| | | Extended Cut.
Features: Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1, Dolby Digital (5.1), English, French, Subtitled
Posing as jewel broker Donnie Brasco, FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone (Johnny Depp) is granted entrance into the violent mob family of aging hit man Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino). When his personal and professional lives collide, Pistone jeopardizes his marriage, his job life and, ultimately, the gangster mentor he has come to respect and admire. From acclaimed director Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral), and featuring an extraordinary supporting cast including Michael Madsen, Anne Heche, Bruno Kirby and James Russo.
"A killer gangster picture!" Gene Shalit, Today Show
"...the best crime movie in a long while...a sordid and deadly story. But along the way, it's full of life." Janet Maslin, The New York Times
"...a first-class Mafia thriller..." Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
"...may rightfully take its place beside the best films of this genre." Pat Collins, WWOR-TV
"...a bang-up job of de-glamorizing the mob." Rita Kempley, Washington Post
"Two thumbs up!" Siskel & Ebert
Editor's Note
Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an FBI mole who integrates himself into the Mafia pecking order by posing as "jewel man" Donnie Brasco. He finds his loyalties divided when Lefty Ruggiero, a jaded hit man, takes him on as a protégé and places real trust in him. The two men form a friendship--and a criminal partnership--that jeopardizes Brasco's mission and obscures the boundaries between the law and the underworld. The film is based on the autobiography DONNIE BRASCO, MY UNDERCOVER LIFE IN THE MAFIA by former undercover agent Joseph D. Pistone. Directed by Mike Newell (FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL) and also starring Bruno Kirby (THE FRESHMAN, THIS IS SPINAL TAP), Michael Madsen (RESERVOIR DOGS) and Anne Heche (WAG THE DOG).
Plot Summary
Al Pacino and Johnny Depp are terrific together in this excellent Mafia drama from director Mike Newell. Pacino, who played undercover cop Frank Serpico 25 years before, now becomes the hunted Mafia man whom undercover cop Johnny Depp is after. The film was coproduced by Barry Levinson and the screenplay was written by Paul Attanasio, two of the people responsible for the extraordinary television police drama HOMICIDE.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, PCM 5.1 Surround Sound | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French | | This Is A Blu-Ray DVD Made For Blue-Laser Format Players Which Produce Higher Quality Picture And Sound |
| Entertainment Reviews
 | Donnie Brasco - DVD By: Christopher Null - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 4/27/2007 7:26 PM | |
Well, someone had to wrest the monopoly on gangster movies from the hands of Scorsese and Coppola. So why not Mike Newell, of Four Weddings and a Funeral fame, to direct it? And why not put Johnny Depp in a starring role? And Anne Heche -- you know, Ellen's girlfriend -- as his wife!? It sounds bizarre, but put this group together with Monster of Acting Pacino and Quiz Show scribe Paul Attanasio and you've got a pleasant surprise on your hands, not to mention one of the longest-running films at the box office this year....read the full review |
| Technical Info
|
Release Information
| | Studio: Sony Pictures |
| Release Date: 5/8/2007 |
| Running Time: 147 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1997 | | Catalog ID: 19438 | | UPC: 00043396194380 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Available Subtitles: English, French | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Nominee (1998) | | | Oscar, Paul Attanasio, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium |
|
| | Professional Reviews | USA Today
"...Downbeat, dark-humored and disturbing....[The film] delivers the somber flipside to CASINO's snazzy high rollers..." -- 4 out of 4 stars 02/28/1997 p.1DNew York Times
"...Crackling good....The best crime movie in a long while....It's full of life..." 02/28/1997 p.C4 Entertainment Weekly
"...A wonderfully dense, clever, and moving gangland thriller....[An] engrossing movie..." -- Rating: A- 03/07/1997 p.44-5 Los Angeles Times
"...An ambitious film with an effective and modulated performance by Al Pacino..." 02/28/1997 p.F1 Chicago Sun-Times
"...For Johnny Depp, DONNIE BRASCO breaks new ground; he seems a little older here, a little wearier, and he makes the transition from stoolie to friend one subtle step at a time..." 02/28/1997 p.37 Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] thoughtful character study of male loyalty..." 07/01/2007 p.26 DVD Verdict 10 of 10
Donnie Brasco is based on the true-life story of FBI agent Joe Pistone, who went undercover as a member of the New York mob for six years. With absolutely stellar performances by Al Pacino and Johnny Depp, this gritty tale of the low level grunts of the Mafia has a true to life feel and intellect...This special film deserves its own place in the annals of mob movies such as Goodfellas...I consider Donnie Brasco to be one of the pre-eminent mob films ever made. Johnny Depp is superb in his role as Brasco/Pistone, and his spiral from the calculating agent to mobster is completely believable. This is one of his finest roles ever. Al Pacino is a natural for roles like this; yet brings new nuances to his characters in each picture...one of the finest films in the organized crime genre. - Norman Short
Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
Norman Mailer told us tough guys don't dance, but in the movies, it's mostly tough guys who do dance. We're so leery of close emotional bonds between men that the movies are only comfortable showing them if the guys are cops, jocks, soldiers or mobsters. Beneath everything else, "Donnie Brasco'' is the story of two men who grow to love each other, within the framework of a teacher-student relationship...The violence in this movie is gruesome (a scene involving the disposal of bodies is particularly graphic). But the movie has many human qualities and contains what will be remembered as one of Pacino's finest scenes. At an important moment in his life, he puts some things in a drawer. He starts to leave, then thinks again, turns back and leaves the drawer ajar. What this implies and how it plays creates the perfect ending for the film, which fades to black--only to start up again with unnecessary footnotes. No matter; I'll remember that scene. - Roger Ebert
|
| |
|
|
|
