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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 fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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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

[Pacino's] turn as a low-level mobster is his most relaxed and charming work in years.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A consistently absorbing and intelligent adult entertainment.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor
Salon.com

A pleasant surprise.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.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

One fine little character study about crime, friendship and loyalty in gangland New York City.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

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

Depp is convincing as the role-playing agent who loses track of his real identity.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
02/26/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

May be the best mob movie in years that was made by somebody whose name is not Scorsese or Coppola.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Takes us into a world that the movies frequently open to us, but somehow this trip seems more real and less glamorized than most.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

Powerful, driving, incisive and fascinating, Donnie Brasco paints a convincing portrait of a man's life undercover.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
02/27/01
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

An affirmation that the director, Mike Newell, has a gift for talkative, intelligent films that make his actors shine.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

Depp is as good as I've seen him, and Pacino is simply astonishing.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Millar
Jeff Millar
Houston Chronicle

The performances are terrific, especially Pacino. But when has he not been? But here he's even better than usual, even showing a vulnerable side that is almost heartbreaking.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

One of the most moving and insightful gangster films ever made.

Full Review Source: MovieMartyr.com | comment Comment
03/05/02
Jeremy Heilman
Jeremy Heilman
MovieMartyr.com

This underrated Mafia film ranks at the top when it comes to emotional intensity, character development, and revealing the inside nature of the Mob.

Full Review Source: Old School Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
John A. Nesbit
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews

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
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; 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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