Customer Reviews

Bonanno: Godfather's Story [VHS]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I saw this movie on Showtime in FULL. It was great and a person could follow the story. This video version was put out by Artisan and the editing is HORRIBLE! From the 4 hours I saw on Showtime it was cut down to 2 hours on this video. It skipped back and forth in time that I forgot what I was watching. Some of the best scenes were cut out. How could they do this! I am very upset. This is not the same movie I saw on Showtime, they totally destroyed it!

I saw the movie when it originally aired on showtime. I recorded the movie then and was excited when it was released for sale. When I watched the store released movie I noticed that the running minutes is two hours and twenty minutes. THATS WRONG! The originally aired "Bonanno: A Godfather's Story" was almost or exactly five hours long. They cut out two and a half hours of important moments of Joseph Bononno's life. I feel cheated and disappointed that someone allowed this to happen to someones biography. I like mafia movies and I thought this was a good one.

and Joe Kennedy's creation of the family fortune thru bootlegging and stock swindling is no longer even disputed. Even members of the Kennedy family no longer dispute that the family fortune is based on crime--specifically drug smuggling.

And, Joe Kennedy himself later admitted, as frist chairman of the SEC, he outlawed many of the (stock swindling) tactics he'd used to get rich at small investor's expense.

We also know that the only reason Jack Kennedy won the crucial W. VA primary in '60 was because of Sam Giancana's help in rigging the primary.

These facts are not any longer in dispute--nor are the stories about dead people voting in Chicago in their thousands.

This movie exaggerated Bonnano's role at the expense of the true "capo di capi", Sam Giancana. He is the character upon Michael Coreleone's of "The Godfather" series is based upon. He was the one who ordered Kennedy's hit.

He was also found with five .22 caliber bullets in his back--of the same type frequently used by CIA, ah, shall we call them button men?

The movie is long and dull and not very interesting; the Liberals farcical denials of historical fact are more interesting.

The real story of the Mafia and how they bought the Presidency (as his tangenitally detailed in the "Rat Pack" with Ray Liotta and Don Cheadle a few years back) is far more interesting than this run of the mill TV mini-series. Even the talents of Landau, Olmos, et al can't save this from the worst of all fates for art: mediocrity.

The original on Showtime was great, this one sucks, they edited out over 2 hours, very disappointing. Maybe they will release the full movie and add some "volumes", tapes are not that expensive!

For those of you who don't know and feel cheated with how short (2 hrs) this was compared to the original don't be, They split the movies in two the first being The Youngest Godfather then this being the second part. I fully recomend this movie to anyone interested in the mafia but remember you need the first one to understand his rise in the ranks. 1

In some ways, I am grateful that Bonanno was cut down to just over two hours for the video release. But then again, I do miss the long, five-hour version that originally aired on Showtime.

The movie itself is fine, considering how long it once was and the subject matter, as well as the slow pace. However, there are some things that are left to be desired, like the two and a half hours that were cut out for the video release. I hope that if it's released to DVD, that it will contain the extra footage.

As a movie this wasn't bad (except for the worst performance I've ever seen by Martin Landau). Never having seen the original I can't comment on how it differs from the longer version, but the editing was ok & the story flowed & made sense.
What was disturbing was the self-serving narrative taken from Bonanno's writing, that portrays him as a sensitive, honorable, decent, patriotic, religious & family man, whose was basically a businessman running the family business. There is nowhere any willingness to fess up to what he really was: a thug.
The movie did give interesting insights into the real-life of the mafia.

this movie is fantastic. it tells the full story of the BONANNO crime family in NY through the eyes of Joe Bonanno, the boss of the family.
it also answers a lot of unanswered questions about the JFK murder. guess who was involved?????

I noticed that the average review was less than 2 stars. That I can not understand. If you want the best true life godfather movie than this is it. Not GOTTI. Bonanno tells mafia history as well as american history better than anyone so far. He probably did not tell the whole truth because he did not want to make him self look bad but who does. Great movie anyway.

This Joe Bannano bio is a waste of a movie. First of all, it is highly unbleivable. Yes, I understand that the Mafia legend is one of sophisticated influence over many historic 20th centurary events, and while there may be some level of truth to these assertions, little has been proven to the level this movie would have you believe. In addition, it is boring as a movie in and of itself. I only found out through other reviews that the original version was 4 hours long. Perhaps, that would have made for a more coherent and enjoyable picture, however as is, I would not recomend a purcahse of this video.

pickledjoe