Customer Reviews

The Valachi Papers

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
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Against the information provided here by Amazon, the DVD packaging and on-screen info give the rating of this film as PG (not R). There is some brief nudity and some mild swearing. Maltin's movie guide indicates the film was originally released with an R rating, but was subsequently edited to the 125 min. PG rated version featured here. The disc is widescreen anamorphic as well, not full screen as noted by Amazon (the packaging also only notes "widescreen".)

This is one of the best movies on organized crime available. It is along the lines of "Goodfellas" and "Donnie Brasco" although it takes place at a much earlier time in history. It is gritty and factual although artistic license is expected. The movie focuses on Joe Valachi who was the first of the Mafia informants and set the stage for others to follow. The movie gives explicit and factual information on the history of the American Mafia from the original "bosses" through the making of the syndicate on through the Vito Genovese regime. It is a must see for anyone interested in the history of organized crime from its very beginning on to the beginning of their decline.

THE VALACHI PAPERS (1972) with the well known star, the late CHARLES
BRONSON, will interest those viewers with a passing curiosity on
crime phenomena, as well as fans of that actor and those interested
in the historical undercurrents of America, in matters of the
perpetual cat-and-mouse game of those operating within the legal
framework, with large sums of money at stake from commercial
operations, being the cops and robbers.

The picture is long in playing time.

The final product shows high filming quality, with unusual clarity
of the dialogs and script, a logical flow in which the story
unfolds (easy to understand.)

This movie is also not for everyone, or for the casual viewer,
considering the often vicious, homicidal behavior of the individuals
participating in the gang activities ( pistol shootouts, rub outs,
etc.)

It also shows the paradox of 1st and 2nd generation Italians in
America, struggling for supreme power and financial controls
over various revenue generating rackets (protection, alcohol,
commodities, etc.) in their own ethnic group, while remaining
proud of their cultural and other heritage.

The music is tastefully chosen, and the director indeed was capable
and brave enough to show some more private, realistic and humanistic
moments by the gang members, which tends to underline the
biographical, and true nature of the story told within, vs. the
fantasy tales, and robotic nonsensical behavior too often seen in
movies released post 1990's.

There is an admirable effort in portraying scenes at the turn of the
century, and the decades following WWII, with proper automobiles,
street scenes, clothes worn by the gangsters.

Overall, this picture is a genuine effort in telling the story of a
mob family from the perspective of a low-level member who managed to
live to tell his story to the world.

The Valachi Papers was shot at a time when common wisdom had it that gangster pictures were box-office poison, so the very American tale of Charles Bronson's Cosa Nostra soldier spilling the beans on his life in the mob in return for protection by the Feds ended up being shot at Dinocitta in Italy with French money and an English director (Terence Young, reunited with Dr No villains Joseph Wiseman - wonderfully hammy here - and Anthony Dawson) only to end up being discounted as a Godfather ripoff when Coppola's film became a surprise huge hit. Based on Joe Valachi's Grand Jury testimony that lifted the veil on the way the mob worked and was organized after years of denial of its very existence by J. Edgar Hoover, it's a well-crafted and enjoyable saga with none of the operatic grandeur that Coppola, Leone and De Palma would bring to the genre. There's not much in the way of historical or social context, more a catalog of greatest hits and internecine feuding, but it's done with some flair and is surprisingly entertaining. Bronson makes a good lead, with decent support from Walter Chiari and Lino Ventura, both surprisingly well dubbed. Unfortunately the dire Mrs Bronson, Jill Ireland, is along too, but she's not in it enough to do any damage.

This is an excellent movie I saw when it came out and again 35 years later.It's amazeing how close to the facts they made this flick.In my memory the special effects were better,lol,but the story is good.the special effects are on a par with the Gunsmoke series.I give it a A+ for story content and a B for the Acting,and another B for the effects,because they were state of the art. Good movie if you want to see a REAL-LIFE MAFIA STORY.

This movie is based on facts revealed by mob turncoat, Joseph Valachi, in 1963, and published as a book by Peter Maas (The Valachi Papers, same title as the movie).

Although the movie is based on Valachi's story, at least one scene never took place in real life (otherwise it would've been mentioned in the book because it's so spectacular). That's the scene where Valachi's friend, 'the Gap' (real name, Dominick Petrilli), gets his penis cut off in Valachi's restaurant by mobsters and afterward asks Valachi to shoot him, which he does. Maybe the movie people thought they needed a scene like the horse head scene in 'The Godfather'.
Too bad, because the rest of Valachi's story is true and inventing fictional scenes only compromises the authenticity of the story.

