The Valachi Papers (1972)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Terence Young

Writers:

Massimo De Rita (dialogue)
Stephen Geller (writer)

Release Date:

6 January 1972 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

The syndicate. Genovese. Anastasia. Luciano. Masseria. Lucchese. Maranzano. The way they lived - The way they died.

Plot:

When Joe Valachi (Charles Bronson) has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese (Lino Ventura),...

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Switchblade | Mafia | Castration | Lesbian

Cast

Charles Bronson	...	Joe Valachi
Lino Ventura	...	Vito Genovese
Jill Ireland	...	Maria Reina Valachi
Walter Chiari	...	Gap
Joseph Wiseman	...	Salvatore Maranzano
Gerald S. O'Loughlin	...	Ryan (as Gerald O'Loughlin)
Amedeo Nazzari	...	Gaetano Reina
Fausto Tozzi	...	Albert Anastasia
Pupella Maggio	...	Letizia Reina
Angelo Infanti	...	Lucky Luciano
Guido Leontini	...	Tony Bender
María Baxa	...	Donna
Mario Pilar	...	Salierno
Franco Borelli	...	Buster
Alessandro Sperli	...	Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria

Also Known As:

Carteggio Valachi (Italy)
Cosa Nostra
Joe Valachi - I segreti di Cosa Nostra (Italy)
Le dossier Valachi (France)

Runtime:

France:110 min | USA:125 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 (re-rating) (1992) | UK:X (original rating) | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1988) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1998) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1972) | Iceland:16 | France:-12 | West Germany:18 (nf) | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | USA:R (original rating)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

De Laurentiis Intermarco S.p.A.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: During the chase scene which takes place during the 1920s in New York, a car goes into the river and in the background the twin towers of the World Trade Center under construction can be clearly seen.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Ruth Gordon/Chuck Berry (#2.12)" (1977)

" From this day onwards, Joe Valachi, you live by the gun and the knife "

America has always been a land of opportunity. For the Italians, none more so than giving rise to an American icon, the Gangster. For many years, the U.S. government denied the existence of Organized crime. Even the top U.S. law enforcement officer and head of the famed Federal Bureau of Investigation, J.Edgar Hoover, denied such an organization existed. His apathy was due in part to his own shadowy complicity with the Giancana crime family. That's pretty much how it stayed until the advent of the McClellen commission. The movie " The Valachi Papers " is the direct result of that investigation and brought to the forefront of public awareness the vast network of the underworld's crime bosses and their families. The wellspring of that knowledge was none other than the most famous gangster since Al Capone, one, Joseph Valachi. His testimony, created a healthy respect and awe for the Mafia or as Valachi termed it, La Cosa Nostra. (Our thing) This movie is a compilation of his criminal life, dastardly deeds and the revelation of some of the nation's most notable names. Men like Vito Genovese, Anastasia, 'Lucky Luciano' Don Masseria and Marazano. The film is honest when it deals with its legendary brutality and bodies are left throughout the story including its most graphic moments. The end result is perhaps the best Mafia movie since the Godfather. ****