Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
Go back 20 years and tell me that ANYONE would've thought Joe Pesci would've 'won' a movie w/ DeNiro and Pacino.
Even in Goodfellas he seemed overmatched by DeNiro (who was in the midst of his prime, IMO) and Liota.
I think they may have overplayed the 'understated quasi Mafia-Don' persona, but I don't know Buffalino's history all that well.
The 50's and 60's were such a fascinating time for NY Organized crime. All the post-war jockeying of the families to establish territory in the wake of Luciano's deportation makes for some good reading. Luciano himself is a really interesting character as well with Lansky and Siegel. Luciano essentially created the 'NY Mafia' as we know it.
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The Mafia in the 60's and 70's went underground and the bosses were quiet as hell as well as out of the spotlight. You would NEVER see a mafia boss and say "OH, that guy's a gangster." They didn't dress like hoods, they didn't drive flashy cars or big houses and kept real low profiles.
The big turning point of the mob coming above ground and the dumb street rats taking over and destroying the mob was Nicky Scarfo first in Philly killing Angelo Bruno and setting off a violent mob war and then flashy John Gotti killed Paul Castellano. Once those two goons took over the mob went from quiet ruthless businessmen to loud obnoxious serial killers and psychopaths.
Those two guys decimated the mob in about 10-15 years.
Some of the new old time leaders from Italy are trying to bring it back underground.