First episode was really interesting. As someone who read a lot about organized crime, especially in USA, I was surprised by some new details that I did not know. In the end, it was really well made.
But there are several things I completely did not like.
First of all, where is Bonnano crime family? All we hear the whole show is how they got "Big Five", but always mention only four. You know why? Because Bonanno was not actually in the Commission at that moment in time (read about 1963 plot and Donnie Brasko). So basically they went off easily in the end. And Bonnano were very ruthless and huge family, who got even stronger in the 90s (I believe in part because all the other families had to recover after the Commission trials). But because that would not sound so cool, that the biggest blow was on four out of five, we never hear about them.
Secondly, it astonished me how they talked about John Gotti. The man was basically THE boss of New York. He was mentioned couple of times, but we also never hear directly how huge he got after killing his boss.
And my biggest complaint is of course about Fat Tony Salerno. All three episodes we hear about how they got the boss of one of the most powerfull families. And he did do a lot of nasty crime, but what we NEVER hear about is that he was not actually the boss. He was just a front, a relay to the real one - Lombardo and then Gigante. If you watched Sopranos, he was basically Uncle Junior. And this could have easily be mentioned, that would show that Mafia can still elude some justice. But all we hear about how they got the boss, when actual leader was still free (while Salerno got 100 years).
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notdelnov23 July 2020
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roondogbb16 October 2020I'm unsure as to why so many people on this platform are being so harsh to what I perceived to be a very solid and interesting documentary. A lot of people are saying. " Well it's nothing I've not seen or heard before." That may well be the case and it's the case if many documentaries on certain types of topics. I.e ww2 documentaries. They all are the same at the core because the events can only be described in so many ways. This documentary told the facts of the mob bosses in a very clear way and spoke with many of the key individuals involved in said take down. I'm not sure if this has been down before. So I can't judge. A lot of people also complained about the overly artsy style of having video of 1980s new york in the background and having videos of tape reels playing. Honestly you need something playing and breaks up from simply seeing the people being interviewed. My advice is at least watch the first 15 mins if the first episode. By then you'll know if you want to turn it off or not.
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lovro-22 July 2020It's like watching a mafia movie with De Niro in it but then you realize this is real and all of this really happened. The series could have been more detailed and expanded because there was certainly more to it than they showed us. Also i liked that they had Michael Franzese talking about how it was as this was his regular life.
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xaaf_de_raaf25 July 2020They could have done everything in a single episode. It was too stretched and nothing new.
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Worth watching but if you're a fan of anything mafia related, this doc series isn't really going to show you anything you haven't seen or heard before.
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Quite underwhelming, the story has been told many times and the documentary didn't really feature any new or lesser known angles of the era. Also towards the end of the documentary it turned into some strange Pro Giuliani propaganda as if he were some superhero against the mob. All in all, not terrible but not amazing. If you already know the story about the mafia being taken down, give it a miss.
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osamabinmasood4 August 2020I loved the cinematography and the creativity with which they presented the whole documentary. The 70s video cutaways and the interviews in old cars was very creatively executed.
The story was well put together and the sequences in the middle which were retelling an old story of how a wiretap was installed was very interesting and creative. I really enjoyed the whole documentary and I was left very satisfied in the end.
Great work. -
dosleeb4 August 2020How does this doco just gloss over the fact that the 6 o'clock NBC news was willing to undermine and ruin years of FBI work?
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dayana4212 August 2020Fear City is an Excellent documentary, well made and about an important subject..Don't pay attention to bad reviews, they are political because Rudy Giuliani is praised for his work in NY as Attorney general.
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ciprian79-197-63623823 July 2020So what if it have been told before? But it's a little boring.
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TheMoveeMan18 August 2020The over dramatization trying to make everything look cool comes of as awkward and boring. The story moves so slowly because of this..just tell the story.
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jeremyamaillet27 July 2020To put it bluntly fear city is boring. Fear city tries to retell the events from the police's perspective in taking down the five mafia families in New York city yet it falls flat. The show is very short and completely lacking of substance, what little content was provided was often drawn out and simply not interesting. Multiple times the show wasted 10+ minutes retelling how some big time mobster's house was bugged. That's cool and all but it really falls flat when the viewer is never introduced to the mobster other than 'he is a soldier in this family and people fear him.' I like seeing the police perspective and all but not so much to the point where the crimes of the mobsters aren't mentioned. Fear city gives you just enough to keep you watching but little enough to where you feel like nothing has happened. It makes the show feel very dumbed down and perhaps it is. I would only ever recommend this to someone who wants to solely see the police side of things with little to no specifics on how the mafia broke the law.
