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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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41 - 53 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Two powerful performances and a glimpse at the inner workings of the lower levels of the mob make this a must see.

Full Review Source: Cinematter | comment Comment
01/01/00
Madeleine Williams
Madeleine Williams
Cinematter

At 34, Depp has finally scored a film that doesn't ask him to play down his intelligence.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

It is Pacino who holds our attention.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Pacino's performance is great and the story seems to have an interesting take on human nature, but the bland, mechanical direction make it not quite worthy of a full recommendation.

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marty Mapes
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

Tarnishes the shiny veneer of the mob we've seen in earlier movies, holding up its players not as criminal heroes but as cogs in a criminal machine, more worthy of compassion than cheers.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
01/01/00
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

A standard-issue mobster movie that rises above the mire of its shopworn genre by showing the cracks in its characters' armor.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

The movie has many human qualities and contains what will be remembered as one of Pacino's finest scenes.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Pacino's performance is sweet, crude, funny and haunted, and gives Donnie Brasco an unexpected emotional pull.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Scott Renshaw
Scott Renshaw
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Together Pacino and Depp turn in two fascinating performances with believable macho chemistry between the two of them.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

You get something far richer, if more unsettling, here than conventional crime drama's romanticism and easy analogies.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News

Pacino cans the showboating bluster and gives a gently nuanced portrait of a simple man in decline.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Wloszczyna
Susan Wloszczyna
USA Today

[A] powerful Mafia genre film with impressive star leads and emotional punch.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/01/00
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

A tight, character-driven drama--a rarity in today's Hollywood, it's not to be missed.

Full Review Source: Needcoffee.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Widgett Walls
Widgett Walls
Needcoffee.com
 
 
41 - 53 (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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