| | | Based on a true story|In 1978, the US government waged a war against organized crime. One man was left behind the lines.
Features: DVD, Special Edition
Based on the true-life story of undercover FBI agent Joseph Pistone, Donnie Brasco poses a powerful question: How many identities can one man assume--FBI agent, gangster, husband, father--before they split him completely apart? This moral dilemma drives the story of agent Pistone (Johnny Depp), aka Donnie Brasco, who in the 1970s infiltrated the mob in what was to become the most successful mole operation ever. But it was a mission that exacted a devastating personal price. Pulled into an unexpected and revealing friendship with the criminal (Al Pacino) he was supposed to be destroying, Donnie Brasco almost destroyed himself. Widescreen format.
"A killer gangster picture!" Gene Shalit, Today Show
"...may rightfully take its place beside the best films of this genre." Pat Collins, WWOR-TV
"Two thumbs up! Johnny Depp and Al Pacino have terrific chemistry..." Siskel & Ebert
"...a bang-up job of deglamorizing the mob." Rita Kempley, Washington Post
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 | Interactive Menus | | Production Notes | | Scene Selections | | Theatrical Trailers | | Weblink | | Talent Files | | Original Featurette | | Deleted Scenes | | Isolated Music Score | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Director's Commentary | | Exclusive Featurette: "Donnie Brasco: Out From the Shadows" | | Digitally Mastered Audio & Anamorphic Video | | Widescreen Presentation | | Audio: English 5.0 (Dolby Digital) and English, French, Spanish 2-Channel (Dolby Surround) |
| 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
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Release Information
| | Studio: Columbia Tri-Star |
| Release Date: 12/21/2004 |
| Running Time: 127 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1997 | | Catalog ID: 05272 | | UPC: 00043396052727 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, French Dubbed, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew | Al Pacino | | Anne Heche | | Bruno Kirby | | James Russo | | Johnny Depp | | Michael Madsen | | Joseph D. Pistone & Richard Woodley - Based on Book By | | Joseph D. Pistone, Richard Woodley - Based on Book By | | Mike Newell - Director | | Peter Sova - Director of Photography | | Jon Gregory - Editor | | Budd Carr - Executive Music Producer | | Allan Mason - Executive Music Producer | | Patrick McCormick - Executive Producer | | Alan Greenspan - Executive Producer | | Patrick Doyle - Musical Score | | Loius DiGiaimo - Producer | | Mark Johnson - Producer | | Barry Levinson - Producer | | Donald Graham Burt - Production Designed By | | Paul Attanasio - Screenplay | | Paul Attanasio - Writer |
| Awards |
Oscar (1998) | | | Paul Attanasio, Nominee, Best Screenplay Based On Material From Another Medium |
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| | 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 San Francisco Chronicle 9 of 10
The true soul of the New York mob is portrayed in Donnie Brasco, a first-class Mafia thriller that is also in its way a love story--perhaps director Mike Newell's best... The glitz and the clothes are synthetic, the smiles are fake, but the fears and the needs are real... - Mick LaSalle
The New York Times 8 of 10
... the crackling good Donnie Brasco, the best crime movie in a long while, is full of...surprises as it leads [Al] Pacino and Johnny Depp through a fine-tuned tale of deception.... In the end it's a sordid and deadly story. But along the way, it's full of life. - Janet Maslin
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