Review of Crime Inc. The Real Story Of The Mafia

Introduction

Martin Short (no, not the comedian, the other one) spent considerable time in the U.S. filming this series featuring a ton of surveillance footage, wiretaps and testimony to bring us a look at American organised crime. The programmes are titled: All In The Family, Making of the Mob, Racket Busters, Birthright of Gangsters, The Mob at Work, Make It Legitimate and The Old Mob and The New. The series shows much from the humble beginnings in the 20s right through to modern day wiseguys and business practises in the 80s. Some of it is very shocking, with true accounts from FBI informants and members of law enforcement describing exactly what went on.

Loansharking, prostitution and gambling was the mainstay of much of their `business`. Then came the most lucrative, narcotics. All the major modern crime families are mentioned here including, the Gambinos and the Colombos. Oldies such as Al `Scarface` Capone also gets a fair amount of coverage too from the prohibition era detailing his various rackets.

On the flipside, we get law enforcement trying to do a difficult job, and the creation of a new agency to help in the fight against organised crime, the FBI. Dealing with a new breed of all pervasive crime and corruption, things were never going to be easy where there are millions of dollars for the taking.

Video

The original series was made in 1984 with a fullframe and this is exactly what we get here. It looks old with dirt and some poorly recorded sound in places, but it`s perfectly watchable. There don`t appear to be any technical problems, but then this is hardly a demanding disc.

Audio

This is presented with the original mono soundtrack which serves the documentary well. It`s clear enough to understand even the thickest Brooklyn accents!

Features

Simple to navigate menus shows the programme title and then a breakdown of chapters within each. There aren`t any extras here since there`s really no need for it. The only omission however is an English subtitle track.

Conclusion

"I amuse you how?"

Joe Pesci had his character down pat with a portrayal of a gangster in Goodfellas, and I could quote from Goodfellas and The Godfather I & II, almost ad nauseum. These were inspired by the real life accounts of organised crime family members, informants, and numerous court cases brought against the so called `Mafia`. Some of the biggest snitches around, Gerry Denono, Jimmy `The Weasel` Fratianno, Herbie Gross, Ray Ferritto and Joey Cantalupo, walked the walk and reveal much about the parts they played and that of others.

First broadcast by Thames Television back in 1984, Crime Inc starts with the classic Thames logo with Tower Bridge and the little ditty. This also shows its age being some 18 years old and doesn`t have a revision in sight. I`m sure that organised crime, especially Cosa Nostra has moved on and changed a bit since `84 so it could be interesting to see an update.

Having said that though, what`s here is still very good. If like me, you`re a Goodfellas or Godfather fan, you`ll find much here to reinforce the climate portrayed so accurately in these films. It fills in gaps too about crime family structure and the way men were `made`. Even with quite a good grounding in Mafiosi related material, I found this intensely fascinating to watch.

"Never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut."

A lot of the interviews are with FBI informants, `made men` breaking `omerta`, the code of silence. Here they reveal so much of the inner workings and general practises that make The Godfather films all the more real and tame by comparison. There`s a recorded senate hearing from the late 50s and it resembles the same one Michael Corleone had to face in Godfather II. Not to mention the wiretaps and extensive surveillance that we get in on. This is quite alarming simply because we know it`s not fiction. Hearing the actual testimony of what happens to people who don`t pay back their loans, or who mess about with the wives and/or girlfriends of made men isn`t a laughing matter and seeing pictures of what happens to some people is shocking. It`s stuff like this, with rich anecdotal material and the charisma of some of the former mob that keeps one hooked to the screen. Crime Inc doesn`t glamourise organised crime in any way and instead shows a seedy, dirty, violent world far removed from anything else. Watching this is sometimes shocking.

This is all six hours of the original series packed onto two discs in a slim Amaray case. It`s good to see Fremantle and Second Sight release complete documentaries and I look forward to seeing more of this in the future. I`d love to see some of Channel 4`s Equinox, or BBC`s Horizons at some stage. If you enjoy watching fictional dramatisation such as The Godfather, Goodfellas or The Sopranos, then this DVD is a worthy addition to your collection. It won`t appeal to everybody, but I think as a special interest title it`s worth having. Recommended.