Sorry, this movie sucks

Just what I expected

Good start, but then it gets ruined

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Great gangster film, which I believe owns partly its success to the fact that it's adapted from a book inspired itself by a real 70s-80s gang (Banda della Magliana). The ambiance of the late 70s - early 80s is well reproduced, especially thanks to the choices made for the original soundtrack. The unorthodox relations between the gangsters and the police are here. As are the relations, not more orthodox, between the gangsters and the political world (the official as the extremist). The whole thing depicts finely how this decade was shady. It is also an interesting picture of three young men with such a desire of freedom and independence and such a feeling of impunity that they are just precipitating their death. Especially forgetting to use an intelligence they however have. They much make me think to Mesrine: same rage, same cleverness, same violence, same dark period and same use of so called political ideals to give free rein to their violence.

This movie is missing so many things .... but I can't help but call it an excellent movie anyway.It shows the rise of a criminal organization and the effects on it's principal members.It's an odd movie where you swing from mild interest to captivating stories. As with any violent rise to power there is a multitude of potential pitfalls, the story goes through many of them, some in detail and some glazed over. It just increases the realism and draws you closer to the characters situations.The acting was superb throughout with one or two exceptions. It's very refreshing to watch a cast tell a story rather than trying to steal the camera's focus with every facial expression.That said, it is missing so many things, primarily originality. Too many of it's sub-stories (examples are in the other comments, love connection, lust for money, mafia connection, politics) have been done before and added little-to-nothing that made you think differently than the first time you saw the situation. Despite this, my interest in the movie grew with every passing scene and by it's end I loved it. I still can't fully figure out why. So I'm going to watch it again. I'd recommend this movie to everyone and especially for fans of criminal stories.

You might have noticed it, but if not, be advised that this movie is over 2 and half hours long. You have to cope with that, if you want to watch this movie. But it is worth the time you spend and it also needs the time! Because this is a movie that tells a story that goes over three decades. And who better to direct a (european point of view) mafia story than Michelle Placido? Known for his role in "La Piovra" (especially in Germany under the title "Allein gegen die Mafia", which would translate into "Alone against the mafia"), he now is behind the camera for this one! Since you know about the running time, you know what genre this is, the only thing left to say is ... if you decide to watch this, you have to watch it carefully to get everything.

I watched the film on DVD, which I bought in Italy with English subtitle. I wish I could have seen it on the London Film Festival yet I missed out on a cinema experience. As opposed to many others who commented on this movie I have to say that this must be amongst my all time favourites. I haven't read the book yet I think that this movie comprehends excellent characters with their human feelings, a great story and brilliant framing throughout. Yes, it might not be historically accurate but I don't think it is supposed to be since there are some black areas even in the history book itself regarding the historical background of the movie. The soundtrack works brilliantly with the story and is emotionally effective. The dialogues seem real life like ones, bringing the movie a step closer to the audience. Its length is, I believe, appropriate for the message it has to tell. It's a great experience to watch and I can only suggest anyone to watch it!