Donnie Brasco (film)
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| Donnie Brasco | |
|---|---|
 Donnie Brasco theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Mike Newell |
| Produced by | Alan Greenspan, Patrick McCormick |
| Written by | Paul Attanasio |
| Starring | Johnny Depp Al Pacino Michael Madsen Anne Heche Bruno Kirby |
| Distributed by | Sony |
| Release date(s) | 28 February 1997 |
| Running time | 127 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Donnie Brasco is a 1997 film by Mike Newell starring Al Pacino, Michael Madsen and Johnny Depp. It is loosely based on the real-life events of Joseph D. Pistone, an FBI agent who successfully infiltrated the Bonanno crime family, one of the Mafia's Five Families based in New York City during the '70s.
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[edit] Plot
In the late 1970s, FBI agent Joe Pistone (Depp) is assigned to infiltrate a New York City mafia family. Calling himself Donnie Brasco, and posing as a diamond expert from Vero Beach, Florida, he befriends Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino), a low-level mob hit man whose personal life is in tatters, and Dominick Napolitano (Michael Madsen). Lefty can't seem to make any money, his son is a junkie, and he is continually passed over for promotion to a higher position within the Family. He continually reminds Brasco of his growing disillusionment about having spent 30 years in the mafia (and killing 26 people), with little to show for it. In Donnie, however, Lefty sees a young protégé who might be able to succeed where he had failed. He takes Donnie under his wing, and under Lefty's tutelage Donnie quickly becomes accepted by the other Family members, although he is never elevated above the rank of "associate" member (the lowest mafia rank). But the longer Pistone plays the role of a gangster, the more he finds himself actually becoming Donnie Brasco during his rare off duty hours. His change in personality drives a wedge between him and his wife (played by Anne Heche) and three children. Over time, Pistone comes to realize that the slightest mistake in his performance as a mobster could result in the death of him and his family. In addition, Joe Pistone has come to regard Lefty as a close and trusted friend. He knows that when the day finally comes that the FBI arrests his mob associates, he will be ending Lefty's life as surely as if he himself had killed him.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Johnny Depp | Joseph Pistone/Donnie Brasco |
| Al Pacino | Benjamin Ruggiero |
| Michael Madsen | Sonny Black |
| Bruno Kirby | Nicholas Santora |
| Anne Heche | Maggie Pistone |
| James Russo | John Cersani |
| Zeljko Ivanek | Tim Curley |
| Gerry Becker | Dean Blandford |
| Andrew Parks | Hollman |
| Robert Miano | Sonny Red |
| Brian Tarantina | Anthony Indelicato |
| Rocco Sisto | Richard 'Richie' Gazzo |
[edit] Cast notes
- Johnny Depp met with Mr. Pistone several times while researching his role.
- Paul Giamatti has a small role as an FBI technician. Tim Blake Nelson plays his partner.
[edit] Historical Inaccuracies
- The loanshark collection scene at the strip club really did happen, except that Joe Pistone was with the notorious Anthony Mirra who worked for the Bonanno family. Tony almost did this after Joe got into an argument with a drunken patron at a nightclub.
- Joe Pistone was never involved in the murders of Alphonse Indelicato and his two capos, Phillip Giaccone and Dominick Trinchera. Pistone only found out afterwards.
- Nicholas Santora, portrayed as "Nicky" by Bruno Kirby, was never murdered by Benjamin Ruggiero, as he is still alive as of 2008.
- Bonnano soldier John "Boobie" Cerasani (whose character was called Paulie in the movie) played by James Russo, filed a libel suit against Sony Corporations, TriStar Pictures, the film director Mike Newell and other corporations that were involved in producing the film. Cersani had dealings with Donnie Brasco from back in 1972 and was actually brought up on racketeering charges in 1982 that were brought on by the Donnie Brasco investigation. Cerasani was acquitted due to a jury error (according to Pistone, they had meant to acquit him of one charge and accidentally marked him for acquittal of all charges) and used his acquittal for the basis of his suit.
- It is implied that the character Lefty was killed by fellow Family members for allowing Pistone to infiltrate the Family; in reality, Ruggiero died of lung cancer on Thanksgiving in 1995. And in real life, Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano, Lefty's boss, was the one murdered for having allowed Pistone's infiltration, allegedly on the orders of then-current imprisoned boss Philip Rastelli, whose nickname "Rusty" is only mentioned once by Michael Madsen in the film, after his character "Sonny Black" is promoted to capo (caporegime), or captain of Brooklyn.
- Also over the closing credits it states that at the time of the film's release, "there is still a $500,000 open contract on his head". Following separate sitdowns FBI officials had with the Bonanno crime family and Paul Castellano, the head of the The Commission and boss of the Gambino crime family at that time, ordered all Mafia bounties on Pistone to be rescinded. Subsequent wiretaps and intelligence reports confirm that this was indeed ordered throughout the Mafia.
[edit] Box office
US Gross Domestic Box Office Numbers: US$ 41,909,762
- + International Gross Box Office Numbers: $83,000,000
= Worldwide Gross Box Office Numbers: $124,909,763
[edit] External links
- Donnie Brasco at the Internet Movie Database
- Donnie Brasco at Rotten Tomatoes
- Boxoffice Information
- Detailed Comparison between Theatrical Version and Extended Cut
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