Review Donnie Brasco (Special Edition)

Donnie Brasco (Special Edition) Best Review

This movie only gets better through the years, with repeated viewings. Johnny Depp portrays undercover FBI Agent Joe Pistone, who infiltrated The Bonanno Family, one of the Mafia's Five Families based out of NYC. Based on the true story of Pistone, this movie, with Johnny Depp in the Pistone/Brasco role and Al Pacino as Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero, the mobster who takes Donnie under his wing, gets him into meetings and vouches for him (and in the Mafia, you'd better know who you're bringing 'in'), an already brilliant screenplay is blasted into the stratosphere by these two actors' portrayals. Depp is magnificent as Brasco, a man who has been undercover so long that he doesn't even answer to his real name anymore, telling people that he's more comfortable being called Donnie all the time - and it may be safer for him, too. Pacino's Lefty has just the perfect pitch of the sad-sack-never-going-to-be-anything-but-on-the-outside-looking-in hood; he plays a delicate role so successfully that you find yourself feeling for a man who acknowledges having done 26 hits, and the biggest thing he's gotten - no promotions, no 'ups' for this guy - is a real lion from Sonny Black, the boss of Lefty's crew. Michael Madsen, as always, shines when he's on the screen, and his turn as Black is an example of why, if I see Madsen's name on a DVD cover, I get the movie, no questions asked. Lefty takes Donnie and teaches him what to say and not say, what to wear, how to carry his money; he may not be a big enough guy to do anything really impressive for his new associate, but Lefty has a feeling of purpose through finding Donnie, and teaching him. The fact that Lefty also gets it across to Donnie that, in their world - and maybe the world in general - your best friend can also be your executioner seems to blow by in the script, but the viewer catches it, and realizes just how much Lefty truly is passing onto the new kid. All the while, Donnie is gathering evidence on Lefty and his crew, as well as all others caught in the net, and we watch as the agent begins to feel a loyalty to Lefty. He knows that when the shoe drops, and it's known who he really is and what he's done, the people who brought him into the circle will be walking dead men. Depp is right on the mark as the conflicted Brasco - he's still going to finish the assignment and catch the bad guys, but there is an unspoken understanding between Depp and the audience that maybe, just maybe Brasco will do what he's been ordered to do, but he'll find a way to help Lefty skate. It is the relationship between Donnie and Lefty that makes this such a unique mob movie - you can see shooting and beating the hell out of people in plenty of films on this subject. Very few gangster films pull off character studies successfully, and that's what makes this stand out above many others. The movie is pretty close to the facts - I don't want to give any spoilers here, and so I'll just say that even though the ending of the movie has a couple of the facts bent here and there, the writers and directors were right to do it the way they did. The supporting cast, beside the beforementioned Madsen, is superb - the wonderful Bruno Kirby takes every second of his screen time and makes it matter, and Anne Heche, playing Brasco's disillusioned and scared to death wife, puts in a turn that I was surprised affected me so much (I have never really been a fan of hers, I admit, but she's great, here). The direction, the mood, and even the music capture the situation and time - the late 1970s' - perfectly. "Donnie Brasco" came out right around a tv show called "The Sopranos" was getting ready to hit the small screen, and I wouldn't be surprised if the developers, writers and directors of that show got some pointers on mob life by watching this film a few times. I find nothing to complain about with this movie, and I hope that, through the years, it will become as respected and appreciated as "The Godfather" films...it deserves it. Lastly, just what does Johnny Depp have to do to get an Oscar????!!!!

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Donnie Brasco (Special Edition) Feature

• Based on a True Sory

Donnie Brasco (Special Edition) Overview

An account of Pistone's experiences as an undercover FBI agent who successfully infiltrated the dangerous world of the Mafia in the '70s and how his p

Donnie Brasco (Special Edition) Specifications

Based on a memoir by former undercover cop Joe Pistone (whose daring and unprecedented infiltration of the New York Mob scene earned him a place in the federal witness protection program), Donnie Brasco is like a de-romanticized, de-mythologized version of The Godfather. It offers an uncommonly detailed, privileged glimpse inside the world of organized crime from the perspective of the little guys at the bottom of Mafia hierarchy rather than from the kingpins at the top. Donnie Brasco is not only one of the great modern-day gangster movies to put in the company of The Godfather films and GoodFellas, but it is also one of the great undercover police movies--arguably surpassing Serpico and Prince of the City in richness of character, detail, and moral complexity. Donnie (Johnny Depp, a splendid actor) is practically adopted by Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino), a gregarious, low-level "made" man who grows to love his young protégé like a son. (Pacino really sinks into this guy's skin and polyester slacks, and creates his freshest, most fully realized character since his 1970s heyday.) As Donnie acclimates himself to Lefty's world, he distances himself from his wife (a terrific Anne Heche) and family for their own protection. Almost imperceptibly his sense of identity slips away from him. Questioning his own confused loyalties, unable to trust anybody else because he himself is an imposter, Donnie loses his way in a murky and treacherous no-man's land. The film is directed by Mike Newell, who also headed up Four Weddings and a Funeral and the gritty, true crime melodrama Dance with a Stranger. --Jim Emerson

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Customer Reviews

Goodfellas step aside or get a smack in the mouth! - Jolly Roger -
Johnny Depp is superb as FBI undercover agent Joseph Pistone, infiltrator of one of New York's prolific mob families as Brooklyn boy Donnie Brasco. Based on the true story of Agent Pistone, this riveting film chronicles the harrowing years of servitude he endured as Lefty Ruggerio's (Al Pacino) protégé in Sonny Black's (Michael Madsen) Brooklyn crew. Al Pacino delivers the performance of a lifetime, rich with Pacino nuances; compelling both Donnie and the viewer to experience genuine love and affection for a petty thief, felonious criminal, and cold-blooded murderer with 27 executions to his credit. Their mutual camaraderie develops a bond that, to both their detriment, blurs the lines of character judgment, right, wrong, truth and deception. Supporting nods to Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, James Russo, and Ann Heche. This is an amazing story and an exceptional film that, dare I say, holds its own with the likes of Goodfellas. A 5 star must see; I highly recommend!






It's True - Robin Hanson -
How can you loose with a story like this with Pacino and Depp playing the leading rolls !! One good movie.



Great movie - J. W. - Irvine, CA
Al Pacino, Johnny Depp. They acted well and story is good. Classic and definitely worth to include this title in my collection.

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