"The Valachi papers" is so badly done, so cheap that not only you can spot modern cars among old ones, but you can see the wires during the shootouts ! It's really too bad, because it was an interesting subject (the first mafioso breaking the omerta) and a Bronson film is always a treat. But Bronson is definitely not Italian and everything is wrong with him in this part : his voice, his mannerisms, his looks. The wigs are terrible too, especially when Valachi is supposed to be in his twenties. Bronson was 52 at the time ! Joseph Wiseman and Lino Ventura are very good as godfathers of the old school, but with different methods. Terence Young as always, can't make a decent film. "The Valachi papers" is available in France, in a good copy, but only in french language, this being a french-Italian co-production.
Review of The Valachi Papers
