Product Details

• Actors: Stefano Accorsi, Kim Rossi Stuart, Anna Mouglalis, Claudio Santamaria, Pierfrancesco Favino
• Directors: Michele Placido
• Format: Color, NTSC, DVD, Widescreen, Subtitled
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Run Time: 153 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00149IN0A
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,734 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

A criminal known as The Libanese has a dream: to conquer the underworld of Rome. To carry out this feat without precedent he puts together a ruthless and highly organized gang. Their progress and changes in leadership (The Lebanese is followed by his cohorts Freddo and Dandy) take place over twenty-five years, from the 1970's into the '90's, and are inseparably intertwined with the dark history of modern Italy: terrorism, kidnappings and corruption at the highest levels of government. Throughout these years Police Lieutenant Scialoia sticks to the gang's trail, trying both to bring them to justice and to win the heart of Dandy's girlfriend Patrizia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Romanzo Criminale, August 5, 2008

By 

Chris "AY" (NORTHAMPTON, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Romanzo criminale / Crime Novel (Original Italian Version - with English Subtitles) (DVD)

Don't be mislead by the tacky cover. Although this begins as a cheaper, poorer quality version of The Godfather, it develops into to a quite sophisticated and controversial take on Italian crime and politics. A previous (UK) reviewer laments the fact that the characters were cheap, humourless scumbags compared to the more likeable and funny murderers of Goodfellas. Well, that's because Hollywood, even at its best, will usually make its main characters sympathetic, whereas here we see the characters as they are - ruthless, fairly stupid, nasty, brutal and unpleasant. Killers are like that. Based on real events and ultimately worthwhile, the film certainly made me want to read the book it's based on and find out more about the issues raised here. Entertaining too.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 STAR FILM!!!, November 9, 2009

By 

I. J. Montiel "Jolie" (Puebla, Mex.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Romanzo criminale / Crime Novel (Original Italian Version - with English Subtitles) (DVD)

Romanzo criminale is about the start of a gang, the members: the Lebanese, the leader, who shows his ability to negotiate, of course in the "mafia" way: if they're not your friends, they're enemies...
Dandy, the one who lives in fashion, he goes to the best parties, wears the best clothes, and, of course, has a beautiful girl, despite the fact that she's actually a prostitute.
Fredo (Ice) honors his nickname. The coldest of them, he's intelligent and calculates everything. Of course he has a weak side: his girlfriend, a tutor, who knows nothing about his real life and she finds out in the worst way...

The film is about 2 hours and half long, but it's really catchy that no one notices it. Great plot, amazing actors, and the music just how it says in the backcover of the dvd: sounds like if it came out from Scorsese's itunes!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amaaaaaaaaazing, February 8, 2009

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A. Aladsani - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Romanzo criminale / Crime Novel (Original Italian Version - with English Subtitles) (DVD)

I never had seen a movie that shows you the real colors of the Italian mafia. It gives and understanding how Italian politics and mafia mix together to attain their own benefits. It's truly a mixture of The Godfather and Scarface put together in a blender to get Romanzo Criminale.