The Mob - The Godfather of Manhattan
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The Mob - The Godfather of Manhattan |
| Original title | Witness to the Mob |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1998 |
| length | 162 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Thaddeus O'Sullivan |
| script | Stanley Weiser |
| production | Caroline Baron |
| music | Stephen Endelman , Sonny Kompanek |
| camera | Frank Prinzi |
| cut | David Ray |
| occupation | |
| |
The Mob (Original title: Witness to the Mob ) is an American television film that was first shown in the United States on May 10, 1998. The film deals with the mafia career of the gangster Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano , who rose to the underboss in the Gambino family and whose statements brought down the gangster John Gotti .
action
Rise as a mafioso
At the beginning of the film you see Sammy Gravano sitting in jail, he says that he constantly expects to be murdered. Then the film begins to describe the rise of the Mafioso. Growing up in Bensonhurst , Brooklyn , the Italian American Gravano has one goal: to stop committing small crimes, but to become a full member of the Mafia. He tries to get close to the Gambino boss Paul Castellano and commits his first contract killing. He quickly acquired a "good reputation" and found happiness in his private life too. He marries his girlfriend and is accepted into the family as a full member. Castellano reminds him of his duties and punishments at the admission ceremony. Drug deals are expressly prohibited. His first act is the brutal takeover of a bar.
Soon he makes the acquaintance of the Capo John Gotti , who begins to incite him against the Boss Castellano. Castellano would sit in his “White House” and would no longer have a clue about the shops on the street.
Then the film describes the rise of Gravano in short excerpts. Money is flowing in streams, protection rackets, usurious credit business, and infiltration of the unions are on the agenda. Soon he can afford a villa and other luxuries. The boss is satisfied with the good earner Gravano.
Gravano is charged with the murder of a mafia member: the "Commission" wishes him dead. Gravano talks to the victim and leads him into the forest to be shot by his friend. On the way back to the car he says that he was impressed with the serenity of the murdered man.
Castellano is enthusiastic about Gravano's work and gives him more influence. Gravano also learns that Castellano wants to take action against drug traffickers within the family and secretly discusses this with Gotti. Garvano's brother-in-law Nicky worries him because he messes with full members of the Mafia and sells drugs. Castellano calls on Gravano's friend Louie Milito to eliminate Nicky, which leads to a conflict of conscience. He tells Gravano about the job, and he reluctantly carries it out: he shoots his brother-in-law in the back of the head. At the subsequent celebration, the grieving sister of the murdered man - Gravano's wife - is comforted by the hypocritical murderers. She asks Gravano to find her husband's murderer. When he threatens a debtor, he gives him his house.
Conflicts in the Mafia
In 1985 Gravano confronts his partner that he had cheated on him and threatens him with death. For this he is summoned to a tribunal of the Gambino family. Gotti strongly advises him to lie in front of the tribunal. Gravano, however, presents his request with steadfastness. That secures his life for him, but Castellano warns him that if he breaks the rules again, he will have to "go". Gravano later wonders where the principles of honor, loyalty, and brotherhood have gone.
As the year progressed, the Gambino family came under further pressure. Two members talked about mafia business on the phone and the FBI, which was tapping the phone calls, gathered material for a lawsuit.
At the end of 1985, underboss Dellacroce was dying. Castellano gets stressed and threatens Gotti. Gotti and Gravano are very angry with the boss. Castellano senses that there is a threat and thinks that Gravano could turn against him. So he decides to smash Gotti's crew. The FBI also wiretapped conversations in Castellano's house and arrested him for violating RICO law . Gravano and Frank DeCicco think about getting the boss out of the way, although it's not an easy undertaking. But when John Gotti asks whose side he is on, he decides to kill Castellano. The tension is palpable in the next few days and Gravano's marriage is also suffering as a result. The conspirators, including DeCicco, lure Castellano into a trap.
On December 16, 1985, Castellano, who was released on bail, was murdered in front of the Sparks Steak House. Gravano and Gotti sit in the car and watch what is happening at close range. After the murder, it is not certain how the other families will react, since the murder violates the Mafia rules. The 21 capos of the Gambino family meet and unanimously elect John Gotti as the new boss.
