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Mafioso

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Italy · 1962
1h 45m
Director Alberto Lattuada
Starring Alberto Sordi, Norma Bengell, Carmelo Oliviero
Genre Crime, Drama, Comedy

Antonio lives a quiet life as a factory supervisor with his wife and daughters. When he brings his family to visit his hometown of Sicily, the local mafia forces Antonio to honor an oath he made years ago, but dredging up the past has consequences.

Stream Mafioso

What are people saying?

Nina Gallagher Profile picture for Nina Gallagher

Alberto Lattuada's Sicilian mafia film is at once hilarious and heartbreaking. Beginning as a comedy about a man returning home to a place he has somewhat outgrown, the film shifts into darker narratives, exploring the consequences of violence and old promises. Alberto Sordi gives a fantastic performance as Antonio as he masterfully balances the lines between humor and fear.

Zoe Rogan Profile picture for Zoe Rogan

One of those movies I think about all the time. Equal parts gut wrenching and gut busting, this is one of those movies that just sticks with you after you watch it. Alberto Sordi is, in my opinion, at his best when he's balancing drama and comedy in equal measure, instead of only relying on silliness and slapstick, and along with his work with Fellini, Mafioso has to be one of the prime examples of his mastery of the balance of humor with tragedy. This also functions excellently as a send up and critique of macho Sicilian culture, adding yet another level to this remarkable film.

What are critics saying?

90

The New York Times by A.O. Scott

The movie is at once a giddy mixture of farce, satire and opera buffa and a closely observed drama of social dislocation and cultural confusion.

90

The New Yorker by Anthony Lane

Filmed in a hot and bleached black-and-white, it manages to swerve from culture-clashing farce to alarming suspense without losing control.

80

Village Voice by J. Hoberman

Alberto Lattuada's tricky-to-parse Mafioso dates from 1962 but, with its abrupt tonal shifts and disturbing existential premise, this nearly forgotten dark comedy could be the most modern (or at least modernist) movie in town.

100

Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan

A magnificent film almost no one knows about, this hidden classic offers a wider variety of pleasures than most contemporary works can even aspire to.

91

Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman

Mafioso does more than cast its fascinating shadow over "The Godfather." It captures, in a stark yet haunting way, the indelible fact that no man is born a mobster.

90

Salon by Stephanie Zacharek

Sordi is an elegant comic actor in the vein of America's William Powell; the world may confound him, but it can never rumple him.

75

New York Post by V.A. Musetto

Mafioso starts out as a comedy of manners before turning into a mob thriller that brings Nino to Bergen County, N.J. When he gets there, look for a man reading The Post on a street corner.

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