The Sicilian (1987) 20th Century Fox/Action-Drama RT: 146 minutes Rated R (language, strong violence, nudity, sexual content) Director: Michael Cimino Screenplay: Steven Shagan and Gore Vidal (uncredited) Music: David Mansfield Cinematography: Alex Thomson Release date: October 23, 1987 (US) Cast: Christopher Lambert, Terence Stamp, Joss Ackland, John Turturro, Barbara Sukowa, Richard Bauer, Giulia Boschi, Ray McAnally, Barry Miller, Andreas Katsulas, Michael Wincott, Ramon Bieri, Oliver Cotton, Joe Regalbuto, Aldo Ray, Derrick Branche, Richard Venture, Stanko Molnar, Tom Signorelli, Justin Clark, Trevor Ray. Box Office: $5.4M (US)
Rating: NO STARS!!!
Director Michael Cimino (The Deer Hunter) has taken a severe beating over Heaven’s Gate since New York Times critic Vincent Canby tore it to shreds after its premiere in November ’80. To be fair and accurate, that is NOT Cimino’s worst film. Not by a long shot!
That dubious honor belongs to The Sicilian, a completely incomprehensible adaptation of Mario Puzo’s 1984 novel. Yes, the same Mario Puzo that wrote The Godfather. It was hoped that it would be a cinematic masterpiece on par with Francis Ford Coppola’s multiple Oscar-winning film, but it doesn’t even come close. So much went wrong in translation that it’s a wonder Puzo didn’t sue to have him name removed from the credits.
The Sicilian is based on the real life exploits of Salvatore Giuliano, an Italian version of Robin Hood in that he robbed from the rich landowners to give to the impoverished peasants. The infamous bandit is played by Christopher Lambert, the French actor who played a Scotsman in the previous year’s Highlander. Not only does he affect the worst Italian accent I’ve heard since Dondi (1961), he’s so wooden he could play an adult Pinocchio without a single bit of makeup. The man has zero charisma which begs the question why anybody would follow him in the first place. With a leading performance this bad, there really isn’t much hope for the rest of the film.
Set in post-WWII Sicily, The Sicilian is told within the framework of a flashback of one of Giuliano’s closest associates, Gaspare Pisciotta (Turturro, Quiz Show). He sits in a jail cell relating his comrade’s story to Professor Hector Adonis (Bauer), stepfather to the late bandit. We then go back to where it all started with local police shooting Giuliani for trying to smuggle food to feed the peasants forced to work the land of the wealthy owners. Even though he’s badly wounded, he still manages to jump on a horse belonging to wealthy duchess Camilla (Sukowa, Hannah Arendt) and make it to a monastery where the local barber (Trevor Ray) says he will surely die. I’d ask for a second opinion if I was the patient.
Giuliani lives, but is forced to go into hiding in the mountains. He gathers a band of loyal men who assist him in his mission to obtain land for those who have none. In doing this, he angers a great many important folks, but still stays alive and well thanks to local Mafia don Masino Croce (Ackland, Lethal Weapon 2) who sees him as a son. Although he frequently proclaims his love for the infamous bandit, the arrogant and egotistical Giuliani refuses to meet with Croce.
Apparently, Giuliani is something of a ladies’ man. When he goes to rob the home of Prince Borsa (Stamp, The Limey), his wife Camilla takes him to their bedroom and rapes him. He’s also romantically involved with a beautiful peasant girl named Giovanna (Boschi) whose brother Silvio (Molnar) is heavily involved with Communist politics.
Over time, Giuliani gets too ambitious and overconfident for his own good. He summarily executes those he feels have betrayed him in some way. He goes against the wishes of the Mafia dons, the landowners and the Church. It’s finally decided that something has to be done about him after he’s responsible (sort of) for the mass slaughter of a group of Communist voters.
That’s The Sicilian in a nutshell. It doesn’t sound like much, but Cimino feels it necessary to stretch it out to almost two-and-a-half hours. Now that’s the uncut version subsequently released to video and DVD. When it played in theaters, it ran just short of two hours at the studio’s insistence. That version is a complete fiasco! It didn’t make a damn bit of sense. The additional 30 minutes clears a few things up, but it still remains a confusing mess. Characters come and go with little to no explanation. Giuliani’s transition into power-mad killer is nowhere to be found, it just happens. Of course, that could be due to Lambert’s terrible acting.
The Sicilian also fails miserably on an artistic level. Why does Cimino find it necessary to fill every scene with dust and dirt? It makes for a very ugly movie. At times, you can’t even tell what’s going on or who’s speaking. More than once, I felt tempted to take a bottle of Windex to the screen. The score by David Mansfield is actually quite beautiful; unfortunately, it wells up at the expected moments and drowns out the dialogue, not that any of it is worth hearing anyway.
Many times, Lambert strikes these heroic poses as if he thinks he’s starring in some great historical epic. He’s not! Equally miscast is London-born actor Ackland as Don Croce. Why Cimino didn’t hire an Italian actor is anybody’s guess. He has this one ridiculous scene where he dances with the countess in a nightclub. Fred and Ginger, they’re not! Both Sukowa and Boschi deliver terrible performances as well.
The Sicilian is a miserable failure on every single level. Even an uncredited rewrite by Gore Vidal does nothing to improve matters. It’s slow, incoherent, ugly, inept, factually inaccurate, totally miscast, badly acted, poorly written and incompetently directed. I can’t believe it’s from the same guy that gave us The Deer Hunter. As much as I disapprove of remakes, I think a remake of The Sicilian would be a great idea. I suggest letting Quentin Tarantino take a crack at it. Giuliani’s story would make a great film in the right hands. This is NOT that movie! Not by a long shot!
