Overview

The mafia has always fascinated filmmakers and television producers. Al Capone, Salvatore Giuliano, Lucky Luciano, Ciro Di Marzio, Roberto Saviano, Don Vito and Michael Corleone, and Tony Soprano are some of the historical and fictional figures that contribute to the myth of the Italian and Italian-American mafias perpetuated onscreen. This collection looks at mafia movies and television over time and across cultures, from the early classics to the Godfather trilogy and contemporary Italian films and television series. The only comprehensive collection of its type, Mafia Movies treats over fifty films and TV shows created since 1906, while introducing Italian and Italian-American mafia history and culture. The second edition includes new original essays on essential films and TV shows that have emerged since the publication of the first edition, such as Boardwalk Empire and Mob Wives, as well as a new roundtable section on Italy's ""other"" mafias in film and television, written as a collaborative essay by more than ten scholars. The edition also introduces a new section called ""Double Takes"" that elaborates on some of the most popular mafia films and TV shows (e.g. The Godfather and The Sopranos) organized around themes such as adaptation, gender and politics, urban spaces, and performance and stardom.

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9781487500238

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Reviews

This book provides compelling insight into the fascination that the world of the mafia holds for both filmmakers and audiences. It is clear that the popular appetite for mafia stories has not dissipated, as these narratives are now being reproduced across different media platforms, reflecting themes utterly pertinent to the global present. - Aine O'Healy, Loyola Marymount University This new edition blurs any rigid distinction between cinema and television, mapping a growing transmedia arena through its characters, adaptations, and authors, and making space for discussion and for multiple takes on single issues. Mafia Movies is both a fundamental reference and a solid training ground for audiovisual analysis. - Luca Barra, Universita di Bologna This terrific collection of essays is the ultimate reader for those interested in grasping the full complexity of the mafia phenomenon and its many myths. - Sergio Rigoletto, Department of Romance Languages, University of Oregon

Author Information

Dana Renga is an associate professor of Italian at The Ohio State University. She is the author of Unfinished Business: Screening the Italian Mafia in the New Millennium (2013) and Watching Sympathetic Perpetrators on Italian Television: Gomorrah and Beyond (2019) and has published extensively on Italian cinema and television.

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