Koch Vision
Release date: Oct 14, 2008
MSRP: $29.98
Stars: Nicholas Turturro, Tom Sizemore, Debi Mazar, Abe Vigoda, Michael Imperioli
Originally airted as a miniseries on NBC in 1998 Witness to the Mob is the story of Sammy the Bull Gravano and was based, in part at least, on the book UNDER BOSS by Peter Maas. The cast is a who’s who of mob films and shows. The lead roles are Nicholas Turturro as Sammy The Bull and Tom Sizemore as John Gotti. Among the other players we have Jeffery Donovan of Burn Notice in a small role as an FBI agent and Abe Vigoda as Paul Castellano. Cast members of the Sopranos can be seen throughout
along with Frankie Valli and other perennial mob actors.
The total time comes in at 173 minutes and it shows us Gravano rising through the ranks to eventually come to be the number two under John Gotti. Gravano eventually turns states evidence and helps put away over thirty members of the Cosa Nostra.
I can’t tell you how factual it is as I don’t know enough about the material to say (though I will now be looking for some books on it) but for a made for TV production it is impressive. Tom Sizemore as Gotti was wonderful. Turturro has never been what I considered a strong actor but in Witness to the Mob he does a really nice job. I imagine his portrayal is a little gentler than the real man was, but it works here hinting at the real violence involved.
No extras here, but if you are a fan of mob movies put this on your list.
Order Witness to the Mob from Amazon.
Jon Jordan
For more reviews from Jon, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.
