(2007, mini-series, Italy)
AKA: Il capo dei capi

Directed by: Alexis Cahill & Enzo Monteleone

Cast: Claudio Gioè, Daniele Liotti, Simona Cavallari, Salvatore Lazzaro, Gioia Spaziani, Massimo Venturiello, Marco Leonardi

How does one become ‘il capo dei capi’ or boss of all bosses? That question is answered in the mini-series Corleone. In a fifty year period, Toto Riini grows up from little boy in Corleone on Sicily to the highest ranking member of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra (literally ‘Our Thing’). He does so by slowly murdering anybody who opposes him or who has any real power within the Mafia.

The Corleoneses, Toto Riina and his underboss Bernardo Provenzano, are provincial Mafiosi. They join the Mafia at a young age to escape from poverty. They rise to the top of the organisation quickly. In Sicily’s capital Palermo, the Corleoneses are perceived as hicks by the Mafia, but they are smart, ambitious and extremely ruthless as the Palermeans are about to find out. Riina was known as ‘the Beast’. It is a well chosen name considering the extreme high bodycount that can be attributed to him.

The mini-series is based on the book by Giuseppe D’Avanzo and Attilio Bolzoni. The makers wanted to not only show Riini’s rise to power and how he made it to the top, but also show the struggles of the law that wanted to put an end to him and his Mafia. Many judges and policemen died in this decade long battle. That much becomes clear in Corleone. For a long time, the law didn’t stand a real chance, but through sacrifice and perseverance they eventually got results.

To make the distinction between the good side and the evil side, the writers of this mini-series introduced a fictional character in this otherwise largely fact-based story. The true-hearted Biagio Schirò grows up with Riini in Corleone, but rather than becoming a mobster like his friends he joins the police. He follows Riini’s career closely and tries to bring him down, along with many real historical law figures, such as judge Giovanni Falcone. They stand for everything that the mob doesn’t.

In terms of production design, the makers did a good job of capturing the old times on the beautiful Sicily. Dramatically however, the series falls short. There isn’t enough suspense or character development to keep the viewer entertained for six times 100 minutes. Not even close. They could have told this story in a three hour mini-series. Now it quickly becomes repetitious. A shame, because the right basis is there.