The Sicilian Clan

Another strong thriller by a man who ,although despised by the French "intellectual" critics ,made movies which still hold up very well today ;people are happy to watch for the umpteenth time "La Vache Et Le Prisonnier" "Melodie En Sous -Sol " or this "Clan Des Siciliens " Henri Verneuil was perhaps the only French director of the sixties to come near to the American know-how.His three stars ,Jean Gabin,Alain Delon and Lino Ventura have enough charisma to grab today's audience.Add a solid screenplay ,with never a dull moment,great scenes (particularly the sequences on the plane),a sense of humor (the brat's gaffe ,revealing auntie is having an affair with Delon)and Ennio Morricone 's brilliant score and you have a very entertaining flick ,which you 'll watch again in ten years with the same pleasure.

Traditionally speaking, the influential and groundbreaking classics come from the States, while the raw and exploitative imitations come from Europe (more particularly Italy), but this time it's sort of vice versa. A number of years before there was Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" – or any other major gangster/mafia film, for that matter – there was Henri Verneuil's "The Sicilian Clan". This is the saga of a criminal Italian family in Paris; covering up their clandestine affairs through running a business of electronic bar games. Following a very ingenious but dared and risky escape plan, the family recruits the over-ambitious gangster/convicted cop killer Roger Sartet; even though patriarch Vittorio Manalese is reluctant to trust him and in spite of tough copper Le Goff obsessively hunting him down. Sartet suggests a jewelry theft worth more than 500 million dollars, but the security precautions are insurmountable. Together with an old friend, Vittorio invents a magnificently infallible plan to raid the jewels during their transportation by plane between the exhibition in Rome and another one in New York. Everything goes according to plan, apart from a couple of obstructions, but then Sartet breaks the code of honor by messing around with Vittorio's daughter-in-law. "The Sicilian Clan" literally nearly burst from all the talent that is involved; in the cast with some of the greatest names of French cinema (Alain Delon, Jean Gabin and Lino Venturo) but also in the crew with the fantastic cinematography of Henri Decaë and the immortal soundtrack of Ennio Morricone. But the one thing that probably deserves the most praise and respect is the impeccable scenario, with all its small but intelligent and creative details. It took no less than three gifted writers (including the director) to adapt Auguste Le Breton's landmark novel, but the result is worth showing off with. Sartet's escape from the prison transport is a highlight and the whole plan for the jewelry heist is astoundingly wise. The suspense is present from the beginning but gradually also builds up further along the film. Verneuil terrifically plays out the cat and mouse game between Sartet and Le Goff and, by extension, the entire Manalese family. The story is full of headstrong and robust characters, active on both sides of the law, and the film undoubtedly owes a great deal of its success to the stellar acting performances. During the seventies, and more specifically after the releases of "The Godfather" and films like "Dirty Harry", the police/crime thriller genre boomed in Europe and literally hundreds of excessively violent mafia thrillers got unleashed upon the market. "The Sicilian Clan" relies more on story and atmosphere instead of on wild action, but the film nevertheless remains an important pioneer.

the music. and the acting. as inspired meet. a film who remains, after almost a half of century, more than seductive. for Ventura, Gabin and Delon, sure. but, more important, for the clear/precise definition of the rules of a genre. because it is a classic. like a diamond, each line is clear and impeccable. the family spirit , the work of stubborn policeman, the charming and vulnerable - in a specific way - criminal, the " Pater familias" who knows and proposes the rules and has the solutions. short, a film who I saw in many occasion. like the first time. because not only the story is fascinating but its many details who refresh memories and gives new clues. so , a great film.

This French jewel heist is always entertaining due to crisp direction by Henri Verneuil and a script that never takes the usual path. It's great seeing Jean Gabin play the sophisticated patriarch of a Sicilian crime family that plots to hijack an airliner with $50 million in jewels. Alain Delon is his usual moody, wild-man self as the cold-blooded killer who is being sought by the French police and is a constant threat to the upcoming heist. Lino Ventura is a standout as the droll police inspector who's trying to quit smoking while chasing Delon. Great 60's period score by Ennio Morricone. It's not available on DVD, but Fox Movie Channel plays it occasionally. Much more fun than "Le Cercle Rouge" which was recently released on DVD to much fanfare.

I first saw "The Sicilian Clan" at the Mayfair theater in Fresh Meadows, in 1970. A Woody Allen movie was the main feature then, but I went to see "The Sicilian Clan," a great crime movie then and now. The Mayfair, then operated by the Weinstein brothers of Miramax fame, changed in 1974 from showing foreign and off-beat movies to X-rated movies, movies hard-core enough to get the new theater operator sent once to Rikers Island by the Queens DA. The Queens DA at the time, John Santucci, never bothered the wise guys portrayed in "Goodfellas," but then, Santucci never went to jail like his predecessor, former DA Thomas Mackell. In the glossy world of "The Sicilian Clan," the criminals are professionals who make money the old-fashioned way - they plan robberies. The picture starts with members of the Manalese family, arranging for the escape from custody of career criminal Roger Sartet (Alain Delon). Sartet is in big trouble, having killed two policeman during his capture, according to a comment later made by Lino Ventura's character, a tough cop. The escape from the police van is suspenseful, as is most of this movie. "The Sicilian Clan's" plot has the thieves take a hijacked jet to New York. Instead of landing at an airport in Queens, though, the jet lands on an unfinished highway. To show the attention to detail director Henri Verneuil took, as the jet rolls over a bridge, you briefly see dirt from the bridge supports fall down, from the weight of the landing jet. About eight years after I saw this movie, Queens mobsters using inside information robbed the high security vault of Lufthansa airlines at JFK Airport. That robbery and its aftermath are part of the plot of "Goodfellas." In "The Sicilian Clan" Sartet's character has inside information on the burglar alarm installation at the Villa Borghese, where a big jewelry exhibit is taking place. He uses this information to get Jean Gabin's character, the head of the family, involved in the robbery. Thinking it over, Queens in the 1970s was the most appropriate place to see a crime movie like "The Sicilian Clan." A French crime movie that in part imitated what was happening in Queens.