Customer Reviews

The Sicilian

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

It is blatantly obvious that Artisan was only concerned with making a buck on this release. I advise anyone who is a fan of Cimino's work to avoid this dreck they call a DVD. For beginners the film is presented in full screen, pan and scan format. For anyone who is familiar with Cimino's films you know that they are all amazingly composed and shot in widescreen formats that vary from 65 to 70 mm. This film is no exception and moments such as the one where Terence Stamp's character looks on from his ivory tower through a telescope, just cries out for appropriate frame representation. Not only that but the film has several cameos by a group of method acting gnats or as most people would refer to it, overwhelmingly BAD graininess. Whole scenes seem washed out in terms of color and lighting and it is a true accomplishment to distinguish objects from one another in the locust storm of grain that envelopes each subsequent scene. Some would argue that that is what you get for a film as cheaply priced as this one but this is a travesty. I would rather have the film cleaned up, digitally remastered and presented in its original film ratio and pay a few dollars more. A caption on the back of the box sums up the overall stupidity and lack of quality execution on Artisan's behalf:"Formatted from its original version to fit your screen." then, directly below it states:"Presented in the original 1.33:1 format in which the film was shot." Huh? I almost got an aneurism trying to figure the logic in that. Note to Artisan:It is either formatted to fit your screen OR presented in its original format, IT CAN'T BE BOTH! Regardless, this film is a cheap, dragged through the back alley slums, popped into VHS and copied onto "digital" transfer, type DVD. ARTISAN YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!

THIS REVIEW IS ON THE DVD, NOT ABOUT THE MOVIE ITSELF.The movie in my opinion was better than the critics gave it. I enjoyed it for a slow-paced mafia movie in the obscure Cimino style.THE DVD though, FOR THOSE WIDESCREEN LOVERS OUT THERE, STATES (on the back cover) that it "IS PRESENTED IN THE FORMAT IN WHICH THE FILM WAS SHOT OF 1:33:1. STANDARD "old fashion TV" FORMAT. I believe this is most deffintaly a lie.Why do I say this? Because, just a week ago it was on the High Definition Channel--INHD Channel, and they showed it in a TRUE ASPECT RATIO of WIDESCREEN 2:35:1, Cinnmascope. There is noway they could've shown the movie in that format if Ciminio had it filmed in standard format, AS STATED ON THE BACK COVER OF THE DVD.SO, THE DVD IS PRESENTED IN STANDARD FORMAT, while in reality IT WAS FILMED IN WIDESCREEN.SO, I give the DVD 2 stars just for decent picture quality & mediocre sound. The people who released this DVD version of the movie I believe lies when they state it was filmed in standard format when IT WAS FILMED IN WIDESCREEN.Maybe someday another company will release the orginal Widescreen version - THE WAY IT WAS SHOWN IN THEATRES.I was fortunate enough to tape it on the high def channel and get my copy of the movie in it's ORGINAL WIDESCREEN FORMAT.

I'm thrilled that the complete version of Michael Cimino's masterpiece is FINALLY going to be available in the United States! I caught this in Paris during its first week in October of 1987 and was floored by the movie. Brilliantly literate screenplay by the uncredited Gore Vidal, with Terrance Stamp as Vidal's stnad-in. Elegant mise-en-scene and a tight dramatic arc that I wouldn't have thought Cimino capable of. (I'm one of the minority that hated "The Deer Hunter" but thouht "Heaven's Gate" was brilliant.) When I got back to the United States I was shocked to find out "The Sicilian" had been released in a version cut by 25 minutes and was roundly trashed as incoherent. The rumor was also out that when Fox demanded that Cimino deliver a 120 minute version, he deliberately cut it to make no sense thinking that the studio would then have no choice but to release his complete film. But they released the deliberately sabotaged version instead. Anybody know the truth about this? Anyway, this is one of the great American-produced films of the 1980s -- if you love Scorsese and Visconti,and want something both passionate and cerebral, political and exciting, you must see this.

Admirers of THE SICILIAN may like to know that the British DVD release (on the Momentum label) is both uncut and fully letterboxed!

