OVERVIEW
Set in a fictional city during prohibition America, it tells the tale of Thomas Angelo as he slips into the sordid world of the mafia. The plot was the big draw for the game – apparently the screenplay was 400 pages long – with clear influences from The Godfather and Goodfellas, staple classic movies of the crime genre. These weren’t just nods or quick jokes, as where Rockstar had a name like the Leone mafia family or a level title of “Keep your friends close… ” in the GTA games, Mafia has characters, scenes and pure atmosphere that is straight out of the genre and setting.
I hope to show just how amazing the story of Mafia really is. The cutscenes, for their time, were fantastic and far more emotional than other games of the time. The player feels like a real mobster, with a history and feelings, not just some goon taking on bizarre missions for the sake of it.
On the other hand, it’s no secret that the gameplay never shined quite like the GTA series or other similar games, making for frustrating moments due to realistic combat damage and poor AI. Part of this could be explained in that Mafia went with authenticity over GTA’s surrealism and over the top nature, which I think matches the script.
With the sequel due out soon, I decided to take a look back at the original Mafia. I don’t know if there will be as much to note on as in my StarCraft commentary, but, well, let’s take a look in the river for anyone with concrete shoes, capiche?
WARNING: Naturally, this article includes the script for the game so spoilers are within. There are some great twists in the plot so if you’ve never played it then I believe Mafia is definitely a game you should experience for yourself as it was intended by the developers before reading ahead.
This script is like reading a screenplay instead of watching a movie.
Alternatively, you can watch a play through of the game on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UxHoBEoIm4&feature=related
Finally, enormous thanks first to Illusion Softworks themselves for producing this fine game – truly, the finale of the game has a stark but insightful quote that can make any human being reassess where they are in their experience of life. I honestly don’t know how many games can claim that!
Also thanks to Cem Gulduren for transcribing the script into a text file and posting it on gamefaqs.com. I’ve edited the script in parts, fixing the occasional typo and also removing unecessary parts that aren’t needed in regards to the plot.
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1.1. Prologue
1.2. An Offer You Can’t Refuse
1.3. Running Man
1.4. Molotov Party
1.5. Ordinary Routine
1.6. Intermezzo One
1.7. Fairplay
1.8. Sarah
1.9. Better Get Used To It
1.10. The Whore
1.11. The Priest
1.12. Intermezzo Two
1.13. A Trip To The Country
1.14. Omerta
1.15. Visiting Rich People
1.16. Great Deal!
1.17. Intermezzo Three
1.18. Bon Appetit!
1.19. Happy Birthday!
1.20. You Lucky Bastard!
1.21. Creme De La Creme
1.22. Intermezzo Four
1.23. Election Campaign
1.24. Just For Relaxation
1.25. Moonlighting
1.26. The Death of Art
1.27. Epilogue
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1.1. Prologue
—————————————————————————
(Tommy gets off a train at the station. After leaving the station, he walks across the street
and enters a cafe. He approaches a lone man sitting at a table.)
Tommy: Detective Norman? Can I join you?
(He hangs his coat and hat at the rack and sits down.)
Tommy: Sorry for the delay, but I didn’t want anybody seein’ me. If you
know what I mean.
Comment: A quick way of setting the scene, showing that Tommy is concerned about someone finding him here. The script really takes its time. Everything takes longer as a result, but the result is more captivating and paced drama.
(A waitress comes to the table.)
Waitress: What can I get you, sir?
Tommy: Just a coffee.
Waitress: Coming right up.
Comment: Honestly, this little touch of a waitress asking and then getting a drink for Tommy really shows the style of realism that Mafia adheres to. It could easily have been ignored but it’s definitely something I’d expect in a professional screenplay. How many games can truly claim to have such? That’s actually a question I’ll ask at several points in this commentary, in fact.
(She leaves.)
Norman: It’s not my habit to sit with people like you.
Tommy: Got a business proposition for you, detective.
Norman: I ain’t no businessman, and even if I were, I wouldn’t be doing
business with the likes of you.
Tommy: I don’t usually do business with your kind either. But this is a bit
of a strange deal. Good for you and your superiors, and good for me. It
concerns a certain kind of trade.
Norman: Trade?
Tommy: Well, let’s just say that I hold a high position in a not so legal
organization. It’s just the kind of organization people such as yourself
would like to know a lot about. And I, on the other hand, for certain
reasons don’t want…
(The waitress brings Tommy’s coffee.)
Waitress: Your coffee, sir.
Tommy: Thanks.
Tommy: I have my own personal reasons why I don’t want to be associated
with this organization. It ain’t too easy to leave this kind of business.
If you know what I mean…
Norman: I think I know where you’re coming from. You’ll get a bullet in
your head, if you don’t disappear quickly, right?
Tommy: That’s not the only reason. Got any kids, detective? I’ve got a wife
and daughter. I don’t want them to have any problems because of me.
Norman: Yeah? Well, I ain’t just gonna hand out protection to any wop
crook. You should’ve thought about them kids before, ‘cos I…
Comment: The word ‘Wop’ on Wikipedia:
“Wop is an American English pejorative ethnic slur for an Italian. It is derived from the Neapolitan word “guappo” (often pronounced simply as “guap'” in the regional dialect), meaning a person who flaunts an overbearingly cocky and swaggering attitude.”
Tommy: Sure, sure… Listen, I don’t want something for nothing, so here’s
the deal: Does the name Salieri mean anything to you?
Norman: Salieri?! It damn well does. You got something in common with him?
Tommy: You could say that. I’ve worked for him for several years. Now he
wants to rub me out. If you protect my family and me I’ll tell you
everything. Names, dates, accounts, everything. Enough to put him away for
life.
Norman: I ain’t Santa Claus. If I go to the chief with this I need to know
everything you know, and I have to be sure you’ll testify in court.
Tommy: Sure. If you ain’t in a hurry I’ll tell you my whole story, and all
the deals I worked on over the years.
Norman: Okay, I’ve got time and I’m listening…
Comment: In about two dozen lines the set up for the game has been established and it’s no doubt an interesting one – Tommy is a mafia member who wants protection (And not just selfishly for himself but for his family) and the cop Norman is going to hear him out. It has also established the importance of Don Salieri, though by the time we meet him in the game it’s hard to believe that things between him and Tommy will go sour. Of course, that’s often how it goes in organised crime …
—————————————————————————
1.2. An Offer You Can’t Refuse
—————————————————————————
Comment: The title of this level is of course a reference to Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather. It’s synonomous for “I’ll kill them unless I get what I want”, which is a concise summary of how a classic mafioso acts – with courtesy but also with lethal methods. Naturally it’s a quick way of linking Mafia to probably the greatest gangster movie of all time.
Autumn 1930
(Tommy is seen getting out of his taxi at a street corner.)
Tommy: (narrating) I used to be a taxi driver. Even though I wasn’t making
much and I worked from dawn to dusk, I was glad to be working.
(The camera switches to a chase between two cars in a tunnel. The occupants
of the cars are shooting at each other. It is apparently a mafia shootout.
The view switches back to Tommy, who lights a cigarette by his taxi.)
Tommy: (narr.) It was a bad time and some other people were worse off than
me.
Comment: Tommy isn’t happy with his lot in life but is grateful that he at least has a job during the Great Depression – even though it generally ended in some parts of the world in the 1930s, for America it was only in 1941 when it entered World War 2 and the country was mobilised that it significantly recovered.
The whole cutscene is apt in showing the peaceful life that Tommy is in to the violent one of the mafia.
(The camera shows another cinematic view of the chase and then returns to
Tommy.)
Tommy: (narr.) It was that very taxi that drew Salieri’s people to me in
the first place. One day I was on my break and I was just hanging out.
Suddenly I heard a tremendous crash…
(A massive crash is heard and then a gangster wielding a pistol appears at
the corner of the street. Another gangster shouts at him from behind.)
Gangster: Sam! They got me, dammit…
Sam: Climb up and move… There’s a taxi, we’ll be okay…
(The gangster named Sam points his gun at Tommy, who drops his cigarette
from his hand in surprise.)
Comment: Tommy drops his cigarette in slow motion. It’s a small but neat cinematic method for emphasizing the shock and abruptness of the situation.
Tommy: (narr.) It was clear to me that these guys had to get out of there
fast, so I thought it was best to cooperate, rather than ending up with a
hole in my head.
(The other gangster emerges from the corner. Sam grabs Tommy and drags him
towards the taxi.)
Sam: Move it… come on…
(They get into the car along with the other gangster, who points his gun at
Tommy’s face.)
Tommy: Where to?
Gangster: Anywhere! Fast… and I hope you’re damn fast… faster than Sam
here was…
Tommy: (narr.) I burned rubber outta there like a bat outta hell. It didn’t
matter where, just away from those gentlemen who were chasing my new
customers.
(Tommy starts driving away.)
Gangster: Now listen carefully. We gotta shake these clowns behind us. If
you don’t do it then we’re done for and that includes you! Step on it, kid!
(A chase ensues between Tommy’s taxi and the car of the enemy gangsters.
They take shots at the taxi and sometimes try to ram it. Sam and the other
gangster with shoot at them from the taxi in exchange. They shout at Tommy
and the enemy gansters during the chase.)
(Tommy eventually manages to lose the tail.)
Sam: Great! We’ve made it!
Gangster: Good work, brother. Now take us to Salieri’s Bar. I’ll show you
the way.
(Tommy starts driving towards Salieri’s Bar, in Little Italy on the other
side of the city.)
(They reach the bar.)
Gangster: Finally, we’re home.
(Tommy stops the car. Two guards are seen standing by the entrance to the
bar.)
Gangster: Wait here, friend, Sam will get a little something from Mr.
Salieri.
(The two men get out of the car.)
Gangster: Thanks for your help.
(They enter the bar. Tommy waits inside the car, while the two guards eye
him suspiciously. He grows visibly nervous. Then Sam walks out of the bar
and approaches him slowly. Tommy tries to start the car in fear when he
begins to pull something out of his coat, thinking it is a gun. However, it
is an envelope and Sam hands it to him.)
Comment: A great end to the cutscene – it demonstrates an excellent mix of camera work (Shooting between Tommy and Sam), music (A tense theme), sound (Tommy’s loud heart beat) and ‘acting’ (The style of Sam pulling out an envelope of money instead of a gun), that all builds towards suspense.
Tommy is naturally sceptical of the gangsters after all he’s just had a gun stuck in his face, been hijacked and escaped other murderous gangsters. It’s a natural reaction and obviously shows how unfamiliar he is with them, though it’s hardly surprising. The gameplay and style of Mafia is realistic and I think Tommy’s emotions here are exactly that.
Sam: Mr. Salieri would like to thank you as well as myself and Paulie. It’s
compensation for the damage to your car and your services. It should be
enough.
Tommy: Yes, of course, thanks. Give my regards to Mr. Salieri.
Sam: Mr. Salieri wants you to know that he is very grateful to you. If you
ever need anything you can come back and ask for help, because Mr. Salieri
doesn’t forget about friends who have helped him out. If you’re interested
maybe we could find a job for you here and it would pay well. We always
have positions for guys as good as you.
Tommy: Okay, okay… I’ll think about it, thanks, really thanks… I’d
better go… to fix the car and so on…
Sam: All right, I understand… Just think about it… And I hope it’s
clear that this matter is only between ourselves! Take care, kid.
Comment: Tommy is noticeably nervous and stutters a great deal, he’s still coming down from the surprise that he wasn’t just shot.
Yet despite his fear of being killed, Tommy is rewarded for his help, the Salieri family are grateful. They’re criminals but there’s more to them. They’re not some mobsters who will kill someone for briefly getting involved, they’re not trigger-happy to silence anyone who enters their world, they’re actually keen to help out people in return and even invite them in. Tommy is openly temptated but doesn’t seem to seriously consider it.
The Godfather starts with a jovial wedding, then switches to the darkly lit meetings as Don Corleone takes requests from people who have served or helped his family – it’s a contrast between the two worlds, which I think Mafia is doing here and simply showing that the Salieri family aren’t absolutely evil criminals. It’s shades of grey instead of black and white morals and so on.
Tommy: (narrating) When I opened the envelope, I almost had a heart attack.
(Tommy is seen sitting at a table in his home, the money given to him by
Sam in front of him.)
Tommy: (narr.) There was more than it would cost to do the repairs. But I
didn’t for a minute think about their offer. I didn’t want to join some
criminals, even if they had all the money in the world. It’s better to be
poor and alive than rich and dead, right? I was gonna get my cab repaired
and try to forget it all as soon as possible. As my mother always said: You
can never predict what God has in store for you.
Comment: It’s typically a ‘necessity’ in mafia movies that the protaganist slowly drifts into the criminal underworld. They’re reluctant at first but gradually and steadily realise that the material rewards, such as money and cars, are difficult to resist, even if in the end it costs them in morals and, usually, their life. Sometimes I think it’s for cinematic effect (Thereby extending the story and making it more tragic) but again I think it’s partly for realism – I honestly think any normal person would be shocked at an offer of joining organised criminals, but they’d gradually think about it.
What would your price be?
Look at Michael in The Godfather. He’s the soldier hero who is called on to take over his father’s criminal empire, first out of loyalty to his family but he’s unable to let go. Then there’s Vito himself in The Godfather Part II and Henry in Goodfellas. It’s a gradual descent and we see the same with Tommy – he’s clearly a good person who would rather be happy and poor than a rich criminal, he’s eager to put the situation behind him, but that’s only to begin with.
—————————————————————————
1.3. Running Man
—————————————————————————
(Tommy is in his taxi, in line with other taxis, waiting for customers. A
customer soon approaches his car.)
Comment: I cut the dialog here – Tommy drives several customers across the city, which I think not only familiarises the player with the city and its bridges and tunnel but also shows the daily monotony that Tommy goes through in his job!
(The customer gets out of the car.)
Tommy: And I need a coffee break.
Tommy: (narrating) I had a cup of coffee and relaxed in the car while I was
waiting to see if I could get another customer.
(Tommy is seen inspecting the front left tire of his taxi.)
Tommy: (narr.) I noticed I wasn’t far from Salieri’s Bar…
(Tommy gets back into the car. Then, suddenly, the windshield is hit by a
baseball bat.)
Tommy: JESUS!
Comment: A symbolic request for divine support?
No, it’s just an exclamation.
(A gangster opens the door and grabs Tommy by the arm.)
Gangster: We got you, you little rat!
(He pulls Tommy out of the car.)
Gangster: Mr. Morello is pretty angry with you. We’re gonna have to teach
you a little lesson, so you remember that it ain’t right.
(A second gangster starts smashing Tommy’s taxi with his baseball bat.)
Tommy: (narr.) Those bastards remembered the license plate of my car and
took it on themselves to hunt me down…
Gangster: Louie here’ll fix your face a little…
(Just as the second gangster is about to hit him with the bat, Tommy pushes
them and starts running away.)
Gangster: Finish him off! Don’t waste any more time on him!
Comment: In Mafia we find that Morello and his men clearly have few morals, if at all – they’ll happily rough up Tommy simply because he was forced at gunpoint to help Sam and Paulie. In terms of morality, you could say that Salieri’s family is arguably grey, while the Morello family is almost pitch black.
(The gangsters start shooting at Tommy as he runs.)
Tommy: (narr.) It was clear to me that I had to get outta there fast. I
couldn’t handle that animal on my own. I said to myself that now was
probably the right moment for Mr. Salieri to show his gratitude. Salieri’s
Bar was just down the street and the sight of it was certainly a lot nicer
than a baseball bat to my head.
(Tommy enters an alleyway, dodging the bullets. The gangsters chase him.)
Gangster: I’ll put ya out of your misery!
Gangster: Stop, you bastard!
Gangster: Blow his head off!
(Tommy gets back onto the street from the alleyway and quickly enters a
smaller passageway. A man is standing there.)
Man: Where the hell is she? I said three o’clock in the passageway!
(As Tommy moves further, a conversation between a man and a woman is
heard.)
Man: You’re right there, honey! Who knows what skeletons they’ve got in
their closets.
Woman: I wouldn’t be surprised.
(Tommy gets back onto the street while the gangsters continue to chase him.
Two men are talking on the sidewalk of the street.)
Man 1: Well, he said he’d finally have all the things we needed, but maybe
you oughtta ask him about the gear, or he’ll forget.
Man 2: Great. Then I’ll stop by, take it easy.
Man 1: You too.
(Tommy enters another alleyway. There is a woman on a balcony here, and a
man talking to her from below.)
Man: Heap of junk.
Man: Leave it alone, Marie!
(The gangsters arrive in the alley.)
Woman: Oh my God, Joe. Those thugs have got a gun, honey! Hurry up! Police,
they’re trying to kill my husband!
(The gangsters continue to chase Tommy.)
Gangster: I’m warning you, you bastard!
Gangster: You ain’t got a chance, cabby boy!
Gangster: Move it, Lou! Don’t let him get away!
(Tommy leaves the alley through a narrow passageway and gets back to the
main street. A woman is waiting there.)
Woman: Where is he? He said to meet him at three in the passageway.
Comment: All of the civilian lines here are great, they’re exactly what you’d expect and the two lovers trying to meet up is a great touch – and both the player and Tommy couldn’t care less due to their being shot at.
(Tommy goes across the street and finally reaches Salieri’s Bar. The two
gangsters arrive after him, look inside, hide their guns and enter the bar.
A few seconds later gunshots are heard. Then the bartender opens the door,
takes a look outside, and changes the “Open” sign to “Closed”. Next, Tommy
is seen sitting at the bar, having a drink with Salieri’s men. Paulie, the
gangster who was with Sam in his taxi is sitting next to him.)
Comment: It’s almost comical the way Morello’s men are dispatched but it’s sinister all the same, there’s no dialog and no mercy on Salieri’s part.
Tommy: (narr.) Salieri’s boys saved my skin that time, but I certainly
wasn’t in a good situation. I had paid off my debts for the car repairs,
but my boss didn’t want to employ anyone who’s in the mob. It just wasn’t
good business. When I saw the fancy get-up of Salieri’s boys, I thought
that it can’t be too bad to work for him. Besides, I had nothing to lose.
Morello was out to get me, so driving a cab wasn’t the best job. Plus, the
prospect of Salieri’s dough wasn’t so terrible… So, like I always say:
“Better to die young and loaded…”
Comment: Tommy explains his predicament, which shows exactly why he has little choice but to descend into the underworld of the mafia – he can’t return to his old job since his boss thinks he’s affiliated with gangsters and he’s a marked man by Morello’s mob. None of that is something he can easily change.
However, all of a sudden his opinion on joining the mob has changed. All it took, interestingly, was an attempt on his life. Is that fair since it’s just necessary for his very survival? Partially, but he has also been taken in by the escape of his menial job (Arguably, as he justifies that he’d be noticed more easily by Morello’s men) and the potential wealth that he can get.
It’s a bit of a grey area – he could just as easily leave town and everything behind him but there are a few reasons that gently push him into joining Salieri. However, he’s now ignoring the morals he mentioned previously, he’s gone from believing “It’s better to be poor and alive than rich and dead” to “Better to die young and loaded”. This at least puts responsibility for his actions squarely on himself.
(Salieri’s men are seen putting the corpses of Morello’s two gangsters into
a truck in the backyard of the bar.)
Comment: Yet despite all of this, two men have just been killed and are being disposed of. This is a simple reminder that murder has taken place, that this is practically the business that Tommy is getting himself into.
—————————————————————————
1.4. Molotov Party
—————————————————————————
(Tommy is sitting at a table with Don Salieri, Sam and Paulie in the
backroom of the bar, this time dressed in a black suit like Sam and Paulie.
A balding, middle-aged man wearing eyeglasses is standing next to Salieri.)
Salieri: Well, it looks like Morello is really trying to make me mad. But
I’m a reasonable person. What do they call you, son?
Comment: Salieri’s middle-ground and rational position as a don is often emphasized. He’s like Don Vito Corleone, a criminal leader but a well-meaning, noble one. Tommy later describes him as a businessman, though in another cutscene he states someone becomes a don because they are hungry for power and want to be above everyone else.
Tommy: Thomas Angelo.
Salieri: I’ve decided to give you a shot, Tommy. I like new faces. We’re
one big family here. You already know Paulie and Sam. Frank here is my
right hand and looks after the legal side of our business. The one behind
the bar is Luigi. This business ain’t easy to swallow, but Luigi’s a
wonderful cook. Paul will introduce you to Vincenzo and Ralph. There are a
lot of us, but those should be enough for now.
Salieri: Now listen, and listen good, we have some rules around here: Don’t
cross paths with the cops. They’re on our payroll, so they’ll leave you
alone, but if you go too far, they’ll all come after you, money or no
money… If they ever pick you up, say nothing and I will take care of you.
I show my gratitude to those people that help me. And there aren’t many
left who betrayed me… Capisci?
Tommy: Yes, Mr. Salieri.
Comment: A veiled threat by Salieri, but he’s a don after all, he has to have respect – and fear is a good way to ensure that.
Salieri: I’m glad. Today I’ll give you a chance to get back at those
bastards who wrecked your taxi. We’ll see what you’re made of. Morello has
a bar where all his gorillas go. They all have their cars parked behind the
fence next to the bar. If you’re good, they won’t be there tomorrow
morning… Paulie’ll go with you, just in case. Go see Vincenzo for
equipment and Ralph for some wheels…
(Tommy and Paulie leave the room.)
Frank: I wouldn’t trust him so much. He seemed hesitant, he’s just accepted
now because he has no choice.
Salieri: We’ll see, Frank, we’ll see… I’m more concerned about what
Morello’s problem is. Does he really want to start a war?
Comment: Salieri is clearly a scheming don, but he’s generally a fair person so far. He offers Tommy revenge; not to murder Morello’s men but to destroy a few cars instead. A young Henry Hill in Goodfellas also smashes up cars too, though I’m not sure if this is a direct reference in Mafia.
Salieri is also looking at the big picture of a war with Morello. Foreshadowing!
(The scene switches to Tommy and Paulie going up a staircase in the
backyard of the bar.)
Paulie: Vincenzo is the Don’s gun expert, they’ve known each other since
they were kids. He gets you whatever you want, Tommy guns to cannons. Vinny
can set you up. I always pay him a visit before a job.
(Paulie opens the door to Vincenzo’s room.)
Paulie: Buongiorno, Vincenzo!
Vincenzo: Ciao, Paulie!
Comment: ‘Good day’ and ‘hello’ if you couldn’t tell (The latter can be used as that and also as a form of goodbye).
Paulie: This here’s Tom… Just started up with us.
Vincenzo: Pleased to meet you, Tom! What can I do for the both of yours?
Paulie: We’ve got a job to do, we need something to write off a few cars.
(Vincenzo points to a baseball bat.)
Vincenzo: This classic piece of sports equipment should do the job, and if
not, I’ve mixed up a few cocktails.
(He puts a box full of Molotov cocktails on the table.)
Vincenzo: Careful with ’em, though.
(Tommy takes the bat and Paulie takes the Molotov cocktails.)
Paulie: Thanks a lot, Vincenzo.
Vincenzo: Bring back the bat, it’s my nephew’s!
Paulie: Sure thing!
(Tommy and Paulie leave Vincenzo’s room and walk towards the garage.)
Paulie: Ralph, who I’ll introduce you to, is a complete idiot, but he’s got
a special way with cars. I don’t get how such a moron could know anything
about anything, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
Comment: Ralph is an idiot savant, inept in many areas but has amazing expertise in one: vehicles. I don’t know where the concept for him as a character came from (Rainman?) but I’d like to.
(They enter the garage, where Ralph is working on a car.)
Ralph: Ha ha ha, a v-v-visit.
Paulie: Hey, Ralphy.
Ralph: I s-s-see you’re still limping, so we got two cripples working here.
Paulie: That’s right, but I ain’t a fool. Ralph, this is Tom… If you
bring him a stolen car, Tommy, he’ll make it your own. And no one’ll know
the difference.
(Tommy and Ralph shake hands.)
Paulie: Ralph, Tom and me have a job to do. You’re supposed to have some
wheels for us.
Ralph: Right, hehe, here it is, he, it ain’t no hot-rod, hehe, but it
should really do for you.
(Ralph shows them a Bolt Ace Fordor car.)
Comment: The cars in Mafia are awesome – the game really shows how far automobiles have come, even just over the few years that the game is set. The Bolt Ace Fordor takes well over 10 seconds to even start up!
Paulie: Thanks, Ralphy. Let’s go!
(Tommy and Paulie get in the car and drive to Morello’s bar. Three cars are
parked in the car lot next to the bar. There is also a wooden shed there.
One of Morello’s gangsters is guarding the entrance to the lot.)
Paulie: Okay, we’re here. Don’t go through the front, find another way.
Take out the guard quietly so you don’t arouse any attention. Smash the
cars up with the bat and save the fireworks for last. There could be
something nice in that shed, take a look. Good luck, buddy.
Tommy: Thanks, I’ll be back in a little while.
—
(The guard reacts and opens fire if he sees Tommy.)
Guard: What are you doing here? Get out of here! Boys! Come and watch me
kill this punk!
—
(Tommy gets out of the car and enters the backyard from the back through a
passageway. He sneaks up on the guard and takes him out with the baseball
bat. He then damages the cars and checks the shed. There is a Falconer car
in there and Tommy drives it out of the lot. When Paulie sees him in the
car, he gets to the driver’s seat and they together drive back to Salieri’s
Bar. They find Salieri waiting for them at a table.)
Paulie: So we’re back, boss.
Salieri: Wonderful, take a seat. It all went well?
Paulie: Sure, boss, he’s a natural.
(Tommy and Paulie sit down at the table.)
Paulie: Before they could say “genolees” they were wheel-less! And before
they could recover, we were gone. Morello is probably pretty pissed right
now.
Salieri: Really? I’m glad to hear it.
Paulie: He’s one tough customer.
Salieri: In that case, welcome to the family, Tommy.
(Salieri stands up and hugs Tommy.)
Salieri: You’ve passed the first test, and now we’ve got a new member.
Paulie: I’d like to take him into the outfit, boss. You can see he ain’t
scared. And he’s done real good.
Salieri: You didn’t disappoint me, Tommy. Now, let’s drink!
Tommy: Thanks…
(They raise their glasses for a toast.)
Comment: Tommy has passed his initiation and has been fully accepted into the Salieri family. Unlike the previous cutscenes, Tommy wasn’t nervous or shook up – he becomes calm and more skilled as the story progresses, quite like Michael Corleone. In the later level Bon Appetit this contrast becomes extremely clear.
—————————————————————————
1.5. Ordinary Routine
—————————————————————————
(Tommy, Salieri, Paulie and Sam are sitting in the backroom of the bar,
with Frank standing next to the Don.)
Salieri: Today we’re gonna visit a few places to collect some protection
money. Two restaurants and a motel outside of town. Bill at the motel was
late last time, because he had a few problems. So today he’ll pay a little
more.
Frank: You may have heard about how criminals can prey on businesses using
various threats. That certainly isn’t the case with us. People who pay us
receive services, services the police certainly can’t provide them with.
Last month, for example, Sam and Paulie here solved a serious problem of
violence in a delightful restaurant. The owner is now satisfied that
nothing of that sort will happen there again.
Comment: This is Frank’s justification for ‘protection money’, what is otherwise known as extortion. As we see later in the story, there is eventually justification from Tommy himself about it. Naturally, it’s illegal and usually involves the likes of vandalism, intimidation and even murder by the mafia to scare people into essentially paying extra taxes to them.
Salieri: (to Tommy) You’ll do the driving. Paulie and Sam will do the
collecting. It’ll be routine. Tell Ralph to give you a car and you can go.
Tommy: Okay, boss.
Salieri: (to Frank) Well, you and I’ll have a drink. What do you say,
Frank?
(Tommy, Paulie and Sam leave. Tommy goes to Vincenzo.)
Tommy: Hey, Vincenzo, I need some kind of gun.
Vincenzo: Hey, Tom! I think this would do the trick.
(He puts a Colt 1911 pistol on the table.)
Tommy: It should work. I wasn’t planning on using it anyway. Thanks.
(Tommy then goes to Ralph.)
Tommy: Hey, Ralphy, me and the boys have got a job to do and I need some
wheels.