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It was decent. Not great, not horrible. But it just struck me as though it was something that was written, produced, and directed by Giuliani and Chertoff - kind of like throwing your own birthday party or owning your own newspaper and proclaiming "I am the greatest!" I mean, great....you got some of the Wiseguy bosses in the 1980's. But anyone that keeps up with the Mob knows these families are still very much thriving with new bosses (in the shadows), with new tactics, and new ventures. So, I don't see what all their huge celebrations were about. But again...fairly entertaining.
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Not bad-really for Mob movie fans only-the obsession Netflix has with blaming Donald Trump for everything under the sun reached a new height with this one-the guy literally has nothing to do with the story but the viewer keeps seeing his name and face as if he was the only guy to ever build anything in Manhattan.
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If in recent years you've tired of watching "the Cartel" crime exposes it might be a hook to see something that came before? You might find something new about The Mafia as an interesting diversion. I imagine this is what the producers of "Fear City" are thinking as in remember when the government actually did go after crime and make much needed wins. This is what this three-part series is all about. Our NYC reduced to The Mob's piggybank and how it was taken back.
This, in spite of the multi-parts, is very much a quick overview that for what it tells could probably be edited much tighter. It doesn't go into the myriad violent crimes or rackets concentrating on mostly the construction and services industry that in hubris were taken over. We're given just enough of the methods and the actual folks involved to give both sides somewhat of a face. It doesn't go into but a very compact part of the major violence and murder as such and what is left after the dismantling of the five families is the vacuum in which The Mob refused to just go away. I guess the point is that "the fear" that was so prevalent in the seventies into the mid-eighties was squashed and a semblance of law and order was restored. There is, obviously, a lot more to this and within these limitations I'd say the series is definitely worth a watch after being clobbered over the past five years with the various south of the border cartel stuff. While the U.S. prosecutors and FBI did an outstanding job it can't help but be said The Mob did their own selves in as well. It is said crime never sleeps though and it's a sure bet The Mafia like a virus mutates. -
lhmosca14 April 2021It's terrifying how much control the mob had (has??) over so much in our country. I know these bosses went to prison what, almost 40 years ago, but what's being done NOW to take the next generation down. I'm not too confident in anything being done. Rudy G. Is the MAN!
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hassanlawati27 July 2020A 'bad' summarized version of all Martin Scorsese's movies !
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orxanbehremli16 August 2020Good topic but poor execution.
This series could have been a lot, lot better if producers worked on it a bit more. Looks like so much story was just shoehorned into 3 episodes. -
classicsoncall6 August 2020This documentary provides an overview of how the Mafia became an entrenched power in the life of New York City during the era of the Seventies and early Eighties. It's not bad, though the pacing is somewhat inconsistent, and if you've followed the Mafia in movies, books and newspaper articles, there's probably not a lot new to learn here. That's especially true for anyone who lived through the era and happened to reside in the city or it's outlying suburbs in which papers like the New York Daily News, The Times, or The New York Post had a reach. It wasn't unusual to see a front page depiction of the latest mob rub out with it's screaming headlines to start your day off right.
For younger viewers who wouldn't know of his involvement in taking down the Mafia, Rudy Giuliani will prove to be a surprising presence. Giuliani made his mark nationally as the New York Attorney General who coordinated the massive effort to target the five Mafia families individually, while establishing the link that bound them all together as The Commission. Predominantly done via patient stakeouts and cleverly placed wiretaps, the FBI was able to gradually build enough of a case to bring the mob to heel.
Currently running on Netflix, the series consists of three chapters of about forty five minutes each, so not much longer than your average movie and easy enough to take in, in one sitting. The documentary feel is enhanced with plenty of TV footage from back in the day, and if one has any knowledge at all of the old time Mafia, the names will come flooding back in a torrent of Seventies nostalgia. -
Kingslaay1 August 2020I am very interested and fascinated with Mob life and favourite film is Goodfellas. So was very eager to watch this. This is not a bad documentary overall. It scores points by having some authentic footage and actual tapes. However I also felt a massive opportunity was missed. Perhaps an episode could be dedicated to each of the 5 families? Showing their origins and key figures. Mentioning other big events such as Henry Hill turning informant during the same time period they were focusing on wouldn't have hurt. I feel going into the rich and fascinating history of each family would give the viewer more appreciation for the case against the Commission. Still pleased there was a special on the mob life.
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elliotjeory25 July 2020Nothing new or interesting in this series and left out a lot of interesting stuff such as about John Gotti and Roy Demeo. It's also very one sided and just gave versions of events from FBI agents who think there hilarious which reminds of that other show McMillions where the FBI were also comedians too. Anyway, a lot of pointless shots and more style than substance. I found it funny how they interviewed a barber in episode 1 not because he was in the mob, but because he had the thickest Brooklyn accent you will ever hear lol.