In the following years, Gotti was charged several times and each time acquitted. He develops into a media star who is asked for autographs on the street. While Gotti enjoys the limelight, Gravano views this development with great concern. He warns his boss that the Cosa Nostra is a secret affair and must behave inconspicuously, but Gotti doesn't want to hear about it. Due to power-political considerations, Gravano has to murder his old friends and companions one after the other, from which he suffers.
Gotti is annoyed that some of the union bosses only want to speak to Sammy Gravano and approaches Gravano about it. This assures him that he is the boss. Gravano begins to hold grudges against Gotti. Gotti begins to gossip about Gravano in the presence of other members of the family, which the FBI can record. In the near future, numerous Gambino members will continue to be murdered on Gotti's orders. The FBI records a conversation discussing the murder of a member. It believes it has gathered enough evidence.
Gravano's wife suffers from being a Mafia bride. Every morning, when Gravano leaves the house, she is afraid he might not come back. Gravano tells her that this is "the mafia life and that the mafia comes before everything else". When his wife wants a divorce, he doesn't accept it.
Condemnation
A short time later, the FBI appears and arrests the head of the family, John, Frank and Sammy. While Gotti doesn't take the arrest seriously, Sammy realizes he could spend the rest of his life in custody.
In addition to violations of the RICO Act, the indictment also includes the murders of Paul Castellano, Thomas Bilotti , Robert diBernardo, Louie deBono and Louis Milito. The defenders Gottis and Garvanos are disqualified, so that both have to look for new lawyers. In custody , Gotti tries to downplay the problem to Gravano.
When recordings are played to Gotti during the trial, both of them slowly die of laughter: Gotti gossips about Gravano and he admits to having commissioned murders. When Garvano and Gotti then meet in the cell, Gravano informs him that he is deeply hurt and disappointed. Above all, he was shocked that Gotti had ordered the murder of DiBernardo, because he was put on the death list for character assassination. Gotti admits this mistake, but doesn't understand Gravano's excitement.
Gravano realizes they would be convicted. He decides to work with the authorities and testify against Gotti. It is not easy for him because his “value system” regards betrayal of the family as something very despicable, but ultimately the fear of life imprisonment is stronger. Sammy makes a full confession and confesses to 19 murders, 11 of which he committed on behalf of Gotti. Defense attorney Gottis tries to convince the jury that he is a notorious liar. This strategy is useless: Gotti is found guilty of multiple murders and has to spend the rest of his life in the maximum security prison in Marion, Illinois.
Gotti devotees riot in and outside the courtroom. Garvano is given the opportunity to speak to his wife. She is appalled that Sammy murdered her brother. She doesn't want anything to do with him anymore, which hurts him very much.
Gravano's statements lead to the conviction of a number of others. He accepts his reduced sentence of 5 years and realizes that the entire Cosa Nostra has nothing to do with “values”, but is based on permanent betrayal. After his release, Gravano goes into hiding and lives on in one of the desert regions of the USA.
He takes stock and is of the opinion that Gotti's megalomania brought him down. After leaving the witness protection program, Sammy is interviewed. He says that he believes he will one day be murdered and that he will enjoy life until then. In the credits, we learn that Gotti spends 23 hours a day in solitary confinement, Gravano was sued by family members of his murder victims, Sammy lives in an unknown location and is defending himself against the charges.
background
The film is based on the book Underboss , which Peter Maas wrote in collaboration with Gravano. As in the film The Downfall of the Cosa Nostra , a number of later Sopranos actors play again .
criticism
“An extra-long television production that describes 19 years with the Mafia and illustrates the well-known keywords of respect, loyalty, obedience and honor. The true "story told in retrospect by the main participant is largely free of surprises and leaves the impression of a second infusion."
literature
- Maas, Peter: Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's story of life in the Mafia . HarperCollins Publishing Company, New York 1997, ISBN 9780061096648 (German translation by Harald Riemann: Underboss: I was the second man; the life story of Mafia boss Sammy "The Bull" Gravano . Scherz, Munich / Vienna / Bern 1998, ISBN 3- 502-18430-5 )
Web links
- The Mob - The Godfather of Manhattan in the Internet Movie Database (English)