At times a bit slow, but still historically important as it takes on the "mafia" for the first time in a serious way. Claudia Cardinale is terrific.
Maybe the first key film (and before book) about the Sicilian Mafia and among the best Sciascia adaptations. The dialogue is superb (most of the memorable lines were in the novel) and there are too many great performances too mention. Cardinale is excellent and has rarely looked so stunning, Nero proved to dubious critics that he was a genuinely good actor but Cobb and Sicilian actor Tano Cimarosa almost steal it...