Ralph: Hey, I s… sorted ou… out what you brought me l… last time. It
is a go… good m… motor, Tom. It has almost 60 horsepower and goes a
good 75 miles per hour. He has four s… speeds and b… break servos. S…
S… Simply b… b… beautiful! Also had a look at how you can best s…
steal one.
Tommy: I used to drive one when I was a cabby, so I know how to get into
one, Ralphy.
Ralph: Well, then I got another little number. It has about 40 horsepower
and goes at almost 60 miles an hour.
(Ralph leads Tommy to a Bolt Model B Fordor car and shows him how to pick
its lock.)
Ralph: Ain’t nothing swanky, but it’s a good enough drive. You get into it
easy. Just take t… t… this little baby and stick it in here, p… p…
pry it a little and when it clicks you’ve got it… It’s a p… piece a
c… cake…
Tommy: Thanks, Ralphy.
(Tommy gets in the car and Paulie and Sam get in too. Tommy drives out of
the backyard of the bar.)
Paulie: Okay, first we’ll go to a restaurant on Central Island.
(They get to the restaurant.)
Paulie: Stop! Here it is.
(Tommy stops the car. Paulie gets out and goes into the restaurant. He
comes back after a while with a bag of money.)
Paulie: And now to Hoboken to the Pompeii Bar.
(They get to their next destination.)
Paulie: Here it is. Pull in, Tom.
(Tommy stops next to the Pompeii Bar. Paulie collects the money and
returns.)
Paulie: Now we’re goin’ to take in the country air. We’re goin’ to Clark’s
Motel out of town.
(Tommy drives to the motel just outside of the city and parks the car next
to the building. They all get out.)
Paulie: Wait for us here, Tom, we’ll be back in a bit.
Tommy: Okay.
Paulie: Let’s go.
(Paulie and Sam go into the motel. Tommy smokes a cigarette while he is
waiting for them. Suddenly several gunshots are heard. The door opens and
Paulie walks out, holding a wound in his stomach.)
Paulie: Shit… Bastards… Tom, I… I took one…
(He collapses.)
Paulie: It hurts…
(Tommy rushes to help him.)
Tommy: Jesus Christ, Paulie!
Comment: If you’re reading this looking for messiah imagery, go watch The Matrix instead!
(A gangster appears at the door and points his gun at Tommy.)
Gangster: Tell Salieri, from here on out this place is ours! Capisci? Don’t
come back here or you’ll end up in worse shape than your friends.
(The gangster walks back inside and closes the door.)
Paulie: Get Sam… They want to beat some information out of him, get him
out of there…
Tommy: But I gotta get you to a doctor…
Paulie: That’ll wait, first get Sam…
(Tommy drags Paulie next to their car and takes out his pistol.)
Tommy: Screw regular routine!
Comment: While I can’t see an alternative for an action level after all, Tommy is certainly confident now and is willing to fight and kill to protect his new friends.
(All the doors of the motel are locked, but Tommy manages to enter by
climbing to a balcony. Inside he kills several gangsters. Once all the men
in the restaurant area are dead, an unarmed man appears from a sideroom.)
Man: Lookee here, another customer for a face job! C’mon then, sonny.
(The man attacks Tommy with his fists but Tommy kills him. Then he enters
the room from which the man came out. Sam is lying on the floor inside.)
Tommy: Get up, Sam, it’s over. He really went to work on you, buddy.
(Tommy helps Sam get up.)
Sam: Argh, Christ…
Tommy: It’s nothing, you’ll be alright… The doctor’ll put you back
together again. You tough as nails.
(As they slowly walk out of the room, a man comes up on them from the back
and punches Tommy in the face, which flings him away.)
Tommy: Oh shit!
(Tommy kills the man who attacks him with his fists and then gets back to
Sam.)
Tommy: That’s it, I’ll get you back in the car. Everything’ll be okay…
(Suddenly another gangster appears from a room next to the bar and points
his gun at Tommy and Sam. He holds the bag of money in his other hand.)
Gangster: DON’T MOVE, SCUMBAG! Or I’ll fill you with holes! C’mon! Just try
it. You won’t get past me!
Tommy: Sure thing, buddy. Just stay cool… everything’s okay… just go…
no problem.
Gangster: Just try it.
(The gangster walks out of the motel.)
Sam: Noo… got… our… dough… get him…
(Tommy follows the gangster, who takes off with a car that has been parked
outside. Tommy gets into their car and pursues him. He eventually overtakes
him and kills him.)
Tommy: If that’s regular routine, I wonder what the next job will be like.
Comment: Badoom tisch!
But seriously, Tommy slowly learns the associated problems of working in the mafia, as he and Paulie later lament.
—————————————————————————
1.6. Intermezzo One
—————————————————————————
1938
(Tommy and Detective Norman continue their conversation. Norman is taking
notes.)
Tommy: That’s how I got in. One minute a regular cabby, the next a
respected mafioso.
Norman: You were all right with killing people? Usually people have a
problem with that.
Tommy: You know… I ain’t one of those people with a thirst for blood. I
don’t need violence in my life, and I don’t look for trouble. But I also
don’t have any remorse. They wanted to outsmart us, so we had to outsmart
them. No excuses. It was all the same to me, I wasn’t interested in the
fates of other people. Everybody said it was just business and that the
family sticks together… It was different from living alone and nobody
givin’ a damn about you. Suddenly, you’re respected by all the people you
meet. Everybody knows you can help them, but you can also destroy their
lives. And everybody tries to ingratiate themselves to you.
Comment: Tommy offers what he thinks is fair justification to murder and mentions the perk of being well known and respected in the local community. It’s a big draw that Henry mentions several times in the first part of Goodfellas.
Still, there are still limits to how far someone will go with killing and that’s what we see in Mafia.
Norman: And what about the police? You walked away, just like that, from a
massacre? Didn’t you have any problem with that?
Tommy: You work for the police. You ought to know. You know the mafia runs
the whole city. The Salieri family makes over 25 million bucks every year.
The papers were full of it, but nobody saw nothing… if they wanted to
stay alive. We paid off the bureaucrats 6 grand a month. Your bosses had
liquor at trade price and got pay-offs for ‘special jobs’ from both Salieri
and Morello. Case closed, lack of evidence. Cops would even move shipments
of drink for us. I guess you’d have heard something about that.
Comment: Do note that’s $25 million in the 1930s, so imagine it measured against inflation. Al Capone had an estimated $100 million per year at the height of his power but the Salieri family still has a staggering amount and it matches to the size of Lost Heaven.
This reminds me of the concept behind The Untouchables – all of the vast money made by the mafia can be funelled back into the government and police, cops would be paid in sums equivalent to their yearly salary and so couldn’t say no to bribery, therefore the mafia had near absolute control. We see this with Morello most of all as he wields the local government with ease.
Norman: So what about your two friends?
Tommy: Well, they were better off than you’d think. Salieri had a good doc
for his boys, and it’s not like he ever asked any questions. In a few
weeks, they’d be healthy and back on the streets again. The only one who
worried us was Morello. He wanted to be the big cheese, which Salieri
couldn’t let him do. Salieri had no intention of being in second place. You
know… a person becomes a Don because of his thirst for power, and he
doesn’t care about any other rules than his own.
Tommy: That’s how it is, detective – so he’d be his own boss, independent
of the police, of the state, of anyone. That’s why a person becomes a Don.
Salieri and Morello both wanted it all. They kept sparring with each other,
but they both knew that if it all blew up it would be hell. The big
difference between them was in their methods – I heard a little story about
Morello…
(Morello’s car is seen driving to a crossroads in the city. It stops
abruptly and the car just behind accidentally crashes into it. Morello and
his men get out angrily, and the man in the other car gets out too.)
Man: I… I… I’m sorry, sir. I… I… I didn’t mean it…
Morello: YOU IDIOT! D’YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’VE DONE? D’YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT
CAR COST?
Man: I… I… I was driving slowly, Mr. Morello. I… I don’t know how…
Morello: D’YOU MEAN TO SAY… THAT I… I CRASHED INTO YOUR CAR?
Man: Err… no… sir… I only… I wanted… It’s no… sir…
(Morello punches the man and proceeds to repeatedly smash his head on his
car.)
Morello: No… bas-tard… gets… in… my… way!
(Morello kicks the corpse of the man and returns to his car. A policeman
nearby watches the whole spectacle but does nothing. Then the camera
switches back to Tommy and Norman.)
Comment: This shows the huge influence of Morello and how he is a murderous, arrogant bastard. It’s the sort of violent scene reminiscent of many gangster movies – not done for the sake of violence, but to show the world they live in and establish characters and their flaws.
Tommy: Salieri built his respect as a businessman. Everybody knew that they
didn’t need to fear him if they did what they should. They knew that if
they needed something, they could come to Mr. Salieri. So Salieri made
friends, often helped people with various problems, and expected the same
in return. When somebody crossed him, they broke a cardinal rule and
everybody knew what would happen. Morello was just a mean bastard. He built
his power through violence. Even his friends feared him. Most people just
tried to avoid him.
Comment: I don’t have much to add here as Tommy puts it very succintly – Salieri is an imposing businessman, Morello is a brutal tyrant. In The Godfather, it was necessary for the Corleone’s to generally be “good” so that their rivals would be absolutely evil and ruthless – I think there’s a similar contrast between Salieri and Morello. The Salieri family are still villainous criminals all the same, just on a smaller scale.
In D&D alignment terms, Salieri is probably Lawful Evil and Morello is Neutral Evill.
—————————————————————————
1.7. Fairplay
—————————————————————————
1932
(Tommy and Salieri are sitting at a table in the front area of the bar.)
Salieri: Listen, Tommy, I have a delicate job for you. I don’t know anyone
else who could do it better than you. You’re a good driver, and you have
experience. Well, to make it simple, tomorrow all the best motors are gonna
race at the city track and I bet on one kid who’s been a favorite up until
now. I helped him along in his career a little. I like fast cars and I said
to myself that I could make back a little on that investment.
Salieri: You understand… And then Ralphy starts saying that some European
has come over and his car is certain to win. Ralphy knows cars, he’s real
good with them, but otherwise he’s a complete moron. What, he couldn’t have
told me BEFORE I bet on that kid? But still, what the hell is a guy, God
knows from where, doing here, these are American races! Me and the
Consiglieri here were thinking about what to do, because a lot of our boys
have bet the same as me and they certainly wouldn’t be happy if they lost
their dough. And how would that make me look? Like an old idiot, Tommy! I
can’t let that happen.
Salieri: We thought with our consiglieri about what to do with it. If
something happens to him – that’s no way, it won’t be fair play, I won’t
enjoy my winning at all. Ralph told me that he knows a guy who guards the
race-track garage. Tonight you’re gonna go there and take this European’s
car to a mechanic who knows his way around these machines. He’ll take a
look at theirs and maybe improve ours. As soon as he’s finished working on
it, you’ll take it back. It’s important that the car is back in its place
before anybody catches on. And don’t even think about crashing it or
getting caught by the cops. Are we clear?
Tommy: Yes, boss.
Salieri: If you pull it off, you’ll, of course, get a share of the
winnings. Now, go. Ralph will tell you where and how.
(When night falls, Tommy goes to talk to Ralph outside the garage.)
Tommy: Hey, Ralphy, you got some news about this job?
Ralph: S… Sure, Tommy. You need to go to the c… city race track and
borrow that m… m… motor there. My f… friend B… Bobby works there.
Go round back there and a… along the w… way is the gate… gatehouse.
T… Tell B… Bobby that Ralph s… sent you and Bobby’ll take you to the
car. It… It’s already been agreed w… with him. Y… You’s have to take
it to the auto service of my f… friend Lucas Bertone. It’s in New Ark
under the Guiliano Bridge. He’ll t… take a look at it and t… tune it a
little. And then you just take it back.
Tommy: This should be easy enough…
Ralph: But y… you’ve gotta get it done before 1:15 AM when the guard
changes, so that nobody kn… knows that somebody drove the motor in the
night. Th… there can’t even be a scratch on it a… and try to avoid the
c… cops. Th… They mustn’t catch you!
Tommy: Hmmm… and how’ll I get there?
(Ralph shows Tommy to a Schubert Six car.)
Ralph: Well, I’ve got something new in. Ain’t no big thing to sw… swipe
one. W… Watch. You just stick a piece of w… wire in here and twist it a
little and you get inside where you gotta join these two wires.
Tommy: Yeah, it shouldn’t be a problem. Thanks, Ralphy.
Ralph: Now don’t you go sparing the gas, Tom. Heh-heh!
(Tommy drives to the race track just outside the city and finds Bobby at
the gatehouse.)
Bobby: Evenin’, you must be Ralph’s friend.
Tommy: That’s right.
Bobby: Okay, we’ll take your car.
(Tommy returns to his car. Bobby opens the gate and then gets in the car.)
Bobby: Go in and over to the garage.
(Tommy drives to the garage and they get out.)
Bobby: Okay, we’re here, buddy. Come on, we haven’t got a lot of time!
(Bobby opens one of the doors. The race car is inside.)
Tommy: Okay, is that it?
Bobby: Yeah, buddy, be real careful. There can’t even be a scratch on it.
And avoid the cops like the devil, cause this car’ll be real obvious.
Tommy: That’s right.
Bobby: In about half an hour the second guard’ll come, so you gotta be back
by then, buddy. And be real careful, that car goes fast. Maybe it’s the
fastest car in the world, who knows?
Tommy: Sure, Bobby, no problem. I’ll take care of it in a half hour.
(Tommy takes the car and drives it to Lucas Bertone’s shop in New Ark.)
Lucas: Hey there, you’re from Mr. Salieri, right? I’m Lucas Bertone.
Tommy: Hi, I’m Tom.
(They shake hands.)
Tommy: They say you can take the bite out of this monster.
Lucas: I reckon so.
Tommy: Well, you’d better get movin’, we only have 27 minutes left.
Lucas: Hmmm, it ain’t much time. We’ll see what can be done. You can hang
out a while.
(Tommy goes out and smokes a cigarette. After a while he comes back.)
Tommy: Hey, how’s it going in there?
Lucas: Just finished. You can go.
(Tommy gets in the car.)
Lucas: But you’re gonna have to hurry, it ain’t gonna run as well as when
you first brought it in.
Tommy: Thanks, Mr. Salieri appreciates your work.
Lucas: Sure, give my regards to him. If he ever needs anything again I’d be
glad to help out. I bet on the same driver as him…
(Tommy drives the car back to the garage at the race track in time. Bobby
is waiting for him there.)
Bobby: So you pulled it off, buddy! And the car isn’t even scratched!
Tommy: Thanks, Bobby. It really ‘was’ the fastest car in the world.
Bobby: Sure is, we’re lucky you managed it. I bet on the Don’s car, too.
Tommy: It seems everybody did.
Bobby: I bet on it, so did almost everybody in my neighborhood.
Tommy: I figure the driver’s pretty important too.
Bobby: Sure. Well, I won’t keep you. Goodnight.
Tommy: Take care, Bobby. Thanks for the help.
Comment: On reflection, I don’t know why Tommy didn’t just DRIVE Lucas to the race garage and let him modify it there. Maybe he needed certain tools or maybe I guess it’s for the sake of gameplay…
(Tommy leaves and returns. The next day, he enters Salieri’s Bar. There is
no one inside except for Luigi.)
Tommy: Hey, Luigi.
Luigi: Hey, Tommy.
Tommy: Where is everybody?
Luigi: They’re all at the track, you’re late.
Tommy: I needed to get a little sleep after last night’s job.
Luigi: Sure.
(The phone rings. Luigi answers it.)
Luigi: Hello?
Luigi: Yes… Sir, he just got in… Sure… That’s for you, Tom.
(He gives it to Tommy.)
Tommy: Hello?
Frank: Frank here, Tom! You did well yesterday, but now we need your help
again. Come over to the racing track right away. That guy who was supposed
to win the race got his arm broken by some thug. Probably no coincidence…
Anyway, you’re gonna have to race.
Tommy: But… but… Frank… I…
Frank: Tom, it’s a half an hour before the race, and I don’t have time to
teach someone else how to drive. Christ Tom, this concerns a big bag of
money. I hope you understand that?
Tommy: Yeah… okay… Frank, but…
Frank: So I expect to see you here at the track in a few minutes.
(Frank hangs up the phone. Tommy hangs it up too.)
Luigi: You don’t look too excited…
Tommy: That’s because I ain’t.
Comment: It doesn’t get much more stressful than this, at least without killing being involved.
(Tommy leaves the bar, drives to the race track and finds Frank at the
garage.)
Frank: Hey, Tommy, I knew we could count on you.
Tommy: You really want me to do this? I’ve never raced before!
Frank: Okay, I know it won’t be easy, but we don’t have a choice. If you
can do it, we won’t lose out…
Tommy: Do I look like I can do this? I don’t even know the rules.
Frank: Look, it’s a cake walk. You go five laps, and you need to come in
first for us to win. If you come in second the dough’s lost. But since we
tuned that clown’s car a little everything should go smoothly. Also, at
those speeds it’s quite normal for someone to bang into you, so watch out
for those other bastards. Good luck, Tom… I know you can do it.
(Frank walks away a few steps.)
Tommy: Well, I don’t believe it.
(Frank turns back.)
Frank: Tom, half the neighborhood and all our boys bet on the Don’s boy. Do
you know what it would mean if you lost? The Don would lose. You would lose
all the respect which we’ve busted our asses to build up. People gave us
their trust as well as their dough. Do you understand what’s at stake?
Tommy: Yeah, I got it, Frank… I understand.
Comment: Frank turning back is another neat touch – again, I can just imagine it happening in a movie. He takes the time to reassure Tommy. Most action oriented games throw a player into a situation, give them an objective and that’s it. Mafia is much more realistic in how the characters act.
Frank: Take it easy, son. Show them what you’re made of.
Comment: And so begins the infamous ‘racing level’. Originally it was very tough – the course is long and windy, taking the racers out to the countryside and back (This is long before the days of F1 with smaller tracks after all) and forcing them to get first or lose. Also, according to the Wikipedia article on Mafia:
“During the race, many of the opponents’ names refer to heavy metal musicians (e.g. Chris Barnes, Barney Greenway and Peter Tagtgren). The names of two of the main characters in the game, namely Tommy and Morello are probably derived from the well-known guitarist Tom Morello. Also there are a cars that refer to heavy metal (e.g. Black Metal, Bolt Thrower).”
Those crazy Czech bastards!
(The race begins and Tommy wins. He receives his trophy in front of a
cheering crowd. Afterwards, there is a party at Salieri’s Bar in
celebration of his victory. Salieri talks to Tommy during the party.)
Salieri: I knew you wouldn’t let us down, Tommy! You are really one of us
now. A lot of people made a lot of money on that race, Tommy, and you get
all the credit, so you won’t come out short. You should stop by and see
Lucas Bertone. He also bet and won a pile of money, so he wants to repay
you, too… somehow.
Tommy: Okay, I will.
Comment: Tommy was called to perform a remarkable task but he did it. This really cements his place in the family.
(A woman talks to Tommy as he leaves.)
Woman: Congratulations, you big hero.
Tommy: Thanks.
(Tommy goes to Lucas Bertone’s shop.)
Tommy: Hello, is there anyone home?
Lucas: Hey, Tommy! Right here.
Lucas: Tom, congratulations on winning! You did great. I didn’t really
think you’d do it at first, but when you got going, I knew how it would
end. Thanks to you I won a big bag of money, and just so you know I’m not
ungrateful, I’ll teach you a few tricks… See that beaut’?
(Lucas shows a large, yellow car to Tommy, a Lassiter V16 Phaeton.)
Lucas: You know I can’t give you it, but I can show you how to lift one and
where. Watch how easy it is to get into this baby.
(Lucas shows him how to pick the car’s lock.)
Lucas: There you go. Piece of cake.
Tommy: Okay, I figure I can manage that.
Lucas: There’s another one that belongs to a loaded official down at City
Hall. During the day it sits in the car lot behind the Munipicial Building
on Central Island.
Tommy: I think I might go and check if it’s parked correctly.
Lucas: When you get tired of that, come back here. I always have something
new.
Tommy: Thanks, Lucas. I’ll come by sometime after work. I’ll be seein’ you.
(Tommy goes and steals the car from the car lot and returns to Salieri’s
Bar.)
Tommy: (narrating) And so I made a few new friends and got my first luxury
car. It didn’t seem so bad being a gangster.
Comment: So far. It’s only taken killing, cheating and stealing …
—————————————————————————
1.8. Sarah
—————————————————————————
Comment: This level is pretty neat for several reasons – firstly it shows a love interest, which is something that’s rarely in games as it is, at least compared to movies which I think have a habit of cramming them into every movie possible. It also sets up Tommy’s family. It’s a different type of gameplay, likely fair relief to the player after the race, and it also sets up the next story arc that is part of the war with Morello.
(Tommy is sitting at the bar, having a drink.)
Tommy: (narrating) One evening, after a slow day, I was sitting alone at
Salieri’s and just drinking. Luigi came over to me and asked me if I
wouldn’t do him a favor.
Luigi: Hey, Tommy, you know my daughter, right?
(Tommy looks at the girl, who has previously been seen in some chapters
working at the bar.)
Tommy: Yeah, Luigi. Nice girl. You must be proud.
Luigi: Thanks, Tommy. She sometimes helps out here behind the bar. Thing
is, I don’t want her to walk home alone tonight. Only yesterday, some
stupid punks gave her some problems. You know with all that dirty talk and
all that. You know I am worried about the girl, so I thought that maybe you
could see her home. It’s not far away… You’re a gentleman, and you have a
lot of respect in this neighborhood. Those punks wouldn’t try anything with
you around.
Tommy: No problem, Luigi. It’ll be a walk in the park.
Luigi: Oh, Tom, you cannot imagine how grateful I am. Damn, I was worried,
no one knows who these guys are! Come in for lunch tomorrow, and I’ll do
you something special… Sarah, come over here!
(Sarah walks over to Tommy and Luigi.)
Luigi: Sarah, this is Tommy.
(They shake hands.)
Luigi: He’ll take you home and make sure those punks don’t bother you
anymore.
Sarah: Hello, thanks a lot. It won’t take you long. I don’t live very far
from here. Let me get my coat and then we can go.
Tommy: Okay, I’ll wait for you outside.
(Tommy and Sarah start walking away from the bar.)
Sarah: It’s really nice of you to be doin’ this. Those clowns were really
strange. I was really nervous.
Tommy: No problem, Paulie and I’ll deal with those trouble-makers later…
Sarah: So, you also work for Mr. Salieri, don’t you? He’s a nice man, he’s
always a lot of fun.
Tommy: Yeah, I work for him sometimes. But we usually ain’t laughing and
havin’ fun.
Sarah: So, what do you actually do?
Tommy: Hm, I usually just chauffeur the Don around. Even though he
occasionally surprises me – like when he wanted me to drive in the race…
Sarah: Yeah, I saw that. You drove really well.
Tommy: Ah, I was just real lucky.
Sarah: You’re so modest. It had to be more than luck to beat those guys.
Tommy: Well, I used to drive a taxi… and the only real racing I’ve ever
done was the night before.
Sarah: There you go. You see, you got talent!
Tommy: Hmm… you might be right. Anyway, it wasn’t too pretty. I don’t
like being in the spotlight.
(They enter an alley. Suddenly, three thugs appear before them.)
Thug: Hey, lookee here! Who’s the cute pair?
Sarah: There they are!
Thug: What’s up? You were alone last night, darling, and tonight you have a
boyfriend.
Tommy: Boys, I think it would be better if you’d just go away and not make
any problems.
Thug: I think that the only one here with a problem is you, chief.
Tommy: If I were in your shoes, I’d leave right now. You never know what
might happen.
Thug: We’ll see, lover boy!
(The thugs attack Tommy.)
Sarah: Help! Help, we’re being attacked!
Sarah: Help us somebody, please!
Sarah: Help! Call the police, help!
Comment: Yeah, so much for the Salieri family…
(Sarah runs into an adjacent alley while Tommy fights the thugs. They flee
after a while and Tommy follows Sarah. He finds her cornered by three other
thugs.)
Thug: Nice dress, sweetie! What you got under it?
Thug: Don’t you want to take a real man and not some pimp hustler?
Thug: I’d like to have a piece of that slut. Uh-huh.
Thug: He he he he!
(Tommy beats them too, and they flee.)
Sarah: Oh, thank you! If you hadn’t been there I don’t know what would have
happened.
Tommy: That’s okay, Sarah. Anytime.
Sarah: I was really scared, Tom. Are you okay? Come on, we’re almost home,
I’ll take a look at you there.
(They again start walking to her home.)
Sarah: I live alone right next door to pop. My mother left us not long
after I was born. So, you work with Paulie too? He’s really funny.
Tommy: Yeah, yeah. He’s really funny. I always said that he could have been
an actor.
Sarah: Sometimes he acts real strange, it’s really creepy. I don’t know how
a person can change moods so suddenly. He must have gone through a lot in
his life.
Tommy: Yeah, he’s been around the block a few times. He grew up on the
streets and everything rubbed off on him, maybe that’s why he behaves kind
of rough to strangers. He’s real grateful to Don Salieri. Who knows what
would have happened if he hadn’t taken him under his wing.
Comment: That’s neat background exposition on Paulie, I don’t have much else to add.
Sarah: Yeah, Mr. Salieri even helped out my dad a lot. He’s almost like a
grandfather to me.
Tommy: Yeah, Don Salieri’s a good guy.
(They arrive at her house.)
Sarah: Okay, here we are. Come inside.
(They go inside.)
Sarah: So this is my kingdom. Come in and take a load off, I’ll have a look
at your wounds.
Tommy: This is quite a kingdom.
(Tommy sits on the bed while Sarah takes first-aid materials from a
cabinet.)
Sarah: Roll up your sleeves, sir, help is at hand.
(She sits next to him and checks his wounded wrist.)
Sarah: Well, let’s have a look… Hmm… It doesn’t look too serious…
Tommy: Yeah, yeah, that’s true. They looked a lot worse than they are.
Sarah: Hmm… Hold on a second, I’ll clean it.
(She cleans and bandages his wrist.)
Sarah: There you go, it didn’t even hurt.
Tommy: Thank you.
Sarah: It’s me who should be thanking you.
(They look at each other for a few seconds.)
Sarah: Would you care for a drink, Tom?
Tommy: Well, I could use a little whiskey, if you got it.
Sarah: Sure thing.
(Sarah goes to get the whiskey.)
Tommy: (to himself) This evening’s gettin’ interesting.
(Sarah comes back with a glass.)
Sarah: Here you go, hero! So, do you swing?
Tommy: What?
Sarah: Do you like dancing? Music? I have a gramophone.
Tommy: Yeah, I like music.
(She turns the gramophone on, comes back and kneels by the bed next to
Tommy.)
Sarah: Are Salieri’s men tough with everyone?
Tommy: We’ll try to be gentle with people sometimes.
Sarah: Some of you, maybe… But only a few… And are you one of Salieri’s
tough guys?
Tommy: Only sometimes…
(Sarah sits on the bed next to him.)
Sarah: Well, I think you’re a very good bad man…
Tommy: Sometimes I’m even a very bad good man.
(They kiss. Next, they are shown together in the bed.)
Comment: I can just imagine someone like De Niro or Leonardo DiCaprio acting out as Tommy here, it’s a great script for a love scene (The ‘bad man’ part even reminds me of Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back).
Tommy: (narrating) Sarah was an angel. I had a lot of girls before that,
but that was something different. Very different. It was clear to me that
if I was going to spend the rest of my life with someone, it would be with
her.
Comment: A good way to end the scene as it shows Tommy isn’t just up for sex with Sarah. It ties up the love storyline and lets us proceed with the next part of the plot.
—————————————————————————
1.9. Better Get Used To It
—————————————————————————
(Tommy, Salieri, Frank, Paulie and Sam are having a meeting in the backroom
of the bar.)
Tommy: (narrating) The very next day I told Salieri what happened with the
punks. The gang of hoodlums had set up residence in his territory, causing
trouble and scaring good people. Don Salieri was not pleased.
Salieri: What? In my territory? The nerve! And, on top of that, they attack
defenseless women! Did anything happen to Sarah, Tommy?
Tommy: No, boss. She’s okay… I took care of it.
