The Sicilian (film)
| The Sicilian | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Michael Cimino |
| Produced by | Joann Carelli Michael Cimino Bruce McNall Sidney Beckerman (executive producer) |
| Screenplay by |
Steve Shagan Gore Vidal (uncredited) |
| Based on |
The Sicilian by Mario Puzo |
| Starring |
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| Music by | David Mansfield |
| Cinematography | Alex Thomson |
| Edited by | Françoise Bonnot |
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Production
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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115 minutes (theatrical) 146 minutes (director's cut) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English Italian |
| Budget | $16.5 million (Estimated) |
| Box office | $5,406,879 (Domestic) |
The Sicilian is a 1987 action film based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzo. It was directed by Michael Cimino and stars Christopher Lambert, Joss Ackland and Terence Stamp.
Salvatore Giuliano, the infamous bandit, together with his rag-tag band of guerrillas, attempted to liberate early 1950s Sicily from Italian rule and make it an American state. Giuliano robs from the rich conservative landowners to give to the peasants, who in turn hail him as their savior. As his popularity grows, so does his ego, and he eventually thinks he is above the power of his backer, Mafia Don Masino Croce. The Don, in turn, sets out to kill the upstart by convincing his cousin and closest adviser Gaspare to assassinate him.
Due to the huge success of The Godfather, Mario Puzo was given $1 million for the movie rights to his novel The Sicilian.David Begelman, head of Gladden Entertainment at the time, hired Michael Cimino to direct. When producer Bruce McNall met with Cimino at a dinner in Los Angeles, he complained loudly about the script and Begelman's interference with casting. Cimino wanted Christopher Lambert for the lead role and Begelman was concerned about a French actor starring in a movie about an Italian hero in an English-speaking movie. To move forward, Begelman and McNall gave Cimino what he wanted with regards to the script and casting.
Gore Vidal did some uncredited rewrite work on the film. Vidal sued both screenwriter Steve Shagan and the Writer's Guild of America to receive screenplay credit. "I was defrauded of my work." Vidal eventually won the suit against WGA. In the DVD commentary of Year of the Dragon, Cimino said he learned a lot from working with Vidal.
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Wikipedia