Black Hand Strawman
by Charles Ferruzza
As the grandson of Sicilian immigrants, I don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed by local filmmaker Terence O'Malley's long but riveting documentary Black Hand Strawman, about the history of the Mafia in Kansas City. My father had the same reaction to The Godfather, which was released to a firestorm of criticism by Italian-Americans enraged at continually being typecast in films as coldblooded gangsters. O'Malley's detailed profile could spark similar complaints. In fact, the director opens his film with national TV news footage from 1972 — when the Italian-American Unification Council bought every seat for The Godfather's local premiere, at the Empire Theatre, and then boycotted the screening. Black Hand Strawman is far more disturbing than The Godfather or Casino. The brutality and bloodshed, vividly depicted in press photos and video footage, is all too real. O'Malley breaks his film into somewhat choppy chapters and indulges a leisurely pace until the last third, when brazen corruption and turf battles explode into violence and murder. Martin Scorsese couldn't do KC better than that.
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Anyone know about music used on the opening for the video with the drum solo? I love it. Bud
Contrary to what O�Malley claims, this film's only success is the blatant denigration of Italian-Americans. The filmmaker chose heinous photographs (autopsy, crime scene photos, etc.) to portray the �characters� of this saga, with no regard for the families who still reside in the wonderful city of Kansas City. The Italian-Americans of Kansas City represent a rich, vibrant culture. These individuals, many children of organized crime, have gone on to achieve great things. Doctors, lawyers, and business owners make up the group that has been besmirched by O�Malley�s portrayals. There is an appropriate way to depict history, and there is also an undignified, disrespectful manner in which to portray these events. O�Malley is nothing more then a greedy opportunist who chose the later for his own personal gain. Please do not support him by going to see his film.
Contrary to what O’Malley claims, this film's only success is the blatant denigration of Italian-Americans. The filmmaker chose heinous photographs (autopsy, crime scene photos, etc.) to portray the “characters” of this saga, with no regard for the families who still reside in the wonderful city of Kansas City. The Italian-Americans of Kansas City represent a rich, vibrant culture. These individuals, many children of organized crime, have gone on to achieve great things. Doctors, lawyers, and business owners make up the group that has been besmirched by O’Malley’s portrayals. There is an appropriate way to depict history, and there is also an undignified, disrespectful manner in which to portray these events. O’Malley is nothing more then a greedy opportunist who chose the later for his own personal gain. Please do not support him by going to see his film.
Going into the movie with high expectations, I was hugely disappointed and thoroughly bored by the powerpoint-esque nature of the whole movie and felt that the pace was lethargic and the content was poorly edited. I found myself wishing I had a pen and paper handy in order to quickly jot down the members of family trees seeing as how the names were fired at the audience like a machine gun. Even more wasteful was the fact that key characters were rapidly and tangentially described as, "having been recently married," or "leaving behind one kid and a wife," while the plot moved on so quickly to the next person that the information seemed wasted.
All in all I believe the director was obviously able to find a plethora of information but had a poor eye for first laying out a cohesive yet concise story line (perhaps shortening the time covered would have allowed such indulgences) and secondly having a weak stomach for editing material. Good concept, great findings (pics and articles) but poor presentation and editing. Keep it up though, you are bound to improve from here.
Going into the movie with high expectations, I was hugely disappointed and thoroughly bored by the powerpoint-esque nature of the whole movie and felt that the pace was lethargic and the content was poorly edited. I found myself wishing I had a pen and paper handy in order to quickly jot down the members of family trees seeing as how the names were fired at the audience like a machine gun. Even more wasteful was the fact that key characters were rapidly and tangentially described as, "having been recently married," or "leaving behind one kid and a wife," while the plot moved on so quickly to the next person that the information seemed wasted. All in all I believe the director was obviously able to find a plethora of information but had a poor eye for first laying out a cohesive yet concise story line (perhaps shortening the time covered would have allowed such indulgences) and secondly having a weak stomach for editing material. Good concept, great findings (pics and articles) but poor presentation and editing. Keep it up though, you are bound to improve from here.
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