While not explicitly addressing Hollywood gangster folklore, "Excellent Cadavers," a meticulous and angry new documentary, offers an implicit critique of the lovable-goombah view of organized crime. It may be that this indulgent, even romantic mythology is a sign that organized crime has never posed a serious threat to the American social order, providing instead a rich trove of tabloid headlines and hard-boiled metaphors. The colorful idioms of wiseguys have helped many a big-city newspaper columnist through a slow day, and the characteristic Cosa Nostra mix of Old World ethnic sentimentality and cutthroat capitalism has proved irresistible to artists of the big and small screens. American culture - American cinema in particular - has long had a soft spot for the Mafia.
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