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The Valachi Papers

The Valachi Papers

Crime · Drama · 1972

When Joe Valachi has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese, he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to break the sacred code of silence.

Movie details

The Valachi Papers

“The Valachi Papers. Fact not Fiction.”

1972 Crime · Drama 2h 5m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.4 / 10

4.7K votes

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

When Joe Valachi has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese, he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to break the sacred code of silence.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Valachi Papers?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Terence Young

Written by

Stephen Geller

Charles Bronson

Charles Bronson

Joe Valachi

Lino Ventura

Lino Ventura

Vito Genovese

Jill Ireland

Jill Ireland

Maria Reina Valachi

Walter Chiari

Walter Chiari

Dominick Petrilli, aka "Gap"

Joseph Wiseman

Joseph Wiseman

Salvatore Maranzano

Gerald S. O'Loughlin

Gerald S. O'Loughlin

Ryan, federal agent

Amedeo Nazzari

Amedeo Nazzari

Gaetano Reina

Court is in session

Put The Valachi Papers on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.