Donnie Brasco (Extended Cut) [Blu-ray]

Donnie Brasco (Extended Cut) [Blu-ray]
by Mike Newell

Donnie Brasco (Extended Cut) [Blu-ray]

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Al Pacino, Bruno Kirby, James Russo, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen
Director: Mike Newell
Brand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
Producer: Alan Greenspan
Producer: Barry Levinson
Producer: Gail Mutrux
Producer: Louis DiGiaimo
Writer: Joseph D. Pistone
Writer: Paul Attanasio
Writer: Richard Woodley
Blu-ray: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.40:1
Running Time: 127 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2007-05-08
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: TriStar Pictures
Product features:

Condition: New
Format: Blu-ray
AC-3; Color; Dolby; Subtitled; Widescreen

Movie Reviews of Donnie Brasco (Extended Cut) [Blu-ray]

Movie Review: SENSATIONAL MOB FLICK...GRIM AND GRITTY...
Summary: 5 Stars

This griity and grim mob flick, deftly directed by Mike Newell, is based upon the true story of FBI undercover, Joe Pistone, who. as his alter ego "Donnie Brasco", infiltrated the mob for a number of years, resulting in its eventual decimation. So artfully did the real Joe Pistone infiltrate and so well did he do his job, that he and his family were obliged to enter the witness protection program for their safety, as a contract was ultimately put out on Joe Pistone's life.

Here, Johnny Depp, plays the role of Joe Pistone/Donnie Brasco. He is terrific in the role, and the viewer watches him become absorbed by the lifestyle of the mobsters with whom he associates. He is befriended by "Lefty" Ruggierro, artfully played Al Pacino. Shifty and
common, "Lefty" typifies your low level made guy, the guy on the fringes doing the dirty work, a real bottom feeder. He is the guy who does the hits, and he is the guy the higher ups look to whack when something goes wrong. It is not an enviable or glamourous life, as has been made out by other films, such as the "Godfather" and "Goodfellas". The existence of "Lefty" and the legions like him is gritty and grim, always a bridesmaid and never a bride.

"Lefty" takes Brasco under his wing and vouches for him. He shows Brasco the ABCs of becoming a "made" guy. "Lefty" himself wants to move up in the mob hierarchy. It soon becomes painfully obvious that that ain't gonna happen. One cannot help feel a little sorry for "Lefty", so limited is his world view and so at the mercy of others. Still, "Lefty" gives Donnie some invaluable lessons on mob etiquette. He also unburdens himself to Donnie, treating him as if he were his adopted son. The bond between the two men grows. As this happens, Donnie finds himself being pulled more and more into the world of mobsters, until his old and new reality begin to merge.

As he distances himself drom his wife (Anne Heche) and family, Brasco is thrust into a maelstrom of mob violence that threatens to tear him apart and consume him. He tries to get "Lefty" to go straight and retire, in hope of avoiding his betrayal. It is to no avail. Brasco, in for a penny, in for a pound, now stands to become a "made" guy himself. It is only at the eleventh hour that an intervention set up by the FBI plays itself out, setting up the betrayal of "Lefty". It is a sad moment for Brasco, as he knows that "Lefty" has just been handed a death sentence at the hands of the mob for vouching for an FBI agent. It is Brasco's ultimate salvation, however, as he was on the brink of committing an unpardonable act, one in which he would have crossed the line and from which there would have been no turning back. It is a decision that was, luckily for him, taken out of his hands.

Al Pacino gives the defining, superlative performance in this film. Anne Heche is sensational as the put upon, concerned wife, who watches her husband change into someone she can barely recognize. Johnny Depp, likewise, gives a stellar performance as the angst ridden FBI undercover agent. All in all, a terrific film with a stellar cast and well worth having in one's collection.

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Summary of Donnie Brasco (Extended Cut) [Blu-ray]

Synopsis:
Item Type: Unknown Type
Item Rating: NR
Street Date: 05/08/07
Wide Screen: yes
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
LanguageENGLISH
Foreign Film: no
Subtitlesno
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: no
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve Please note: This supplier will be closed on 11/24, 11/25, 12/26, 1/2 for the holidays. The shipping cut off is 12/10 to try and have the products delivered by Christmas.
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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