Description: In the violent secret world of the mafia, no Don ruled longer than Joe Bonanno of the powerful Castellamarese family. This is the true chilling saga, told in his own words- a compelling journey that leads a small boy from Sicily to become the pre-eminent leader of America's vast criminal empire. Featuring a remarkable all-star cast, including Academy-Awards winner Martin Landau, Robert Loggia, Costas Mandylor and Edward James Olmos, Bonanno: A Godfather's Story spans many decades and international locations. The young "Pepino" flees his fascist oppressors in Italy to make a new start in America. His deep family ties and fiery ambition soon take him to the innermost circles of New York organized crime, where he rises to become the youngest Mafia boss ever. From his showdown with the deadly Gambino gang, his clashes with Lucky Luciano, his meetings with President Roosevelt, his backroom deals with Joseph Kennedy to his final betrayal by his own family, this is Bonanno's own true, inside account based on the best-selling autobiography. For over 40 years, Don Joseph Bonanno ruled with both ruthlessness and honor- and survived as the last of the Godfathers. Only now can his full story be told.
For those who dont know! For those of you who don't know and feel cheated with how short (2 hrs) this was compared to the original don't be, They split the movies in two the first being The Youngest Godfather then this being the second part. I fully recomend this movie to anyone interested in the mafia but remember you need the first one to understand his rise in the ranks. 1
Self Serving Mush As a movie this wasn't bad (except for the worst performance I've ever seen by Martin Landau). Never having seen the original I can't comment on how it differs from the longer version, but the editing was ok & the story flowed & made sense. What was disturbing was the self-serving narrative taken from Bonanno's writing, that portrays him as a sensitive, honorable, decent, patriotic, religious & family man, whose was basically a businessman running the family business. There is nowhere any willingness to fess up to what he really was: a thug. The movie did give interesting insights into the real-life of the mafia.
I feel ripped off! I saw the movie when it originally aired on showtime. I recorded the movie then and was excited when it was released for sale. When I watched the store released movie I noticed that the running minutes is two hours and twenty minutes. THATS WRONG! The originally aired "Bonanno: A Godfather's Story" was almost or exactly five hours long. They cut out two and a half hours of important moments of Joseph Bononno's life. I feel cheated and disappointed that someone allowed this to happen to someones biography. I like mafia movies and I thought this was a good one.
The Mobs' role in Kennedy's election is fact...the movie and Joe Kennedy's creation of the family fortune thru bootlegging and stock swindling is no longer even disputed. Even members of the Kennedy family no longer dispute that the family fortune is based on crime--specifically drug smuggling.
And, Joe Kennedy himself later admitted, as frist chairman of the SEC, he outlawed many of the (stock swindling) tactics he'd used to get rich at small investor's expense.
We also know that the only reason Jack Kennedy won the crucial W. VA primary in '60 was because of Sam Giancana's help in rigging the primary.
These facts are not any longer in dispute--nor are the stories about dead people voting in Chicago in their thousands.
This movie exaggerated Bonnano's role at the expense of the true "capo di capi", Sam Giancana. He is the character upon Michael Coreleone's of "The Godfather" series is based upon. He was the one who ordered Kennedy's hit.
He was also found with five .22 caliber bullets in his back--of the same type frequently used by CIA, ah, shall we call them button men?
The movie is long and dull and not very interesting; the Liberals farcical denials of historical fact are more interesting.
The real story of the Mafia and how they bought the Presidency (as his tangenitally detailed in the "Rat Pack" with Ray Liotta and Don Cheadle a few years back) is far more interesting than this run of the mill TV mini-series. Even the talents of Landau, Olmos, et al can't save this from the worst of all fates for art: mediocrity.
Bonanno: A Godfather's Story this movie is fantastic. it tells the full story of the BONANNO crime family in NY through the eyes of Joe Bonanno, the boss of the family. it also answers a lot of unanswered questions about the JFK murder. guess who was involved?????
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