and as time progressed to current day it began to weaken. Their downfall ultimately was caused by the persistence of the police force and other government officers who had been chasing them for decades. As a whole the mafia began to lose trust in each other and started turning each other in to recieve less prison time for themselves. They all became selfish and that was the problem that lead to the end of the mafia. Officers had been recording conversations and collecting evidence on the mafia for years and when they had enough they arrested all mafia leaders and put them away in jail for years. Many films i reviewed in class portrayed the same images of the mafia. They are a viscious and inconsiderate group that only cares about making money and exploiting the working man. They take pride in what they do, and have no true morals. Many people were affected by this group of people and not in a good way. Many members of the mafia truly wanted to show younger people what to do to make money but did not show people the right ways to do it. The mafia is a group of people who do not care about anybody else but themselves. The reason it took so long for the New York Police Department and other Federal Bureau of Investigation officers took so long to bring them to the ground was because they’re was many officers who were bribed by members of the mafia. The mafia is now at one of the weakest it has ever been since coming to America in the early nineteen hundreds. They are currently still around but have been very weakened since the takedown of the late nineteen hundreds. The mafia was a very powerful group of people but have since been contained by our law enforcement. During this class I reviewed many films about the mafia and learned a lot about the historical context of the city I live closest to.