Goncharov (1973) by Martin Scorsese – the greatest mafia movie ever made, or is it?

“Have you not seen Goncharov? It’s literally the best one of Scorsese’s movies!” – a quote a lot of people met with online around autumn of 2022.

Tumblr users zootycoon (original photo post), abandonedambition (reply comment), and Aveline McEntire/loseremo, who reblogged the two together. A Reblog of the Initial Goncharov Post, Which Is Credited as the Origin of the M. 2020, upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/ff/Goncharov-origin.png. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

In August 2020 a Tumblr user posted a picture of their newly bought pair of knockoff boots, and instead of the brand name, the tag said, “The greatest mafia movie ever made. Martin Scorsese presents Goncharov, a film about the Naples mafia”. Others immediately followed the joke by responding, “The idiot hasn’t seen Goncharov.” This is the origin of the myth that later surrounded the non-existent “great film.”

The post gained its popularity in November of 2022, when the creative spaces of Tumblr started to make up the plot, characters and even suggest the cast. The general consensus is that the movie is set in Naples after the dissolution of the USSR and follows the main character, Lo Straniero/Goncharov, a Russian hitman played by Robert De Niro. The plot involves a love triangle between Goncharov’s wife Katya, played by Cybill Shepherd, Goncharov himself, and his enemy, Andrey “The Banker” Daddano, played by Harvey Keitel. Simultaneously, Katya is believed to have an affair with a woman named Sofia, played by Sophia Loren. The cast often includes other characters like Joseph “Ice Pick Joe" Morelli (John Cazale), Valeryi Michailov (Gene Hackman) and Mario Ambrosini (Al Pacino).

“Poster for Goncharov by @Eeveearoace-Creative.” Tumblr, 16 Aug. 2023, www.tumblr.com/eeveearoace-creative/725845707519655936/since-goncharov-is-trending-again-i-want-finally?source=share. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

As the movie generally couldn’t have a consistent plot due to its collaborative nature, it is often discussed in terms of themes and single scenes. The most popular is the clocktower scene, which is often portrayed on fan-made posters. As it is a mafia movie, it generally discusses violence and politics but also gives an unusual perspective on human relationships, mortality and individualism. The somewhat consistency of Goncharov can be attributed to a Tumblr user, Connaro, who, in collaboration with others, created a master doc with

all of the information about the film.

After some time Goncharov started to breach the outskirts of Tumblr and became viral on different social media. It reached such popularity that some real movie experts were interested in it: “This is one of those examples where social media unleashes people's creativity in positive ways,” says Rahul Bhargava, an assistant professor of art, design and journalism at Northeastern University. Even Martin Scorsese himself is in on the joke, as his daughter posted their conversation on TikTok, quoting: “Yes. I made that film years ago.” 

Korotchuk, Alex. “Goncharov Poster.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Jan. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Goncharov-poster.png. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

The phenomenon that was and is Goncharov illustrates the collaborative creativity of online fandom spaces. The non-existent movie inspired hundreds of fan fiction works, art and music, just by being a collective piece of imagination.

Bibliography

cultofthepigeon. Tumblr, 22 Nov. 2022, www.tumblr.com/cultofthepigeon/701579231532089344/explain-this-goncharov-thing-to-me-i-dont?source=share. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.

Mello-Klein, Cody. “The Internet Rediscovered ‘Goncharov,’ a Lost Martin Scorsese Film. The Catch: It Doesn’t Actually Exist.” News @ Northeastern, 1 Dec. 2022, news.northeastern.edu/2022/12/01/goncharov-1973-martin-scorsese/. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.

Wikipedia Contributors. “Goncharov (Meme).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Mar. 2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goncharov_(meme). Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.