Vendetta DVD Review
This HBO film is based on true and tragic events, which is well-made and interesting. The DVD is in 1.33:1 aspect ratio with high quality picture and sound.

Not as polished as it could have been
Walken is a joy to watch, but the whole movie is bland. There is no cohesive feeling of a city and its people. We do not get a flavor of the population in and out of New Orleans. The violence is too contrived and meaningless. We see no real port, just a market where the central action takes place. This is a very low budget film and it shows. The history involved is not accurate.

America--home of the brave and the bigoted
African-Americans and Jews were not the only ethnic groups to bear the brunt of violent, narrow-minded bigotry in the land of the free. In the late 19th century, Italians in New Orleans were lynched for a trumped up charge based on the pure greed of the "city fathers". Greed, said Gordon Gecko in the movie Wall Street, is good. Wrong, Gordon.

Greed is corruption. Corruption is inextricably and inevitably linked to violence. When some people are greedy, other people get hurt. Or die. That's what happened. This made-for-HBO film, Vendetta, is a well thought out depiction of the events culminating in the terrible slaughter of Italians at that time. Although Christopher Walken is the marquis player--and he is, as usual, really good--credit should also go to the supporting players, all of whom were well cast here. Kenneth Welsh, Edward Herrmann, Bruce Davison, Clancy Brown, Richard Libertini, and the younger actors whose roles are the Provenzano brothers and Gaspare Marchese are all excellent.

Many people, including myself (Jewish), did (or do) not know about this horrific event. It is to HBO's credit that they dramatized this telefilm under the direction of Nicholas Meyer (The Seven-Percent Solution, The Day After). Credit should also go to writer Timothy Prager whose script is rock solid. HBO has produced many well-crafted cable TV films and this is certainly one of them.

Will greed in America ever go away? This film says no. And I think that's true. It will certainly continue to be in place with the man currently running things in a white office that not quite circular, circa 2005. He's not a tree, he's a (fill in the blank).

Definitely recommended.

From Gangs of New York to a Lynch Mob in New Orleans!
This film is a forgotten contribution to public understanding of the history no history teacher wants to tell you. That is precisely why you need to see this movie. While it is not at the same quality level as "Gangs of New York" there are definitely highlights of quality work. Christopher Walken has a special style of playing villains. When you are ready to shoot him, you have to realize he just "got you." This is the mark of a real actor in a villain role. This is basically one of the most compelling stories of political corruption, and was the largest lynching in American history. Many good Italian American families suffered in the process.

See What the Irish in New Orleans Did To The Italians!!
When we hear of lynchings we often think of African-Americans being strung up by the KKK. But the biggest mass lynching by a vigilante mob in the U.S. happened in 1890 to the Italian immigrants of New Orleans. HBO should be commended for having to courage to make a film about the most tragic time in Italian-American history.

In the film, 20 Italians were arrested at random and put on trial for the shooting murder of Police Chief Hennessy, an Irishman who may have been prejudiced towards Italians but would not lock them up unless he had concrete evidence against them. In other words, conspiracy and membership in a group whose name was heard for the first time--the Mafia.

In the trial, the Italians were acquitted. But that didn't stop a crazed vigilante mob from breaking into the city jail with shotguns and blowing them all away. (The film, however, shows that two do survive.) When the king of Italy heard about this he almost started a war with the US. Instead, then President Benjamin Harrison gave $25,000 in restitution, and everyone forgot about it. But not the Italians who witnessed the bloodshed for themselves. It's too bad the Mafia weren't there at that time; they could've fought back.

All the trouble starts when Mr. Houston, played by Christopher Walken, wants to get control of the docks which are run successfully by Mr. Macheca and the Provenzano family. He relies on the corrupt law system, but even the DA, played by Edward Herrmann, believes there's no case. He says, "Why would Macheca be with the Mafia? He's rich. He's got nothing to gain and everything to lose." The prejudice of the city fathers is remarkable. They always refer to Italians as either dagos or Italians with "I" pronounced like "eye".

In the end Mr. Houston takes over the business which Macheca built up from the bottom by himself. A statue is raised to the memory of Hennessy; but is there a monument in New Orleans to the killed Italians? It's amazing to see how some people thought nothing of toting shotguns and committing murder. Viewers of the film "Rosewood" will find this familiar ground.

One more thing: Unlike other ethnic groups, Italians have never bought into the cult of victimology. They do not issue calls for reparations. But every Italian-American should be aware of what happened a century ago in New Orleans. To this day there are still morons who believe that all Italian-Americans are part of the Mafia. And TV shows like "The Sopranos", now matter how riveting, do not help the image of these people, either. If you are Italian, and you see this movie, you will cry like the Jews after the Holocaust--"Never Again! Never Again!".