Mob scene at Screenland: Black Hand Strawman opens today

Terence O’Malley’s long-awaited new documentary about the Mafia opens today at Screenland (1656 Washington, 816-421-9700). The director’s 2006 movie, Nelly Don: A Stitch in Time (now on DVD) — which also had crime on its mind — played there for about 14 years. Of course, mugs like “Moonface” here lack fundamental sex appeal, but a movie about organized crime — the ultimate recession-proof industry — seems destined for its own long run.

Charles Ferruzza’s review of Black Hand notes:

The brutality and bloodshed, vividly depicted in press photos and video

footage, is all too real. O’Malley breaks his film into somewhat choppy

chapters and indulges a leisurely pace until the last third, when

brazen corruption and turf battles explode into violence and murder.

Martin Scorsese couldn’t do KC better than that.

C.J. Janovy interviewed O’Malley last year about confronting local omerta:

“This history’s not very old. My film goes up to 1986. That’s not that

long ago. Felix Ferina and Tiger Cardarella were killed in gangland

killings in the ’80s. So this has been a dangerous subject up until

now. In the 1970s, there were Star reporters risking their lives to cover that beat. Tuffy DeLuna is still alive. There’s still quite a few of them alive.”