Donnie Brasco – Extended Cut (Blu-ray + DVD-Video)
Picture: B+/B- Sound:
B+/B- Extras: C Film: B+
I think I
finally put my finger on why organized crime is such a
continually captivating subject for movies and television. I surmise it's
because anybody remotely involved with these id-driven "wise
guys" can get bumped off at any given moment. The threat
of violence is always there. We watch with fascination at a safe distance
while wondering how anyone who's not psychopathic or extremely stupid could
stand such a life. Even though gangsters can make lots of "easy
money," what's easy about it if you're always being dragged into
court and having to constantly look over your shoulder?
As Al
Pacino's gangster character, Lefty Ruggiero, says in Donnie Brasco, in the
mob, it's often your best friend who ends up doing you in. In
this 1997 film, Lefty's words are prophetic as it's his own best gangster
pal, Donnie Brasco (Johnny Depp), who's eventually responsible for his
demise. Unbeknownst to Lefty, Brasco, who becomes his right-hand man, is
really one Joseph D. Pistone, an undercover FBI special agent whose job it
is to secretly gather evidence and bring down Lefty and other more
important members of the Italian Mafia in late '70s and early '80s New York
City -- Pistone's undercover operation was also the basis for the short-lived
CBS series Falcone
(2000).
With a
script by Paul Attanasio (Quiz
Show, The
Good German) that's based on the non-fiction book by Pistone
and Richard Woodley about Pistone's experiences while undercover with the
Mafia, the film version of Donnie
Brasco is a somewhat fictionalized account of Pistone's six
years as mob associate Donnie Brasco. Ironically, it is one of the
fictionalized elements of the story which is most interesting and affecting;
the characterization of Pacino's Lefty as a sad-sack Mafia loser who's always
getting the short end of the stick.
It's
interesting to see the actor who so memorably played mob bosses in The Godfather trilogy
and Scarface move
to the totally opposite end of the spectrum and play a
Mafioso like Lefty who's the low-man on the totem pole. And Pacino is
once again excellent, bringing a certain sadness to this
character that's reminiscent of a criminal Willy Loman. In fact,
there's such an unassuming, gruff sweetness to Lefty that it's hard to
believe he supposedly killed 26 men -- the Lefty we meet has obviously
mellowed with age and the resignation that he's not going anywhere, and he
almost seems a little too soft to be a made member of the Mafia.
While
it's unlikely the real-life Lefty was this ingratiating, the Lefty portrayed by
Pacino makes it easy for the audience to identify with the internal
conflict of Depp's Brasco. On one hand, Brasco comes to genuinely
like his Mafia mentor while struggling with the fact that since Lefty was the
one who vouched for him, whenever his assignment ends and his real identity is
revealed, it will surely mean the end of Lefty -- Pacino is the
epitome of brilliant understatement when Lefty finally comes to the sad
realization that it's all over for him. The film's final
scenes resonate not only the pain of the betrayed, but also the pain of
the betrayer.
Brasco's
loyalties are further tested by his impatient wife (Anne Heche), who can't
completely fathom why her husband is away for weeks and months at a time, and
the callousness of the U.S. government, which has the audacity to audit him
when he's putting his life on the line undercover every day. The film
nicely draws parallels between the unfair politics at work in both the FBI
and the Mafia.
All of
the supporting players are well cast with Michael Madsen right at home as Sonny
Black, the volatile leader of Lefty's gang; the late Bruno Kirby as an affable
member of Sonny's crew named Nicky; James Russo in the underdeveloped role of
gang member Paulie; and Zeljko Ivanek as Brasco's immediate FBI
superior. Smaller gangster roles are capably filled by Robert Miano
and Val Avery, while Paul Giamatti and Tim Blake Nelson appear as FBI
surveillance experts. And yes, that's a young Gretchen Mol as a waitress
turned Mafia groupie.
Donnie Brasco was a good film in theaters at 127 minutes, but it's now
an even better, more complete movie in its 147-minute extended cut.
However, in spite of the improvement, it still just misses ranking in
the upper echelon on mob movies such as GoodFellas, Casino, The Godfather
films, State of
Grace and Once
Upon a Time in America. While Donnie Brasco is
constantly absorbing, it's damaged by a few continuity problems, which may
have occurred because it was directed by an unlikely choice, the British
Mike Newell (Enchanted
April, Four
Weddings and a Funeral, Mona Lisa Smile).
In what
was his first Hollywood film, it's possible Newell wasn't totally familiar
with American culture. But that's still no excuse for the sloppiness
of mistakenly having John Wayne's June, 1979 death and Mother's Day
mentioned as taking place in the wintertime, and a couple of moments where the
seasons visibly change from one scene to the next. If Newell didn't
notice these things, somebody else clearly should have.
Like
Danny De Vito's Hoffa,
Donnie Brasco
would have benefited from sticking to a stricter real-life timeline and
putting specific dates on the screen. A little more attention to
detail might have made it a true genre great, but the longer cut is certainly
good enough to now make it one of 1997's best.
Sony
Pictures new unrated, extended cut of Donnie Brasco is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen with English 5.1 Dolby Digital sound, as shot by Director Of
Photography Peter Sova. The Blu-ray
shows off the new print to even better advantage with better Video Black,
detail and depth. The sound is Dolby
Digital 5.1 on both discs and PCM 5.1 16/48 exclusively on the Blu-ray. Music by Patrick Doyle is not bad and the PCM
mix is best.
The
extras include a photo gallery and two featurettes already featured on Sony's
previous special edition DVD from 2000. A director's commentary recorded
for that previous edition is not included here. I guess fans will have to
keep the older version, but this is a fine reissue and upgrade worth getting in
either format.
- Chuck O'Leary
