MOVIES - Oct. 28, 1987

What’s in a name? Not affection, certainly, if the reaction in Palermo, Sicily, to the new Michael Cimino film “The Sicilian”--which is all about the legendary bandit Salvatore Giuliano--is any indication. The film, based on the novel by Mario Puzo, opened in Palermo and was roundly criticized for historical inaccuracies. Christopher Lambert, who plays Giuliano, attended the premiere and offered no apologies. “I don’t regret a thing,” Lambert said. “Cimino never told me, ‘This is the true story of Giuliano.’ ‘The Sicilian’ is a grand spectacle, history as seen through a dream.”