The Sicilian (1987)

Egocentric bandit Salvatore Giuliano fights the Church, the Mafia, and the landed gentry while leading a populist movement for Sicilian independence.

Director:

Michael Cimino

Writers:

Mario Puzo (novel), Steve Shagan (screenplay)

Stars:

Christopher Lambert, Terence Stamp, Joss Ackland

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Lambert	...	Salvatore Giuliano
Terence Stamp	...	Prince Borsa
Joss Ackland	...	Don Masino Croce
John Turturro	...	Pisciotta
Richard Bauer	...	Hector Adonis
Barbara Sukowa	...	Camilla, Duchess of Crotone
Giulia Boschi	...	Giovanna Ferra
Ray McAnally	...	Trezza
Barry Miller	...	Dr. Nattore
Andreas Katsulas	...	Passatempa
Michael Wincott	...	Cpl. Silvestro Canio
Derrick Branche	...	Terranova
Richard Venture	...	Cardinal of Palermo
Ramon Bieri	...	Quintana
Stanko Molnar	...	Silvio Ferra

Storyline

Giuliano robs from the rich conservative landowners to give to the poor, serf-like peasants, who in turn hail him as their savior. As his popularity grows, so does his ego, and he eventually thinks he is above the power of his backer, Mafia Don Masino Croce. The Don, in turn, sets out to kill the upstart by convincing his cousin and closest advisor Pissciota to assassinate him

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Plot Keywords:

italy | mafia | sicilian | mafia don | landed gentry | 

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Taglines:

Only one man ever dared to stand alone.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gore Vidal did some uncredited rewrite work on the film. Vidal sued both screenwriter Steve Shagan and the Writer's Guild of America to receive screenplay credit. "I was defrauded of my work." Vidal eventually won the suit against WGA. In the DVD commentary of Year of the Dragon (1985), Michael Cimino said he learned a lot from working with Vidal.

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Goofs

The amount of shaving cream on Mayor Quintana's face when he is at the barbers.

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Quotes

Prince Borsa: Why are you so eager for people to love you?
Salvatore Giuliano: Why are you so eager for them to hate you?
Prince Borsa: Hate me? They don't. They can't. I'm the prince. I'm like the south wind from Africa, I've always been here. You haven't.
Pisciotta: We don't get that ransom soon you won't be here much longer.
Prince Borsa: Then my son will be the prince, and the south wind goes on.
Pisciotta: I hate you people! What you've done to us.
Prince Borsa: You don't hate me. You hate not being me. But if you were born me, you would have never been you. So you can take my money, my life...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

Originally released at 115 minutes in the USA. A 146-minutes director's cut is available on video and at least in Europe as a region 2 DVD.

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Connections

Featured in Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004)

User Reviews

Cimino does "epic" again - with predictably awful results

Cimno obviously hadn't learned from "Heaven's Gate", which isn't the disaster it's made out to be, just too long and too caught up in its subplots. "The Sicilian" copies the mistakes, but this time around it doesn't even have the beauty or breath of "Heaven's Gate". Nor its good actors. Christopher Lambert is a disaster in the title role. He tries to get by on his good looks and roguish twinkle in the eye, but his charisma is non-existent and it's hard to believe him as a folk hero who can move the masses. Helena Sukova is also a disappointment. Terrence Stamp's performance is hard to measure fairly, due to a poor dubbing job inflicted on him in post production. Only John Torturro as his usual nervous self is worth the money, as is Joss Ackland as the don of dons in Sicily.

Apart from the acting problems, this film is also spectacularly dull. Cimino stretches a repetitious, drawn-out story over almost two and a half hours, when 90 minutes and some judicious editing would have served him better here. Because things shuffle on at a snail's pace and many scenes seem completely superfluous (also known as the "Heaven's Gate" syndrome), the viewer quickly loses interest. Which in turn is a problem with this densely plotted and at times confusing film. There are so many betrayals, broken deals and secret alliances, that at some point the viewer is bound to be confused, especially if he's trying to keep up interest in a movie that doesn't deserve it. Seriously, give "Heaven's Gate" a try instead of this. You might lose an additional hour of your life, but you'll be awarded with a flawed epic instead of this epic failure.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Sicilian

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,720,351, 25 October 1987

Gross USA:

$5,406,879

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,406,879

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gladden Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min 146 min (Director's Cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1