Salieri: Good. Why the hell didn’t Luigi say something? We could have taken
care of this immediately. I won’t stand for those chicken shits attacking
people in my territory. Who do they think they are? They pay me for
protection, so we’ve gotta get these punks and put them where they belong.
Comment: This is a pretty clear situation – the gang has to be dealt with. It’s arguable what exactly the police could or would actually do in response.
Paulie: Me and Tom’ll fix it. Do those bastards think this is freakin’
Lunapark, or something? I’ll rip ’em apart with my own hands.
Salieri: Paulie, Paulie, take it easy. Nobody’s killing anybody, get it? I
want you to teach them a lesson. Break every bone in their bodies and leave
’em laying in a pool of their own blood. Make sure those bastards need
wheelchairs. Little kids’ll laugh at their busted faces. Let everybody see
what happens when somebody trashes my territory.
Tommy: Sounds interesting, boss.
Paulie: That ain’t a bad idea at all…
Salieri: We’ll need to find out where they’re located. Big Biff might know
something. He’s always standing around at Chinatown. Go find him and ask
him.
Paulie: No problem, boss.
(Tommy talks to Frank before they leave.)
Frank: It’s good that we’re cleaning up the streets. People will trust us
more knowing that the streets are safe in our territory.
(He then talks to Luigi.)
Luigi: Tom, thank you! Who knows what would have happened, if you hadn’t
walked Sarah home! I am indebted to you.
(Tommy and Paulie then go to Vincenzo.)
Vincenzo: Salute, boys! So, what’ll it be today?
Paulie: We gotta give a few clowns a good beating, Vinny.
Vincenzo: The best bet would be these superb bats. This one here’s
autographed by one of the MVPs of the league.
(Vincenzo puts a bat on the table.)
Comment: MVP – Most Valuable Player.
Tommy: Wow, I can’t believe it. Is this really his?
Vincenzo: Well… to tell you the truth it ain’t. But if you’re smashing
someone in the face with it, they certainly won’t question ya.
Paulie: We’ll need some heaters too. You never know.
Vincenzo: My words exactly! I’ve got these Colt 1911s, great automatics.
(Tommy and Paulie take the pistols. Then they leave and drive to Chinatown,
where they find Big Biff standing at a square.)
Biff: Howdy, partners, how’s tricks?
Paulie: Hey there, you fat bastard. We need a little piece of information.
Biff: What’s goin’ on?
Paulie: A gang of jokers have set themselves up in our territory and
they’re giving people a bad time. They messed with Luigi’s daughter. If it
wasn’t for Tom here, who knows what they would’ve done to her. We need to
know where they meet so we can give them a message from Don Salieri.
Biff: You came to the right place, Paulie. I know what’s goin’ on. A few
people have already had problems with them, and they told me they meet at
the old service station near the Terranova Bridge. It’s a little ways from
here. You can get there through a sort of side doors across the yard. Send
them my regards, Paulie.
Paulie: Thanks, Biff. I owe you one. We gotta go.
Biff: Sure! Take it easy, boys!
(They then drive to the service station and get out of the car.)
Paulie: I think this is the place.
(They open the metal doors leading to the station.)
Paulie: Let’s do it! And remember, Tom, no shooting!
(They enter and run into two of the thugs.)
Paulie: Hey pal, Don Salieri sends his regards.
Thug: Go ahead, I’d really love to hear it!
(They fight the thugs and advance. Further ahead they see other thugs
beating up a man. The man talks to them after the thugs are defeated.)
Man: Thanks, thank God you showed up. Finally someone’s dealing with those
bastards! The cops didn’t lift a finger, because one of those punks is
supposed to be the son of someone down at City Hall.
Comment: Here’s the reason the gang has been getting away with so much without reprisal from the police. We soon get confirmation of this and it leads to major parts of the story.
(Tommy and Paulie advance and encounter other thugs who have pistols.)
Thug: Somebody stopped in for a tuning!
Paulie: Tom, those bastards have heaters! Forget the baseball bats, it’s
life or death.
(They kill the thugs and press on. Further ahead they see two other thugs
standing by a car. One of them sees Tommy and Paulie.)
Thug: What are you tryin’ to pull here?
Paulie: I’m trying to kick your ass out of this part of town!
(Paulie opens fire on them.)
Thug: These guys are mafia, Johnny! Let’s hit the road!
(The two thugs get in the car and drive away.)
Paulie: Oh shit! Quick, get to the car! We gotta get ’em!
(Tommy and Paulie get in the car and start to chase the car of the thugs.
Eventually the thugs crash their car and stop. Tommy and Paulie get out and
approach their vehicle. The thug in the right seat seems to be badly
injured, while the one in the driver’s seat is too shocked to get out.)
Paulie: Go and nail him!
(Tommy draws his gun and points it at the thug in the driver’s seat, but he
is hesitant to shoot. Paulie comes and shoots him.)
Paulie: You can’t feel sorry for these animals. He’d shoot you in the back
the first opportunity he gets.
Tommy: (narrating) I thought about what my mother or Sarah would do if they
saw me there…
(Paulie walks towards the other thug, but he is apparently dead.)
Paulie: This one’s finished. One less to worry about.
(Paulie sees that Tommy is still staring at the first thug killed by him.)
Paulie: Why are you standing here with that look on your face? Remember
those guys wanted to do your girl yesterday. You better get used to it.
Tommy: I got used to it…
Comment: This is the first time that Tommy has to kill someone in such a way. Until now it’s been fighting for survival or for his friends. This time, however, he had to shoot an unarmed person at close range, which is quite different.
Gradually, Tommy has become numb to the violence and killing, but he still has limits.
—————————————————————————
1.10. The Whore
—————————————————————————
(Tommy and Frank are walking on the street near Salieri’s Bar.)
Frank: Your last mission didn’t exactly work out, Tom. Your killing
everybody means a lot of problems for us.
Tommy: They tried to rape Sarah! The cops oughtta thank me…
Frank: I know, but the one you let get away will make trouble.
Tommy: What, we didn’t let anybody get away! They’re all dead!
Frank: One lived, they pulled him out of the car wreck.
Tommy: Shit…
Frank: The one you killed was the son of a city councilor, the mayor’s
friend and Morello’s accomplice. And the one who lived will go crying to
the councilor. Daddy didn’t exactly love his son, but in these cases a
person can remember a lot of good things… By the way, his funeral’s
today…
Tommy: Pity I can’t make it…
Comment: It seems like such a small detail but it also leads to an amazing coincidence later on.
Frank: You’re lucky that second one didn’t know who you are and couldn’t
give you up. But that’s not why I sent for you. Tom, I have quite a
delicate job for you today. C’mon, let’s get in the car.
(They get in a car parked on the street in front of the bar.)
Frank: An owner of one of the businesses, which the Don has invested a lot
of money in, has suddenly decided to forget his obligations and he has
taken up with Mr. Morello. It seems that Morello is trying to test our
limits. We’re not going to play his game.
Tommy: So what’s goin’ down?
Frank: We’re going to blow the place up.
Tommy: What? What kind of joint is it?
Frank: A hotel. Er… that is… it’s a brothel, Tom. But no regular
whorehouse, it’s a place for classy society types.
Tommy: And I have to knock ’em all off?
Frank: Of course not… We’ll just liquidate the owner and blow up his
office. That should be enough of a warning for others.
Tommy: ‘We’ means ‘me’, right, Frank? I take out the owner and I blow up
the hotel.
Frank: Exactly, and there’s one more thing. One of their girls is passing
information about our activities to Morello. We’ll need her eliminated,
too.
Tommy: Frank… I have to kill a woman?
Frank: Worst luck, huh? Here’s a photo of her.
(Frank shows Tommy a photo of the girl.)
Tommy: She’s cute, and she looks familiar. Are you certain this is her?
Frank: Unfortunately, yes. Her big mouth has lost us a pile of money and
some of our people.
Comment: Speaking of coincidences, here’s another one lined up…
Tommy: Why don’t Paulie or Sam do it?
Frank: We know the place in and out. They’ll be dead before they can get it
together.
Tommy: Hmm, so what’s the plan?
Frank: It’s Downtown, the Corleone Hotel. Find the boss and shoot him. You
can do it in public, it’ll be a warning. Then, take care of the girl. The
owner’s office is on the top floor. Grab any documents and money you find
there, and then set up the explosives. You won’t have time for much else.
Comment: Corleone being the name of the main mafia family in The Godfather. It’s actually the town that Vito came from and it became his ‘adopted’ name when he came to America.
Tommy: This won’t be no picnic.
Frank: I know, but if we don’t take care of this now, we’re next in line.
Tommy: Maybe you’re right.
Comment: Frank makes it seem like it’s kill or be killed, which doesn’t leave Tommy with much of a choice. Still – he was hesitant about killing unarmed people a day before, so what will he be like about shooting a woman?
Frank: The weapon and explosives are here in the car. Tom, good luck.
(Tommy goes to the hotel and enters the lobby. As he enters, a woman,
apparently a prostitute, approaches a sailor sitting on one of the
couches.)
Prostitute: You want a good time, sweetie?
(They go upstairs. Tommy talks to another prostitute who walks into the
lobby.)
Prostitute: Hi there, big boy, came to enjoy yourself? Why don’t you buy me
a drink? Today I feel like havin’ a party! What about it? Hey, how’re you
doin’?
(He then talks to a man sitting on a couch.)
Man: It’s pretty quiet just now, but you just wait till the evening!
(Then he talks to the hotel proprietor at the reception desk.)
Tommy: Afternoon. Where would I find the manager, please?
Proprietor: He’s in the hotel restaurant having lunch, sir. It’s just
through those doors. He’s the man in the white suit.
Tommy: Much obliged. By the way, I’m looking for the girl in this photo.
She works here, do you know where I could find her?
(Tommy shows the proprietor the photo of the prostitute.)
Proprietor: And who are you? A shamus, or vice? Naw, I’ve never seen her
before. If you wanna enjoy yourself, choose from one of the girls down
here.
Comment: I had no idea what a ‘shamus’ is but apparently it’s “a slang term for a private investigator”.
Tommy: Well, I’m no shamus. I just need to talk with her.
Proprietor: Like I said, never seen her. So be kind enough to get out and
don’t make no problems.
Tommy: Watch the mouth, old-timer. I ain’t used to it…
Proprietor: Me neither, and my two-headed sawed-off from just under the
counter was saying that your behavior is not acceptable, so I advise a
slow, cool exit.
Tommy: Hmmm… I’ll remember you…
(Tommy leaves the proprietor and makes his way towards the restaurant. He
talks to a sitting man before the restaurant.)
Man: What do you think of the local girls? It’s paradise here.
(He then enters the restaurant and talks to the waiter.)
Waiter: Excuse me, sir. I’ll be with you in just a moment. Take a seat,
I’ll be right with you.
(Tommy goes up to the manager dining with a man at one of the tables.)
Tommy: This is the way everybody ends up when they sell out to Morello.
Manager: What do you mean? What’s your business here? Help, there’s some
nut here! Deal with him, somebody! Get him out of here! Shoot him!
(The hotel guards rush to attack Tommy but he shoots the manager.)
Manager: Wha… wha… who… who… sent… eghrr ech… sent you? Argh…
why? Arrgghh…
(The manager dies. Tommy deals with the guards and also with the proprietor
who tries to kill him with his shotgun. He then goes to the backroom behind
the reception desk and takes the room keys. He goes upstairs and enters one
of the rooms to find the prostitute he is supposed to kill. There is no one
in the room but he opens the door to the bathroom and finds the woman in
the bathtub. He points his gun at her.)
Prostitute: Aaa… what… Tom?
(Tommy suddenly has a flashback and remembers that she is the woman who
congratulated him in the bar upon winning the race.)
Tommy: Michelle?
(He takes another look at the photo.)
Michelle: What’s going on? What are you gonna do? What do you want from me?
Tommy: I’m sorry, Michelle, but I heard that a bunch of people got knocked
off because of your talk and someone lost a lot of dough. You’re dangerous
to us.
Michelle: It, it… it isn’t true. It couldn’t be true! Tom! Wait! I…
I… didn’t know I had… hurt anyone. I wanted to help my brother…
Tommy: (narrating) I knew it, this could only happen to me, a total screw-
up… I can’t just kill a young girl… A young naive fool who wanted to
help her own brother… Probably a real bastard… On the other hand, is it
worth gettin’ killed over it?
Comment: What a dilemma.
While killing enemies in combat or as part of some scheme is seemingly common for the mafioso’s in movies, it’s when they have to kill a woman or child that many seem to reconsider what they’re doing. Both Don Ciccio in The Godfather (The one who kills Vito’s family back in Sicily) and Tony in Scarface have moments where they have the stark choice of killing children to save themselves in some way.
Tommy is faced with a similar situation – he doesn’t have to do it to save himself but he has his orders. She’s inadvertently done things that lead to the Salieri family losing money and, apparently, several men, but she did it for her brother, for some reason. The details are murky but that’s all that’s necessary for the scene. Fortunately, Tommy has a moment of mercy.
Tommy: Get dressed and get out…
Michelle: Thank you…
Tommy: This place is gonna blow in a little while. I don’t wanna see you in
this town again… Nobody can see you here anymore.
Michelle: Thank you so very much…
Tommy: In this town you’re dead. Go away and never show your face here
again… Get it?
Michelle: I promise you will never hear about me again.
(Tommy leaves her in the room and goes to the manager’s office on the top
floor. He kills a guard that is inside. Then he takes some documents from
the desk and plants the explosives under it. He then quickly gets out of
the room, runs across the hallway and jumps from a window to a rooftop on
the other side. The bomb detonates just as he jumps and a fierce fire
erupts in the building.
Tommy: Just regular work…
(Tommy heads away from the hotel, moving across rooftops and fighting
police squads that are dispatched to the scene. He eventually gets to the
roof of a church by using a wooden ladder as a bridge between two rooftops.
The ladder falls just as he gets to the other side.)
—————————————————————————
1.11. The Priest
—————————————————————————
(The roof of the church is damaged and apparently under construction, and
thus Tommy is able to move down. When he gets to the lowest floor he
encounters a black curtain. Looking through the curtain, he sees a priest
giving a speech at a funeral ceremony. Right next to the priest, the
councilor’s son killed by Tommy and Paulie lies in a coffin. It is
apparently his funeral, which Frank mentioned before the mission.)
Comment: Coincidences are often a great way of tying together plots in any sort of story and this is no exception.
Priest: … and was taken from us unexpectedly. The Lord awaits his flock
with opened arms and those such as Billy are awaited in the heavenly realm.
(Tommy sees Billy’s father and crying mother on a front bench.)
Comment: What a way to make Tommy – and by extension the player – feel guilty for their past actions.
Priest: Billy was a good son, brother and friend. We will all remember him
in that light and pray for his salvation, since he did so much good. And
now Billy’s friend, who was with him during the last moments of his short
life on this Earth, would like to say a few words. Come, my son!
(The thug who was with Billy stands up and comes to give his speech.)
Thug: Thank you, father… You know, I wanted to pay my respects to Bill
today and to tell him that I considered him as my own brother, and that his
death was a great loss for me. I was present at his death…
(The priest approaches the curtain and sees Tommy.)
Priest: Huh? Er… What are… that is, how…
(The thug also sees Tommy.)
Thug: THAT’S THE ONE! THAT’S THE BASTARD WHO KILLED BILLY! GET HIM!
(Most of the men on the benches take out their guns and the councilor and
his wife leave.)
Man: Get down, father!
(A gunfight ensues between Tommy and the men. They taunt him before he
comes out of the curtain.)
Man: Do you hear me? We got plenty of time.
Man: Hey, you little rat, come down here! We’ll throw you a party!
Man: C’mon down, you big hero! Show us what you’re made of!
Man: Where are you? You wet your pants?
(Tommy kills the men and then walks to Billy’s coffin. As he does so, he
hears someone behind him and turns, pointing his gun in that direction. It
is the priest.)
Priest: Oh, it is only I… my son, don’t shoot, I am unarmed…
(Tommy lowers his gun.)
Priest: What have you done, my son? Such suffering for nothing! God is
forgiving, but this is terrible… Don’t you know murder is the greatest
sin?
Tommy: I… know, father… but somehow everything got fouled up. I made a
mistake somewhere… So many people have died without reason. They could
have done much more with their lives…
Comment: Tommy does show regret for his actions, but a ‘mistake’ was made somewhere – what was it? Joining the mafia? Leaving the councillor’s son to live? Coming to the church? Getting discovered?
(He pauses for a second.)
Tommy: Father, these people were criminals, cheats, murderers. The one
lying in the front wanted to rape my girl. Maybe God wanted it this way. A
lot of people will have an easier life because of this.
Priest: Yes, the Lord works in mysterious ways… But what about you? You
can look yourself in the face? Your hands are stained with blood that
you’ll never wash off.
Tommy: I know that, father…
Priest: Look around you! Such a waste! We’ll have to consecrate the church
again! Everything is shot up! I can’t let my parishioners in here! What am
I going to do?
Tommy: Maybe this’ll help?
(Tommy gives him some money.)
Tommy: Pray for my soul, father. I’ll need it.
Priest: I will, my son. I certainly will.
(Tommy walks away and then pauses.)
Tommy: By the way, father… Your little speech about Billy… I’m
wondering about your conscience… Billy wasn’t such a good person, and he
didn’t do good when he was alive…
Comment: A very interesting cutscene overall, with Tommy’s morals clearly questioned. The priest isn’t perfect in his admonishment of Tommy either, he was clearly going on the word of Billy’s family that he was a good person, though if the family are well-known crooks he was probably just doing lip service for their benefit. Tommy also suggests that it’s fate, or the intention of God, for this to have happened (Pre-destination – while I think the phrase “the Lord works in mysterious ways” is an enormous cop out).
I suppose they’re both wrong in different ways, Tommy obviously far more due to his mass killing. In Christianity, he’ll be judged by god after he dies, but he at least pays the priest for the damage caused to the church.
(Tommy leaves the church and drives away in a hearse in front of it.
Although the police are after him, he manages to reach Salieri’s Bar.)
—————————————————————————
1.12. Intermezzo Two
—————————————————————————
1938
(Tommy and Detective Norman are talking in the cafe.)
Norman: You must be joking, right? How could you get through this?
Tommy: Now it was really bad. Billy’s pop, the council man, wasn’t very
happy with us, and he was in bed with Morello’s. Without the mafia’s help,
he wouldn’t have got his seat. He also started to mobilize the police. So
we now had both the mob and the police against us.
Norman: Ah, come on…
Tommy: Hey, both sides benefited from it. The police could look good in the
fight against crime and at the same time get fat pay-offs from Morello, who
they left alone. And with the help of the police, Morello could eliminate
his greatest competitor. An ideal situation, and things were going bad for
us. Salieri lost a bundle, and I wasn’t doing too good after all that
killing. It started to seem, that there was no point to anything, that I
should enjoy everything as much as possible and quickly while I still had
the chance, when it’s so easy to lose your life. Maybe that’s why Paulie
and me started drinking.
Norman: You weren’t fallin’ apart maybe?
Tommy: My life was just a trail of murders, crimes and alcohol. If Frank
hadn’t helped me out I would have ended up worse. It was weird, but
suddenly he came to me and wanted to help.
Comment: Interestingly, Tommy is contradicting himself again. Earlier he seemed to quickly flip to dying rich and young, now he DOES have a problem with murder when he previously said it was just for survival.
“I also don’t have any remorse.” – clearly, he does however. Is this lazy or forgetful script writing? Or maybe a clever ploy that shows the inherent contradictions of people in the mob who put on tough guy acts? I’m honestly not sure.
(Frank is seen walking out of the bar. Tommy is standing next to a car
outside.)
Frank: Could you give me a ride home, Tommy?
Tommy: Sure, Frank, get in.
(They get in the car and Tommy starts to drive.)
Frank: So, how’s life, Tommy?
Tommy: Yeah, going okay, just… just… oh, nothing…
Frank: I heard you and Paulie are living it up, you two are getting pretty
well-known around town.
Tommy: Just something to do with our money.
Frank: If you don’t want to end up a wreck, Tom, find some meaning in your
life.
Tommy: What? You want to preach to me about a sense of life?
Frank: I’ve seen a few good guys who couldn’t deal with their problems and
they end up real bad. Usually somebody knocks you off for your money, or
maybe you go nuts and all your buddies and pretty dames disappear. Anyway,
the Don doesn’t want drunks with trembling hands working for him. Those
kind of people just bring problems. If you don’t watch out, the next thing
you know, your best friend kills you without blinking an eye.
Comment: Frank’s quote about someone’s best friend killing them has a lasting effect on Tommy. He remembers it for a long time and later paraphases it, because it makes him realise that if his work doesn’t kill him, then as soon as he slips up it will come true.
Meanwhile, Frank notes that Salieri doesn’t want drug-addled people in his family, which parallels the real life mafia – again, as portrayed in The Godfather where the Corleone family doesn’t want to get involved in drugs, despite the huge profits, as it’s not considered noble or good business. Then there’s Paulie in Goodfellas and as he’s based on a real person then it’s almost certainly true for most real mafioso’s.
Tommy: What should I do then?
Frank: Come on, be yourself! Maybe invest the dough in some kind of
investment. I could give you a few tips. Give up the partying. Go to the
races with the Don on Sundays. Try taking a dame to the theater, or at
least the movies. There’s a lot of things you can do.
Comment: Tommy seems to be going through the usual dilemma of twenty-somethings – the array of drinking, partying and women gets to the point that it feels meaningless and something else is needed in life.
Tommy: And who should I take, Frank? A decent girl doesn’t want a killer.
Frank: You know, a policeman will ‘murder’ to uphold the law… you enforce
our laws. It’s the same thing, we’re just on the other side of the fence.
You’re not a murderer, Tom, but still, your wife mustn’t interfere with
your business. Remember, never take the job home, it just brings trouble.
Comment: “Never ask me about my business, Kay!” – Michael Coreleone.
Tommy: And where would I find a woman for me, Frank?
Frank: I thought that you had something with Luigi’s daughter, Sarah. I
think she’s a wonderful girl. But you alone know best how far it’ll go with
her.
Tommy: I’m not going to endanger somebody like Sarah, Frank…
Comment: I don’t know why the conversation trails off like that, maybe the scriptwriters didn’t know how to proceed or cut it short or … maybe it’s a stark statement by Tommy that he’ll protect Sarah no matter what happens, that his family is more important than the Salieri family.
—————————————————————————
1.13. A Trip To The Country
—————————————————————————
1933
Tommy: (narrating) One day Frank asked me to stop by at the bar. He said he
had a little job for me, so, of course, I showed up.
(Tommy is seen walking towards Frank in the backyard of the bar. It is
nighttime and it is raining.)
Frank: Tom, we’ve got two trucks full of the best liquor coming in from
Canada. Sam’s gone out to the hand-off point to meet them. They’re at an
old farm outside of town and we need to get the shipment to the city. I’m
sending two trucks out, Paulie’s going with one of them. I want you to go
with them and keep an eye over everything. Just to make sure it all goes
smoothly. Get a car from Ralphy, and join up with Paulie over at our
warehouse. Paulie’ll give you some weapons when you get there.
Comment: At the time Mafia is set, prohibition is in full swing in America, resulting in alcohol being forbidden, only it didn’t work and people went to illegal bars (‘Speakeasys’ and the like) instead. The Mafia got in on this and gained all of the profits and taxes that the government would have received.
Tommy: Okay, Frank.
(Frank leaves. Tommy talks to Ralph.)
Tommy: So what have you got for me today, Ralphy?
Ralph: Hey T… Tom, I have h… here a new machine for you. It has 65
horsepower and if you put your foot down, it’ll go over 75 miles per hour.
(Ralph takes him to a Bolt V8 car.)
Ralph: Th… they put a new l… lock on it, but it ain’t no p… problem.
Here watch…
(Ralph picks the lock of the car.)
Ralph: S… see, it’s real easy! You can t… take this car, or something
older, wha… whatever you want.
Tommy: Thanks, Ralphy.
(Tommy takes a car and drives to the warehouse, where he finds Paulie
waiting with two trucks and two other men.)
Paulie: Hey, Tommy. We’re goin’ to a farm outside of town to pick up a
couple o’ truckloads of good booze. We wanted you with us in case of any
trouble, but it should be real easy. You won’t really have to do nothing,
just be there. The boys’ll load up the trucks and we’ll come back. Sam is
already there waitin’ for us, so probably be drinking most of it before we
even get there. I’ll do the drivin’. The cops have been paid off, so
there’s nothing to worry about.
Tommy: Looks like I could’ve just stayed home and slept.
Paulie: Hey, if I gotta be up, you gotta be up.
(They get in the truck.)
Paulie: Let’s go.
(Paulie drives away and they are soon out of the city.)
Paulie: This is the life, total ease, countryside, no stress. You know, we
oughta do this more often.
Tommy: Better in the daytime…
Paulie: Haha, I think you’d rather be with Luigi’s little girl, Sarah,
right? That’s your nightshift, he he…
Tommy: Lay off… What d’you know about it?
Paulie: Same way as everybody else knows! Heck, even Luigi knows that
you’re chasing her. I figure he ain’t too bothered, you saved her virginity
after all… he he he… But I bet you stole it right back, hm?
Tommy: Shut up, Paulie! I didn’t know you were there?
Paulie: Ah, c’mon, Tom! I’m kidding, she’s a good girl. You’re good for
each other.
Tommy: I ain’t so sure. Somehow, I can’t imagine coming home and saying:
“Guess what, Sarah? Had a hell of a day at work today, I had to kill ten
people.”
Paulie: You can’t talk about stuff like that at home. If you don’t act like
the way they describe you in the papers and you’re good to her, she’ll
ignore all that crap. Hey! Hehe, she is loaded!
Tommy: So it seems normal to you to hide who you really are from your own
wife your whole life?
Paulie: Don’t worry so much…
Comment: If there’s one scene in Mafia that parallels Tommy and Paulie with Henry and Tommy, it’s this one of small talk, just like when the latter are outside the Coca Cabana.
(At that moment they reach the hand-off point on the perimeter of the farm,
but there is no one there.)
Paulie: Dammit…
Tommy: What’s going on?
Paulie: Sam should be waiting here, but he isn’t.
Tommy: It smells fishy.
Paulie: Look, we’ll wait here with the trucks, you’ll go quietly check out
what’s going on.
Tommy: Thanks for the confidence…
Paulie: Here’s some toys to take with you.
(Paulie gives Tommy a shotgun and they get out of the truck. Tommy goes off
to the farm while Paulie stands by the trucks with the two other gangsters.
Tommy investigates the farm but almost all the doors are locked, including
those of a large barn in the middle. He finally finds one of the trucks
carrying the shipment. When he opens the door to the cabin the driver falls
out dead.)
Tommy: Jesus!
Man: Your friend is fallen sick.
(Two armed men appear behind Tommy. Alarmed, he turns to face them.)
Tommy: Who are you? Are you from the police?
Man: Mr. Morello and the sheriff would like to send their regards and
inform you that from this point on, they’ll be taking over your duties
here.
(Tommy shoots one of the men with his shotgun. The other man tries to shoot
him but he dodges the bullet. A gunfight ensues with more men attacking
Tommy from different sides. He fights them and manages to return to the
hand-off point, where Paulie and the other two gangsters are successfully
fighting off a few attackers. One of their trucks explodes during the
gunfight.)
Tommy: They’re all dead.
Paulie: What?
Tommy: The truck crew, out there in the back, they wasted them.
Paulie: What? What about Sam, did you see him?
Tommy: No, I didn’t see him. But the barn was locked. He might be in there.
Paulie: We ain’t leavin’ without him. We have to go back and get him.
Tommy: Okay, we’ll go back, but we gotta find a crowbar or something so we
can break open that barn door.
Paulie: Okay. Let’s go. You boys stay here for now and watch the trucks.
Waste anyone who gets within a hundred yards. Besides us, of course!
Gangster: Okay, boss.
(Tommy and Paulie go back to the farm and see a smaller barn next to the
larger one.)
Paulie: Come on, there must be something in this barn to force this door
open.
(They kill the men who haven taken up position inside the barn and find a
long metal bar. Paulie takes it and they go to the door of the large barn.)
