The Sicilian

This is a very well made movie, especially as it concerns scenery and camera angles. However, the tempo of the movie is a little slow and after the initial fifteen minutes or so its seems to emphasize a lot on character development rather then unraveling a plot quickly to keep you interested. This movie gave me the impression that it was intended for a more subdued audience. Eventually it picks up here and there with some violent retribution from those that have betrayed Giuliano.

I can't emphasis enough about the scenery since that seemed to compensate for the poor dialogue a lot of the time. John Turturro was great in this movie as well as Chris Lambert. The character of Don Masino carried this movie as your classic stolid and shrewed mafia boss and Giuliano, whom Masino admires, poses a threat to his power.

The European-release version of "The Sicilian" is 31 minutes longer than the US version. Supposedly, the director was ordered to deliver a version under 2 hours, so he recut the film to render it incoherent with the expectation that Fox would have to release the complete film. Only, they went ahead and released the deliberately botched shorter cut. This may be apocryphal, but it would help explain the critical drubbing it got in this country. I was lucky enough to see the complete film in Paris and was mesmerized. Gore Vidal was denied credit for the screenplay, but the film has a literacy, intellectual depth and acidity that is pure Vidal; the character played by Terrance Stamp is essentially Vidal's stand-in. The only comparable film might be "The Godfather," but with an even stronger historic/political context. It is certainly the highpoint of Michael Cimino's career to date, and I'm one of those odd ducks that fervently admires "Heaven's Gate". If you can see this in Europe, or if it comes out over there on DVD and you have a region-appropriate DVD player, grab the opportunity to see it.

Cimino has created an epic, this is a very ambitious film, which unfortunately went exactly nowhere. Christopher Lambert plays Giuliano, a Sicilian bandit/revolutionary in post WW2 Sicily. Cimino effectively balances all of the powers that be --the church, the mafia, the nobility-- and presents a complex picture of the forces that were at work. Giuliano was a peasant hero, a kind of Robin Hood, whose heart was right but whose head lacked the smarts or the wisdom and ended up being destroyed. Watching this film, I thought of Visconti's The Leopard, it has the sweep of that earlier film, starring Burt Lancaster. Cimino has been in disfavor since Heaven's Gate, but with the Sicilian, he proves that he knows how to direct a film, even if no one ever sees it. BTW, this is one of the few films produced by the late David Begelman, who unfortunately blew his brains out, since he was in over his head legally and financially in 1995. Rent the Sicilian, it is on DVD.

This film is not as bad as many say. It is somewhat melodramatic at times, but not too often. I really enjoy watching it and recommend it. The main problems with the movie are, the music and acting. The opening song in the film is great and it leads you to believe the film will be a near masterpiece. But there is this one song that is used during some romantic moments, and it just plain sucks. It kills any effect the film had. Then there is the acting. Lambert is one of the worst actors i have ever seen. Simple. However, this movie is probably his best work. The violence in the film is intense which keeps your attention and the cinematography is rather beautiful (One of Cimino's greatest abilities) So, if you can find a copy, watch it.

I read the novel by Mario Puzo quite a few years ago, but do not remember a thing about it, unlike most other Puzo works that I have consumed. So, maybe the source material was a bit lacking. If I remember correctly, Michael Cimino had already destroyed one studio, and well, I don't know how much was invested in this one, but I hope not too much. Cimino was obviously shooting for the sweeping epic, but ended up hitting soap opera level melodrama. The high points were the scenery, the cinematography, and the score. The low points were the plot and the acting. Christopher Lambert badly needed a charisma injection before trying to play this part. Joss Ackland was adequate as the mafia don, and Terence Stamp as the enigmatic prince, but the rest of the cast, ick. Cannot recommend this one.