La Mafia 7 - Enquête sur la mort du commissaire Cattani

When magistrate silvia conti returns to sicily to solve the murder of pentito Rosario granchio she has no idea of the local war going on between boss Nuzzo and a streetgang,meanwhille Savario Bronta Nuzzo's old friend also returns to sicily to take part in a great illegal operation.

this 7th part brings us back to the first two series as we go back to the town it all has began. Patricia Millardet is still excellent as Silvia Conti and except her and Florinda bolkan as Olga Camastra who we now from part 1 and 2 we all see new faces, only one person is missing Remo girone as Tano Carridi doesn't take part of this series for some this might be a disapointment. But despite his absence this is a great miniseries that is very different from the other parts, it shows more attention to how civiliens must deal with the maffia than the Maffia/Bussines/Politic connection

if you like good crime/maffia film this is one to check out

I consider "La Piovra" as a movie (despite of being it TV-series) equal to such masterpieces as "Godfather" by Copolla or "Once Upon A Time in America" by Leone. It seems that only italians may create really impressive and realistic movies about mafia. There must be something in the blood ;-)

If you are looking for the intelligent script, impressive pace and atmosphere, real characters from the blood and flesh, perfect acting - you will like "La Piovra". There is not much action but there is a lot of life. And death.

Since the best film about mafia theme has always been Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece trilogy THE GODFATHER, a lot of people skip this one. LA PIOVRA, appearing also under the English title of THE OCTOPUS, deals with Comissario Corrado Cattani's attempts against mafia in its heart land, the island of Sicily. Moreover, it develops Cattani's private life in a very interesting way: it focuses on how he and his family have to cope with suffering due to the very specific job he does against the mob. I remember seeing the mini series as a young boy and although I have not seen this since then, a lot remained in my memory. The reason is simple: the mini series stands out as one of the best and most unforgettable action films.

The most outstanding actor among the cast is, in my opinion, Michele Placido. He does a great job in the main role as Cattani, a man who copes with huge difficulties in the exceptionally cruel reality. Although he sacrifices everything, his struggles seem endless... Whenever I see him in any film, he always reminds me of this role. Other cast include not very famous people whose performances I cannot evaluate easily since I saw the film a long time ago.

Besides, throughout the series, there is a thrilling sense of suspicion. In this way, a viewer gets involved in the action. Sometimes, I felt the events so intensely that I could not wait for the following episode. All that happens looks very realistic and watching it meant for me feeling it. This is all intensified by the wonderful music by Ennio Morricone and Riz Ortolani, the best Italian film musicians.

Finally, the beautiful landscape of Sicily that can be found in a number of moments provides a viewer with authenticity of the story. Filmed in Trapani on the western coast of the island near Palermo, the movie is a great experience. When I was in Sicily a few years ago and walked in the narrow streets of its cities, the mini series was unintentionally in my mind's eyes.

Since I have seen this mini series many years ago, I cannot discuss cinematography or some details like the single performances or memorable moments. Yet, I felt compelled to entail my opinion on LA PIOVRA because it has its place in my dearest memories from my early teenage years. Generally speaking it is one of the best action films I have seen. Pity they don't show this on TV anymore. I'd really enjoy seeing it after all these years.

First of all, this series has the best music ever seen in film. Ennio Morricone in my mind has the stature of a Beethoven or Bach or Wagner.. really he's that good, and his music will last that long.

Now that this is out of the way .. to have a series that lives up to Ennio's music is really a miracle.

If you think about it, TV has always been a "second hand" medium when it comes to quality. Well, as TV series go .. this doesn't feel like a TV series.

Even if it's long, and the whole series has two or three arcs over 7 seasons, it's not diluted at all. It's focused from beginning to end so you only grow more attached to the characters, you invest more and more emotion in it. It's like the best tragic movie you can think of, tweaked at 75% intensity, but with incredible peaks of emotion, and keyed to the most beautiful music on earth.

Think about the countless hours you've spent watching garbage in front of the TV, and try to get this series and watch it, as revenge. :)

I can't see anything better being made on TV.

10 hours seems to be a long run but after 5 minutes you immideately get sucked into a story about justice,loyalty,blackmail,romance,betrayel and murder it's fast moving all the way. Everything is just excellent from production values to the music and most important the great acting especially from Michele Placido as Cattani Patricia Millardet as Judge conti, Simona cavalari as esther but the finest of all is Remo Girone as Tano Carridi his performance is absolutely over the top the character Tano is one of the most fascinating evil persons i have ever seen

a little bit about the story cattini has arrested a man who has killed the owner of a casino but the suspect refuus to speak to the police during the investigation he get's help from a female Judge sivia conti meanwhile the maffia has given Tano the manager of a great bank a whole lot of money to invest for them together with a corrupt senator and and an allknowing man called Espinosa he is going to make big plans and everybody who's crossing there way get's doomed or death

you don't have to see the first 3 part the understand the movie and even if you know how it's gonna end it's still worth another view!