Paulie: I’ll force it open, then we’ll run in. We gotta keep each other
covered, okay?
(Paulie forces the door open with the bar.)
Paulie: Let’s go!
(They storm the barn and kill the men inside. They find Sam lying on the
top floor. He is apparently badly wounded.)
Paulie: Jesus, what have they done to you? You still in one piece?
Sam: Eh… Just in the wrong place at the wrong time again, I guess…
Paulie: Can you walk?
Sam: Probably not too good.
Paulie: Okay, hang on, I’ll get the truck. We’ll get you to the doctor.
You’ll make it! Sam! Tom, wait here with him, I’ll be back in a second.
(Paulie leaves.)
Tommy: It’ll be okay, Sam. We’ve gotten through worse.
Sam: Sure… We have?
(The sound of a vehicle is heard after a while.)
Tommy: Paulie’s coming.
Sam: Tom, I don’t think that’s no truck…
Tommy: Shit!
(Tommy looks out and sees several police vehicles outside the barn. The
policemen attack the barn and he kills them. Then, Paulie’s voice is
heard.)
Paulie: What the hell’s goin’ on here? Tom, are you alive? Get out here and
help me!
(Tommy goes out and meets Paulie outside by the truck.)
Tommy: Christ, that was a massacre!
Paulie: This is one hell of a night.
Comment: It’s almost comical how many people they Tommy and Paulie have had to fight now.
While some games are happy for a player character to rack up a body count of hundreds of people without mentioning it, Mafia again takes the realistic take that even the guys know it’s crazy to have shot two dozen people!
Tommy: It looks like they want to get us completely out of the picture.
Paulie: Yeah? Well, that ain’t gonna be so easy. Is Sam okay upstairs?
Tommy: Yeah, he’s okay. At least he isn’t any worse.
Paulie: Okay, I’ll get him. You keep watch here.
(Paulie goes into the barn.)
Paulie: Sam! It’s me, Paulie! C’mon, we’re goin’ home.
Sam: UUUGH, we’re goin’ to the doctor… I ain’t feelin’ so good… I must
be coming down with something…
Paulie: Hmm, I guess so, your nose is runnin’ a little.
(Paulie comes out of the barn carrying Paulie.)
Paulie: Sam, I’ll put you in the back. Tom will be with you, just in case.
Sam: Okay.
Paulie: Tom, go with him and keep an eye out. There’s a Thompson if you
need it.
Tommy: Got it.
(As Paulie puts Sam in the back of the truck, Tommy sees the headlights of
more cars coming towards the farm.)
Tommy: Paulie, it looks like we got more company.
(Paulie gets out of the back of the truck.)
Paulie: There’s a Thompson and some ammo back there. Get behind those
crates and watch out. Fire as soon as they get behind us. MAKE SURE THEY
DON’T GET PAST US!
(Paulie gets in the driver’s seat while Tommy climbs in the back. They
start to drive away from the farm towards the city, pursued by several
cars. Tommy manages to kill their occupants with his Thompson. They
eventually reach the house of the doctor in the city.)
Paulie: We’re here. Tom, get Sam ready, I’ll go wake the doc up.
(Tommy lifts Sam.)
Tommy: Sam, we’re at the doctor.
(Paulie knocks on the doctor’s door. It opens after a few seconds.)
Doctor: God, is that you, Paulie? What are you doing here so late?
Paulie: Good evening, doc. I’m sorry, but we had an accident.
Doctor: Okay. Where is he? Bring him inside.
Paulie: Okay.
(Tommy brings Sam inside, and then he and Paulie get in the truck and drive
away.)
Paulie: That was our doctor, he doesn’t ask questions and Sam is in good
company.
Tommy: Are you sure that he isn’t just an untrained butcher?
Paulie: Definitely not! He is the best! The best paid doctor in the city.
If you get hurt, you will be thankful that we have him.
Tommy: Okay, I hope he’ll do his best for Sam.
(They reach the warehouse and get out of the truck.)
Tommy: Uff… At least that’s all over. We could have all ended up a lot
worse off than Sam did.
Paulie: When I catch that bastard who double-crossed us, I’ll tear his head
off.
Tommy: It looks like someone has had enough of us.
Paulie: It sure does. I don’t know about you, but I’m goin’ to get a shot
of something. When the Don finds out what happened there’ll be hell to pay!
This means a real war. And it ain’t good.
Tommy: It certainly ain’t.
Paulie: All right, so good night, Tom. Have a good night, or at least, try
to have one.
(Tommy takes his car and drives to Lucas Bertone’s shop.)
Lucas: Ahh! Tommy, you’ve come like a gift from heaven! A stoolie just
called me and said that the cops wanna pick one of my friends up! Hey, we
gotta let him know as fast as possible. He lives in a house in Hoboken.
Could you go and warn him?
Tommy: Okay, Lucas.
(Tommy drives to the man’s house and knocks on his door. The man answers
from inside.)
Man: What is it? What do you want this time at night?
Tommy: Lucas Bertone sent me! You gotta disappear, the cops will be here
any minute!
Man: Shit! Thank Lucas for me! And you too, of course! I better go out the
back so no-one sees me. Goodbye.
Tommy: Good luck.
(Moments later, a police car pulls up next to the house and several
policemen burst inside. Tommy returns to Lucas.)
Lucas: So what?
Tommy: Fine, went well. He thanked you and then quickly disappeared.
Lucas: Ah, thank God! Hey, I have a reward for you, Tommy.
(Lucas shows an Ulver Airstream car to Tommy.)
Lucas: Hey, this is totally new. It’s a little different than those other
cars. It’s the first line of cars with an aerodynamic form. Hey, they look
pretty sharp to me, but many people don’t like ’em. The main thing is that
it purrs like a kitten. Yeah.
(Lucas picks the car’s lock.)
Lucas: And you can snag one easy. You just stick this wire in here, boom,
that’s it! One guy who lives in Oakwood has the same model. He parks it in
front of the garage next to his house, eh.
Tommy: Great, thanks.
(Tommy goes and steals the car and then returns to Salieri’s Bar.)
—————————————————————————
1.14. Omerta
—————————————————————————
Comment: Omerta is the ‘code of silence’. It was classically used by Sicilians to ensure silence, dating way back to the 16th century but naturally carrying over to modern times. It means a mafioso should completely keep their mouth shut whatever happens – to break it is extremely dishonourable. It turns out that Frank has broken the code.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omert%C3%A0
(Tommy and Salieri are talking in the backroom of the bar.)
Salieri: Yesterday was the worst disaster we’ve had! We lost eight men, the
whole shipment and Sam can’t even stand up. This is a war and we’re in a
hell of a fix! He’s already got the prosecutor on his side, and he’s
digging up a load of dirt on us. He’s also pretty close to the councilor
whose boy you knocked off, Tommy, so he’s got the cops after us.
Tommy: They ain’t got nothing on us.
Salieri: That’s where you’re wrong. Yesterday Frank handed over all our
account books. The prosecutor is having a field day.
Tommy: Dammit!
Salieri: Frank wouldn’t be out for blood, but he doesn’t seem to mind too
much if I go to jail for life. Those account books will give the prosecutor
a truckload of evidence for the case against us, but without Frank it’ll be
for nothing. We’ve got to liquidate Frank…
Tommy: You mean hit him? You tryin’ to tell me I’ve gotta knock Frank off?
Salieri: More than twenty years I’ve known Frank. All I got, I got with
him. But Frank broke the Omerta. I don’t know why, but he must have his
reasons. And we’ve got our own reasons to rub him out and get those books
back. Otherwise, we’ll do time. And plenty of it.
Tommy: Whatever you want, boss. If there ain’t no other way…
Salieri: There isn’t! I figure today’s our last chance to do something
before they move Frank out of our reach.
Tommy: What do you want me to do?
(Salieri puts the photos of two men on the table. One of them is Big Biff.)
Salieri: First, find these men and find out where they’ve got Frank.
They’re good stoolies. They have connections with the cops and in the court
house, one of them is sure to know. You already know Big Biff’s from
Chinatown, and Little Tony’s always loafing on the island near the museum.
Then, track down Frank. Whatever you do, don’t kill him till he tells you
where those books are. Capisci?
Tommy: Got it.
Salieri: Frank’s going to have protection, you’ll have to knock them off
first. Once you know where the books are, kill him.
Tommy: Okay, boss, whatever you want.
Salieri: Good luck, Tommy. Get a gun from Vincenzo and a car off Ralphy.
And remember, if you don’t do this right, we’re done for.
(Tommy leaves.)
Salieri: (to himself) Goddamit, what have you done, Frank? You were a
brother to me.
Comment: I admit I know little of the mafia beyond movies and what I’ve read on the internet, but I think it’s safe to say that this is where things break down. Frank has had to betray the Salieri family as his own immediate family have been threatened by the cops, he is forced to care for them.
(Tommy goes to Vincenzo.)
Tommy: Hello, Vince. I guess you know why I’m here.
Vincenzo: Right… What can you do? Frank knew what would happen.
Tommy: What do you got for me?
(Vincenzo puts a Colt 1911.)
Vincenzo: A Colt 1911 should be enough, but here’s a sawed-off as well.
(He brings a sawed-off shotgun from the cabinet.)
Vincenzo: In Sicily they call it a Lupara. When they find someone shot by
one of these babies, everyone knows the deal. Unfortunately, this is the
perfect situation to use it. It’s got a short range, but it covers a lot of
real estate. You can’t miss.
Tommy: I’d never thought that I’d meet with Sicilian tradition like this.
(Tommy takes the guns and goes to Ralph.)
Tommy: What’ve you got for me today, Ralphy?
Ralph: Hey T… Tommy, I got a new car. Just a bit better than that V8, has
80 horsepower. Pretty good little machine.
(Ralph takes Tommy to a Schubert Extra Six car and shows him how to pick
its lock.)
Ralph: They changed the locks a bit, but they’re no problem when you’re in
the business.
Tommy: Thanks, Ralphy.
(Tommy drives away and finds Big Biff in Chinatown.)
Tommy: Greetings from Mr. Salieri, Biff. We need to know where the cops’ve
got Frank.
Biff: Sorry, Tommy. I don’t know nothing about it. Pay Little Tony a visit,
he’s ‘like this’ with the cops.
(Tommy talks to him again.)
Biff: Little Tony knows more.
(Tommy goes to talk to Little Tony.)
Tommy: How are you, Tony? Mr. Salieri needs to know where the cops are
holding consiglieri Frank and Big Biff suggested you might know something.
Tony: Hey there, Tom. Look, I don’t know where they’ve got Frank exactly,
but I do know there’s a scumbag that’s been blurtin’ stuff, something about
Frank and the cops the other day. They call ‘im Idiot Joe, ‘cos he’s a
complete idiot. He hangs out on the lot under the bridge. You’ll know him.
He’s completely bald.
Tommy: Great, Tony. I owe you one.
(Tommy talks to him again.)
Tony: Joe’s on the lot under the bridge, and he knows something.
(Tommy goes and finds Joe at the parking lot mentioned by Little Tony.)
Tommy: Hey there, you Joe by chance?
Joe: Got the wrong guy, I’m Pete.
Tommy: Well, then I’m George.
Joe: Sorry to hear that.
Tommy: Say, ain’t you got a twin brother by the name of Joe?
Joe: My brothers ain’t none of your business.
Tommy: Well… I gotta talk to somebody named Joe damn quick.
Joe: Don’t know that fella.
Tommy: I ain’t gettin’ through to you, it’s pretty damn important.
Joe: What’s important is that you gotta scram!
Tommy: Take it easy. I ain’t leaving till I find out where Joe is.
Joe: That’s tough, George. Mom used to always say: Joe, don’t go talking to
strangers or taking their candies!
Tommy: What did I tell you, JOE!
Joe: Go screw yourself.
Tommy: I wanna know where the fuzz’s got Salieri’s consiglieri Frank and
you’re my man.
Joe: What nut told you that, I dunno shit. Jeez.
Tommy: Don’t try and rile me, Joe. Just remember real quick.
Joe: Christ, I told ya I dunno anything about it, buck. Just scram.
Tommy: You wanna play hardball, huh? Spill it!
Joe: Buzz off!
Tommy: COME ON, Joe!
Joe: Go to hell.
Tommy: Where’s Frank, Joe?
Joe: You deaf or what?
(Tommy starts to punch Joe. Joe cowers on the ground.)
Joe: Okay, okay already, you win, man. You win! For Christ’s sake, stop
hitting me, I’ll spill the beans.
Tommy: I’m all ears…
Joe: Frank and those bastards agreed that if he gave the account books
they’d pack him off to Europe. You’d better move it, he’s probably leaving
today. They’ve been holding him in some joint opposite the tennis courts in
Oak Alley. That’s all I can tell ya. Now leave me alone, you rat!
Tommy: You’ve been a big help, Joe. Next time get to the point a bit
earlier.
(Tommy drives to the tennis courts in Oakwood. Just opposite the courts, a
Highway Patrol vehicle is waiting in front of a house.)
Tommy: It looks like I’m at the right place.
(At that moment, Frank walks out of the house, accompanied by a few police
agents. They get in the car and drive away.)
Tommy: Jesus, that was close! They must be worried about Frank if they’re
driving him around in an armor-plated car. I’ll follow them and see where
they are headed.
(Tommy follows the car carrying Frank. It stops at the airport and Frank
and the agents get out.)
Agent: He’s here!
(The agents notice Tommy and quickly rush Frank into the first building.
When Tommy enters it, they open fire on him. He kills all of them and
Frank, who has been hiding behind the counter, runs out. There are
apparently more agents outside.)
Agent: Hurry!
(Tommy pursues Frank outside. The agents try to stop him at the hangars. As
they are fighting, a truck pulls up near the hangars and a mechanic working
at the airport gets out.)
Mechanic: Shit, what’s goin’ on?
(The mechanic attacks the agents with his crowbar and is killed. Tommy
continues to look for Frank and finds him at a parking lot. He kills his
guards and confronts him with his sawed-off shotgun.)
Frank: Tom…
Tommy: Frank, the Don sent me, and you know why.
Frank: I know why… I know…
Tommy: I don’t get what happened to you, I thought you were my friend. I’d
never guessed that something like this would happen… Why the hell did you
do it?
Comment: Players may have thought Frank was just betraying the Salieri family out of greed or spite or something, but naturally there’s more to it.
Frank: Tom, I couldn’t go on this way. Too many people have died lately and
I don’t have the stomach for it. It used to be different with the Don in
the old days. Maybe I’m just getting too old. Tom, this is a war and I
don’t want to fight anymore. I got a child and I thought I’d finally get
some peace.
Comment: As some ex-mafia members have said (Like Henry Hill), it’s a heck of a life that pulls you in and it’s very hard to leave. Frank is 56 judging by his ‘tombstone’ so it’s hardly surprising that he’s tired and wants out.
Tommy: You couldn’t have done this some other way? You didn’t have to sell
us out!
Frank: They came for me and I had to surrender. They have my wife and
daughter, Tom. And if I don’t give them the books, they’ll kill them.
Before we used to solve things like men. You, Paulie or Sam would get them
back, but I can’t take that risk this time. I don’t want to lose them, Tom,
I can’t live without them. They told me if I did what they wanted they’d
release them and send us to Europe, where we’d start again.
Tommy: COPS! The cops are blackmailing you and want to kill your family?
Comment: Mafia makes it easy to hate the cops, or at least to show that they’re corrupt. Shades of grey and all that.
Frank: Ever since you and Paulie killed that Billy kid, the cops and
Morello have been working hand in hand. That councilor, the kid’s father,
got where he is thanks to Morello. Morello wanted to get me to talk and the
police would then liquidate the Don. Both sides would then get what they
wanted.
Tommy: I’m afraid the situation has changed somewhat. Where are the books,
Frank?
Frank: I haven’t got them, Tom.
Tommy: You handed them over already?
Frank: No, no, Tom. I’ll tell you where they are, if you get my wife and
daughter back. We were supposed to wait here at the airport, so they must
be holding them somewhere around here. Kill me after if you want, just make
sure they get out of this city alive.
Tommy: Fine, but you’ll have to give me those books first, Frank.
(Tommy straps Frank to a lamp-pole with handcuffs he has taken from a dead
agent.)
Tommy: Sorry, but they’re in case you’re lying.
(Tommy enters a waiting room nearby, looking for Frank’s family. Inside
there is a man talking on the phone.)
Man: Send someone here quickly! We heard shots, and we thought it’d be
better to stay inside. I don’t know what to do, they must be some kind of
hoods. Uh-huh. Okay. But hurry!
(Tommy finds a woman and a little girl.)
Tommy: Are you Frank’s wife?
Woman: Oh, you’ve come to save us. I am indebted to you… Where is Frank?
Tommy: He’s here. Wait here, I’ll be right back.
(Tommy returns to Frank.)
Tommy: They’re okay, Frank. Come with me.
(They together go back to Frank’s family.)
Frank’s Wife: FRANK! Oh, good grief, I was so afraid! Thank God you’re
alright!
Frank: Thanks, Tom. They promised they’d give me plane tickets when I gave
them the books. Those tickets must be here somewhere. Could you try to find
them?
Tommy: Okay, I’ll do that, Frank. Wait here for me. I hope you ain’t
planning no funny business.
(Tommy talks to Frank again before leaving.)
Frank: I’m sorry about what happened, Tom, but I couldn’t help it. Have you
got the tickets? They must have them here somewhere. Hurry up, Tom. The
flight leaves in a while, we don’t have much time.
(Tommy talks to Frank’s wife.)
Frank’s Wife: I’m glad you got rid of those crooks. The police behave worse
than gangsters. I think the plane’s taking off soon. Poor Alice, all of
this isn’t good for her. You are such a good person, Tom.
Comment: A good person indeed!
(Tommy goes and finds the tickets in the main building of the airport. Then
he returns to the waiting room and finds Frank and his family waiting at
the entrance.)
Tommy: Here you go, Frank.
(He gives the tickets to Frank.)
Frank: Thanks, Tom. Let me say goodbye to March and Alice and then we’ll
sort out this business.
March: Frank! You aren’t flying with us? What, what…
Frank: I can’t, March. Tommy and I have a very serious situation here that
we must sort out. Right, Tom?
Comment: Geez … how heartless must Tommy be to carry out the Don’s orders and whack Frank? He had fair reason for betraying the family, the priority of his own actual family. Just like Sarah’s friend in the Corleone Hotel (In “The Whore”), it’s uncertain territory for Tom. He has his orders, but he’s learnt new information that makes the whole situation different.
However, Tommy performs another act of mercy.
Tommy: Frank, just tell me where the books are and go with them.
Frank: What? How would you explain it to the Don?
Tommy: Forget about it, that’s my problem. Where are the books?
Frank: I’ll never forget this… Here is the key to a safe box in the First
National Bank downtown. The books are there. Take it, Tom.
(Frank gives Tommy a key.)
Tommy: Thanks.
Frank: And Tom… Thanks for everything you’ve done for us, I’m indebted to
you. And tell the Don I’m sorry for the way things had to end.
Tommy: To the Don, you’re dead, Frank. If he finds out you’re not, then
this isn’t finished. Now just go.
March: Tommy, I’ll never forget how you helped us, God bless you.
Alice: Goodbye, mister!
Frank: And don’t forget what I told you in the car that time.
(Frank leaves with his family.)
Tommy: (narrating) In the end your best friend kills you. Frank told me
that in the car. And now it was me who was meant to kill a friend. Only I
didn’t do it. Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want them to do to you,
or however they say it. And I didn’t want Paulie to knock me off anytime
soon. I may have given him a reason to do just that today. I brought it on
myself. I just hope he likes me as much as I like Frank.
Comment: Tommy is quoting the Bible, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Luke 6:31, NIV). I’m not a religious person but it’s one of the standard logical ideas a human can have – treat other people as you would expect them to treat you, because it simply will make the world a good place, with peace and love and all that, at least in theory. The phrase goes way back to ancient Greek philosophers and every other religion come to mention it. Despite his mixed up morals, Tommy still actually has some, he believes in karma of some sort – that if he spares Frank from the omerta, one of the rules of the mafia, then it may later happen to him down the road. This is provided that his personal friendship with Paulie is valued more than the mafia, though.
Frank’s most important quote (At least paraphrased by Tommy from Intermezzo Two) is “In the end your best friend kills you”.
That is a great summary of life as a gangster since it’s generally true, at least in the movies and in other media. The Godfather trilogy and Scarface certainly have instances of this, with gangsters killing out of necessity or out of feeling betrayed or following a code of their criminal family, or simply paranoia in Tony Montana’s instance. With high stakes, power, webs of politics and easy access to firearms, it’s, simply put, bound to happen.
(Tommy leaves the airport and is confronted by several policemen at the
entrance, apparently called in by the man in the waiting room. He kills
them and drives away from the airport. He then goes to the bank and
collects the account books.)
Tommy: (narrating) Frank didn’t lie, the briefcase with the account books
was in the safe box. It was no problem getting it.
Comment: He certainly had some honour, for what it’s worth.
(Tommy visits Lucas Bertone after leaving the bank.)
Lucas: Hello there, Tommy! How’s it going?
Tommy: Fine and you?
Lucas: I’m great, but some bouncer from Hoboken beat up my buddy. He hangs
around the Black Cat Bar. You know, I want someone to go and teach him a
lesson.
Tommy: That won’t be a problem.
Lucas: You’d do that, Tommy? Oh, that’s great. Hey, but don’t shoot him. I
don’t want you to kill him, just hit him until he begs for mercy. If you do
this, then I’ll get you a real exhibition piece.
Tommy: Sure, what’s the scum look like?
Lucas: He’s a real big gorilla. Some character at the Black Cat Bar, you
can’t miss him. His name’s Big Stan. You just tell him it’s a lesson from
Carlo.
Tommy: Okay, I’ll go to it.
(Tommy goes and finds the man near the bar.)
Tommy: Big Stan?
Stan: Who wants to know?
Tommy: I’ve got a message from Carlo.
Stan: You wanna get it like him, or what?
Tommy: No, not me. It looks like today you’re in luck!
(They have a fistfight and Stan eventually runs away.)
Stan: Shit, you bastard! I’ll get you.
(Tommy returns to Lucas.)
Lucas: So he learned his lesson?
Tommy: If he doesn’t get new teeth, he’ll have to eat baby food.
Lucas: Heh heh! Carlo will be real happy!
Tommy: So, where’s the car?
(Lucas shows a Thor 810 car to Tommy.)
Lucas: A guy in the Millionaire’s Quarter up in Oak Hill has got it. It’s a
minor technical revolution. Great motor, drives real good. It’s front-wheel
drive, you see.
Tommy: Yeah, movie stars drive those cars.
Lucas: That’s right. Look at the lock, it’s a piece of cake. But when you
go for it, be careful. The guy has some bodyguards.
Tommy: Thanks, Lucas.
(Tommy goes to steal the car, but a guard at the parking lot sees him
trying to pick the lock.)
Guard: You bastard! Don’t touch that car! Thief! Police!
(Tommy kills the guard, takes the car and returns to Salieri’s Bar.)
—————————————————————————
1.15. Visiting Rich People
—————————————————————————
(The camera shows Frank’s gravestone, which says “FRANK COLLETTI 1877-
1933”, in a cemetery.)
Tommy: (narrating) Luckily, everyone bought that Frank was dead and that I
had disposed of his body. So Frank’s funeral took place without Frank. The
mafia has a habit of organizing grand funerals for important people, where
they forget the unfinished business they have with each other, or with the
dead. The deceased are only shown in a good light, it’s the principle of
every gangster. At least at a funeral. So it happened that not only Salieri
and our people made long speeches about their best friend Frank, but even
Morello and other gangsters.
Tommy: (narr.) Morello and Salieri cried on each other’s shoulders. It
didn’t seem like they had been at each other’s throats only the day before.
Frank would have been ‘spinning in his grave’, had he actually been dead. I
guess everything turned out pretty well, only I had to think up something
about Frank’s family. Salieri, of course, wanted to help out his best
friend’s poor widow till the end of her days. I couldn’t let him know that
they were really resting comfortably in Europe at that moment.
Comment: The way ‘The deceased are only shown in a good light’ seems similar to Billy’s funeral earlier, but I’m not sure if this is more than a coincidence.
As for Morello and Salieri crying on each other’s shoulders – unbelievable! With so much murder behind the scenes, they stick to at least this moral code, of leaving everything behind at a funeral.
(The scene switches to Salieri and Tommy talking at the backroom of the
bar.)
Salieri: Tommy, it seems our problems aren’t over. The prosecutor who
nearly got Frank against us is digging up more dirt, and I’ve heard he even
has witnesses. It looks like that councilor whose son you shot is sorely
craving revenge. The prosecutor is a good friend of his, and if we don’t
nip it in the bud, they’ll make big problems for us.
Tommy: That doesn’t sound too good.
Salieri: What’s even worse is that guy doesn’t trust anyone. He has all the
evidence against us in a safe at his villa. Sam and Paulie are taking care
of the witnesses right now as we speak and you’ve got to get that evidence,
Tom.
Tommy: How will we get to it?
Salieri: Well, today we have an excellent opportunity. Mr. Prosecutor has
decided to go to the theater, and nobody else will be home… That is,
nobody apart from the home security, of course, but his study will be
empty. His villa is in the Millionaire’s Quarter, Mr. Prosecutor isn’t
exactly a poor boy.
(Luigi brings a drink for Salieri.)
Salieri: Thanks, Luigi.
Salieri: Your only concern is how to get in, but there will be guards
around the villa. Once inside you should be fine, the villa will be empty.
The prosecutor’s office is on the first floor and there should be a safe in
the wall. For that you will have Salvatore with you, that’s a guy who
manages to open every safe in America. Once you’ve got all of the evidence,
leave before the prosecutor arrives back home.
Tommy: Okay, boss. Where can I find this Salvatore?
Salieri: He’ll be waiting for you down in Hoboken on the corner next to the
stadium. So you can pick him up on the way there. I don’t have to tell you
how important this job is to us, Tommy. Buona fortuna!
Tommy: I’ll do my best, boss.
(Tommy stands up in order to leave.)
Salieri: And Tommy, if you happen to bump into the prosecutor, don’t kill
him no matter what. It’ll just bring us more problems.
Tommy: You can depend on it, boss.
(Tommy talks to Salieri again before leaving.)
Salieri: You don’t even know how much I miss Frank, Tom. Even if he sold us
out. He was always good to talk to.
(Tommy talks to Luigi.)
Luigi: The business with Frank has really gotten Don Salieri shaken. He’s
probably feeling guilty, but I don’t think he’s got any reason to. He had
to do it. It’s better to die honorably than to betray the family and live
like an outcast.
(Tommy passes by Ralph outside.)
Ralph: Hey, Tom.
(Tommy goes to Vincenzo.)
Tommy: Good evening, Vincenzo. Tonight I’m doin’ a little burglary, so I
need something for a quiet little job.
Vincenzo: Tommy, a good ol’ bat would do the trick. When you hit someone
over the head from behind, they should be out cold for a while.
(He puts a baseball bat on the table.)
Vincenzo: To be on the safe side, take this here Colt 1911 too.
(He puts a Colt 1911 pistol on the table.)
Vincenzo: I’ll keep my fingers crossed, Tommy.
Tommy: Thanks, Vincenzo.
(Tommy takes the weapons and drives to the stadium in Hoboken. Salvatore
gets in the car.)
Comment: I’ve no idea if Salvatore is a reference to anything in particular. A quick google search for ‘Salvatore mafia’ suggests several possibilities:
– Luciano “Lucky” Salvatore, “Mafia Boss of Bosses”.
– Maranzano Salvatore, “Mafia Boss”.
– Salvatore Riina (Wikipedia Link)
As Salvatore in Mafia is a safe cracker instead, it doesn’t seem necessary to cram in a reference in my opinion.
Salvatore: Evenin’, chief. Let’s get movin’.
Tommy: Great, so where are we going?
(Tommy starts to drive towards the Millionaire’s Quarter in Oak Hill.)
Tommy: So, you can open any safe in the country, right?
Salvatore: Almost every one, chief.
Tommy: And how did you learn that trick?
Salvatore: My grandpa was in the business. It’s inherited. The safes keep
getting better, so a fella has to keep up with the times. Some of the safes
around these days are pretty tricky.
