I call this an absolutely 1st-rate production for several reasons. Firstly it's a ... "refreshing" change from the beaten-past-death accountings of them Five Families up the road a (happily) fair distance up the road from Washington, which knew nothing of the kinds of mob activities that held that city, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, Boston, Cleveland & Chicago in such ruinous horrible clutches (other places that might What About Us? Protest their exclusion from that blood bucket list, I do not know of, & those half-dozen rotten eggs are plenty by themselves). Although the searing Family Secrets legal tumult has been covered before - from the viewpoint of the brave Frank Calabrese Jr. - this story of D. R. Seifert whose ghastly murder contributed thereto in such a significant way is complete news to me. And the details of the case are at turns astonishing, horrifying, enlightening, amazing, gripping, occasionally even humorous - &, in the end of its long bumpy road, triumphantly victorious for One Man's Family. "Too much to list" definitely applies here, along with "it has to be seen to be believed," but the quality of its period-piece reenactments make themselves known straight out the gate. I actually experienced an "Ooh!" of delight when, after the date of the soulless crime was given (9/27/74), a red/black perfect '73-'74 Ford LTD coupe rolled into view. I was hooked right then & there, which the historical revelations that unfolded afterwards kept me totally riveted. Along with what the widow & sons told of their hellish ordeal & aftermath, the non-family interviewees - even, for an all too rare mercy, les "journalistes" contingent who astoundingly did not flounder around uselessly invoking "U No* in their statements - conducted themselves in what should be a textbook How To fashion that did not scrape my nerves even once. (In the catalogue of crime documentaries I've seen since my Forensic Files intro 27 years ago, there may be a standout among that crowd Here & There As It Might Be, but never before an entire ensemble managed not to talk stupid at some point or other. I give em all Nuff Respect for their presentations.)
Still, as can be only expected, this singular exposition is not "flawless," though only 1 technical detail comes up short, in 2 ways - the family car was a station wagon, & the portrayal of an actual 4-door '73-'74 LTD not only by a coupe version, but which was a '75-'78 model (similar body but "refreshed" front & radically different taillight assembly easily give that away), a photo of the original superimposed in a "fade" sequence over the pretender. Also there is a puzzling family omission, which is never addressed: the Seiferts' daughter gets only the most minimal early reference, but from the time of the killing right up to the (way late) deliverance of Due Justice, there is not a single mention made of her, even by her pistol-packin mama, whose bravery in the face of mob danger & on the witness stand, and composure while relating the details of her family's darkest hours & beyond, rehabilitated my view of her name - "You go, Miss Emma!" says me admiringly at certain points, without a trace of the "blehh" that hitherto I had thus responded on hearing the (beforehand) rather old-fashioned, no musical name. "Not anymore!" in the simple yet devastating words of Commander Cain (Battlestar Galactica, 1979). To have seen this coincidentally on the '23 version of Mother's Day lends if possible a greater appreciation for her strength confronted with, as if her husband being wiped out isn't bad enough, witnessing along with 1 of their sons the actual awful crime. So what about the girl even then? "Nothing!" is said of her at all! In the 33-year interval before karmic justice slammed down on the exact anniversary of their beyond-comprehensible loss, & after their truly "glorious!" legal victory? Zip. Zilch. "Nuttin Honey!" from her mother & brothers even to just say she declined to participate in the production, let alone any mention of how she coped with such a devastating ruin to their lives. I still rate it The Very Highest in despite of this glaring odd exclusion, but it is yet a significant disappointment.
Lastly, though he lived past Danny only the standard timespan of a baby cooking in the oven - 9 months, to 6/19/75 - there also is no mention of Sam Giancana, who ruled that there Outfit for nearly 10 years (8 years later came the Seifert murder). The end of his reign overlapped with the beginnings of Daniel Seifert's (legit) business rise, so for a mobster of that level of importance to be not mentioned just once - even to say something like "Giancana had just retired when Danny started out" - is to me both strangely & hugely disrespectful. Certainly like to know how the decisions to leave out such clearly important information came about (Most Curious that in a written article I found, there was (a single!) mention of the daughter, her age & where she & her brother were when the hit came down - & again, *nothing* else.), but the end results are what they be, & "so it goes." Best wishes to them all, the worst such to all involved, & may a "tough" man who wanted only to do right by his family, & prosper as a result, now R. E. I. P.
Still, as can be only expected, this singular exposition is not "flawless," though only 1 technical detail comes up short, in 2 ways - the family car was a station wagon, & the portrayal of an actual 4-door '73-'74 LTD not only by a coupe version, but which was a '75-'78 model (similar body but "refreshed" front & radically different taillight assembly easily give that away), a photo of the original superimposed in a "fade" sequence over the pretender. Also there is a puzzling family omission, which is never addressed: the Seiferts' daughter gets only the most minimal early reference, but from the time of the killing right up to the (way late) deliverance of Due Justice, there is not a single mention made of her, even by her pistol-packin mama, whose bravery in the face of mob danger & on the witness stand, and composure while relating the details of her family's darkest hours & beyond, rehabilitated my view of her name - "You go, Miss Emma!" says me admiringly at certain points, without a trace of the "blehh" that hitherto I had thus responded on hearing the (beforehand) rather old-fashioned, no musical name. "Not anymore!" in the simple yet devastating words of Commander Cain (Battlestar Galactica, 1979). To have seen this coincidentally on the '23 version of Mother's Day lends if possible a greater appreciation for her strength confronted with, as if her husband being wiped out isn't bad enough, witnessing along with 1 of their sons the actual awful crime. So what about the girl even then? "Nothing!" is said of her at all! In the 33-year interval before karmic justice slammed down on the exact anniversary of their beyond-comprehensible loss, & after their truly "glorious!" legal victory? Zip. Zilch. "Nuttin Honey!" from her mother & brothers even to just say she declined to participate in the production, let alone any mention of how she coped with such a devastating ruin to their lives. I still rate it The Very Highest in despite of this glaring odd exclusion, but it is yet a significant disappointment.
Lastly, though he lived past Danny only the standard timespan of a baby cooking in the oven - 9 months, to 6/19/75 - there also is no mention of Sam Giancana, who ruled that there Outfit for nearly 10 years (8 years later came the Seifert murder). The end of his reign overlapped with the beginnings of Daniel Seifert's (legit) business rise, so for a mobster of that level of importance to be not mentioned just once - even to say something like "Giancana had just retired when Danny started out" - is to me both strangely & hugely disrespectful. Certainly like to know how the decisions to leave out such clearly important information came about (Most Curious that in a written article I found, there was (a single!) mention of the daughter, her age & where she & her brother were when the hit came down - & again, *nothing* else.), but the end results are what they be, & "so it goes." Best wishes to them all, the worst such to all involved, & may a "tough" man who wanted only to do right by his family, & prosper as a result, now R. E. I. P.