Mafia Confidential

Release Date: 2018

Watch Date: May 30, 2023

“Toto Riina was, without a doubt, one of the most ferocious and ruthless Mafia bosses of all time – more than living up to his nicknames, “The Beast” and “The Boss of The Bosses.” This fascinating new biography charts his story from poverty-stricken beginnings to head of the Cosa Nostra – via a route littered with crime and indiscriminate murder – to his capture in 1993 and his death behind bars last year. Key episodes and events in his life are revisited through the people who have known, feared or fought him. These include a senior prosecutor in charge of the State-Mafia Pact, his one-time closest aide and trusted driver, a female photographer who became a target, a detective and the wife of one of his victims.”

    Mobsters are over romanticized and Toto Riina probably was as well, he probably still is by some. But what this documentary shows, and what’s important to take away, is that he was a cold-blooded killer, a criminal, and a man who felt no remorse for his actions.

    This is actually a very well balanced documentary, featuring not only people affected by his crimes, and people who strove to put an end to his reign, but also by people who liked him. Now do 50% of the people interviewed who liked him end up informing on him? Yes. But still, it shows a balanced picture of a man who probably didn’t deserve it.

    While Riina is probably the man who sent countless people to their death, only the highlights of his murderous intentions are shown here, and they are gruesome. Not every kill ordered my a Mafia Boss can be connected back to them, but it’s not like a lot of people are killing without direct orders. And I appreciate that while this documentary doesn’t shy away from the brutality of the crimes, it also doesn’t feel the need to showcase every single one he inevitably had some knowledge of.

    Now, I found this special to be a little on the dry side, despite the utter horror that was shown on the screen, and that’s mostly – I think – because it was dubbed. There’s not as much emotion in the English voice actors translations, and also the subs tend to not match what’s being spoken, probably following the Italian translation more accurately, and that can kind of be a little off putting. And yes, we do watch all of our shows exclusively with subtitles, we have small children and often you can’t hear whatever we’re watching.

    All told, if you’re interested in the biographies of criminals, which some people are – don’t ask me why, this does a very solid job of walking you through Riina’s life. I mean, there’s not a ton spoken about his early life, and next to nothing about his later family life, but let’s be honest, that’s not what people are interested in and he probably never divulged too much of that anyways. There are definitely more romanticized versions of similar stories, and I’m sure there will be quite a few future movies where the mafia is going to be the hero of the piece, so I appreciate one where the brutality isn’t hidden.