(They reach the prosecutor’s mansion in Oak Hill.)
Tommy: Okay, we’re here.
(They get out. Tommy attempts to enter the garden through a side-door, but
it is locked.)
Tommy: Can you open it, Salvatore?
Salvatore: I’ll try, chief.
(He opens the door.)
Salvatore: There you go, chief.
(They enter the garden, where there are several armed guards on patrol.)
Tommy: Do exactly what I tell you.
(Tommy knocks out a lone guard while he is smoking a cigarette and takes a
key from him. He then approaches the mansion from the left side. On his
way, he sees two guards talking near a fountain.)
Guard 1: Brother, yesterday some Paddy knocked into me in the bar. Real
typical son of a bitch, and I say to him, “Hey, pal, what are you tryin’ to
pull?” and the bastard spits in my mug.
Guard 2: What’d you do to him?
Guard 1: Ah, knocked him down. I’m telling ya, he won’t forget that in a
hurry.
Guard 2: And what did he do?
Guard 1: He came right back at me, man. He nearly had me, the bastard, but
my boys were there and they knocked his teeth out.
Guard 2: He got what he deserved. You can’t let those punks get in your
way.
Guard 1: Sure, but then his friends showed up and busted up the whole
joint.
Guard 2: Son of a bitch!
(Tommy and Salvatore enter the mansion through a door on the left side.
Inside, they search for the prosecutor’s study, avoiding a maid who is
cleaning the rooms.)
—
(The maid alerts the guards if she sees Tommy or Salvatore.)
Maid: Guard! There’s a burglar here! He wanna kill me! He wanna kill me!
—
(Upstairs, in one of the rooms, Tommy runs into a woman, sitting in a
chair, but she cannot see him because of her beauty mask.)
Woman: Hello, darling! Did you have a good day today?
(Tommy knocks her out and they continue to look for the study. They find it
on the first floor, and the safe is there.)
Tommy: So, show me what you can do, Salvatore.
Salvatore: Okay, chief!
(Salvatore begins to work on the safe, while Tommy looks out the window.
Suddenly, he sees the prosecutor arrive in his luxury car.)
Tommy: Christ! It looks like we better get out fast, Salvatore.
Salvatore: Got it, chief! Piece of cake.
(Salvatore opens the safe and Tommy collects the documents. Outside, a
guard is heard reporting to the prosecutor.)
Guard: Everything’s fine, boss!
(The prosecutor enters the mansion and goes up to the second floor. Tommy
and Salvatore secretly get out through the rear door and get to the
prosecutor’s car, a Silver Fletcher.)
Tommy: Salvatore! Open the car.
Salvatore: I’ll try, chief.
(He unlocks the car.)
Salvatore: There you go, chief.
(They get in the car and drive out of the garden through the gate which the
prosecutor used during his arrival.)
Salvatore: Drop me off at home. I live across the street at the stadium a
little ways from where you picked me up.
(Tommy drives to his house.)
Salvatore: Here’s where I live, thanks a lot.
(Salvatore gets out of the car.)
Salvatore: I hope it’ll be a little cooler next time, today I almost
crapped my pants.
Tommy: I hope so too, get some shut-eye.
(Tommy returns to Salieri’s Bar.)
—————————————————————————
1.16. Great Deal!
—————————————————————————
(Tommy, Salieri, Paulie and Sam are talking in the backroom of the bar.)
Salieri: Well done, boys! The last job went fine. There’s no evidence or
witnesses left against us. Thanks to your persuasive methods they won’t
even squeak.
Paulie: Thanks, boss, we try to make you happy.
Salieri: HA HA HA! Well, you certainly did. But today we’re here for
something else. Paulie has a pretty interesting proposal.
Paulie: Well, I met a guy from Kentucky, William Gates. Everyone knows that
Kentucky makes the best home-brewed whiskey. Well, anyway… This guy
almost threw up when he tried the whisky which Morello sells here. When he
gave me a drink of this stuff they brew back there… forget about it. I
won’t drink anything else! So I asked him about it, right. He said it was
no problem, and that he could deliver me as much as I wanted. I got jazzed
thinking about the dough we’d make on it… Well, I ordered a truckload of
it. I said to myself, if it catches on here, we can make a bigger deal
later.
Comment: William Gates … the first name can be shortened to ‘Bill’, so go figure.
Salieri: It would certainly be a good replacement for the loss of our
Canadian. I like it, nice one.
Tommy: Me too!
Paulie: So we’re gonna pick up some beautiful booze.
Sam: I’m already looking forward to it!
Tommy: Where are they hiding it?
Paulie: They’ll meet us in the big parking garage.
Salieri: We have to be more careful than we were before. You’ll get to the
place by car with two other boys. They’ll be your escort on the way back.
You three pick up the truck and take it to our warehouse in Hoboken. The
boys are already out in the yard waiting in the car. And bring me back a
bottle so I can finally drink something decent.
Sam: Count on it, boss!
(Tommy, Paulie and Sam go to the yard of the bar, where the car is waiting
for them with the two other gangsters.)
Sam: Get in, we’re going for some medicine!
Paulie: Here, Tom, this might come in useful.
(Paulie gives Tommy a Thompson.)
Tommy: Thanks.
(They drive to the parking garage and stop in front of it. Tommy, Paulie
and Sam get out.)
Paulie: Wait for us here, boys. We’ll be back in a little while. When we
drive out, follow after us. Then we’ll have a shot at the warehouse.
Gangster: Sure, boss.
(The gatekeeper of the garage greets them as they enter.)
Gatekeeper: They’re waitin’ for you already, mister!
(They find Gates with his men and the truck on the top floor.)
Paulie: Hey there, Bill. It’s good to see you again.
Bill: Hey, Paulie.
Paulie: These are my partners and good friends… They like the idea of
working together and they also like first-rate whisky, which yours
certainly is.
Bill: That it is.
Paulie: The main thing is that Don Salieri likes it too, and since he’s
financing the whole deal. Here’s your first payment for the goods.
(Paulie gives him the money.)
Bill: Give Mr. Salieri my regards. I’m always happy to do business with
people like him.
Paulie: You should be, Bill. You could hit it big with this. If this small
delivery works out for us, we’ll order a lot more next time.
(Suddenly, several gangsters arrive in two cars.)
Tommy: Take cover!
Bill: What’s going on? Jesus, who are they?
(The gangsters open fire on them, and Bill is killed.)
Paulie: Fire, kill the bastards!
(All of Bill’s men are killed in the first moments of the gunfight.)
Tommy: Damn!
(Tommy, Paulie and Sam fight their way through the gangsters and manage to
get to the entrance. There they find that the two other men who have come
with them and the gatekeeper of the garage have been killed by the
attackers.)
Paulie: Bill’s kicked it, he won’t be no magnet now.
Tommy: What the hell was that, Paulie? Who were those hoods?
Paulie: How should I know?
Sam: Okay, okay! Well, we can’t hang around here waiting for more of them
to show up, let’s get the truck and get the hell out of here! Tom, you
drive! I’ll follow behind in one of the other cars.
(Tommy and Paulie leave to get the truck from the top floor while Sam gets
in the car with which they have come to the garage. When Tommy gets the
truck to the entrance several other attackers arrive in two cars.)
Paulie: Tom! We have a little problem here! Step on it!
(They start driving towards the warehouse and the attackers chase them.
They eventually lose the tail and manage to reach their destination.)
Tommy: Okay, we did it.
(Next, Tommy, Paulie and Sam are seen entering the bar, where Salieri is
waiting for them. They sit down at his table.)
Paulie: So it looks like Morello got in the way of things again, boss. We
can’t seem to shake off this bad luck.
Salieri: Boys, you won’t believe this, but it’s completely the other way
around. The only one who really had bad luck this time was Morello.
Paulie: What?
Salieri: I found out who our Mr. Gates really was.
Tommy: And?
Salieri: Gates was never really from Kentucky. He was a small-time thief
who stole the goods from Morello and wanted to sell them to us! Morello
doesn’t think that he almost stopped our deal, but that we pinched a
truckload of his most expensive whisky. I bet that bastard’s happy now!
Tommy: Unbelievable!
Paulie: Well, that worked out just fine. Let’s drink to that!
Salieri: To another success, boys! Salute!
(They raise their glasses for a toast.)
—————————————————————————
1.17. Intermezzo Three
—————————————————————————
1938
(The camera shows the front page of a newspaper. The title is “DECEMBER 5TH
1933 THE END OF PROHIBITION!” Then it switches to Tommy and Norman.)
Norman: The end of prohibition in thirty-three… You probably weren’t too
happy, huh? The end of the good ol’ days…
Comment: It certainly would have been profitable:
“Many of Chicago’s most notorious gangsters, including Al Capone and his enemy Bugs Moran, made millions of dollars through illegal alcohol sales. By the end of the decade Capone controlled all 10,000 speakeasies in Chicago and ruled the bootlegging business from Canada to Florida.
…
When repeal of Prohibition occurred in 1933, organized crime lost nearly all of its black market alcohol profits in most states (states still had the right to enforce their own laws concerning alcohol consumption) because of competition with low-priced alcohol sales at legal liquor stores.”
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States
Tommy: Yeah, not too happy, but it wasn’t all bad. Eventually, I did get
married to Sarah and had a daughter. It was a good time. But life went on
in business. We made a huge amount of dough during prohibition, which we
invested into new deals. A lot of them were legitimate. We had regular
firms like construction, transport, restaurants… We ran labor unions…
And, of course, there was gambling, betting, the lotteries… We actually
did really well. We just tried to stay out of drugs, even if it wasn’t
always easy.
Norman: C’mon! Business is business, right?
Tommy: You’re way off there! The Cosa Nostra ain’t no Paddies or Chinamen!
With drugs, comes big money and even bigger problems. When someone has a
problem with the cops because of drugs, he does the sensible thing – he
admits it. If his family catches him they rub him out! Drugs are taboo.
Comment: Given scenes (as usual) in The Godfather and Goodfellas where the drugs business is avoided by mafia leaders due to the problems they bring, I’m sure it’s true that the real mafia did so. Scarface is a good example of what can go wrong with gangsters and drugs.
Norman: So, what, there’s some kind of grand pooba passing judgment?
Comment: Grand Pooba? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Poobah
“Grand Pooh-bah is a term derived from the name of the haughty character Pooh-Bah in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado (1895).”
… Wow.
Tommy: Something like that. The leading families choose a Boss of Bosses.
They sort out the big problems and set the rules of the game.
Norman: So criminals who break the law have their own courts that judge
them? That’s just great.
Tommy: Laws aren’t changeless, holy words. Every country in the world has
their own. It’s just somebody with a lot of power applying their own will.
It depends on the person whether they’ll serve someone else blindly, or
apply their own will. Why should the Don be restrained? The mafia prevailed
through prohibition with its own laws. A handful of poor uneducated
immigrants from Sicily were stronger than all the laws, courts and police
here in the States. That took some doing.
Comment: These are powerful words that show just how successful the mafia were.
Norman: What, with murder? With the suffering they caused?
Tommy: C’mon! You think that the mafia just murders innocent people? The
mafia punishes those who break laws, and the majority of your laws too.
Unfortunately, we can’t put anyone in jail, or fine them. Everybody who
comes and works for us knows what to expect if he breaks the rules. People
lie and steal and there are lots of criminals here who get unbelievable
pleasure when they steal from the mob, as well as the mafiosos who get
pleasure from cheating the state.
Norman: And what about all the payoffs, robberies and raids? Uh?
Tommy: Hey, the cops ain’t no saints neither. No Don encourages his men to
go around harming people and what other people do on their own isn’t our
concern. And as for the payoffs, most people come to the Don for help and
advice on their own. And they’ll pay gladly for it. The Don is an esteemed
person. But not every Don is like Salieri. That’s the truth.
Norman: There you go. Your system works, but you know why? Because you’re a
bunch of selfish murderers, and you only care about your own gain. All your
efforts are spent ensuring that you live like pigs in shit. That’s why
you’re so successful, you’re only looking out for yourselves. We look out
after everybody. A few cops have to ensure law and order for all, and
that’s a much harder job.
Comment: A good counter-argument from Norman and Tommy even agrees.
Tommy: That’s true, but you can easily leave the Don outside your
protection. He’ll watch his own back.
Norman: And what about you? What are you sitting here for?
Comment: There is then silence. Despite Tommy’s passionate ‘belief’ in the mafia and its code of conduct, Norman knows there’s a flaw in it somewhere – it’s why Tommy is sat opposite him after all. Something is wrong in their system somewhere.
We’re at the top of the mafia rollercoaster – it all ultimately goes downhill now.
—————————————————————————
1.18. Bon Appetit!
—————————————————————————
1935
(Tommy enters the bar, and finds Salieri inside sitting at one of the
tables.)
Salieri: Ah Tommy, I’m glad you’re here. I was afraid I’d miss you.
Tommy: Hey, boss, what’s going on?
Salieri: There’s something I’ve been looking forward to all week. I’m going
to Pepe’s restaurant for lunch, but my personal bodyguard has called in
sick. There’s nobody here who could take me, and I prefer not to go to
these things alone. You’ll take me, won’t you?
Tommy: Certainly, boss.
Salieri: Bravo! Let’s get going then, I’m already pretty hungry. Have you
got a piece on you, Tommy?
Tommy: Yeah, I got one. You think I’ll need it?
Salieri: Well, ha ha, probably not, but it’s better to be sure. You know
how it is.
Comment: Ho ho!
Well, I suppose it would be lame if there were realistic missions in the game where nothing goes wrong – the developer would waste a lot of time and resources otherwise!
(They walk out of the bar.)
Salieri: We’ll take my car.
(They get in Salieri’s Lassiter V16 Roadster waiting in front of the bar
and Tommy starts to drive.)
Salieri: Tommy, I’m really looking forward to this. Pepe is a native
Sicilian, and, above all, a fantastic chef. Whenever I feel like a
specialty from back home I go to him. Wait till you try his cheeses! Forget
about it. Luigi’s a great cook, but Pepe is a real master, a maestro!
—
(Salieri reacts if Tommy stops and gets out of the car during the way.)
Salieri: Where in Christ name are you going, Tommy? We’re going to lunch!
Salieri: You’re gonna leave me here or what?
Salieri: Is this some kind of joke?
(When Tommy returns to the car.)
Salieri: Well, enough of that. What was that all about?
—
(Tommy makes a comment if he commits a traffic violation and is pursued by
the police.)
Tommy: Ohh, it looks like we got trouble over there.
—
(Salieri reacts if Tommy crashes the car.)
Salieri: Watch the road, I thought you knew how to drive! Ohh…
—
(They reach the restaurant. Tommy gets out and opens the car’s door for
Salieri and he gets out.)
Salieri: At last! I could eat a horse!
(They enter the restaurant and are welcomed by Pepe.)
Pepe: Hey, Don Salieri, welcome.
Salieri: Pepe, you don’t even know how much I’m looking forward to your
specialties!
(Tommy and Salieri sit down and have their meal.)
Salieri: Fantastic meal, Pepe! I haven’t eaten that well in a long time!
Pepe: Molte grazie, Don. Praise from a gourmet like you always makes me
fill with joy.
Salieri: Oh please, I’m no gourmet. If you knew what I ate for dinner
yesterday, you definitely wouldn’t say that.
Pepe: Can I get you anything else, Don? I have an excellent Chianti.
Comment: “A red Italian wine produced in Tuscany.
Salieri: Really? Let’s get it out here then, Pepe!
Pepe: At once, sir.
(Pepe leaves.)
Salieri: How did you like it, Tommy?
Tommy: It was fantastic, boss. I’ll have to bring Sarah here sometime.
Salieri: Ah, yes, you certainly should, Tommy. Just be careful so that
Sarah doesn’t take offense she cooks worse than Pepe. Ha ha…
(Suddenly, several gangsters arrive in cars in front of the restaurant and
open fire. Several customers are shot in the fire. Tommy tips the table
over and he and Salieri take cover.)
Salieri: What the hell is going on? This is ruining my lunch!
Tommy: Morello must have nothing better to do.
Salieri: They could have at least let me taste the wine, Cafoni!
Comment: Cafoni, plural of the Italian meaning ‘low class peasant’ or uncouth people.
(The gangsters outside cease fire.)
Gangster: Hahaha! Throw him his present, Joe! Maybe we’ll smoke him out!
(One of them throws a grenade inside. It explodes but does not affect Tommy
and Salieri.)
Tommy: Working for you is real interesting, boss.
Salieri: What’d you say? My ears are ringing from that blast.
Tommy: Yes, boss.
Salieri: It looks like we won’t get out this way. Try and run round the
back of them while I keep them entertained.
Tommy: Yes, boss. Be careful.
(Tommy goes around the back of the restaurant and kills the gangsters while
Salieri remains inside and shoots at them with his pistol. When all the
attackers are dead he comes out.)
Comment: Tommy is amazingly cool in this scene, emotionally speaking, as he reloads his pistol after killing a dozen men. It’s the complete opposite contrast to him earlier in the story.
Salieri: I have to say, you got balls, Tommy. You saved my ass.
Tommy: You weren’t so bad yourself, boss…
Salieri: Christ, that was crazy. Thank God Pepe hid. Poor guy, I’ll have to
send him some dough for repairs.
Tommy: We should. Boss, I’d like to know how they knew where we were. You
think they followed us?
Salieri: I don’t think so, Tommy. I have a feeling I know who set me up.
Tommy: Who?
Salieri: Carlo, my bodyguard! That goddamn son of a bitch! He’s the only
one who knew where I was going. And he also excused himself from work
today! He knew very well what was gonna happen!
Tommy: That sounds pretty likely.
Salieri: Yeah, I think so! I’ll tear him apart like a rag doll! Carlo lives
in a rented house in Little Italy, a little way from our bar. There’s a
pizzeria downstairs. We’re going!
(They get in the car and drive to Carlo’s house. Inside, they go up the
stairs to the door to his apartment. When they get there Salieri pounds on
the door.)
Salieri: Carlo! You old bastard! We’re coming for you! Let’s do it, Tom.
Break down the door, bust in there and kill the bastard.
(Tommy kicks the door open. Carlo quickly runs down the fire escape in his
underpants while his wife breaks down crying.)
Salieri: He’s run down the fire escape, Tommy! Get him!
(Tommy runs down the fire escape to the backyard to find Carlo.)
Salieri: Kill that bastard, Tom! Don’t be an idiot, shoot the bastard!
Don’t waste your time with him, he’s shit! Shoot his brains out of the back
of his head!
Salieri: Carlo, you dirty rat, weren’t you well off here with us? What did
I do to make you want to do this?
(Tommy finds Carlo and kills him. An old woman standing on the balcony
across the yard sees the act.)
Woman: Lord, there’s shooting here!
Salieri: Shut up, lady, or you’re next!
Woman: Murder! They’re… they’re murdering people! Oh God, call the
police! Murder! Murder! They killed someone!
(A few men run out of a house next door, apparently Carlo’s neighbors.)
Man: Oh my God, what the hell is going on here?
(They see Tommy.)
Man: You bastards! You won’t get away with this!
(They attack Tommy, but he kills them. He then walks out of the building
with Salieri.)
Tommy: You know what, boss?
Salieri: What?
Tommy: That’s the first time I knocked someone off in their underpants.
Salieri: It’s nothing. First time for me too. There’s a first time for
everything.
Comment: Funny, but it’s almost ludicrously sinister in the way they’re so openly discussing murder!
(The scene switches to three gangsters beating up a tied-up man in a
warehouse. Morello walks towards them.)
Gangster: Well, who do we have here!
Morello: How are you, Sergio? Staying out of trouble? I see you got a new
punching bag.
Sergio: Well, the gentleman here thinks that the finances of our labor
union ain’t fair and he wants to strike.
Morello: I’ve always said a strike is a bad thing, real bad. Unless, of
course, it’s organized by my dear brother, for a higher goal.
Man: You won’t get away with this… The boys’ll show you…
Morello: I think you’re overestimating their bravery.
Man: You cockroach…
Morello: I didn’t come for this discussion, unfortunately.
Sergio: We’d like to introduce you to some of our principals about labor
unions in this free country of ours. Carry on, boys.
(The two other gangsters continue to beat the man while Sergio walks away
to talk to Morello.)
Sergio: What’s the reason for you coming, brother?
Morello: Salieri is alive.
Sergio: What? How could he survive?
Morello: I’m afraid, in the current situation we can’t ask him and there is
nobody else who could tell us what happened. Our guys are dead, the
customers at the restaurant are dead and that sneak Carlo is as well.
(Morello turns towards the gangsters beating the man.)
Morello: Could you please SHUT UP? We’re tryin’ to talk here!
Man: You cockroach…
Gangster: That’s no way to talk to Mr. Morello!
(They continue to beat him.)
Morello: Bum.
Sergio: God, he should have been there alone. How could that old man kill
so many of our guys?
Morello: He’s as old as me, so I wouldn’t say that. But he probably wasn’t
there alone. I bet they’ll be planning how to get rid of us right now.
Sergio: What shall we do?
Morello: I will try to figure out something. Anyway be careful, now his
best guys will be after us.
Sergio: So we really at war?
Morello: We have been for a long time already, but now more than ever
before. Take good care of yourself, brother.
(Morello leaves.)
Gangster: Boss, it looks like he’s had enough. What do you want us to do
with him?
Sergio: I don’t know… Finish him off and dump him in the ocean.
Comment: The scene sets up the main part of the war between Salieri and Morello, as well as showing the relationship between the two brothers.
—————————————————————————
1.19. Happy Birthday!
—————————————————————————
(Tommy, Salieri and Vincenzo are talking in Vincenzo’s room.)
Salieri: Tommy, that assasination attempt means that Morello has openly
declared war on us. We have to deal with him. If Morello didn’t have
accomplices with the politicians and other important city organizations,
our forces would be nearly equal. If we liquidate those people, our
opponent will be a lot weaker.
Vincenzo: That’s exactly what we gotta do… eliminate his strong contacts.
Salieri: Right. And as we all know, an all-out war must be avoided. Get the
generals, then the soldiers will give up without a fight. So this is what
we’ll do, we’ll finish them off one by one.
Tommy: What do you mean exactly?
Salieri: The first in line is the city councilor who’s caused us so much
trouble. Morello got him into politics, and that makes him a big supporter.
We’ll take care of him after the boy, and I mean today.
Vincenzo: The councilor is celebrating his birthday and has decided to
throw a huge shindig. He’s having it on a steamboat, with fireworks and the
whole nine, and he’ll be making a speech to the paparazzi.
Salieri: There’ll be a lot people there who won’t do dick against us when
they see what happens to him.
Tommy: It sounds pretty risky.
Salieri: But well worth the risk. Vincenzo knows the plan.
Vincenzo: Okay. As I said it’s on a steamboat. It won’t be easy to get in
without an invite, but I know you can do it, Tom. Above all, try not to
raise suspicions before we reach our goal. Of course, you won’t get a
weapon past the security, but I’ve dealt with that already. As soon as you
get on deck, go to one of the men’s rooms.
Vincenzo: There’ll be a small revolver hidden there. Afterwards, just wait
outside awhile. The councilor will probably be hiding in his cabin, but
he’ll be out for the start of the celebrations and his speech. That’s your
big shot. During the speech you’re gonna pop him, Tom. It’s got to be in
public and this speech is the best opportunity. There will be a big crowd
there so you can blend in with them once this thing is all done.
Comment: The revolver being hidden in the toilet is surely a nod to The Godfather, with the pistol hidden in the toilet at the restaurant (Which is actually based on one real incident in the 1920s). In fact, the whole set up is similar to Michael’s meeting with the Turk and police chief – it’s all political and the targets don’t see it coming.
Tommy: And then what? I’d like to get back to shore in one piece.
Vincenzo: Afterwards, it’ll be nuts. There’ll be some security guards on
the boat, and you should be able to get past them in the chaos. If not, get
to the bow, and Paulie will pull up in a boat and bring you back safely.
Salieri: So what, Tommy? It won’t be a picnic, but you should pull it off.
Tommy: Okay, I’ll do it.
Vincenzo: The boat is anchored on the waterfront on Central Island. You
better get going or you’ll miss it, keep an eye on the time. Buona fortuna,
Tom.
(Tommy leaves and goes to Ralph.)
Tommy: Well, here we go again, Ralphy. Today I need something for one use,
because we don’t know how it’s going to work out.
Ralph: Hey, Tommy. That’s no big problem. I have here this little number,
they are pretty popular these days.
(Ralph takes Tommy to a Crusader Chromium.)
Ralph: Also they are pretty solid. Look how easy they are to nab.
Tommy: Yeah, great, Ralph. That should do the trick.
(Tommy drives to the waterfront but a security guard stops him before he
can get onto the steamboat.)
Guard: Hey, mister! You got an invite? If not kindly take a walk.
Tommy: Ehm, I must’ve left it someplace… Ehm…
Guard: Yeah, so like I said. Beat it!
(Tommy goes to a nearby building, which happens to contain changing rooms
for the boat crew. There he finds a sailor’s uniform and puts it on. Then
he returns to get onto the boat. The guard frisks him.)
Guard: Okay, pal, enjoy yourself.
(Tommy gets onto the boat and it sails away. Tommy talks to different
people on deck.)
Man: The councilor talks about order, but he really lives it up himself. At
least I can dine decently for free.
Man: There are so many lovely people here! They’re all so nice! It was a
wonderful idea, a party on a steamboat. Great party, isn’t it?
Woman: Tell the captain what a wonderful boat he has. There are supposed to
be fireworks! Don’t you know when? The moon looks breathtaking.
Man: It’s lovely here.
Woman: It isn’t proper for you to be talking to me. Don’t bother me, I’m
waiting for someone. Don’t you have anything better to do?
Woman: Has anybody seen my husband? This is a wonderful celebration. I love
sundown over the ocean!
Man: Lost Heaven really looks lovely from out here. You can’t see the poor
areas, all the riff-raffs and the criminals.
(Tommy talks to the bartender in the dining room.)
Bartender: Unfortunately, we can’t serve the crew. We only serve guests
here. Crew members shouldn’t be here, go below if you don’t want the
captain to see you.
(Then he talks to the waiter.)
Waiter: I don’t have time. Don’t get in the way! We don’t serve the crew.
(Tommy leaves the dining room and goes outside. There is a man who looks
queasy, standing by the railing. He talks to him.)
Man: UAH, my stomach!
(The man throws up into the sea.)
Man: This rocking is making me queasy. Whose idea was it to have a party on
a boat?
(Tommy then talks to the skipper who is sitting on a chair outside.)
Skipper: Leave me alone!
(He then talks to the lifeguard nearby.)
Lifeguard: Some of these dames ain’t getting it, maybe they wanna try a
real man. It’s so nice tonight I don’t even feel like working. Don’t bother
me, can’t you see I’m thinking?
(Tommy goes and talks to another sailor standing by the railing.)
Sailor: This your first day? The cap might have told us we had a new
crewmember.
(Tommy then goes up to the upper deck and sees two bodyguards standing at
the entrance to one of the cabins.)
Bodyguard 1: Mind your own business. Nothing to see here. You can’t come in
here.
Bodyguard 2: This is the councilor’s private room. The councilor doesn’t
wish to be disturbed.
(Tommy finds the men’s room mentioned by Vincenzo but it is locked and has
a sign that says “SKIPPER HAS KEY”.)
Tommy: Typical, this has to happen to me.
Comment: It’s a bit like that small moment of suspense when Michael is searching the toilet box for the gun.
(He goes and talks to the sailor by the railing.)
Tommy: Hey there, do you know where the keys are to that broken john?
Sailor: Sorry, but I don’t have a clue.
(He then talks to the skipper.)
Tommy: I heard you had the key to the john on the upper deck.
Skipper: Yeah, the keys from that puked up pisser? The lifeguard probably
has them. He’s around here somewhere.
(Tommy finds and talks to the lifeguard.)
Tommy: I heard you had the key to the john on the upper deck.
Lifeguard: Don’t bug me, I have a lot of work to do.
Tommy: Hey, I kinda need those keys, I left something there.
Lifeguard: Yeah right, maybe I’ll lend them to you, but you gotta promise
to clean up that mess in there and bring them back to me. I’ll wait in the
stern for you.
