A former Gambino goon and the real Donnie Brasco review Mafia movies:
''The most ludicrous was The Godfather, because The Godfather put so much bull---- into what it was supposed to be like,'' said Montiglio.
``I mean, these people will murder you over their paranoia . . . Paranoia has so much to do with this life. The honor, the respect, and all the bull---- you see in The Godfather -- arrrgh.''
Real mobsters love The Godfather, Pistone said, precisely because ``it elevates them so much beyond what they really are.''
''It makes the mob boss into such a highly intelligent individual, giving advice, reciting all these parables,'' he said. 'In real life, it's more like, `The [bleeping] guy stole 50 grand from us, let's whack him!' . . .
``In The Godfather, you know, all these guys were dressed nice, they all had offices, they all spoke eloquently. And that's what they want to portray, but that's not really the way they are.''
Some movies are more realistic and got the thumbs up:
Pistone and Montiglio said a few movies -- particularly Casino, Goodfellas and of course Donnie Brasco, in which Pistone was played by Johnny Depp -- got the Mafia right: a bunch of stupid thugs who will kill anybody, even each other, if there are a few bucks to be made.
And what do they think of Tony Soprano?:
Tony Soprano? The two old Mafia hands cackled at the idea of a mob boss seeking psychotherapy for panic attacks.
''Joe,'' asked Dominick Montiglio, ``if you ever had a boss that was seeing a female psychiatrist, how long would he last?''
''Never would have happened,'' Joe Pistone replied, shaking his head mournfully at the thought.
''We would have shot him,'' Montiglio agreed.
Sorry, Tone. I think we all kind of figured that part of the story could never be.
As much as I get a kick out of hearing the Soprano characters talk about The Godfather, it's even more of a kick to hear about it from the real deal.
Posted by floridacracker at January 14, 2005 06:53 PM