I'm very glad this movie finally came out on DVD with Cimino's excellent Director's Cut, but Artisan has a history of crap DVDs, and this is no exception.
The movie itself is excellent, the noble story of Salvatore Giuliano, who attempted a failed revolution of Sicily. People who have problems with Christopher Lambert's performance obviously see him then immediately stop watching the movie. His character is out of place in every aspect, he rears his horse at a woman in the window, skids across the floor like he's flying to start a dance, and continually makes a point of how different he is, Lambert seems to fit the role perfectly. Aside from him we have John Turturro in the performance of a lifetime and an interesting contribution by Terrance Stamp.
I sincerely hope a special edition of this DVD comes out in the future.

Salvatore Giuliano has been poorly served by the two films made about him, albeit in very different ways. Francesco Rosi's Salvatore Giuliano sidelines the legendary Sicilian bandit completely and distorts much of the events around him to support a political agenda despite posing as a semi-documentary dramatisation. Despite a few good scenes, it almost seems as if the contradictions in Giuliano's story dictate it should best be told by an outsider with no political axe to grind.

On the surface, that theory is soundly kicked in the groin, beaten to a pulp and left for dead in a ditch by The Sicilian, along with Desperate Hours the only Michael Cimino film that really IS as bad as critics said Heaven's Gate was. This film is so far from the truth that only the addition of flying saucers and death rays could make it any more outlandish. This Giuliano is a Christ-like martyr and hero of the people caught smuggling grain to the starving (in reality he was selling on the black market), buying land for the peasants (Giuliano had no interest in land reform), marries the sister of a communist (Giuliano didn't even have a girlfriend), hijacking troop trains, crucifying priests and even trying to stop the massacre at Portella della Ginestre (shamefully blamed in the film on Terranova, who was one of the few of Giuliano's band who it's definitely known did NOT fire a single shot on that day). No sign of the American occupation, no mention of the Separatist movement, no sense of how Giuliano operated: just Hollywood hokum, and badly executed hokum at that.

Of course, a film can be a total fantasy and still be enjoyable, as anyone who's ever seen a Jesse James or Robin Hood movie knows. Unfortunately, The Sicilian also has the disadvantage of being an astonishing piece of crap for most of its running time. It's full of atrocities, from Joss Ackland's comedy Mafia don (his dance with Barbara Sukowa is one of cinema's great this-isn't-working-but-just-grit-your-teeth-and-try-to-get-through-it-as-quickly-as-possible acting moments), an embarrassing acappella bebop mountain wedding (dig those crazy jitterbugging bandits, man), clunking dialog ("They'll never trust you again." "Yes. Sad, isn't it?") and situations, a terrible grinning performance from Christophe Lambert and a has-to-be-seen-to-be-disbelieved final shot of Salvatore rearing up on a horse against the setting sun at his own funeral. The uncut version actually is worse than the edited version released in the US, giving more screentime to Barbara Sukowa's atrocious `American' aristocrat ("Ja, ay em verr Amerikahn"), who even gets to rape the hero during a robbery at her villa, and amplifying the inept Messianic parallels to a comic degree. There are hints at ambition, with a couple of scenes that threaten to work and the odd good line that one suspects comes from Gore Vidal's rewrite, but it's just another Hollywood mafia movie, with Ackland's Don protecting and ultimately betraying Giuliano, the son he never had. This was, after all, originally a semi-sequel to The Godfather (in Mario Puzo's novel Michael Corleone tries to arrange Giuliano's escape) until the producers found out Paramount owned the screen rights to Corleone characters and had to write them out. Unfortunately, they threw out the baby with the bathwater.

For those who want the film in its original 2.35:1 ratio rather than Artisan's fullframe panned-and-scanned version, the European PAL DVD is the uncut version in a good 2.35:1 widescreen transfer that showcases the fine photography. Extras are limited to a trailer and stills gallery.

