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.

About the Author

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.

Reviews

"Mafia Movies: A Reader is a rich resource for those interested in the representation of mafias in American and Italian productions. [...] The revised edition not only has a broader scope but it has also doubled the number of contributions on about fifty productions which makes it useful both to scholars and students alike."

- Inge Lanslots, KU Leuven, Belgium (Annali d'italianistica)



Book Information
ISBN 9781487500238
Author Dana Renga
Format Hardback
Page Count 277
Imprint University of Toronto Press
Publisher University of Toronto Press
Weight(grams) 1040g
Dimensions(mm) 239mm * 196mm * 33mm