Sightlines · reception

How Mafioso was received

1962 · Alberto Lattuada · Mafioso on Sightlines

The arc

A hit in Italy in 1962 on the strength of Alberto Sordi's stardom, it was barely seen in America for decades — then Rialto Pictures' 2007 restoration and re-release had US critics hailing it as a rediscovered masterpiece and the great missing link of mafia cinema.

What’s debated

Fans endlessly debate the tonal swerve — is it a comedy that betrays you or a tragedy wearing a comedy's clothes, and is the whiplash the flaw or the whole point?

Its footprint

It's the film cinephiles reach for to prove the mafia movie didn't start with Coppola — a comedy about omertà and Sicilian codes made a full decade before The Godfather, and a favorite footnote in any history of the genre.

Where it stands

A rediscovered gem with real cinephile cachet — the 'you must see this' deep cut of Italian comedy, and proof Lattuada (the man who co-directed Fellini's debut) deserves more than a footnote.

Did you know? The story came from Rafael Azcona and Marco Ferreri — yes, the future director of La Grande Bouffe — with the screenplay polished by Age & Scarpelli, the legendary duo behind Big Deal on Madonna Street.