Corleone: The Godfather of Godfathers | Power Through Blood (Part I)

A 2019 Arte France History Documentary Film, directed by Mosco Levi Boucault. Audio in French with English subtitles.

The film traces the life journey of the head of the Cosa Nostra, Salvatore Riina, alias Totò Riina. This documentary shows archival images and rare footage, and calls on the judges, lawyers and policemen who have been involved in affairs linked to the mafia, but also on former killers of Totò Riina, “repented” henchmen, some of whom are free today, with new identities, or remain in prison. The Film also evokes the “Maxi-Trial” of Palermo, which was held between February 1986 and December 1987, during which 475 accused were convicted because of their activities linked to the mafia, most especially thanks to the testimony of the former mafia chief Tommaso Buscetta. This Maxi-Trial was held a gigantic bunker especially constructed for this occasion, close to the Ucciardone prison, to limit any risk of prison breaks.

Part I: From the origins - these henchmen assigned by the Sicilian aristocracy with managing the peasants working their land - to the "mafia war" which, from 1979 to 1982, saw the men of Totò Riina, known as the "Belva", the fawn, leader for five years of the clan of Corleone, a town near Palermo, decimating rival families to take control of Cosa Nostra.