The Godfather's wives are DONE being background characters — and they're taking the family business.
Following the brutal murder of her husband and male kin, Sophia unites with her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, in a fierce quest for vengeance against their enemies.
Acting
Vanessa Redgrave devouring scenery as mob matriarch.
Costume
1997 power suits and widow chic at maximum volume.
Writing
Juicy melodrama that knows exactly what it is.
Director
David Greene
Vanessa Redgrave
Graziella Luciano
Dennis Farina
Don Roberto Luciano
Nastassja Kinski
Sophia Luciano
Jennifer Tilly
Moyra Luciano
Illeana Douglas
Teresa Scorpio Luciano
James Marsden
Luka
Gina Philips
Rosa Luciano
Richard Portnow
Anthony Moreno
Franco Nero
Mario Domino
Peter Bogdanovich
Vito Giancamo
Carmen Argenziano
Castellano
Michael Hayden
Michael Luciano
Richard Joseph Paul
Constantino Luciano
W. Earl Brown
Fredrico Luciano
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This CBS television film was adapted from a novel by the same author who wrote The Godfather — yes, really, Mario Puzo's daughter Lisa Marie Puzo co-wrote it.
Bella Mafia arrived during a brief 90s wave of 'mob wife' media (think Married to the Mob, Casino) that complicated the glorified gangster genre by centering women's complicity and resistance. It's not Goodfellas — it's what Goodfellas erased.
US
