PAY OR DIE

This was purchased as a gift to be given to the person next week. He raved about seeing majority of this old black & white movie while a patient in the hospital. I can hardly wait to give it to him…he’s going to be sooooooo shocked that it was available for purchase.Thanks Amazon!!!

I am very happy that this excellent film was finally committed to DVD format. A precursor to "The Godfather" and its progeny, this film released on the heals of the studios earlier big hit "Al Capone" told the tale of an Italian-American from the other side of the tracks, the ever-courageous and dedicated Lt. Giuseppe "Joe" Petrosino, one of the New York City Police Department's most honored heroes who fought the "Black Hand" and the early Mafia in New York City almost single-handedly for some 20+ years.While some scenes are wildly exaggerated (especially those involving the great tenor Enrico Caruso - there was no car bombing; Petrosino caught the extortionist and gave him a going over), some are actually taken from his actual cases (his entering the warehouse of a rag-dealer inside a bundle of rags, his tossing "Lupo the Wolf", New York City's most feared hitman into a trash can (actually, Lupo had threatened to kill Petrosino, the detective got word of it, met Lupo at "The Wolf's" place of business, exchanged words and according to eyewitnesses, Petrosino's fist shot out, Lupo went down and the detective beat him up in the middle of the street and then tossed him into an empty ash can for all to see that he was nothing more than "a punk".While all contemporary accounts of the detective mentioned that he rarely smiled and always displayed a guarded demeanor, Ernest Borgnine, one of our finest actors gives a heart-rending performance of a man who was one of his childhood heroes. I have always thought his performance of Joseph Petrosino was second only to his Oscar-winning performance as "Marty".Very good direction but this film could have been a major classic if it had been directed by Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola, both of whom were too young at the time it was produced.If you like this genre, you will greatly enjoy this film and you may also enjoy "The Black Hand" produced in the early 50's with Gene Kelly and the ubiquitous J. Carrol Naish who plays Lt. Louis Lorelli, definitely based on Lt. Joe Petrosino.

Absolutely thrilled you guys carry old movie DVD's !This movie is old world mafia at its finest, great actors too, and the guy at the beginning of the film is so gorgeous can keep my eyes off him, Ha!

Ernest Borgnine honors the memory of the real world police officer, Joe Petrosino, who took on the brutal and deadly Black Hand--the progenitor of the mafia. It's an excellent companion / visualization of the book "The Black Hand: The Epic War Between a Brilliant Detective and the Deadliest Secret Society in American History" that helps you visualize the era, clothing, and nastiness of the Black Hand, as well as the challenges faced by good men like Petrosino.

"PAY OR DIE" IS ABOUT THE REAL LIFE SAGA OF NYC POLICE LIEUTENANT JOSEPH PETROSINO. HIS EARLY ATTEMPTS TO BRING DOWN THE MAFIA BAND KNOWN AS THE BLACK HAND COST HIM HIS LIFE AFTER HE FOUND OUT THE NEW YORK HEAD OF THE GROUP,AND TO HIS DEMISE, THE CAPO MAFIA HEAD. ERNEST BORGNINE PORTRAYS PETROSINO AS A TOUGH AND GENTLE LAWMAN OUT TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT CITIZENS OF LOWER NYC DURING THE EARLY 1900'S. "PAY OR DIE" IS A REALISTIC FILM ABOUT THE EARLY DAYS OF THE MAFIA HOLD KNOWN AS THE BLACK HAND.

Earnest Borgnine Stars in this film about the early days of the mafia in the United States based on a true story I enjoyed it and glad that I found this film after searching for so long.

