A very involving thriller about a small town mafia don (Lee J. Cobb) doing battle with a new upstart police captain (Franco Nero). When a farmer witnesses a murder and then disappears, his wife tries to get help from both. Claudia Cardinale is the wife and she's excellent, desperate for answers and getting nowhere with these warring factions. It's a hard boiled film with director Damiano Damiani skipping the predictable good guy vs bad guy clichés and leaving out any romance between Franco & Cardinale. It's a far too unforgiving film. Franco and Cobb are well matched and the first rate supporting cast includes Nehemiah Persoff as one of Cobb's less savory underlings and the great Serge Reggiani as a not so lucky informant. The stunning cinematography is by the legendary Tonino Delli Colli and the exciting music score is by Giovanni Fusco, who worked throughout the 60s with Antonioni & Resnais.
Review of Mafia
