Bonanno: A Godfather's Story
- TV Movie
- 1999
- 2h 50m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
The true life story of mafia boss Joesph Bonanno. The story spans from Bonanno's early beginings in Italy, to his conquests in America.The true life story of mafia boss Joesph Bonanno. The story spans from Bonanno's early beginings in Italy, to his conquests in America.The true life story of mafia boss Joesph Bonanno. The story spans from Bonanno's early beginings in Italy, to his conquests in America.
- Awards
- 1 win & 6 nominations
Domenico Fiore
- Gaspar DiGregario (Older)
- (as Dom Fiore)
Anthonino Maltazza
- Italian Naval Cadet
- (as Antonio Maltese)
Vince Corazza
- Charlie 'Lucky' Luciano
- (as Vincent Corazza)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis 1999 Lifetime made-for-television movie is based on the real-life events of famous Italian-born American mafioso Joseph Charles Bonanno, Sr. (born 18 Jan 1905), who became the boss of the Bonanno crime family.
- GoofsIn a scene where Bonanno is reading a newspaper announcing Germany and Italy's declaration of war on the US (December 11, 1941), the back page of the paper announces the results of a Brooklyn Dodgers double-header, and the Yankees, Indians and Tigers wins. The baseball season in 1941 ended on October 6th at Ebbets Field, in the very first "Subway Series", when the Yanks beat the Dodgers 4 games to 1.
- Quotes
Charlie 'Lucky' Luciano: You can't make money with a gun in your hand.
Featured review
Ugh--fudgetaboutit!!
The true life story of an American mobster. If you're a fan of "The Godfather," then this film might be worth watching as it's alleged that Mario Puzo borrowed from Joseph Bonanno's life story. You can see many similarities from "being chased out of Sicily," to "the extravagant wedding," to "the confrontation of the local made man who's collecting with the up-and-coming godfather," etc. Other than that...fudgetaboutit! Told through the cliché flashback, Martin Landau's voice-over narration is excruciating. Director Michel Poulette should have taken notes on how Coppola handled flash-backs in "GF2." Not that the story is all bad--just long! It reads more like a documentary. Then what about this whole issue that these men are "bound by honor," yet the Bonanno's sell out to create this Hollywood tale? Peter Bonanno said he wanted Hollywood to show the truth instead of a fictionalized Mafia movie. Excuse me? What about "Casino?" or "Goodfellas?" or "Gotti?" or...you get the idea. Looks to me like these ex-Mafia gents aren't greasing the politicians anymore, but instead Hollywood producers to make themselves appear like American icons. Fud-get-about-it!!
helpful•68
- siskel-10
- Jul 26, 1999
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Family: The Life and Times of Joseph Bonanno
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime2 hours 50 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content