Tommy: Clean up? Ehm… Sure, you bet.
Lifeguard: Okay, there you go, but bring ’em back!
(Tommy takes a bucket from another men’s room and enters the locked one
with the keys. There is a big mess inside.)
Tommy: Where are you, baby? My God, what a stink!
(He cleans the room with the bucket and takes the hidden pistol. Then he
returns to the lifeguard.)
Lifeguard: So you see, how easy that was. You ain’t so bad, you could open
a cleaning firm.
Tommy: Yeah, and I’ll use you as the rag.
(He gives him the keys and begins to wait for the councilor to emerge from
his cabin.)
Tommy: I think it’s time…
(The councilor walks out of his cabin, accompanied by his two bodyguards.
On the way to the stage he greets different visitors.)
Councilor: Hello there, John, I hope you’re enjoying yourself!
Man: Good evening. Yes, it’s lovely here!
Councilor: How are you? I hope you like it.
Man: Thanks, we’re glad to be here.
Councilor: Hey, I’m glad you could make it!
Woman: It’s wonderful, thank you.
(He gets to the stage and begins his speech.)
Councilor: Thank you, thank you and welcome to this little party. I never
guessed I had so many really nice friends, who, I hope, will drink with me
on this special occasion. It never occured to me in my wildest dreams that
when I was forty that I would end up like this. I started with only a small
firm and a few dollars, but I tried as best as I could. Even in the worst
of times, I always said: “With integrity a man will go farthest.” And that
motto has lasted till today.
Councilor: Later on, when things were starting to go well, I got married to
my darling Agnes. Unfortunately, that terrible war came into our lives. It
was a dreadful time, but we got through it alive and healthy. My darling
wife and I could look forward to a victory for our beloved country. Shortly
after the war my one and only son was born. Though the times weren’t easy,
we did quite well.
Councilor: We brought our son up to be a model American, and instilled in
his mind the principles of being a good Christian. Even as many firms fell
to ruin and folded after the boom, my business survived. I was able to make
modest donations to charities, help the unemployed, become a sponsor of the
arts, and further, we repaired a beautiful, but devastated church.
Councilor: Fate would have it that recently I had to say goodbye to my son
in that very church. He lost his life to a criminal! I promise that the
rest of my career will be aimed at the pursuit of that gangster and his
counterparts for the murder of my son! I’m going to clean up this town of
crime!
Comment: The speech does highlight the background of the councilor, though it doesn’t cause Tommy to reconsider the hit like when he was set on killing Sarah’s friend or Frank. He may claim to have survived through the recession and second World War along with his business, to have raised his son as a ‘good Christian’ and to have donated money to the arts and a certain church AND that he wants to fight crime, but he is in cahoots with Morello! We know that he’s corrupt to a large degree.
The councilor either had no idea that his son was a thug (As part of a gang that was terrorising a neighbourhood) or he’s lying through his teeth about Billy and everything else.
My money’s on the latter.
Councilor: But, this is a birthday party. I’ve said my piece, and now I
just want you all to enjoy yourselves on this pleasant evening. I’m
starting another decade of my life and I want to prosper alongside all of
you in a healthy and prosperous society. For me, this is the start of a new
era! I thank you.
(As the councilor ends his speech, Tommy walks up to him and shoots him.
Chaos ensues, and the guards try to kill him, but Tommy manages to get to
the lower deck where Paulie is waiting for him in a speedboat by the
railing. He gets in and Paulie speeds away.)
—————————————————————————
1.20. You Lucky Bastard!
—————————————————————————
(The camera shows three newspapers in a row. The headlines read: “BIG CITY
REPRESENTATIVE MURDERED BY MAFIA!” “MURDER!” “PARTY MASSACRE!” Then,
Salieri is seen looking at the last newspaper and puts it down on the table
alongside the other newspapers. Tommy and Paulie are with him at the
table.)
Salieri: Tommy pulled it off. Now all the politicians in the city are
scared. Nobody wants to end up like the councilor.
Paulie: Nice job, Tom.
Salieri: But it’s not enough. Now we’re after Morello’s right hand man –
his brother Sergio Morello, Jr. He controls the unions in the city. His
biggest assets are the dockers’ unions. Thanks to whom he practically
controls every import into the city. We kill him and a big part of Morello
income is gone.
Paulie: I think I know how we’ll do it, boss. Sergio is usually at the
Italian Garden restaurant. There’s a telephone in the restaurant and across
the street a phone booth. You go to the booth and call inside the
restaurant saying you want to speak to Sergio. I’ll be standing in front of
the restaurant with a Thompson and as soon as Sergio gets to the phone,
I’ll waste him. Then we just gotta get to the car and make a quick getaway.
What do you say?
Tommy: Yeah, I suppose I can handle the calling part.
Salieri: Get to it, boys. Vincenzo will give you your weapons.
(Tommy talks to Salieri before leaving.)
Salieri: Take care of Sergio properly, I heard he’s not right in the head.
He likes seeing people suffer… So as soon as somebody gets in his way he
has them knocked off, he likes to take his time and always be present. I
certainly don’t call his working methods good… Maniac.
(Then he talks to Luigi.)
Luigi: So, how are things with you and Sarah? Last time I talked with her
she seemed happy. I’m glad you guys are working it out, it was no good when
you and Paulie were raging it up all the time. It’s the family that’s
important, Tom. How’s the little one?
Tommy: A little devil just like me at that age, my mom always used to say
that I was a holy terror. Wish I had more time for her though.
(After that he and Paulie go to Vincenzo.)
Paulie: Vincenzo, I need a Tommy gun and something for Tom here.
Vincenzo: Okay.
(He brings the weapons from the cabinet.)
Vincenzo: Here it is, boys. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
Paulie: Thanks.
(They take the guns and go to Ralph.)
Paulie: Hey, Ralphy. We need a car.
Ralph: Hey hey, I have a new Terraplane here. It’s decent and a real big
sturdy car. You’ll like it, Paulie.
(He shows them a Guardian Terraplane car.)
Ralph: It has a new type of lock, but if a person is clever it ain’t no
problem to open it. Just like this… nice and easy… push in and click!
Tommy: Great!
Paulie: So let’s go, Tom. Let’s go!
(They drive to the restaurant.)
Paulie: Here we are, stop right here, Tom.
(They get out of the car.)
Paulie: Okay, I’ll stand out front. You call from that booth. Say you want
to talk to Sergio. As soon as I kill him, get in the car and wait for me.
Tommy: Sure thing.
(Tommy enters the booth while Paulie walks towards the restaurant. A few
gangsters are seen sitting at a table inside. Tommy makes his call and a
waiter responds.)
Waiter: Yeah?
Tommy: Mr. Morello please.
Waiter: Hang on.
(One of the gangsters comes and picks up the phone.)
Gangster: Buddy, Mr. Morello ain’t here today.
(Paulie opens fire on him from outside, thinking he is Sergio.)
Gangster: Try… EEEEE… AAARGHH!
(The gangster dies. Tommy runs out of the booth.)
Tommy: Paulie! It isn’t him! Paulie, move it, Morello isn’t there!
Comment: I’m reminded of Guy Richie’s work (Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, etc.), he doesn’t make movies about criminals, but rather comedies involving them. This instance of something tragically but amusingly going wrong is just the sort of thing I’d expect, but accidents sometimes happen in the medium anyway, only adding to the absolute tragedy of murder gone wrong.
(They both get in the car.)
Tommy: The guy you hit wasn’t Sergio! Sergio wasn’t there today!
Paulie: Ah hell! Now we’re in the shit! We’re going back to Salieri.
(They are chased by the gangsters from the restaurant, but they manage to
get to the bar. Next, Tommy is seen with Salieri and Vincenzo in Vincenzo’s
room.)
Salieri: Don’t worry about it, Tom. It happens to everybody sometimes.
Vincenzo and me have thought up a new plan. Biff told us that Sergio has a
mistress who he spends a lot of time with. He must be there today. Vincenzo
has put together a little surprise for him.
(A bomb is seen on Vincenzo’s table.)
Salieri: All we gotta do is put it on his car while he’s inside enjoying
himself.
Vincenzo: That’s right, all you gotta do is put this bomb right under his
car. Then you can just enjoy the show.
Salieri: Sergio usually leaves at four, so hurry. This time it has got to
work. His mistress lives in a house in Oakwood. We’ll know he’s there if
his expensive little sports car’s parked out in front. Stick the bomb under
it.
Tommy: That sounds a lot better. I’ll get going.
(Tommy drives to the house in Oakwood. Sergio’s car is parked outside, and
there is a guard waiting at the door.)
Tommy: There it is, let’s have a look!
—
(If Tommy plants the bomb in the view of the guard, he reacts and opens
fire on him.)
Guard: Hey, you little bastard, what are you doing?
—
(Tommy waits for a while, and the guard goes inside. Then Tommy plants the
bomb on the car. After that he walks away and lights a cigarette while he
is waiting for Sergio to get in the car. Instead of him, however, his
mistress leaves the house and enters the car.)
Tommy: Christ! No, no, no! Hey, stop! Shit!
(The car blows up and kills Sergio’s mistress.)
Tommy: Damn… That’s one HOT dame.
Comment: Badoom tisch.
This is another scene that could possibly be a nod to the The Godfather (Part One) where Michael’s Italian wife is killed in an assasination attempt on him by car bomb.
Later…
(Tommy, Salieri and Paulie are sitting at a table at the bar.)
Tommy: That girl came out and sat down in the car. I don’t know, maybe he
lent it to her or something!
Salieri: It just happens sometimes. There’s nothing you can do! To put it
simply, we gotta get this guy. Sergio meets with his bookie downtown in the
parking lot of the Rainbow Garden Restaurant. Get Paulie down there to fill
him full of holes. You’ll just drive, Tom. Then get away fast before the
alarm goes out.
Paulie: Now I’ll catch that bastard, I promise. He’ll be gone and he won’t
even know how I did.
Salieri: Now get a move on, so you can still catch Sergio there.
(Tommy and Paulie leave the car and drive to the parking lot of the
restaurant. There is a group of gangsters there.)
Paulie: Those men in black, that’s them!
(Paulie gets out with a Tommy gun in his hand and approaches them. They
notice him.)
Sergio: What the…
Paulie: We have a message from Mr. Salieri.
Sergio: What the hell’s going on?
(However, Paulie’s gun jams as he tries to shoot.)
Paulie: Oh no…
Sergio: Well, that certainly changes the situation, gentlemen. Kill that
clown!
(Paulie runs back to the car.)
Later…
Tommy: (narrating) After so many foul-ups Salieri gave the job to other
people. I only went with them as kind of an insurance policy.
Comment: That’s three attempts now. Can Tommy really be surprised?!
(Tommy is sitting in a car parked on the side of the road at a railway
crossing. A car with two gangsters assigned by Salieri passes next to him.
They stop for a moment when they get side by side with his car.)
Gangster: Just sit here and watch, so you don’t screw up again.
(The camera shows the shed of the railway employee controlling the
crossing. However, he has been tied up and been replaced by another
gangster. Next, the two gangsters park their car near the crossing.)
Gangster: Amateur…
(They lower their heads in order to prevent being seen when Sergio’s car
arrives at the crossing. The gangster in the shed rings the bell for them
to stop but the barriers remain open. The two gangsters bring up their car
right behind Sergio’s, and a train is seen speeding towards the crossing.)
Sergio: Why don’t the barriers… close?
(Sergio sees the car behind them. The two gangsters move forward to push
Sergio’s car in front of the speeding train.)
Sergio: GO!
(Sergio’s car moves and avoids being hit by the train at the last moment.
The car of the two gangsters is hit and destroyed instead. Sergio’s car
speeds away.)
Tommy: Real damned professional.
(Tommy, who has been watching the whole thing, goes after Sergio. After a
chase, Sergio’s car enters the harbor. There are a few guards at the main
gate.)
Sergio: Hey, what are you staring at? Kill that bastard tailing me!
(Sergio’s car drives away. As Tommy enters the harbor, the guards open fire
on him. He gets out and takes cover behind his car.)
Guard: Okay, come on out, you bastard!
(Tommy sticks his head out and shoots the guard who has called to him. More
guards arrive after that, and he kills them. Then he begins to search for
Sergio in the harbor, attacked by guards from time to time. He eventually
finds that Sergio’s car is parked outside a warehouse, but the doors cannot
be opened. There is a railway leading into the building, and Tommy sends a
fuel wagon nearby towards it. The wagon smashes against the metal doors but
fails to break them open. Fuel starts to leak out of the wagon. Sergio
calls to Tommy from the inside.)
Sergio: Ha, that didn’t work… Huh! I don’t know what you’re tryin’, you
bastard! My brother’ll kill you along with your whole family!
(Tommy lights a cigarette.)
Sergio: Give it up, you’re dead! You won’t get in here, idiot! You’re too
small for me! HEY! Do you hear?
(Tommy walks away and throws his cigarette on the trail created by the
leaking fuel. The fire leads to the wagon and it blows up, destroying the
doors. Tommy enters the warehouse, where he is confronted by several
guards.)
Sergio: I don’t know what you’re tryin’, you punk! My brother’ll kill you
along with your whole family!
Sergio: What are you up to, you dumb asses? Kill that idiot! What do I pay
you for?
(Tommy advances towards Sergio’s position at the back of the warehouse,
killing guards that get in his way.)
Sergio: Waste him and quick! Morons!
Sergio: Do you know who I am? I’m a Morello! You won’t get away with it
just like that, buddy!
(Tommy finds Sergio after eliminating all the guards. Sergio tries to shoot
him with his Tommy gun, but he kills him. He then takes a look at his
corpse.)
Tommy: You lucky bastard!
(Tommy then leaves the harbor and goes to pay a visit to Lucas. Lucas
reacts as he enters the shop with his car.)
Lucas: You’re sent from heaven, Tommy! I need some wheels quick!
(Tommy gets out of the car and goes to him.)
Tommy: What happened?
Lucas: A buddy of mine called, one of our friends was shot in Chinatown,
he’s lying in a street near the square and needs help! You need to get him
and take him to the doc in Oakwood!
Tommy: There’s a hospital in Oakwood?
Lucas: He’s the one that you took Sam to once.
Tommy: Sure, I remember.
Lucas: So? Can you do it?
Tommy: Okay, if you clean up the blood from the upholstery.
Lucas: That’s no problem, but move it, he’s dying out there!
(Tommy drives to Chinatown and finds a wounded man lying on the sidewalk,
with another man kneeling beside him. There is another badly wounded man
lying further ahead. Tommy talks to the kneeling man.)
Man: At last! Luca sent you?
Tommy: Yeah. What’s wrong with him?
Man: What do you think? He got hit by a 45. The second one’s much worse
off, so it ain’t a good idea to take him to the hospital.
(The wounded man raises his head.)
Wounded Man: Hhhhh… Take me to the doctor in Oakwood.
Man: Make it quick, if someone don’t take a look at him, he won’t make it.
Tommy: Okay, let’s go.
—
(If Tommy’s car is not a four-door one, the man reacts.)
Man: We need a four-door car! What’re you gonna do about that?
—
(Tommy and the man get in the car, and the wounded man slowly walks towards
it.)
Wounded Man: Arrrghh, shit, this had to happen to me.
(He gets in and Tommy starts to drive towards the doctor’s house.)
Man: Don’t give up now, bud. You’ll with the doc in a while and he’ll put
you back together again. It’ll be okay, hang on!
(They reach the doctor’s house.)
Man: Here it is! Stop here! Thanks a lot. Okay, let’s go, bud. We’re okay,
the doc’ll look at you.
(They get out of the car and go to the house.)
Tommy: Jesus, what a mess, the whole car is covered in blood! I hope Luca
has a lot of soap.
(Tommy returns to Lucas.)
Lucas: Is he okay?
Tommy: Yeah, they’re at the doctor, he’ll be okay.
Lucas: Uff! That’s a load off my mind, he’s my good buddy! I owe you one.
Tommy: Well, since you do, could you clean the blood off the seats? The car
looks like a slaughter house.
Lucas: Don’t worry, Tommy, I’ll sort it out.
Tommy: Well, I hope so.
(Next, Lucas is seen cleaning the car with a cloth and a bucket in the
backyard of the shop with Tommy standing next to him.)
Lucas: Shit, that guy sure ain’t short on blood.
Tommy: You can say that again, it was like a freakin’ fountain.
Lucas: Except that water is much easier to clean off upholstery… You just
wait till it dries.
Tommy: You could donate the blood you cleaned with that cloth to the
hospital.
Lucas: Now it’s mixed with soap.
Tommy: A-ha.
Comment: It’s almost reminiscent of Pulp Fiction but I doubt it’s meant to be a direct reference.
(Next, they are seen in front of the shop with the car.)
Lucas: Whatever, anyway I got a nice piece of work for you today and it’s
no big deal to get it.
Tommy: No blood?
Lucas: No, don’t worry. At the multistory car lot on Central Island there’s
a beautiful sports car. You just go and lift it.
Tommy: Locks?
Lucas: Nothing special, with your skills it’ll be a piece of cake. Just be
careful that the gatekeeper don’t call the cops on you.
Tommy: Okay. Thanks, Luca.
(Tommy gets in his car.)
Lucas: I put a towel on the seat, so you won’t get a wet ass.
Tommy: Oh, that’s just great!
(Tommy goes to the car lot and steals the Bruno Speedster 851 car. The
gatekeeper opens fire on him if he sees him. Then Tommy returns to
Salieri’s Bar.)
—————————————————————————
1.21. Creme De La Creme
—————————————————————————
Comment: French for ‘Cream of the cream’, the best of the best, so to speak.
(Tommy, Salieri, Paulie and Sam are at the backroom of the bar.)
Salieri: It was a tough job, but we finally have Morello where we want him.
Now one last step remains… eliminate him! In his sections of the city
there’s theft, robbery, blackmail, illegal lotteries, gaming rooms and
whore-houses appearing all the time. But what’s the biggest problem?
Tommy: Drugs?
Salieri: Horseshit! The problem is that we don’t get a cent out of it!
That’ll change as soon as we get rid of Morello. His organization will
collapse and all those smalltime cheats, thieves and criminals will kill
each other without anybody over there to maintain order. Today we can
finally remove that bastard once and for all. Paulie has come up with a
plan.
Paulie: That’s right! From what my informers tell me, we have one chance to
get this guy. Morello watches his back and almost never shows himself in
public. He goes everywhere in his bulletproof limo, clammed up like some
seashell. But today he’s coming out. He’s going to the theatre to do some
socializing with the creme de la creme of Lost Heaven. And we’ll be there
to show him something too.
Tommy: Isn’t this a bit risky?
Salieri: It’s risky, but this is our only opportunity to waste him in
public and show everyone our power.
Paulie: We’ll do it like this: Wait in front of the building until the end
of the show. People will start coming out, so there’ll be a lot of
confusion. With Morello trying to make his way out, his gorillas won’t have
much of a chance to notice us before we hit him. Make sure you don’t draw
any attention to yourselves, so no shooting. Pull your weapons when you see
him.
Tommy: I hope I still recognize him.
Paulie: Shouldn’t be hard. Morello likes to wear his white suits, not many
people wear them these days.
Salieri: Each of you get a Thompson or Lupara from Vincenzo. Wait out in
front of the theater on Central Island until Morello comes out. Then go to
it. The performance ends at 9 o’clock, so make sure you’re there on time.
It should work out fine, so don’t come back without his head!
Tommy: Okay, boss!
Paulie: Let’s get to it!
(Tommy, Paulie and Sam stand up. Tommy talks to Salieri again while Paulie
and Sam walk out.)
Salieri: If you have the chance to say something to that bastard before you
waste him, tell him that I’m not like poor old Peppone and that this is for
him.
Comment: We see who Peppone is after the mission, soon enough.
Tommy: Sorry, boss?
Salieri: He’ll know what I mean. We have a few unfinished scores from the
old days.
(Tommy, Paulie and Sam go to Vincenzo.)
Paulie: Vincenzo, today we need some real heavy artillery. We gonna rub out
Morello.
Vincenzo: Well, I think 600 shots per minute from an ol’ Tommy gun should
do the trick.
(He brings two Tommy guns from the cabinet to the table.)
Vincenzo: At the same time, we could stick to the ancient ways and use a
more traditional Sicilian weapon for a job of this size.
(He puts a Lupara sawed-off shotgun on the table. Paulie and Sam take the
Tommy guns and Tommy takes the shotgun. Then they take a car and drive to
Central Island. As they enter the street where the theater is, they see
Morello and his bodyguards get in their limousine.)
Paulie: Shit! He is leavin’ already!
Sam: That damn show must have finished earlier!
Paulie: That silver limousine! Catch him!
(They start chasing Morello’s car. It heads out of the city through the
highway leading through the countryside.)
NOTE: There are two possible ways to finish this level from this point on.
Comment: There are two scenarios that occur, both randomly. This freaked me out when I replayed the game, I thought my memory was playing a trick on me!
—
Way 1:
(Morello’s car goes into the airport. Tommy and his friends follow him, but
their car suddenly breaks down just after going through the entrance.)
Paulie: What is it? What the hell is happening? Why did you stop?
Tommy: I don’t know, it just broke down!
Paulie: Jesus Christ, we almost have him! Sam, come on, let’s make this
happen! Tom, get out and go after them, maybe you’ll catch them!
(They get out. Tommy goes after Morello while Paulie and Sam stay behind to
fix the car. On the way, Tommy runs into and kills two of Morello’s
bodyguards. When he gets to the airstrip, he sees that a plane is speeding
to take off. Apparently Morello is in it. Just at that moment, Paulie and
Sam arrive with the car.)
Paulie: C’mon, Tom, get in! We’ll shoot it down! Move it! They won’t get
away!
(Tommy gets in the car.)
Paulie: Take my Thompson. You and Sam shoot them!
(Paulie drives the car after the speeding plane, which is taking off. Tommy
and Sam start shooting at the plane.)
Paulie: Come on, you heap of junk! Hold on!
(Tommy and Sam continue to shoot, and the plane catches fire. Nevertheless
it takes off. Tommy, Paulie and Sam get out of the car.)
Paulie: Sam shoot!
Sam: Bastards!
(Sam fires after the plane but it is beyond their range now.)
Paulie: Kill ’em, Sam!
Tommy: Damn it, Paulie.
(Suddenly, the plane crashes into the woods near the airport and explodes.)
Tommy: Wow!
Paulie: Yes!
(They start walking back towards the car.)
Tommy: How did you fix the car?
Paulie: Better ask Sam.
Tommy: Why ain’t you a mechanic, Sam?
Sam: That work’s too dirty for me.
Comment: Badoom tisch.
—
Way 2:
(Morello’s car does not go into the airport if Tommy’s car is close and
continues on its way. Eventually it comes to a destroyed bridge.)
Morello: Brake! Hit the brake!
(Morello’s driver stops at the last moment, leaving the car in a precarious
position just at the edge of the bridge, unable to move. Seconds later
Tommy, Paulie and Sam arrive in their own car. They stop for a moment and
then press their car against Morello’s, sending it down the bridge.
Morello’s car falls a long way and is smashed upside down. Tommy, Paulie
and Sam get out of their car to look down.)
Sam: You think he’s dead?
Tommy: Well, I guess so, yeah.
(Morello’s car explodes.)
Sam: Oh, Christ!
Paulie: Well, he’s definitely dead now.
Tommy: Let’s go.
Sam: Okay, let’s go.
—
(Either way, Tommy, Paulie and Sam return to the city. Tommy drives to
Lucas’ shop to visit him.)
Paulie: Hey, Tom, I’m pretty beat. Drop us at the front of the bar and come
back later.
(Tommy drops them at the bar and returns to Lucas.)
Lucas: Hey, Tommy!
Tommy: Hey. You got anything for me today?
Lucas: Well, today was a little rough…
Tommy: How come?
Lucas: Ah, you know, the guys left a car here that was involved in a chase
with the cops and I kinda need to get it out of here fast.
Tommy: Why didn’t they dump it themselves?
Lucas: Oh, well, we had a deal worked out with them, it was meant to be a
sure thing, and it didn’t work out. They were a little pissed, so they left
it here.
Tommy: What’s in it for me?
Lucas: A lovely German sports car.
Tommy: That’s worth a risk. I’ll do it. What can I do?
(Next, Tommy and Lucas are in the backyard next to the car.)
Lucas: It’s pretty simple. Take the car to the cliffs outside of town and
dump it in the sea.
Tommy: Cool.
Lucas: But if the coppers spot you, there’ll be trouble. So you gotta shake
them.
Tommy: Okay.
(Tommy takes the car to the cliffs near the lighthouse, avoiding the police
on the way, and pushes it into the sea using another car. Then he returns
to Lucas.)
Tommy: Okay, where’s the car?
Lucas: That guy came in for it a while ago and drove off, but he said he
was going for dinner at Roy’s Grill. It’s Downtown, it’s just a little way
from Pepe’s restaurant. If you hurry, you’ll still find the car there.
Tommy: What’s goin’ on, today’s customer appreciation day?
Lucas: This one’s an exception, he owes me big time. I did a bunch of jobs
for him and I haven’t seen dollar one. God knows what he does, but at the
same time he acts like a classy guy. This way he pays his debts and I pay
my debt to you. You’d better get going.
Tommy: Right, thanks.
(Tommy goes to the restaurant and steals the Celeste Marque 500 sports car
from its parking lot. The man who owns the car comes out of the restaurant
and sees him.)
Man: What are you freakin’ doin’ with my car? Police! Stop, thief! You
won’t get away with it!
(Although the man opens fire after him, Tommy drives off with the car and
returns to Salieri’s Bar.)
—————————————————————————
1.22. Intermezzo Four
—————————————————————————
1938
(Tommy and Norman are talking in the cafe.)
Norman: So you killed Morello! That must have felt good, huh?
Tommy: We celebrated. Salieri was thrilled, of course. We ran the whole
town, practically, and there seemed to be an end to the bloodshed. For a
while I felt like a king, until I came to a realization. If a regular guy
like me could kill the most powerful man in the city, what good was all his
power? Hell, if he hadn’t been so powerful, he’d probably still be alive.
It seemed to me that no matter how strong someone was, there was always
somebody stronger to take them out.
Comment: In other words, everyone is mortally fragile. It’s a good point.
Norman: So where did that intuitive thought take you?
Tommy: Greediness is bullshit. When you have no money, you think that a few
bucks a month would be enough. Then you realize, that it wouldn’t be bad to
have a nice car. You get a great job in some higher position, but in
actuality you are thinking about going higher. Before you know it, you
wanna be the President of the United States and you wanna win the war
against the Germans. Luckily, that won’t happen.
Tommy: Plus, the whole strategy of watching other people’s backs has one
basic flaw: The whole time you have to watch your own back in case someone
else has the same idea. So I thought to myself that maybe I oughtta change
my priorities a little.
Norman: Great bible story, ha ha.
Tommy: Laugh it up. You know where it got me in the end.
(Tommy puts a photo on the table. It shows Salieri and Morello, both
younger, with another, older man in the middle.)
Tommy: This…
(Norman takes it and looks at it.)
Norman: Who is it?
Tommy: It’s from 1920. The old man is Don Peppone. The two younger ones are
Salieri and Morello. This photo convinced me that this kind of life is
poisonous. Morello and Salieri were friends and they were both commanders
of Peppone’s regime. But in the 1920s, they got Don Peppone killed because
of some deal. Strangely enough, Salieri still admires the guy now.
Comment: I’m not sure if the name is a reference towards anything in particular. Is it possibly the following?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Camillo
“Don Camillo is a fictional Catholic priest and the protagonist in Giovanni Guareschi’s gentle tales of a Post War Italian town with the Catholic priest and a Communist mayor locked in rivalry.”
The mayor being Peppone. It was written by this man:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Guareschi
Hmm.
Tommy: Afterward they divided up the city and each ruled their own part of
it, but they started to compete with each other. I ended up being Salieri’s
instrument of death to kill his best friend, to save him from looking
Morello in the eye. It occured to me that my friends and the people I loved
were the same. Some day I’d turn to Paulie and be looking straight down the
barrel of a gun. I couldn’t be sure of anybody, above or below me.
