Excellent Cadavers (2005 Documentary/First Run Features)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C- Documentary: B
Based on
Alexander Stille’s book about the rise, fall and restructuring of the Italy’s
La Costa Nostra Mafia, Marco Turco’s Excellent
Cadavers (2005) is a documentary version that shows how the organization is
a unique fixture and problem in that great country. However, it also shows how it got there, even
though it never notes that the Mafia concept was invented by the Chinese. The Italians involved only perfected it.
They may
have not stayed strong after WWII, until the Allies decided to use them to keep
stability in (and the Soviet Communists out) of the country, which was a major
member of the opposing Axis Powers until those inside could not take it anymore
and several parties within brought about the downfall of Mussolini. However, this legitimized a culture of
terror, resulting in a legacy of corrupt gangsters intertwined so much with
legitimate law and government that the two could not be separated.
Deconstructing
the TV and film versions of gangster life with ease, this shows how the poseurs
would never survive in the real life of crime and how ingrained it became there
more than just about any other country ever.
Then two men decided to try and change things and the strata of
organized crime was challenged like never before. Those men were Giovanni Falcone and Paolo
Borsellino, who proved more people were interested in bringing their country
into the 20th and 21st Centuries than many had
thought. This included a witness
protection program.
Of
course, the rise of this came with brave, responsible people like this and fall
when Right Wing politicians who did not like independent prosecutors (sound
familiar?) curtailed their power and undermined the hunt for killers and
establishment of justice. By the end in
a conclusion you have to see to believe, the country’s last twist before the 92
intense minutes ends is how the country become part of the wrong side of “The
New World Order,” which is in the worst possible ways, the old world order.
This is a
must-see documentary, including for those who follow political science.
The letterboxed
1.78 X 1 image has good subtitles and is compiled from many video sources,
affecting the final product, which is soft, but so much footage is from RAI analog
videotaped news footage that this is to be expected. The Dolby Digital 2.0 is a mix of mono and
stereo, but is nicely edited like the picture and more than compelling enough
to watch despite any flaws. Extras
include stills and brief text bios.
- Nicholas Sheffo
