Donnie Brasco

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Donnie Brasco

Editorial Review

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

Features:

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• NTSC

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
• Overall great movie
  Didn't expect Al Pacino and Johnny Depp to be in the SAME FILM. But that's not what makes this a great film. This is brilliant because of the story, the tension, the characters, and the setting that they're all in. Johnny Depp is one-of-a-kind as the FBI agent Joseph Pstione, who disguises himself as Donnie Brasco. His job is to give the Bureau information on a mob organization, which includes the aging hitman Left Ruggiero. The situation gets out of hand as Pistone/Brasco starts to adapt a bit too well in... more info
• Good Mob Story
  D. Brasco is a good story and is alot less violent than most mob movies. It isn't as good as the Godfather or Goodfellas. This movie shows the sacrifice of a F.B.I. agent who loses years of his life with his family to bring down the mob.
• Movie: 4/5 Picture Quality: 3.5~4.5/5 Sound Quality: 3.5~4.25/5 Extras: 2/5
  Version: U.S.A / Region A, B, C
  MPEG-4 AVC BD-50 / High Profile 4.1
  Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
  Running time: 2:27:07
  Movie size: 39,82 GB
  Disc size: 43,12 GB
  Average video bit rate: 28.99 Mbps
  LPCM Audio English 4608 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 4608kbps
  Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 640kbps
  Subtitles: English / English SDH / French
  Number of chapters: 16
  #Donnie Brasco: Out from the Shadows (SD - 24 min.)
  #Original... more info
• Great movie
  This is one of the best gangster movies ever made. Great acting, great filmmaking.
  The extended version is great, as the additional scenes flesh out the story and just make the movie all that better, with more scenes!
  Nothing crazy about the extras - just a few solid featurettes.

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