The Boss

 

To no ones great surprise, I'm sure, I watched the third part of Fernando Di Leo's crime trilogy, The Boss (1973).

The Boss is the odd man out in the trilogy, for a variety of reasons. First off, it's set in Palermo, Sicily instead of Milan. Secondly Mario Adorf is not in this movie, but the main character is played by Henry Silva who was in The Italian Connection. Thirdly, The Boss is considerably more brutal and violent than the other two. It also lacks any of the humor the previous two movies had, which makes it pretty dark in tone.

Silva plays Nick Lanzetta, a highly trusted hitman in the employ of Don D'Aniello. D'Aniello is at war with a Calabrian gang, who are tougher and more resourceful than expected. D'aniello also answers to the big boss Don Corrasco. By the way, Corrasco is played by Richard Conte who played Don Barzini in The Godfather. The war escalates, lots of people get killed and the tension ramps up as powerful influences demand an end to the chaos. Betrayal follows betrayals and Lanzetta is right in the middle, poised to take it all or get removed by a competitor. No one is untouchable.

Again, no spoilers. Watch it to find out how it ends.

What The Boss gets right is first of all the twisted world of the Mafia. Even the big dogs answer to someone else and the only way up is over the bodies of those who stand in your way, and you also stand in the way of someone else. The general atmosphere is truly excellent, the acting is good and the soundtrack is probably the best in the trilogy.

The script is a bit loose, however. Not so much as to really matter, but the story is a bit back and forth. Although The Boss is 100 minutes long, it would really benefit from even more time. A six part mini series would be perfect as even with the runtime it has, you don't have time to get to know the characters all that much and that is truly a shame. This goes double for the political elements between the different mafia groups.

As I mentioned this is a very violent movie. Most of the shooting is bloodless falling over, but there are a couple of scenes that warms the heart of an old gore-hound. There is also some scenes that could well cause discomfort in sensitive people, so keep that in mind.

There is one scene that really made my eyebrows go up. A car T-bones another and the hit car falls apart, neatly bisected down the middle. This was so weirdly out of place I had to rewind and double check I wasn't hallucinating. In an otherwise gritty and grim movie, it is a real mistake to have a scene that clumsy.

Without going into spoiler trilogy I can say that The Boss was a joy to watch. It can stand amongst the greats in the crime/mafia genre with its head high. Sure Goodfellas beats it handily, but that isn't really a criticism, Goodfellas beats everyone. The Boss is a bit low budget and it has its flaws but overall it is a standout gangster movie.

In a way that isn't so weird. Apparently Di Leo was sued over allegations presented in this film, though the suit was dropped. He apparently also got threatened by some very scary people due to the realism of The Boss. Make of that what you will.

Do I recommend The Boss? Absolutely! Any fan of crime fiction should watch The Boss at least once. Other movie lovers can also enjoy it, but perhaps not quite as much. I say, give it a shot.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time, and until then, have yourself a great and safe week!