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Movies / On DVD / Donnie Brasco
Donnie Brasco

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Donnie Brasco (1997)

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Reviews Counted:52

Fresh:45

Rotten:7

Average Rating:7.8/10

Consensus: A stark, nuanced portrait of life in organized crime, bolstered by strong performances from Al Pacino and Johnny Depp.

Rated: 18

Runtime: 2 hrs 27 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:00-00-0000

Synopsis: 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... 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). [More]

Starring: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Anne Heche

Starring: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Anne Heche, Bruno Kirby, Zach Grenier

Director: Mike Newell

Director: Mike Newell
Screenwriter: Paul Attanasio
Story: Joseph Pistone, Richard Woodley
Producer: Mark Johnson, Barry Levinson, Louis Di Giaima, Gail Mutrux, Patrick McCormick, Alan Greespan

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Donnie Brasco

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

It's tempting to think Pacino stopped trying sometime in the mid-1980s. But watch Lefty's elegiac final scene and you might conclude that it's not Al's ability that's dimmed, rather it's the imagination of casting directors that's grown stale.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
06/20/09
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A tense, sharp and compelling character study, Newell's film is a worthy addition to the Mob-movie canon.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Pacino's outstanding work elevates this to the crime movie pantheon.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Depp's tight, guarded performance is almost painful to watch, and Newell seems to have reined in the flamboyant Pacino, whose portrait of the mobster as a grumpy old man may be his best work in years.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
06/20/09
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Although perhaps familiar in its outer trappings, Pacino's fine work is the key to the film succeeding to the extent that it does.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
11/20/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Newell and Attanasio] pay as much attention to emotional details as to the clockwork details of mob life.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/30/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Just misses ranking in the upper echelon of mob movies.

Full Review Source: FulvueDrive-in.com | comment Comment
05/09/07
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
FulvueDrive-in.com

A classy piece of work that may disappoint those looking for something more conventional.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
09/17/05
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

A blue collar gangster movie that succeeds on all attempted levels, particularly acting.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Donnie Brasco is a fine movie but it might just be best remembered as Johnny Depp's coming-out party. A star -- check that, an actor -- is born.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/08/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Shows that solid acting and writing can salvage even material that has been covered by much better filmmakers.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
08/26/03
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Donnie Brasco manages to sidestep the obvious and dwell on the intriguing.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/14/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

In almost every respect, Donnie Brasco is an original, the unexpected rebirth of an old and oft-told tale.

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer

Donnie Brasco is 120 minutes of riveting filmmaking.

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

Unfortunately, the story isn't inventive and Newell's methodical approach to it verges on monotony.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment 1 Comment
08/14/02
Rita Kempley
Rita Kempley
Washington Post

It's gritty, real and totally engrossing.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
08/14/02
Louis B. Hobson
Louis B. Hobson
Jam! Movies

A first-class Mafia thriller that is also, in its way, a love story.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
06/18/02
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle

It's hard to develop any sympathy for the film's nasty manipulative humans, despite the best efforts of all involved in this newest slant on the mean-streets crowd.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment 1 Comment
06/05/02
Bridget Byrne
Bridget Byrne
Boxoffice Magazine

The humor and tragedy that Pacino and Depp put on the screen will stay with you.

Full Review Source: Film Scouts | comment Comment
04/17/02
Leslie Rigoulot
Leslie Rigoulot
Film Scouts

In the tired figure of Lefty, manifest in the craggy icon of Pacino, our sympathies are definitely enlisted, and the theme rings a poignant note.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
04/12/02
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Donnie Brasco

August 16, 2006: Character Actor Bruno Kirby, Dead at 57
You'd immediately recognize the face (and the voice) from movies like "City Slickers," "Good Morning Vietnam," and "When Harry Met Sally," but you... More...

February 17, 2006: Newell & Bardem Come Down with "Cholera"
International acting stud Javier Bardem and well-rounded movie director Mike Newell are about to bring the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Love in the Time of Cholera" to the... More...

May 09, 2005: Trailer Bulletin: "Harry Potter Part 4" Teaser
Those who love and admire the Harry Potter books and films, which is pretty much all of us (to one degree or another), will want to head over to Apple Quicktime's Movie Trailer... More...

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