It's a very good movie and it follows the book closely, but it could have been a great movie had they had a bigger budget and some famous actors to fill out the parts. That said, some of the actors did a great job, such as Joseph Wiseman (Salvatore Maranzano) and the guy who plays Valachi's sidekick, the Gap. Charles Bronson acts very well too, of course.

If you like mob movies based on real life stories like 'Donnie Brasco', 'Goodfellers', 'Casino' etc.etc., then this movie is for you.

If you liked the movie, you should read the book too! It's one of those books you can't put down before you have read all of it. You can buy it here on Amazon and it's fairly cheap.

this is one of bronson's best movies. I saw this many years ago and was glad to find it on DVD. If you don't like the movies about the 30's then you probably won't like this..but give it a chance..It follows Valachi's life in the mob and how he managed to out live the hit placed on him..

Having come out almost right after "The Godfather" (though the book came out much earlier), this movie tried to capitalize on Coppola's masterpiece and the publics' appetite for mob flicks, so it had big shoes to fill. By that comparison, it pales. On its own, it fits into the category of movies like, "The St. Valentines Day Massacre." It leaves a little bit to be desired in performances (cerainly in brand name actors aside from Charles Bronson), dialogue and editing/continuity. But the story it tells is true, based on a book that by itself tells the story of a mobster turned informant because of the contract unjustifiably put on his head. The movie satisfies those who crave the ingredients offered in the mob genre- violence, hits, blood, betrayal, loyalty, misguided power hungry individuals, and mistrust. And it can be argued that the cast of largely unknown Italian actors lends a feel of authenticity to the movie. But it does come down to script, dialogue and what is done with it by those actors, and in that, though the movie is a guilty pleasure of mine, it does come up short. But it does detail the hierarchy of the mafia over several years, how that changed due to power struggles, and how it affected those who lived within it. Bronson's Valachi character is the sympathetic figure in this movie and the movie is told from his perspective and that of the FBI agent to whom he provides information- in violation of the oath of mob code of secrecy he's sworn to- in exchange for protection from his assailants (the agent being the only other familiar face in this movie- he from a late 60s/ early 70s police TV show, perhaps "The Mod Squad"). There is some unforgettable dialogue, but unlike "The Godfather," it's for more forgetable reasons. Example? At the funeral of an executed mobster, his widow pleads to Salvatore Maranzano, the head of the mob at the time, to bring life back to her husband. Maranzano's reply? "I no can bring back the dead. Only keel the living." That said, that's actually part of the appeal to this movie. It doesn't purport to be anything it isn't. On it's own devices this is an informative, if not entertaining movie. Not all mob movies, parcularly of this era or earlier, strived to the award winning excellence of "Goodfellas," "The Godfathers," even "Bonnie and Clyde," or "A Bronx Tale"- movies where the dilogue is as vital as the action. In this movie, the dialogue merely pieces the story together, and not much more. Couple other points of note. Jill Ireland, Bronson's real life wife, plays his wife in this movie. And perhaps the most notable to those who are fans of this movie, the sight of the Twin Towers in the background during one scene, in a movie that takes place starting in the 30s. That aside, taken on its own merits, as far as mob movies from its period, this one ain't so bad, which I admit isn't exactly a ringing endorsement.

This item was banned of circulation for many years in VHS format. It was a very hard to get. Fortunately due to the marvels of DVD it is again on circulation. As a movie collector I am I am very glad of seing again Charles Bronson acting with his wife, beautiful Jill Ireland, that at the time of the movie production (1972) has been suffering a severe illness that finally cut short her life a few years later. If you like Mafia, mobsters movies, this is a good item for you to buy. It tells chronologically a resumee of the life of JOSEPH VALACHI, the guy who opened the secrets of the COSA NOSTRA to the public on the 60's decade. Supposedly it is based on the BOOK THE VALACHI PAPERS by PETER MAAS, but -for good- there are some differences from the book in the movie that makes it more interesting due to the interpretation of DIRECTOR ROGER CORMAN (Also, Director of St. Valentine's Day Massacre, 1967, and many others)

it is a good movie based on a true story and tells a true life and the way it is