Norman: But you were risking your life everyday. Being a sharpshooter for
the mafia ain’t no bed of roses, the way you tell it.
Tommy: It’s different when you’re living it, when you’re full of energy and
you’re fighting for your life with someone who’s like your brother. You’re
just two soldiers who know what needs to be done, and it all depends on
your ability to survive. It’s a war. The constant feeling that you can’t
even trust your best friend is terrible. You are alone and death can come
from anywhere. I’d lie awake at night wondering if the joke my best friend
told me was really just a joke, or if I should get prepared for my own
execution. A person needs someone he can trust.
Comment: This is exactly the problem of the mafia. As Tommy realised when he had to kill Frank and here’s that quote again: “In the end your best friend kills you.”
It’s happened with Salieri as well. Morello and him were the best of friends, but it took one incident for them to turn on each other. I also think Tommy was beginning to resent how Salieri has used him to kill his former best friend and that if he could do that to him, then won’t he be willing to turn on other so-called friends?
I said it earlier and since I don’t want to needlessly reiterate the point here it is again: with high stakes, power, webs of politics and easy access to firearms, it’s bound to happen. It’s something that we see in The Godfather, Goodfellas, Scarface… hell, pretty much every major crime movie ever made. Friends of the main character are killed for different reasons – betrayal, revenge, power, paranoia and more.
Soldiers at least have camaraderie and a brotherhood, they trust each other in war. In the mafia, it’s similar but it only goes so far, as inevitably someone wrongs someone else and lives are taken.
—————————————————————————
1.23. Election Campaign
—————————————————————————
1938
(Tommy and Salieri are in the backroom of the bar. Salieri is looking at a
newspaper.)
Salieri: That guy sickens me. He controls half of the brothels in the city,
doesn’t pay us a dime, and then has the nerve to say he’s ending crime in
the city. Of course, I wouldn’t give a damn about what he says, but him and
his whores are trying to expand even into our territory. I have a feeling
it’s time to finish his political career. With the elections such a long
way off… we’ll have to remove him physically.
Tommy: I don’t know, boss. Haven’t we seen enough violence for a while? I
just have a strange feeling about this.
Salieri: Tommy, we are on the verge of running this town, he’s the only
thing that’s standing in our way.
Tommy: You want him knocked off in public like Morello?
Salieri: In public yes, but not like Morello. Remember that knocking off a
politician is messier than offing a gangster. We don’t want anyone to
implicate us. The speculation and fear will be enough for our purposes.
Tommy: So? How are we gonna do it?
Salieri: Mr. Sewer has a rally today in a park on a little isle off Central
Island. There is only one escape route over a small bridge and normally it
would be a problem, but Vincenzo has an idea. He took a regular army rifle
and put a telescopic sight on it, so you should be able to hit him from a
much greater distance. You won’t even have to be on the island!
Tommy: Where then?
Salieri: You can get a beautiful view of him from Central Island, from the
tower of the old abandoned prison on the north tip of the island. You’ll
have the whole park right in front of you, and with that rifle it won’t be
difficult to take out your target without attracting too much attention.
Tommy: That doesn’t sound like a bad plan.
Salieri: Good. Talk to Vincenzo, and get the rifle.
Tommy: Okay, boss.
Salieri: And remember Tommy, you have to do it from a distance, and nobody
must see you. You’ll probably only get one shot at this. If you don’t hit
him immediately, they’ll cover him and the job will be ruined.
Tommy: I got it, boss.
(Tommy stands up and talks to Salieri again before leaving.)
Salieri: That bastard is a typical example of today’s politicians. They
make and break the laws. It appears the greatest darkness is under the
candlestick. But what weight can a law carry that is made to eliminate the
frauds who thought of the scheme, when they then go and do exactly what
they themselves have forbidden? I’ll tell you! None. It’s like their own
laws didn’t even exist.
Comment: “The greatest darkness is under the candlestick” is a great quote.
I’ve looked to see if it came from anywhere else, but it all leads back to this Mafia script! Who knows?
(Tommy leaves and visits Vincenzo.)
Tommy: Hey! You got some heavy duty gear for me, Vincenzo?
Vincenzo: You’ll need to pick this guy off at a distance, right? So I dug
out the best weapon for you. The military trains by mounting a sight on
this standard rifle, similar to a hunting rifle.
(Vincenzo puts the rifle on the table.)
Vincenzo: I got hold of a Mosin Nagant rifle. It’s produced here but the
Russians upgraded it to a marksman’s rifle. It’s a good, precise weapon.
Tommy: It looks interesting. Well, I hope it works.
(Vincenzo also puts a Colt 1911 pistol on the table.)
Vincenzo: Well, Tom, take a decent handgun too. You never know who you
might bump into.
Tommy: Ain’t that the truth, thanks.
(Tommy takes the weapons and goes to talk to Ralph.)
Ralph: Hey, Tom. I have this for you. It’s a sensible, spacious and solid
car.
(He shows him a Wright Coupe car.)
Ralph: I think you’ll like it. Yeah, and you can get into it real easy.
Tommy: Thanks, Ralphy.
(Tommy takes the car and drives to the old prison on Central Island. The
main entrance is barred, but there is an open sewer grate nearby,
apparently leading into the prison. There is a worker waiting next to the
grate. Tommy approaches him.)
Worker: Hey, mister, you can’t come in here! We’re working!
(Tommy ignores him and enters the sewers.)
Worker: Hey! What are you doin’, Mac? You can’t go in there! You deaf?
(The worker calls to Tommy again when he reaches the bottom.)
Worker: You can’t go in there! You deaf?
(Tommy gets out of another open sewer hole in the prison courtyard. He then
enters the main building to get to the tower. On the way, he encounters a
group of thugs sitting around a fire on one of the floors.)
Thug: Boys, we have a visitor!
(The thugs attack Tommy and he kills them, continuing on his way. He hears
the voice of another of them behind a door.)
Thug: Watch it, he’s comin’ for us!
(Tommy kicks the door open and it slams against the thug, causing him to
fall to the ground. There are a few other thugs around and he kills them
all. Then he proceeds to the tower on the top floor. It has a clear view of
the small island. Taking out his sniper rifle, Tommy takes aim and shoots
the politician who is making a speech, surrounded by several listeners and
bodyguards. The politician falls dead, and Tommy leaves the prison, this
time by the main entrance. Outside, he sees the worker talking to two
police agents. The worker points to him when he comes out.)
Worker: That’s the guy I was telling you about!
(One of the agents comes up to him.)
Agent: Sorry, sir, but there’s been a crime committed here and we have to
check you out. It’s only routine.
(The agent frisks Tommy and then attempts to arrest him if he has a gun.)
Agent: You’ve got a gun? I’ll have to take you in!
(On the other hand, if Tommy has dropped his guns before leaving the
prison, the agent lets him go.)
Agent: Thanks, everything’s in order.
(Either way, Tommy leaves and visits Lucas Bertone.)
Lucas: Hello there. How are you today?
Tommy: I just got outta jail.
Lucas: Real cute, but there ain’t time for that now, Tommy! I need you to
pick up a guy in the Works Quarter, but quick! The cops are after him and
he doesn’t even know about it.
Tommy: Where?
Lucas: You won’t see anyone else walking around in a suit there, so you
certainly won’t miss him. But you gotta hurry, before the cops get there,
or he’s finished! Bring him here.
Tommy: Okay, I’m on my way. But I wasn’t kidding about being in jail.
(Tommy drives to the Works Quarter and calls to the man walking around in a
suit.)
Tommy: Luca sent me. The cops are after you, I gotta take you to safety.
Man: Shit, how did they find me?
(The man gets in the car.)
Tommy: And now let’s go back to Lucas’.
(They go back to Lucas’ shop.)
Man: What happened, Lucas?
Lucas: They figured out it was you, they know where you are and I got wind
that they’d be coming for your ass today.
Man: Thank God it worked out that way. I could be sitting on ice.
Lucas: No no, thank Tom here. He stuck his neck out.
Man: Thanks, bud, I’ll remember it.
Tommy: Glad to be of help.
Lucas: Okay, sit down a while, me and Tom need to work something out.
Man: Okay.
(The man leaves them and goes to sit on a chair.)
Lucas: Tommy, I have got something nice for you. Sixteen-cylinder with
custom bodywork. A collector’s piece.
Tommy: And where will I find it?
Lucas: Some playboy in Oak Hill’s having a party today. There’ll be loads
of guests and one of them has got exactly the car you’re looking for. You
open it the same as a regular V16, but otherwise it’s more of a work of art
than a car. You’ll know the place, and there’ll be a lot of pricey cars
parked there.
Tommy: Great, thanks for the tip.
(Tommy leaves and goes to the mansion in Oak Hill. The two guards at the
gate do not let him enter.)
Guard: You ain’t allowed in here!
Guard: You shouldn’t be in here!
(Luckily, the cars are parked outside by the street. Tommy walks up to the
Lassiter V16 Appolyon he is supposed to steal. There are two thugs standing
by the car, talking.)
Thug 1: What a beaut’! That’s something I’ll never afford.
Thug 2: Just picture all the dames you’d pick up.
Thug 1: That wouldn’t help you, buddy!
Thug 2: Ah, shut up.
Thug 1: Hmmm, look at the curves on that one!
Thug 2: What can it do?
Thug 1: You don’t even know!
Thug 2: Must be customized, they take a regular car and make a totally new
body. Must cost a fortune.
(Tommy talks to them.)
Tommy: Hey, quit staring at it, you’ll scratch it!
(The thugs do not answer him.)
Tommy: You heard what I said! Ain’t nothing to look at here! Beat it!
Thug 1: We didn’t do nothing.
Thug 2: Don’t get excited, can’t we just look at it awhile?
Tommy: I know how that works, first look and then the car’s gone! Get lost!
Thug 1: Alright already.
(The thugs turn to leave.)
Thug 2: That guy’s nuts.
(Tommy steals the car as the thugs walk away. Then he returns to Salieri’s
Bar.)
—————————————————————————
1.24. Just For Relaxation
—————————————————————————
(Tommy, Salieri, Paulie and Sam are sitting in the backroom of the bar.)
Salieri: Today’s job is just for relaxation, boys. There’s an import firm
that brings in lots of luxury goods from around the world. Yesterday
another boatload of goods came into the harbor and I have a taste for a few
of the items on the list.
Sam: What do they got that we don’t have, sir?
Salieri: Well, I haven’t smoked a decent cigar in a long time, and they
have almost a ton of them.
Tommy: Cigars?
Salieri: Yes, cigars. Something strange about that? Customers in our
nightclubs are interested in good, quality cigars, but they’re expensive
and difficult to get. If we manage to get a truck full of the best cigars,
we can make as much money as we would off a bank job.
Sam: What?
Salieri: Oh my God. Just bring me a truckload. Paulie, explain it to them.
(Salieri gets up and leaves the room.)
Paulie: Okay, it’s like this…
Tommy: Paulie, what the hell is goin’ on?
Paulie: How the hell would I know, Tommy? We have to just nab a truck full
of expensive cigars! The Don wants them and it makes us money, so it’s up
to us to get them.
Tommy: It just seems a bit smalltime for him.
Sam: Forget about it, Tom.
Comment: You’d think that after virtually controlling the entire city, the Don would be mroe relaxed. There’s clearly something wrong here, Salieri seems like he has no patience or maybe he’s hiding something and doesn’t want to let slip. Either way, I don’t think it’s clearly meant to be shown what the problem is, it’s just a small warning.
Paulie: The cigars we gotta steal are packed in crates at the harbor. We
need to get them to a truck and then leave the harbor. But first we have to
get in.
Tommy: How do we do that? There’s a tougher guard at the harbor now than
when Morello was around.
Paulie: Exactly. Brute force won’t work, so we’re gonna play this one cool.
We’ll just nab one of the trucks while they’re moving goods around the
city. The trucks have signs on them that say “Atlantic Import”. We’ll wait
for one to come out of the harbor, follow it to a nice quiet place with no
cops, then block its path. A few shots into the air ought to get the driver
out. Once we take his papers, one of us can get into the harbor.
Tommy: So we’re gonna kill the poor bastard?
Sam: No, it’s too much hassle. So long as we get him out, get everything
he’s got on him.
Paulie: You’ll take the truck to the harbor, Tommy. Load it up with the
crates of cigars and then we’ll meet at the agreed place.
Tommy: I’ll load them up alone, unload them alone, and then maybe I’ll
smoke a few. So what are you gonna do?
Paulie: We’ll wait a little way from the harbor at the agreed place. If
somebody starts tailing you, we’ll deal with them. Then you take the truck
to the hand-off point.
Tommy: Yeah, right. How will I recognize these crates?
Paulie: They’ll have signs on them saying “Scorsese Import Export”.
Comment: This is a neat reference to Martin Scorsese, director of Goodfellas and many other awesome movies.
Tommy: And the agreed place?
Sam: We’ll go there and I’ll show you.
Paulie: Yeah. First we’ll go there and then we’ll get the truck.
Tommy: So, let’s go.
(They get up and visit Vincenzo to get their weapons.)
Vincenzo: Hey boys, so what will it be?
Paulie: Get Tom here a bat and a gun and get us two Thompsons.
Vincenzo: Okay.
(Vincenzo puts the Thompsons on the table. Paulie and Sam take them.)
Paulie: Yeah, thanks.
(Vincenzo then produces the baseball bat and the Colt 1911 pistol for
Tommy.)
Tommy: Thanks, Vincenzo.
(Tommy takes his weapons and they go and talk to Ralph in the garage.)
Ralph: H-H-Hey there, boys! I have something here for you. Something
special today.
(He shows them a Lassiter V16 Fordor.)
Paulie: Yeah, I like it. It looks pretty good.
Ralph: You can g-g-get into it this way.
Tommy: Yeah, okay, we can do that. Thanks, Ralphy.
Ralph: I-It’s nothing.
(They get into the car and drive out of the backyard.)
Paulie: Alright, we’ll go into a place in the Works Quarter to drop Sam
off.
(They drive to an isolated yard in a back alley in the Works Quarter.)
Sam: Okay, okay, right here. This is perfect.
(They stop there and get out of the car.)
Paulie: Since we’re all here, I wanna ask you both something.
Sam: What’s on your mind?
Paulie: Well, I got this idea, I might need you to do a little job with me.
Tommy: Oh, yeah? What’s the deal?
Paulie: Well, it’s a big deal actually. I can’t manage it alone and you’re
my good buddies, we know each other… You know…
Sam: And Salieri? He know about this?
Paulie: Nah, he doesn’t and he doesn’t need to know. He’s already got
enough money.
Tommy: So, what’s it all about?
Paulie: Well, I was checking out this bank…
Tommy and Sam (in unison): What?!
Paulie: Cool it, it’s okay! This bank isn’t too secure, it’s just a little
joint. At the end of the month they always have a big pile of money in the
safe. We’d be pretty loaded if we pulled it off.
Tommy: Or we’d all be dead! What’s the matter with you? Besides, we’ve got
plenty of money.
Paulie: Bull! We ain’t doin’ bad, but we sure aren’t loaded! Salieri ain’t
a bad boss, but once in a while I’d like to make some decent dough on the
side, not some tiny share.
Tommy: I’m not sure it’s such a great plan, Paulie.
Paulie: What do you say, Sam?
Sam: Count me out. The family’s pretty important to me.
Paulie: Yeah, right. You’re probably right, forget about it, I was just
thinking out loud.
Tommy: Okay, good.
Comment: Paulie’s suggestion about doing a bank job is quickly shot down by Tommy and Sam (Naturally Paulie can’t do it by himself), it’s not really surprising as the guys are loyal to Salieri and, even if they’re not millionaires, are happy with what they do get from the family.
Sam: Okay, I think it’s time. I’ll go get ready.
Paulie: I’ll be back in a while. Tom, let’s get to the harbor.
(Tommy and Paulie get in the car and drive to the entrance of the harbor.)
Paulie: Now, we’ll wait here for a truck and then follow it. We’ll overtake
it in a safe spot and take what we need.
(They follow the truck to a warehouse, wait while its goods are unloaded,
and then again go after it after it leaves the warehouse. They block the
way of the truck in a place with no police and get out of their car. Tommy
fires a few shots in the air. The truck driver gets out.)
Driver: Leave me alone!
Paulie: Get him! We gotta get those papers!
(They approach the driver.)
Tommy: Give us your papers and nothing will happen to you!
Driver: I didn’t do nothing to you! I don’t have anything!
(Tommy starts hitting him.)
Driver: Don’t kill me, I have a wife and children!
(He continues to beat him.)
Driver: Help! Assault!
Driver: Help me somebody, they’re attacking me!
—
(Paulie reacts if Tommy kills the driver.)
Paulie: Tom! That wasn’t necessary!
—
(The driver drops his papers after a beating and Tommy takes them.)
Paulie: I’ll meet Sam and we’ll wait for you. Good luck, Tom.
(Paulie leaves with the car and Tommy takes the truck to the harbor. The
guard at the gate stops him.)
Guard: Stop right here! Show me your license!
—
(The guard reacts if Tommy brings the truck still loaded with goods.)
Guard: Hey, what are you playin’ at? First you gotta unload before you can
load up again!
—
(Tommy shows the guard the papers he has taken from the driver.)
Guard: Alright, you can go.
(Tommy enters the harbor and gets out of the truck. He sees crates bearign
the sign “Scorcese Import Export” in one of the warehouses and goes to it.
However, a worker chief at the entrance accosts him.)
Chief: Where are you going? Why are you standing around doing nothing? We
need all hands on deck today! I need you to take those crates down to the
Dispatch Hall. I’m gonna go take a leak and it’d better be done when I get
back!
Tommy: Er… Yes, chief.
(The chief warns Tommy if he remains inside the warehouse without doing the
job after the chief returns to his post.)
Chief: What are you doing here? I gave you a job to do, didn’t I?
(The crates that the chief wants Tommy to carry are not the ones that are
from the Scorcese Import Export. Tommy goes to two workers that are
standing outside nearby and talks to them.)
Tommy: Hey, fellas.
Worker: What can I do for you, buddy?
Tommy: Boys, we need to carry those crates down to the Dispatch Hall.
Worker: Alright then. Okay, let’s go, boys.
(They together carry the crates to the Dispatch Hall. When it is done, the
chief comes and inspects them.)
Chief: Fine. But you threw them here like trash!
(Tommy goes back to the chief, who has returned to the entrance to the
warehouse and talks to him.)
Tommy: Chief, the boys at the train there need you. They’re having some
problems.
Chief: I should’ve known. As soon as I turn my back everybody immediately
goofs off.
(The chief leaves and Tommy starts carrying the Scorcese crates to the
truck. He is caught if he cannot finish the job before the chief returns in
a car.)
Chief: What the hell are you doing? Nobody pulls this stuff with me! Let me
see your papers!
(He checks Tommy’s papers.)
Chief: What? You’re Peter? I don’t think so! Guard!
(Or he is again caught if he tries to take away the crates while the chief
is “taking a leak”.)
Chief: Where are you taking that? No-one is allowed to even touch those
crates! I thought you were acting a bit fishy. Guard!
(Either way, Tommy is attacked by the armed guards of the harbor. He
manages to fend them off and takes the crates to the truck. As he leaves
the harbor with the truck, he is stopped by the guard at the gate.)
Guard: STOP right there! Show me your license!
(He checks Tommy’s papers.)
Guard: You’re carrying something completely different than what these
papers say! Get him!
(Tommy speeds away and the guards begin to chase him in two cars. Tommy
gets the truck to the meeting point, where Paulie and Sam are waiting and
they deal with the pursuers.)
—
(Tommy comments if he has already managed to lose the tail during the
chase.)
Tommy: So, I’m here and we don’t even need to spring the trap.
Sam: Well, I’m surprised. Well done, Tommy.
—
Paulie: Sam is going to get Salieri. Us two will take the truck to the
warehouse. We’ll meet there in a little while.
(Sam leaves in the car they used to come to the meeting point and Tommy and
Paulie get in the truck.)
Paulie: Okay, we’re going.
(Tommy starts driving the truck to Salieri’s warehouse.)
Tommy: Today was just great. While you two messed around, I carried at
least a ton of crates surrounded by guys with guns.
Paulie: Somebody had to do it and you’re the youngest. Sam always has the
bright ideas.
Tommy: Oh, so it’s SAM! Next time, you can unload that truck, I ain’t
touching another crate.
Paulie: Well, we’ll see about that.
(They reach Salieri’s warehouse and Tommy stops the truck. Salieri and Sam
are not there yet.)
Paulie: Perfect! We did it!
Tommy: Good. Now we’ll finally see what’s inside these crates.
Paulie: Good idea, I hope it didn’t get damaged on the way.
(They get out and walk to the back of the truck as Tommy lights a
cigarette. Paulie opens the back of the truck and gets on to check the
crates.)
Paulie: A few of them fell off and the cigars are smashed up.
(The camera just shows Tommy as he smokes his cigarette while Paulie
rummages through the crates.)
Paulie: Well, it ain’t so bad. This one’s just bent, so we’ll straighten it
out… Damn! I messed that up!
Tommy: What the hell are you doing?
Paulie: What? I dropped a few things, nothing big… Hey box, what you got
inside?
Paulie: Christ! Tom, you ain’t gonna believe this!
Tommy: What is it, what’s inside those boxes?
(Paulie opens one of the boxes from the crates and shows it to Tommy.)
Tommy: Damn, are you thinking what I’m thinking?
Paulie: Well, they don’t look like cigars.
(Tommy takes a diamond from the box and lifts it up. Apparently the boxes
all carry diamonds.)
Tommy: And it’s definitely not rock candy.
Paulie: Those are diamonds, and a hell of a lot of them.
Tommy: What if they’re just phonies? You know, they exchange cigars for
mirrors, props, beads, stuff like that?
Paulie: I think only Columbus got away with that. These look like diamonds,
Tom. And there’s a hell of a lot of them.
Tommy: I knew Salieri wouldn’t risk so much for some damned cigars.
Paulie: Well, it looks like you were right. What do you wanna do? Should we
take them?
Tommy: What? You think we’d get away with it?
Paulie: Well, we could say that some crates got lost in the chase… or…
Tommy: You can forget that! That’s bullshit!
Comment: No one is going to believe that!
(Tommy gives the box back to Paulie.)
Tommy: Put them back where you found them! I don’t wanna end up with a hole
in my head!
Paulie: What if we just took one or two each? There’s so many.
Tommy: Paulie!
Paulie: Okay, okay, I’ll put them back…
(Paulie puts the box back into the crate.)
Paulie: But what if Salieri doesn’t even know about them?
Tommy: I think we can easily find out if he knows.
Paulie: How?
(Tommy looks and sees their car approaching the warehouse.)
Tommy: Sam’s bringing him here right now. Come, we’ll see firsthand if he
knows.
(Paulie gets off the back of the truck. Next, Salieri is seen next to the
truck.)
Salieri: Bravo, boys! You did it. You’ve got a well-deserved bonus coming
your way.
(Salieri looks at the crates.)
Salieri: Ah, one crate got broke, but it’s nothing. It looks like these
ones at the back are okay. Bravo, bravo.
Tommy: Boss, should we unload the crates and put the cigars into the
warehouse?
Salieri: Eh… no no, not yet. Anyway, why should you do it? I can get
someone else. You want to work in my warehouse, too? Ha ha… Now go take
it real easy, boys. Good work.
(Tommy and Paulie stop for a moment before entering the car in order to
leave.)
Tommy: Paulie? I’ll stop by tomorrow and we can talk about that little deal
you mentioned.
Paulie: Okay.
(They get in the car and Sam drives off.)
Comment: Salieri remains shifty about the whole situation, he definitely knows more about what’s going on.
However, that’s as far as the diamond plot actually goes, aside the ramifications of Paulie and Tommy feeling left out on the score. I think the whole situation is meant to be very obscure and ambiguous – we don’t know what the truth is. At this point, we don’t know whether Salieri is going to share the wealth or if he’s being extremely greedy.
Salieri doesn’t explain anything, however, so it’s no wonder that Paulie and Tommy think they’ve been cheated. Before Tommy and Sam thought the Don and the family weren’t worth a discrete bank job on the side, but now Tommy and Paulie think, what the hell, if the Don is making money for himself, why can’t they?
—————————————————————————
1.25. Moonlighting
—————————————————————————
(Tommy is walking on the street.)
Tommy: (narrating) The next day I went to Paulie’s like we arranged.
(Next, Tommy is seen sitting at a table in Paulie’s flat. Paulie gives him
a glass of drink.)
Paulie: So what, Tom? What’s with the sudden change of heart? I didn’t
think you wanted to do it.
(He goes into the kitchen.)
Tommy: That was when I still thought that Salieri wasn’t using us. Now I
know that he is.
Paulie: Well, you’re certainly right there. So, would you do the bank?
Tommy: What about Sam?
Paulie: Hey, you heard him. He’s worried about what might happen and the
Don coming after us. So, if you wanna do it, it’s just you and me. What do
you have to say?
(He comes to the table from the kitchen and puts some ice in their drinks.)
Tommy: First I’d like to see this bank, then I’ll listen to your plan.
Paulie: Fine. We can go and look at it right now.
Tommy: Okay, let’s go.
(They finish their drinks, leave the flat and go outside.)
Paulie: Follow me. We’ll take the train, it ain’t that far.
(They go to the train station and take the train.)
Paulie: We’ll be there in a few minutes. So, how’s everything going?
Tommy: Aside from the last few jobs, pretty boring. Of course, my kid keeps
things interesting.
Paulie: You know, I actually envy you. I gotta find a dame and start making
babies. When I look at my life, I don’t seem to be doing much. Hang out, go
to parties. I’m getting pretty bored with it. The problem is I don’t know
how to do anything else.
Paulie: I think most people would like to change. Everybody imagines the
adventures and dough they see in movies. There’s nothing about the boring
deal makin’. I’m always having to negotiate deals with people and I can’t
make notes of anything because of the cops, so I have to remember all of
it. I ain’t 20 no more and I’m starting to forget! Sometimes, I don’t know
who promised me what, who I lent what, and, as a result, someone always
messes with me and I lose out on the dough. It just pisses me off.
Tommy: Well, we still have the excitement.
Paulie: Oh, that’s the worst! Nothing happens for six months, I start to
get lazy and suddenly, BOOM, some action. Don’t think I ain’t worried
something might happen to us.
Comment: This is a neat conversation between Tommy and Paulie that shows the downsides to being a gangster. Referencing the movies is a great way to examine the material and genre, just like in The Sopranos.
Tommy: So what are we supposed to do?
Paulie: This’ll be our last big job. It’d be enough to get me a pizzeria
someplace, you know, something.
Tommy: Oh really?
Paulie: Wait a minute.
(The train approaches the station.)
Paulie: Get ready, we’re getting off here.
(They get off and walk to the First National Bank. Paulie stops outside.)
Paulie: So this is it, it ain’t too big and it ain’t too small. Let’s take
a look inside.
(They enter the bank. There are two security guards standing by the front
entrance.)
Guard: Good day.
(Tommy and Paulie get to the center of the main hall, where several clerks
are helping customers.)
Paulie: Okay. We’ll start here in the hall. We’ll run in here and shout
that it’s a raid. These two guards will probably just give up, but if they
want to play heroes we liquidate them. As soon as they are out of the way,
we gotta get the keys to the safe. We’ll have to find out where they are
from the clerks. I think they’ll talk if a gun’s at their heads. You go
through that door behind the counter, after you get the key.
Paulie: The door leads to a corridor. On the right is a staircase down to
the safe and upstairs to the office. If you have the keys go straight to
the safe, otherwise you’ll have to get them somewhere upstairs. Downstairs
there will probably be more security guards. You’ll have to deal with them
alone while I keep everything in check upstairs. Downstairs there is a
large safe, which you gotta unlock. Then you just gotta get the dough and
get out. That’s everything.
Tommy: Okay.
Paulie: Let’s go, we’d better get out of here.
(They leave the bank through the main door.)
Guard: Goodbye.
(Outside Paulie stops and talks to Tommy again.)
Paulie: The bank is connected to the Holmes Security System, but even with
radio the cars can’t get here for five minutes. That means that we’ll have
five minutes from the time we get in to do everything and then disappear.
