The Valachi Papers (1972)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

As Good As It Gets

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

When I heard that Twilight Time was going to release THE VALACHI PAPERS I was ecstatic. As a fan of Charles Bronson it was one of the few films of his I hadn't seen in some time. Not only that if you wanted to see it you had to pay an arm and a leg for a copy of the film since it was out of print. Before this release I'd seen copies going for around $50 online! To start with the odds are pretty good that a number of viewers aren't even aware of who Joseph Valachi was. In the sixties Attorney General Robert Kennedy was aiming at taking on organized crime. The problem was most members of the organization kept quiet. Until Joe Valachi, after an attempt was made on his life in prison, came forward willing to tell all. It changed history as it presented the structure used by the organization and helped create a data base for law enforcement. His story was then told in book for by author Peter Maas who also wrote Frank Serpico's autobiography.With this in mind the story was ripe to make into a film. The movie opens with an older Valachi in prison where he is given the "kiss of death" by mob boss Vito Genovese (Lino Ventura). When he fears he is being attacked, Valachi defends himself only to discover the man he killed was not part of the mob. Sentenced to life with no hope of parole and fearing another attempt on his life, Valachi agrees to inform on the mob and contacts federal agent Ryan (Gerald O'Loughlin) to tell his tale.The movie progresses in flashbacks to the early days of Valachi as a young man on the streets committing crimes like burglary. When it becomes apparent he's willing to do what it takes to make his bosses happy, he is recruited to become a member of the mafia. But it is also around this time that things are changing and a mob war is going on with two different factions wanting to take control. He survives this battle but comes out of it in the bad side of his boss, Tony Bender.The film shows various crimes Valachi was involved in, his romance and marriage to the daughter of his boss (played by Bronson's real life wife Jill Ireland) and how things in the mob itself changed over time. It's never a deep rooted film based so much in facts and figures as it is the story of one man and the things seen through his eyes. Low budgeted and filled with a number of Italian actors since this was a film made in Italy, the movie is more of a glossed over slice of history rather than a dead on depiction.That doesn't mean it isn't an entertaining film with plenty of story to tell. Bronson shines here, allowed to not only play the aging gangster but to play him in all parts of his life. This was something he rarely had the opportunity to do and one of the main reasons he agreed to play the part. There is enough action and bloodshed to keep people happy but Bronson has a chance to act rather than just be the tough guy here. The movie is interesting and moves at a steady pace that holds your interest from start to finish.Twilight Time has done a solid job, as always, of offering a well-made presentation of this movie. The picture quality is fine and presents the movie in the best possible quality. The extras are limited to a single item, a partial isolated score track. The odds are that nothing was made to help promote the film when it was originally released making anything else non-existent. As with all Twilight Time releases this one is limited to only 3,000 so if you want this one at an affordable price then by all means pick one up immediately before they're all gone. If you're goal is to collect all movies starring Charles Bronson act fast.

The gangster Joseph "Joe" Valachi (Charles Bronson) has worked for the Mafia for more than thirty years in New York. When he has been imprisoned for fifteen years, he learns that the mobster Don Vito Genovese (Lino Ventura) is offering a reward for his life. Without any alternative other than stay in the solitaire, he accepts the DA offer of protection. In return, he has to disclose the secrets of the Cosa Nostra."The Valachi Papers" is based on a true story and tells the rise and fall of a gangster from the Mafia. The role of Joseph Valachi is tailored for Charles Bronson and fans of gangster movie will certainly enjoy this film. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "O Segredo da Cosanostra" ("The Secret of the Cosanostra")

The following year Charles Bronson would team up with director Michael Winner as a cop on the trail of the mafia, but the year before in "The Valachi Papers" he would find himself smack in the middle of it all as former mobster Joe Valachi serving 15 years in prison with a target on his head of twenty thousand dollars by mafia capo Vito Genovese. When he learns of it with there being no way of getting out of it when receives the kiss of death. Joe decides to spill his guts on the inner workings (extortion, vengeance and murder) of LaCosa Nostra for some sort of protection for him and his family. This would be the third European film of the trot between Charles Bronson and director Terence Young with the gritty crime flick "Cold Sweat (1970)" and buddy western "Red Sun (1971)" being the two before it. Coming out the same year as the similar in vein, but masterful classic "The Godfather". "The Valachi Papers" probably came and went with little notice. While not as stylish, it managed to have scope in its tough, trim and grippingly told narration splitting between past recounting and present situations. The plot was adapted off Peter Maas' novel of the same name that covers this true account of the mafia underworld and organised crime. A steadfast Bronson perfectly nailed down the lead with excellently respectable support by the likes of Lino Ventura, Joseph Wiseman, Walter Chiari, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Angelo Infanti and Amedeo Nazzari. Director Young does a steadily routine job, but it's well done for such a minimal and straight looking production. For a running time of just over two hours, never does it feel it or seem to drag. The workmanlike execution gives the air a brutal (one raw act of violence would have any male squirming) and hardboiled touch, crafting well etched period (through the 1930s) location details and a having profound power in its escalating dramatics. A violent, tough-talking gangster feature with fine cast associated.

Charles Bronson starts to break out of spaghetti westerns and good character roles and becomes a leading man around the time The Valachi Papers came out. It was a big milestone in his career, playing the most famous gangster stoolie of all.It's not quite true that all Valachi's testimony managed to do was get a lot of high television ratings for some re-election hungry Senators. Not that they didn't get it and didn't appreciate the side benefits of those famous televised hearings, but eventually what came out of the Valachi hearings was the RICO law which has in fact put quite a dent into organized crime.The Valachi Papers has Charles Bronson telling FBI man Gerald S. O'Loughlin about his life and times in organized crime with La Cosa Nostra from the days of the Marranzano-Masseria wars until the present which would have been 1962. He doesn't really tell anything new to them, basically he confirms what had been gangster legend about the circumstances of many a demise. But with some hard documentation now, new laws are created to meet the problem.Bronson does his best with Valachi, but the story has him pretty one dimensional. It's far from The Godfather where you really get inside the characters of the fictional Corleone family. Bronson sure has no conscience about what he did and I'm sure the real Valachi didn't either. In fact the only reason he turns informer is that Vito Genovese already mistakenly has him down as one.Fans of the gangster genre and Charles Bronson should give this one a look. Others should see The Godfather all three parts.