A documentary mini series.
The story of the Italian-American families who once ruled New York and spread fear are well-known, and glorified in numerous mafia feature films. This documentary series reveals the details of the real families, the FBI agents involved in their takedown and the lawyers who brought them to justice. Gripping and well-shot.
The fascination of the mafia has been a part of popular culture, especially driven by novels and films such as Mario Puzo's The Godfather. The violence and ruthlessness of mafia power is often shown from a perspective that makes is more acceptable, leading to mafia bosses being (at least partly) admired and humanised. In reality, of course, many people involved in mafia structures deserve very little sympathy, as is shown in this new documentary series.
The documentary series Fear City: New York vs. the Mafia was produced by Netflix and released in the summer of 2020. It chronologically retells the events of the 1980s, when the influence of the mafia was at its height, and law enforcement finally found a meaningful legal way to take the heads of the families down for good. The historical footage from surveillance and news is very interesting, but it is the retelling of involved people that makes the story really come to life. The people involved in the documentary range from lawyers and FBI agents to mob associates, showing the different perspectives and retelling their own involvement. As surveillance and bugging were the main methods used to collect evidence, there is a stunning collection of soundbites and photographic evidence of meetings, some of which has never been released before.
An interesting element from today's perspective is also the involvement of the mafia in the construction business in New York. Among the people shown in the real estate business at the time is also Donald Trump, who has - as many others - also profited in the years when large construction sites were omnipresent in the streets of Manhattan. And even more involved in the entire story is another prominent Republican figure, Rudy Giuliani. He is shown both in historical footage and in new interviews, detailing his role in the legal side of events, as he was district attorney at the time.
Overall, this documentary series is interesting for audiences who want to know more about the history of New York, and who are interested in crime stories. For fans of mafia films and series such as Goodfellas, The Sopranos, Casino, Boardwalk Empire, Once Upon a Time in America, The Irishman etc., this series provides an interesting background.
