Where to watch Witness to the Mob
2 1/2 Stars
Sammy ‘The Bull’ Gravano was mafiosi. He started out as a soldier, but his talent for murder, including the slayings of his best friends, his wife’s brother and his own boss, Paul Castellano, saw him rise to under-boss in the Gambino crime family. However, betrayals within the family saw him break the code of silence and became the highest ranking member of the mob to turn into a rat – ‘a rat in a suit,- assisting the government to finally put away the Teflon Don, John Gotti.
Nicholas Turturro is one of cinema’s most underrated and underutilized actors. I started back when I first saw him spouting racial insults in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. This is an actor who gives rich portrayals of characters in popular movies and television shows. Throughout his career, he’s been overlooked and never given the chance to show off his skills under the direction of a Scorsese flick or in a Soprano’s episode. I watched Witness to the Mob over the course of two nights during its initial broadcast airing with my old man. We both enjoy gangster movies, and I recall the mini-series being above average, mostly due to the performances, but it wasn’t a classic like The Last Don, which aired the previous year.
Over half a century later, I decided to rewatch the made-for television movie, and I still believe Turturro elevates the whole project. Witness to the Mob is an exercise in spotting the actors and actresses that would go on to appear in David Chase’s groundbreaking cable show, The Sopranos. The Sopranos explored every angle of the subject that has killed the gangster film sub-genre. Witness to the Mob has a hurried tone, which is necessary to cover the vast amount of information, locations, and characters in a 172-minute running time. This tale of the rise and fall of Sam Gravano should have been given the proper treatment of a six-episode order. Nicholas Turturro is a joy to watch perform; he gives this mini-series his all; and he imbues Gravano with humanity and charm, which are at odds with the horrific crimes he committed. The late Tom Sizemore, Phillip Baker Hall, and Abe Vigoda, along with Turturro, all bring A-level talent to a rudimentary TV movie.
Directed by: Thaddeus O’Sullivan
Written by: Stanley Weiser
Starring: Nicholas Turturro, Tom Sizemore, Debi Mazar