The casting in this film was terrible. Anyone who read the book will agree. Besides, the costuming was terrible. And how about the catch phrase? "Before the Godfather..." That's not really true. First of all, Turi's parents were living in New York helping Don Corleone before he was even born. Second, Michael Corleone was in exhile in Sicily and was going to help bring Turi to America. Part of the cursed story took place DURING the Godfather book/film. Ah.... i dunno. it just wasn't great.

Since I read the book, I wanted to see this movie. I was quite curious if Christofer Lambert could pull it off, playing Salvatore, but he actually did a great job. And so did John Turtorro!
This movie did something I've never experienced before; It was just the same way as I thought it would be while I read it!
The story was a little changed, but that doesn't harm the story much (except for letting out the Corleones).

No joke, this is two hours of amateurish stuff, which cannot really be called cinema without upsetting someone up there.
I just went back to see some of the scenes of this movie again because they are so ridiculous I wanted to have another go!

So, let's start in the right order (warning, contains some spoilers, but you're not really going to watch this movie, are you?):

- The fact that the movie was entirely in English should have given it away, very funny to hear would-be sicilians talking to each other in English.

- Past that, we encounter the limping professor. An attempt to add a sinister touch to an otherwise meaningless character. Very amateurish.

- Then came signs and inscriptions throughout the movie, all in English (things like Sicilian Region, Minister of Law and Justice). Made up stuff not corresponding to reality.

- Then the absurd way in which most of the actors talk, in English but very slowly, which makes their acting ridiculous. I guess another attempt to make the movie sound more 'Sicilian'...

- Then the plot, disjointed and difficult to follow. Considering that the script writers had three stories to copy from (the original Salvatore Giuliano movie, the book itself and the true story of Salvatore Giuliano) one would have expected more.

- Then comes the funny stuff, some of the scenes are just absurd! My favourite is the dancing of the Duchess with the Don, particularly the last bit, when she dances around him rolling her arms!
And the 'rape', when right in the middle of a robbery, Giuliano ends up in the room with the Duchess and whilst they are there she rapes him! Couldn't avoid feeling sorry for Giuliano's mates in the other room waiting with the goods just robbed!
Also, to add to the overall madness, Giuliano's girlfriend addresses him by surname, rather than by his first name Salvatore (see the scene when the barber gets shot).

- Finally, some of the dialogs, which I took the trouble of transcribing for your enjoyment.
Scene 1 - Giuliano decides to kidnap the Prince and take him to the mountains. He sends his mate to get him:
KIDNAPPER: Your excellency, Salvatore Giuliano respectfully requests your company for a visit to his mountains.
PRINCE: May I take my umbrella?
KIDNAPPER: Of course excellency, but when we go outside don't try and run.
PRINCE: I don't run, not since school, I have asthma.
KIDNAPPER (referring to music being played by the Prince): It's very beautiful.
PRINCE: Yeees [with really funny accent]. Scarlatti. He was born near here. He had asthma too, I think.
I don't suppose it's raining?
KIDNAPPER: No excellency.

Later in the mountains, here is an extract from the dialogue, it's the Prince speaking:
"You don't hate me, you hate not being me. But if you were born me you would have never been you, so you could take my money, my life, but you could never be me."

- To top it all up, the movie ends with the silhouette of Giuliano, on his horse, with an unrealistically blown up sun setting in the background. (maybe some science fiction effect thrown in for good measure?, or perhaps another attempt to make the movie more 'Sicilian' by showing how big the sun is in Sicily?)
Jokes apart, it's not the size of the sun that tops it all up, it's the fact that Giuliano died a few scenes earlier and from the horse on top of the hill he is watching his own funeral...

Warning: although it's not exactly boring (just poor), it goes over the two hours mark.

Watch it for a laugh, or for pure escapism...

There are many reasons for watching--and ways to enjoy--a movie. In "The Sicilian," these do not include strong performances by actors and/or a well-crafted film.

The movie was filmed entirely on location and that is its greatest asset. If you are considering travel to Sicily or simply enjoy beautiful scenery and sets, viewing "The Sicilian" in lieu of a travelogue may be enough to overcome the rest of the movie's limitations.