I gladly would have given this film four stars if it hadn't been for the terrible music. Simply put, the music is too overwhelming and excessive for this otherwise fine movie. To me, it sounds like really bad TV episode music from a cheap television show. Like something from "F Troop" or "The Rat Patrol". Frankly, the music almost ruined this film for me. And this is surprising, considering that it was composed by the otherwise very talented David Raksin, who did such solid work elsewhere. Maybe he was having a bad -- a very bad -- day when he wrote this score. That being said, if you can get past the awful music, you will enjoy this exciting tale about a heroically honest cop, Joe Petrosino, who does his very best to shield New York's Little Italy from the sinister and corrosive influence of The Black Hand. This organization, which really existed, was a kind of shadowy cousin to the Mafia. It used brutality, threats, cruelty, and collateral violence to extort money and submissiveness from the Italian immigrant community -- especially around the turn of the 20th century. For example, this movie primarily takes place in the period between 1905 and 1910. Ernest Borgnine is impressive, if a little stiff and wooden, in the heroic role. You really can't go wrong with Borgnine, he's such a gifted actor. I have to say, though, that there is some incongruity between Borgnine's acting style here, which is somewhat melodramatic, and the acting style of the female lead, Zohra Lampert. She is a very naturalistic performer, like Anne Bancroft in The Graduate. The problem here is that her natural acting technique, and Borgnine's excessive stiffness, don't really mesh artistically. Their scenes together are jarring and awkward. It's like they are from completely different schools of acting. Anyway, the plot is very compelling, and moves right along at a satisfying clip. There is plenty of suspense, and film noirish tension. And some of the violence is shocking and disturbing. An early scene, for example, where a child is harmed simply because her parents can't pay the extortion money, is particularly upsetting and grim. There are also terrorist acts by The Black Hand that are bloodthirsty and vicious, and hard to watch. Of course, you will be rooting for Borgnine to obliterate this terrible organization of criminals; not only are they parasites on their own people, but their methods are cruel and vile. Cinematographer Lucien Ballard, known for his sterling film noir work, does a marvelous job of photographing this film. Richard Wilson also does a smooth and confident job of directing. This is solid and exciting entertainment -- I just wish the thoroughly unpleasant music wasn't such a liability.

Little known but excellent movie about the Mafia and the detective who went after them . No Hollywood in here, just facts

This is an excellent musical movie, with wonderful performances . However the movie is spoiled to a certain degree by the frame cropping - to the point wheretwo thirds of a character is off screen or almost off screen altogether. I would like to see the movie in its original wide-screen format.

BEL FILM MUSICALE, CON STRAORDINARIE MUSICHE E COREOGRAFIE, INTEPRETATO OTTIMAMENTE DA ARTISTI SPECIALIZZATI NEL GENERE MUSICAL. bASATO SULLA VITA DI OTTIMI COMPOSITORI DELL'EPOCA DE SYLVA, BROWN,HENDERSON, I QUALI HANNO CONTRIBUITO A RENDERE IL MONDO MUSICALE/CANZONI AMERICANE, MOLTO INTERESSANTE.... PER CHI AMA I FILM MUSICALI QUESTO E' UN GRAN BEL FILM, DIRETTO DAL MAGO DEL GENERE MICHAEL CURTIZ....

For decades I heard about this movie, from older Italians who claimed it was a great and "realistic" mafia movie. I've looked for this DVD for many years and was surprised to finally find it, although as an expensive import version. I took a chance and bought it and was glad I did. The transfer is very clean, the acting is good (although a bit dated), and you can see where mafia films like "The Godfather" were influneced by this film. I only wish I could have found it cheaper. Highly recommended.

Concordo con l'altro recensore. Vada per la mediocre definizione dell'immagine. Ma la beffa sta nel tagliare il quadro ai lati senza bisogno alcuno dopo i titoli di testa. E, secondo me, oltre l'1 a 1,33, com'è solitamente lo schermo "panoramico" da prima della guerra. Qui il quadro viene ulteriormente sforbiciato ai lati, tanto da apparire, in luogo del 2,33 a 1, del Cinemascope, un 1 a 1, se non peggio. Che i tecnici fossero in vena di scherzare??? Non credo. L'ho già rilevato in altro luogo. Ho riscontrato tante assurdità ai danni del cinema del passato negli ultimi 30, che il sospetto di un premeditato accanimento nei confronti di chi ama, come me, gli anni '40 e '50 è legittimo. Un'ultima cosa. Abbiamo televisori rettangolari, nei quale il Cinemascope entra in modo accettabile, perché oscurare i 2 lati quando potevano lasciare le cose come per i titoli di testa. Leon Shamroy inaugurò il Cinemascope con La Tunica, cui seguirono Sinhue, Papà Gambalunga, L'Amore è una...,Il Re e io, Cleopatra, il Cardinale, dal 1927 al Pianeta delle Scimmie. Un maestro. Lasciateci gustare queste chicche, dato che non costa niente. E più cura per il fuoco, la luce, il colore che il De Luxe è addirittura sgargiante

Dopo il logo del Cinemascope e i titoli di testa, l'immagina viene tagliata ai lati e portata al formato 1.33:1 come nelle vecchie VHS e con una definizione molto bassa. Poca differenza con la copia in inglese disponibile gratuitamente su Youtube! Un altro un vecchio film massacrato.