Paulie: We’re gonna need some wheels. It’s stupid to get a car from Ralphy,
‘cos he’ll tell Salieri. You’ll have to get a good, fast set of wheels,
Tommy. For you that shouldn’t be a problem.
Tommy: No, it shouldn’t. I think Lucas would know of something.
Paulie: Okay, try to get something fast, we’ll need it.
Tommy: I guess they won’t just let us leave even if we get outta the bank
in time, we could still meet the cops in the city. And how do you wanna
deal with them?
Paulie: We head to an abandoned joint right in Hoboken, it has Palermo Club
written on the wall.
Tommy: Great.
Paulie: Then there’s still a little problem with guns. I have my own stuff,
but you don’t. You’ll need to get some kind of heater. I think I know a
place where you can pick one up. It’s pretty far, it’s probably best to go
by train.
Paulie: Get on here and then go to Hoboken. Get off at the Central Hoboken
station and go in the direction from which you came by the train to the
nearest crossroads. Under the elevated railway there’s a road. Follow that
and turn left at the next road. You’ll see an old movie house called the
Twister. At the side entrance you’ll find Yellow Pete’s shop. Tell him I
sent you, and he should have something.
Tommy: I’ll do that now. I’ll get some weapons, then the car, then I’ll
stop by your place.
Paulie: Yeah. Pull in front of the building and honk your horn, the
janitor’s always locking the door. I’ll come down and we’ll go. I’ll see
you later.
Tommy: Great.
(Tommy goes to the place Paulie described to him. There is a metal door at
the side of the Twister movie house. He knocks on it and a man opens the
slide on the door.)
Man: What do you want?
Tommy: Paulie sent me.
Man: Oh, come in.
(The man opens the door and Tommy enters. He goes down a staircase to the
room where Yellow Pete has set up his office. He is a stooped one-armed man
and is standing behind a wooden table. There are guns and ammunition on
racks and tables all around the room.)
Pete: Okay, son, what brings you here?
Tommy: Paulie sent me. We need some weapons.
Pete: Right, Paulie. Yeah, I know him… at least I think I know him…
That short, moody guy, right?
Tommy: Ehm, you could say that.
Pete: Still working for Salieri? Well, give that old goomba my regards.
Tommy: Sure… Ehm, anyway, the weapons…
Pete: Sure, sure… So what does Paulie need?
(Tommy buys the weapons he needs from Yellow Pete.)
Tommy: That should be everything.
Pete: Great! I won’t keep you from your work, son! Now, you say hello to
Paulie for me.
Tommy: Sure. Thanks.
(Tommy leaves Yellow Pete’s shop and visits Lucas.)
Tommy: Hey, Luca, I need a powerful car and fast.
Lucas: Wow, I was just about to call you! I also need a quick favor, and
the car I have for you is definitely worth it.
Tommy: What do you need?
Lucas: I promised to bring some guy a delivery and I can’t get out the shop
today. Could you take it to him?
Tommy: Okay, I ain’t done no deliveries yet, sure.
Lucas: Make sure nothing happens to the guy before you give it to him. He’s
passing it on to someone else and if something happens to him, the whole
deal’s ruined.
Tommy: And is something likely to happen?
Lucas: Hmmm, well, you know, you never can tell…
Tommy: Where do I find this guy?
Lucas: On the plot under the hoisting bridge crossing to Downtown. His
name’s Dick. Before you give it to him, make sure you ain’t followed. Here
it is.
(Lucas gives Tommy the package. Tommy leaves and finds Dick waiting under
the bridge.)
Tommy: You Dick?
Dick: Dick? My name is Big Dick!
Comment: I guess whereas each GTA game has a dozen penis jokes, Mafia has just the one. Oh well!
Tommy: A-haa. Sure. I got this package from Luca, Dick.
(Tommy gives him the package.)
Dick: Great. Anyone tail you?
Tommy: I don’t think so, no.
Dick: Yeah? Then who are those guys?
(Tommy turns and sees several armed men running towards them.)
Tommy: Shit!
Dick: So, show them what you got!
Tommy: You too, Big Dick.
(They fight and kill the attackers.)
Dick: You ain’t as soft as you look.
Tommy: You neither.
Dick: What do you mean?
Tommy: Ah, nothing, don’t worry about it. Enjoy yourself.
Dick: Okay, fine, send my regards to Lucas.
(Dick leaves. Tommy returns to Lucas.)
Tommy: Jesus, Lucas, that was a close one.
Lucas: What happened?
Tommy: As soon as I got there, some hoods wanted to beat on us.
Lucas: Is Dick alright? Did you give him the package?
Tommy: Yeah, no problem. We took care of them together and then he took off
someplace.
Lucas: Thank God! You don’t know how grateful I am! I have a real beauty
for you now. It’s an American car from a German manufacturer, it’s the best
around these days!
Tommy: Well, it was certainly worth the risk! Where can I find it?
Lucas: Yesterday I overheard a customer. Today around this time, he’s
usually driving from Oakwood Junior High School to a meeting somewhere on
Central Island. Then follow him and when he parks, simply take the car. The
locks will be your only problem. Haha… But I know you’ll manage them no
trouble.
Tommy: Thanks, Lucas. Can’t wait.
(Tommy leaves Lucas and goes to Oakwood. There he spots the man leaving the
high school with the car. He follows him to Central Island and takes the
car after the man parks and leaves. The car is a Trautenberg Model J. Tommy
then drives to Paulie’s home and honks the horn in front of the building.
Paulie calls out to him from his apartment.)
Paulie: Okay, I’ll be right down!
(He comes out of the building and gets in the car.)
Paulie: So what? Everything’s in order? Got everything you need?
Tommy: Yeah… Hey, that Yellow Pete is a little nuts!
Paulie: He’s an old loony, but his stuff’s good.
Tommy: Why they call him Yellow?
Paulie: Did you see his teeth? They’re the yellowest in town… and they
also stink the most!
Tommy: Right! Right!
(They reach the bank.)
Paulie: Here it is. Stop, Tom.
(Tommy parks the car in front of the bank.)
Paulie: Here we are.
(They get out of the car.)
Paulie: Okay, let’s go in.
(They enter the bank. When they are in the middle of the hall, Paulie takes
out his gun.)
Paulie: Okay, everybody!
(The customers and the security guard near them raise their hands.)
Paulie: This is a heist! Get down on the floor and nothing will happen to
you!
(Most of the people get down on the floor.)
Paulie: I said on the floor! Everybody!
(All the people get down. Then two security guards come rushing to the hall
from other parts of the bank.)
Paulie: Deal with the guard!
(Tommy kills the two guards.)
Paulie: Okay, I like it. Nice and cool. Everything’ll be hunky-dory.
(Paulie goes to one of the clerks and threatens him with his gun.)
Paulie: I want the keys to the safe and make it quick! Where are they?
Clerk: Sir, the keys to the grating are here, but only the manager has keys
to the safe…
Paulie: What? Where can I find the manager?
Clerk: He’s upstairs in his office…
(Paulie turns to Tommy.)
Paulie: Okay! Find the keys and get the dough fast, man!
—
(Paulie reacts if Tommy starts killing the customers.)
Paulie: What the hell? Have you gone nuts? You can’t kill them all!
—
(Paulie also reacts if Tommy has killed all the clerks, leaving none to
question about the keys.)
Paulie: That’s just great! How are they gonna tell us where the keys are if
they’re all dead? Go find them. We’ve got five minutes!
—
(Tommy can also question the clerk to get the same response about the
location of the keys.)
Tommy: One more time! Where are the keys?
—
(Tommy takes the keys to the grating from the clerk’s booth and then moves
upstairs to find the manager’s room, fighting a few guards on the way. He
finds the room and enters. The manager stands up from his desk and raises
his hands when Tommy comes in with his gun.)
Tommy: The keys to the safe!
Manager: They’re t-t-there in… in… in the cupboard. Just don’t k-k-kill
me, I have a family!
(Tommy takes the safe keys from the cupboard and goes to the basement where
the safe is located. He fights and kills a few more guards before he can
reach the safe. He unlocks the grating and opens the safe with the keys and
walks inside, impressed by all the money.)
Tommy: Wow!
(The camera switches to the hall, where Paulie is keeping an eye on the
customers on the floor with his gun. A woman is screaming.)
Woman: Aaah!
Paulie: Stop screaming!
(The woman keeps screaming.)
Paulie: Stop right now! Nobody move!
(The cutscene switches back to Tommy and a gunshot is heard from above.
Tommy loads as much money as he can carry into a sack and goes back
upstairs into the main hall. There the screaming woman is lying dead on the
floor near the door, apparently shot by Paulie while trying to escape.)
Comment: I guess the dead woman is just a reminder that this isn’t some light-hearted escapade but a full bank robbery with a nervous Paulie holding a gun.
Paulie: That’s it, let’s get outta here!
(They leave the bank with the money and drive to the abandoned Palermo Club
in Hoboken.)
Paulie: Okay, this is the place. We did it.
(Tommy stops the car in the garage of the club and they get out.)
Paulie: We’re loaded, Tom! We did it! It worked!
Tommy: Sure looks like it. So what now?
Paulie: We’ll change our clothes so they won’t pick us up on the street,
and put the dough in the briefcase.
Tommy: Fine, then what?
Paulie: We don’t say a word to anyone. Sleep on it, stop by tomorrow and
think about what we’re goin’ to do with the dough. I’ll take it with me, so
Sarah won’t find it, you know.
Tommy: Just don’t run off with it.
Paulie: Sure, I’ll take off to Hawaii! Ha ha ha…
Tommy: Don’t try it, I’d find you and stuff that metal-plated briefcase
down your throat.
Paulie: I’m lookin’ forward to it.
Comment: As always in gangster movies, are they joking or not? You really can’t be sure…
—————————————————————————
1.26. The Death of Art
—————————————————————————
(Tommy is seen walking on the street to Paulie’s house.)
Tommy: (narrating) We hid the dough from the bank at Paulie’s for the time
being. We couldn’t blow it all straight away so we arranged that I’d stop
by there the next day and we’d think of the best way to invest it. I had
loads of ideas of what to do with the money but I was pretty curious about
what Paulie’s plans were.
(Tommy enters the building and goes up to Paulie’s floor. There he notices
that the door to Paulie’s apartment is not locked. Alarmed, he opens the
door and finds Paulie lying dead on the floor in the foyer. There are
several gunshot wounds on his back.)
Tommy: Oh, Jesus… What the hell happened?
(Tommy takes out his gun and checks Paulie’s pulse, but he is already dead.
His eyes are open and blood is oozing out of his mouth.)
Tommy: Paulie… Paulie…
(He stands up and looks around the house.)
Tommy: Christ… the dough, where’s the dough?!
(He checks an empty crate.)
Tommy: Dammit, it’s all gone. This is like a bad dream…
(There is also a patch of blood on Paulie’s bed. Tommy goes and carefully
looks out the window. Then the phone rings. He picks it up. It is Sam.)
Sam: Paulie?
Tommy: Ehm, Sam? It’s Tom… Paulie’s dead… I… I…
Sam: Christ! I knew it. Tom, you’re in deep shit! I wanted to warn Paulie,
Salieri found out about the bank and decided he wasn’t gonna tolerate it! I
didn’t make it in time. Tom, you gotta disappear fast.
Tommy: Sam, I… I didn’t know it would be such a big deal… I… what
should I do? I can’t just leave Sarah and the kid!
Sam: Okay, okay, Tom, I’ll help you. We gotta meet somewhere but almost
everywhere is dangerous for you now. Our best bet would be the city
gallery.
Tommy: Okay, okay, I’ll be there in a little while… I… thank you… You
know Paulie is lying here in a million pieces, I don’t know who else I
could turn to…
Sam: It’s okay. I still owe you one.
Tommy: Thanks, Sam.
(Tommy leaves the building as several police detectives come in to
investigate. Police vehicles are parked outside the building. Tommy goes to
Lucas.)
Lucas: Hey, Tommy! You look exhausted…
Tommy: I am and I’ve definitely got a good reason to be.
Lucas: What happened?
Tommy: It doesn’t matter. I just need a good set of wheels, Lucas.
Lucas: We’ll see what could be done.
Tommy: Great. What do you need today?
Lucas: I need to find out where a certain guy is hidden. He owes a lot of
people big time and I’m one of them.
Tommy: Where can I find him?
Lucas: This hooker has fallen for him and she brings him food and, you
know, stuff, but so far nobody knows where. So, you need to find her and
find out where he’s hidden. Then I’ll find him and deal with him.
Tommy: And where do I find her?
Lucas: She works in that same hotel which you blew a hole out of in ’32.
But if you wait for her there, she’ll certainly lead you to him.
Tommy: And then?
Lucas: When she goes home, just come back here and tell me where she goes.
Tommy: Okay.
(Tommy goes to the hotel and waits for the woman. After a short while she
comes out.)
Tommy: That would be her.
(He secretly follows her until she enters a building.)
Tommy: Well, it looks like I hit the nail right on the head.
—
(The woman notices him if he comes too close and then the mission is
failed.)
Woman: You bastard, why are you following me? What do you want, you louse?
People, this louse’s been following me awhile! Call the cops, so they pick
him up! Help! Help, assault! Some fruitcake’s following me! Help me,
someone!
—
(Tommy returns to Lucas after finding out where the man is hidden.)
Tommy: I found him for you, Lucas. He lives Downtown on the corner of the
street above the church.
Lucas: Fantastic. She didn’t see you?
Tommy: No way. So where’s this car?
Lucas: Sure, you know where the used car dealership is in town?
Tommy: Up near Chinatown?
Lucas: Right! You’ll find it there! An improved version of one sports car
with front-wheel drive.
Tommy: And how is it better than the old one?
Lucas: Performance, son! The accelerator is much better, even if, at first
sight, the car looks the same. But when you go for it, watch out, the car
isn’t for sale and belongs to the owner, and he’s got real nasty dogs
there.
Tommy: I should handle it.
(Tommy leaves Lucas and goes to the lot of the used car dealership. He
breaks into the lot by shooting the lock of the doors and kills the
watchdogs that attack him. He then takes the car Lucas told him about, a
Thor 812 Cabriolet FWD.)
—
(Tommy makes a comment if he comes near the Salieri Bar, the doors to the
backyard of which are closed.)
Tommy: This ain’t such a good idea.
—
(After taking the car, Tommy goes to Yellow Pete’s shop to get some
weapons. He knocks on the door and the man recognizes him.)
Man: Ah, it’s you again. Come in.
(He opens the door. Tommy enters and talks to Yellow Pete.)
Pete: Hello, son. So how’s Paulie?
Tommy: Paulie’s dead.
Pete: Well, I guess he ain’t too well then, may he rest in peace. Knowing
you, he’s probably resting in pieces, hm? So your little job didn’t work
out?
Tommy: It looks that way.
Pete: Well, so you’ll be needing some weapons then, right?
Tommy: I see you never forget the business side of things.
Pete: Of course not. That’d be a big mistake!
Tommy: Okay, show me what you got.
(Tommy buys some weapons from Pete’s collection.)
Tommy: Thanks, here’s the money.
Pete: Thank you kindly and I hope you get those bastards. Paulie deserves
at least that.
—
(If Tommy talks to Pete again to buy more weapons, Pete greets him
differently.)
Pete: Greetings. How can I be of service this time, young fella?
—
(Tommy leaves Yellow Pete’s shop and drives to the city gallery with the
intention of meeting Sam. He enters the gallery and is suddenly ambushed by
two gangsters wielding pistols while he is looking around the entrance
hall.)
Gangster: Don’t move, scumbag!
Tommy: Oh shit!
(Dollar bills start to fall on Tommy from above and Sam’s voice is heard.)
Sam: Surprise!
(Tommy looks up and sees Sam on the upper balcony holding a cigarette in
his hand.)
Sam: Haha! You weren’t lookin’ for that at Paulie’s, by chance?
Tommy: Sam, what’s going on? I thought we were meeting alone.
Sam: The situation’s changed, Tom.
(Sam lights his cigarette.)
Sam: I had to decide whose side I was on and sorry, but it would be
suicidal to stand on your side. I can live with murder, though.
Tommy: So, you killed Paulie?!
Sam: Well, I was more the means to his death. The same as I am in your
case.
Tommy: I would never have expected this from you, Sam!
Sam: Well, I’m in a good mood. Things are lookin’ up for me, and I found a
bag of money.
Tommy: So killing off your partners is a big laugh? Maybe I should try it.
Sam: It ain’t bad, but you probably won’t have time.
Tommy: It’s never too late to start. I guess honor’s out of the picture?
Sam: Honor’s meaningless! This is business and you’ve broken its unwritten
rules many times over, Tom. Maybe I feel some pity, but that’s outta place
in business.
Tommy: I didn’t notice that I was the cause of the family’s problems.
Sam: Really? You did what you wanted, Tom! You didn’t kill Frank! You let
that whore get away and then the bank! You can’t do what you know as right,
because you don’t know nothing. You don’t grasp the effects of your
actions. The Don is the thinker.
Tommy: You were never a great thinker, so you probably need him. That’s not
how I feel. I can think for myself.
Sam: The opinion of Don Salieri is that he won’t go and sit in jail just
because of your feelings. And I agree with his opinion completely. Don
Salieri really liked you, Tom, and I did too. We’ll cry together at the
funeral.
Tommy: You poor bastard, Sam, I feel sorry for you.
Sam: But I’m alive. It’s a pity you can’t use that money. Don’t worry,
we’ll give Sarah a little something. You know, single mothers don’t have it
easy these days. The Don will take care of her, he isn’t as much of a
monster as you think. Goodbye, Tom, it was nice knowing you. Take good care
of him, boys… And please, don’t make him suffer. He’s my buddy.
Comment: The final level is set. Sam has some strong arguments against Tommy’s actions, yet Tommy believes he was right to think for himself, to not be an automated goon for Don Salieri.
(Sam leaves. Just as the two gangsters prepare to shoot him, Tommy takes a
small Colt Detective Special pistol out of his sleeve and shoots one of
them before jumping behind a column. He then kills the two and then other
gangsters who rush to the lobby. After that he begins to fight his way
through the building. Sam again greets him from a balcony.)
Sam: As I see it, the boys underestimated you, Tom! Well, I hope they’ll be
luckier this time. Boys, be careful you don’t break anything! There are
lots of beautiful and valuable things in here!
(Sam leaves and Tommy is again confronted by several gangsters. He kills
them and goes up on the upper floor to pursue Sam.)
Tommy: Sam!
(Tommy continues to fight his way through the gallery and eventually
reaches a circular balcony that looks down onto a hall, holding his Colt
1911 pistol. Suddenly, Sam opens fire on him from the other side of the
balcony with his Tommy gun. Tommy takes cover behind a column.)
Tommy: It looks like you underestimated your new partners! Maybe you
oughtta change sides.
Sam: It’s still not over, Tom!
(They exchange gunfire for a few seconds.)
Tommy: Things aren’t what they look like, Sam. Salieri also double-crossed
you.
Sam: What are you talking about?
Tommy: We almost got killed because of those stupid cigars. Salieri knew
that the job was risky. There were diamonds hidden between those cigars, he
didn’t wanna give us a cut. That’s why Paulie wanted to take the bank,
because he realized how Salieri was ripping us off.
Sam: He told me about those diamonds, Tom. He only wanted to keep them
secret so nobody knew where they were before he sold them. Besides, the
diamonds have nothing to do with the fact that you didn’t kill Frank! He
broke the Omerta. Which is worse, Tom?
Comment: That’s a fair point about the diamonds, but I’m not convinced. Why couldn’t Salieri tell the guys? Could he really not trust them – not after all they’ve been through?
Tommy: How do you know I didn’t kill Frank?
Sam: You can blame it all on someone else you didn’t kill. You’re too
human. She came back to the city and we found her by accident.
Tommy: Dammit!
(Tommy fires a few shots at Sam.)
Sam: Tom, Tom, you know you can’t trust a dame. I can understand it isn’t
easy to kill your wife’s best friend. I should have done it for you. She
also pleaded with me and cried. Well, we realized that we couldn’t rely on
you, so we checked up a little and found out about Frank.
Tommy: Sam, do you really think everything has to end like this? We still
got a chance.
Sam: There ain’t no way back now, Tom, I’m sorry.
(Sam opens fire on Tommy and a gunfight begins between them. Eventually Sam
is wounded and retreats from the other side of the balcony. Tommy pursues
him by the trail of blood and finds him limping, trying to get away. Sam
turns and shoots at him again and Tommy dodges the bullets by jumping onto
the floor. Then Sam’s gun jams and Tommy points his pistol at him.)
Sam: Dammit.
(Tommy does not pull the trigger.)
Sam: Hey, it’s the same situation again, Tom. And once again you can’t
decide.
Comment: If it’s not obvious to you, Sam’s referring to Tommy being unable to kill Sarah’s best friend or Frank. There’s still some morality left in him I guess. Can he kill one of his best friends?
(Sam drops his Tommy gun and runs away.)
Tommy: Dammit!
(Tommy goes after Sam and finds him limping in a hall below him. He points
his gun and, after a few seconds of hesitation, shoots him in the back. Sam
touches the wound on his chest and looks at his bloody hand.)
Sam: You… you… did it… But they’ll get you all the same… Salieri…
will… get you…
(He turns to face Tommy.)
Sam: He stood by you… you rat… You’re dangerous, Tom… and Paulie…
is dead… He was never… sure… that you wouldn’t… forgive… his…
death… You gonna have to… hide… like an outcast… and one… day
they’ll get you… all the same… like Frank…
Tommy: They found him?!
Sam: You only… length… lengthened his life… but in the end they found
him… all the same… and Frank… was the Don’s… only real… friend…
Friendship ain’t worth shit…
(Tommy shoots Sam several times. Sam falls against the railing around the
opening in the middle of the hall and the level ends with drops of his
blood falling onto the dollars from the bank robbery in the entrance hall
below.)
Comment: What a cutscene. Everything is screwed up – Sam has some good points about what Tommy has been doing all along (Per usual, it’s not quite black and white), but Tommy believes he shouldn’t completely entrust his morality and thinking to the Don.
“Honor’s meaningless!”, “Friendship ain’t worth shit” – is the world of the mafia really all worth it in the end? How much has to be discarded and abandoned?
It ends with blood dropping onto the money that Sam threw onto the floor. How symbolic. How tragic.
—————————————————————————
1.27. Epilogue
—————————————————————————
(Tommy and Detective Norman are continuing their conversation in the cafe.)
Norman: So it was you again, huh? You destroyed the picture collection
worth a few million dollars?
Tommy: I wasn’t planning on it, but somehow it worked out that way.
Norman: Otherwise that’s everything?
Tommy: I got out of there fast. It was no picnic. I really was in danger,
but I pulled it off. I took the wife and daughter and immediately left the
country. Sam was right, if they decided to find Frank in Europe and take
revenge almost five years after he disappeared, they wouldn’t let me just
leave after betraying them.
Norman: And you’re willing to say all that you’ve now said to me in front
of a court and give evidence against all those men? Don’t you think the
situation will be a lot worse for you? What you’re planning to do now isn’t
betrayal, it’s more like treason.
Tommy: If these people go to jail, or better yet, death row, they won’t be
able to take revenge on me. At least not as easily as if they were free. I
am willing to give evidence against them if you ensure our protection and,
after the trial, a new identity for me, my wife and my daughter.
Norman: If we manage to pull it off, it will be the biggest legal battle
this country’s ever seen. It’s an interesting offer. I don’t know if it’s
moral to help somebody like you, but I think the results would be worth it.
I think we’ll help you…
(The camera shows four newspapers in a row. The headline of the first one
reads “GANGSTER TRIAL! What will be next?” The second newspaper reads
“SALIERI’S GANG PUT BEHIND BARS?” and contains a photo that shows Salieri’s
Bar wrecked with a dead man lying on the floor. The third headline says “80
GANGSTERS CONVICTED!” and the fourth one “ELECTRIC CHAIR FOR SALIERI’S
HITMEN” Next, Tommy is seen sitting at a table in a solitary cell and
writing in a notebook.)
Tommy: (narrating) Everything worked out until the legal case. I sat in my
cell and wrote down the evidence I had against all the people I had worked
with. People I had been friends with for ten years. The case was huge and
caused a shock throughout the country. Salieri got life, even some of his
thugs got the chair. The shortest sentence was eight years. I spent the
whole time in a closed cell at a secret location, with no visitors. I
didn’t see Sarah or my little girl the entire time.
Comment: Tommy’s testimony takes down the entire Salieri crime family. I’m not sure how realistic that is, but judging by the rest of the game anyway then I wouldn’t be surprised.
(The view switches to a suburban area on a sunny day, where Tommy, now an
old man with gray hair and a moustache, is watering the garden of his
house.)
Tommy: (narr.) In the end it was worth it. Norman got us new identities,
and moved us to the other end of the US. I got work as a driver for a
respectable company. We started a whole new life. This peace was only
interrupted by the war, but we got through it…
(A red sports car parks near the house and two men wearing suits and hats
get out. They approach Tommy from behind.)
Man: Mr. Angelo?
(Tommy turns to them.)
Tommy: Yes?
Man: Mr. Salieri sends his regards.
(One of the men shoots Tommy with a shotgun. They leave as Tommy lies dead
in a pool of blood. After showing a close-up view of Tommy’s face, the
camera begins to move away, showing the garden and house from above.)
Tommy: (narrating) You know, the world isn’t run by the laws written on
paper. It’s run by people. Some according to laws, others not. It depends
on each individual how his world will be, how he makes it. And you also
need a whole lot of luck, so that somebody else doesn’t make your life
hell. And it ain’t as simple as they tell you in grade school. But it is
good to have strong values and to maintain them. In marriage, in crime, in
war, always and everywhere.
Tommy: (narr.) I messed up. So did Paulie and Sam. We wanted a better life,
but in the end we were a lot worse off than most other people. You know, I
think it’s important to keep a balance in things. Yeah, balance, that’s the
right word. Because the guy who wants too much risks losing absolutely
everything. Of course, the guy who wants too little from life, might not
get anything at all.
THE END
Comment: Three words:
What
an
ending.
Firstly, I’ve heard that it’s another essential ingredient of mafia movies that the protaganist dies at the end. No matter what they’ve done or how their story has turned out, whether they’ve attempted redemption or become morally bankrupt, they somehow inevitably ‘die’.
The ancient classic Public Enemy as well as The Godfather and Scarface are suitable examples, while Goodfellas does it slightly differently. The reason is to show that crime doesn’t pay, it’s one of the most persistent themes of all movies in the genre (Why not?).
I also once heard after watching The Italian Job that it had legally to be such or at least obscure, to dissuade people from actually taking up crime, though I don’t believe that was ever actually true.
Tommy also ironically hears that ‘Mr Salieri sends his regards’, just as Paulie once said in the story and Tommy also said to the manager of the Corleone hotel. He gets killed in the same manner, along with the sawed-off shotgun as per the omertà.
Mafia gives the impression that Tommy has escaped his former life, and he must have done well to evade the mob for many years, he looks about 60 in the scene. Him on his front lawn is reminiscent of Goodfellas as it’s the ideal, picturesque way of showing him in a new, urban life. I can imagine some people expecting Tommy’s wife or daughter to come out of the car to give a happy-ending.
I don’t know many games that end with the main character dying and I also don’t know many with such a profound statement on life.*
It doesn’t end with a huge explosion and victory parade or a perfectly happy ending. It ends with a resolution of the story, with Tommy’s past life catching up with him.
There are valuable lessons here. Let me paraphrase them:
The world isn’t run by laws, it’s run by people.
If you seek too much in life, you risk losing it all … but if you don’t take any risks, you won’t get anything. It’s important to keep a balance.
How many games can claim something like that?
I think that’s why Mafia is a special gem of a game and I hope I’ve helped you appreciate both it and games that aim to be more than mere interactive amusement, but something approaching art.
Finally, the credits for the game have to be heard to be believed:
Ciao.
– Magic
(*Planescape: Torment is at least equally as good in my opinion… but a commentary on that would take a hell of a long time!)
Links:
http://www.2kczech.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia:_The_City_of_Lost_Heaven
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosa_Nostra
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Godfather
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiseguy_(book)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_film
By Ben ‘Magic’ Brown for http://www.samods.org
I-SEE-STARS 