| Videos (see all 8) |
| Al Pacino | ... | Benjamin 'Lefty' Ruggiero | |
| Johnny Depp | ... | Donnie Brasco / Joseph D. 'Joe' Pistone | |
| Michael Madsen | ... | Sonny Black | |
| Bruno Kirby | ... | Nicky | |
| James Russo | ... | Paulie | |
| Anne Heche | ... | Maggie Pistone | |
| Zeljko Ivanek | ... | Tim Curley | |
| Gerry Becker | ... | Dean Blandford | |
| Robert Miano | ... | Sonny Red | |
| Brian Tarantina | ... | Bruno | |
| Rocco Sisto | ... | Richard 'Richie' Gazzo | |
| Zach Grenier | ... | Dr. Berger | |
| Walt MacPherson | ... | Sheriff | |
| Ronnie Farer | ... | Annette | |
| Terry Serpico | ... | Strip Club Owner | |
| Gretchen Mol | ... | Sonny's Girlfriend | |
| Tony Lip | ... | Philly Lucky | |
| George Angelica | ... | Big Trin | |
| Val Avery | ... | Trafficante | |
| Madison Arnold | ... | Jilly | |
| Delanie Fitzpatrick | ... | Daughter Amanda Pistone | |
| Katie Sagona | ... | Daughter Jessica Pistone | |
| Sara Gold | ... | Daughter | |
| Larry Romano | ... | Tommy Ruggiero | |
| Tim Blake Nelson | ... | FBI Technician | |
| Paul Giamatti | ... | FBI Technician | |
| James Michael McCauley | ... | FBI Agent | |
| James Bulleit | ... | U.S. Attorney (as Jim Bulleit) | |
| Andrew Parks | ... | Hollman | |
| Keenan Shimizu | ... | Japanese Maitre D' | |
| Rocco Musacchia | ... | Trafficante's Man | |
| Joe Francis | ... | Trafficante's Man | |
| Sal Jenco | ... | Mare Chiaro Bartender | |
| Billy Capucilli | ... | Communion Party Man | |
| Laura Cahill | ... | Communion Party Woman | |
| Doreen Murphy | ... | Mob Girlfriend | |
| Elle Alexander | ... | Mob Girlfriend | |
| Denise Faye | ... | Mob Girlfriend | |
| Elaine del Valle | ... | Mob Girlfriend (as Elaine Del Valle) | |
| John Horton | ... | FBI Director | |
| Dan Brennan | ... | FBI Photographer | |
| LaJuan Carter | ... | Singer | |
| Sandy Barber | ... | Singer | |
| Joyce Stovall | ... | Singer | |
| Frank Pesce | ... | Wiseguy | |
| Randy Jurgensen | ... | Wiseguy | |
| John Di Benedetto | ... | Wiseguy (as John DiBenedetto) | |
| Richard Zavaglia | ... | Wiseguy | |
| Tony Ray Rossi | ... | Wiseguy | |
| Edward Black | ... | Wiseguy | |
| Gaetano LoGiudice | ... | Wiseguy | |
| Carmelo Musacchia | ... | Wiseguy | |
| Pat Vecchio | ... | Wiseguy | |
| Caleb | ... | The Lion | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Elle Alexander | ... | Mob Girlfriend (uncredited) | |
| Frank Bonsangue | ... | Sonny Red's Crew (uncredited) | |
| Christopher Del Gaudio | ... | Pedestrian (uncredited) | |
| Jim Lavin | ... | Arresting FBI Officer (uncredited) | |
| Jeff Millstein | ... | Bar Patron (uncredited) | |
| Lisa Marie Panagos | ... | Sonny Black's girl (uncredited) | |
| Garry Pastore | ... | Carmine Galante's Bodyguard (uncredited) | |
| Larry Tobias | ... | Man in Bar (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Mike Newell | |||
Writing credits(WGA) | ||
| Joseph D. Pistone | (book "Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia") and | |
| Richard Woodley | (book "Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia") | |
| Paul Attanasio | (screenplay) | |
Produced by | |||
| Louis DiGiaimo | .... | producer | |
| Alan Greenspan | .... | executive producer | |
| Mark Johnson | .... | producer | |
| Barry Levinson | .... | producer | |
| Patrick McCormick | .... | executive producer | |
| Gail Mutrux | .... | producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Patrick Doyle | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Peter Sova | (director of photography) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Jon Gregory | |||
Casting by | |||
| Louis DiGiaimo | |||
| Brett Goldstein | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Donald Graham Burt | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Jefferson Sage | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Leslie A. Pope | (as Leslie Pope) | ||
Costume Design by | |||
| Aude Bronson-Howard | |||
| David C. Robinson | (as David Robinson) | ||
Makeup Department | |||
| Margot Boccia | .... | makeup artist | |
| Milton Buras | .... | key hair stylist | |
| Nathan J. Busch II | .... | hair stylist (as Nathan Busch II) | |
| John Caglione Jr. | .... | key makeup artist | |
| Jay Cannistraci | .... | makeup artist: Florida (uncredited) | |
| Sharon Kalb | .... | makeup artist: Miami (uncredited) | |
Production Management | |||
| Richard Baratta | .... | unit production manager | |
| Michael Saxton | .... | post-production supervisor | |
| Chantal Feghali | .... | post-production supervisor (uncredited) | |
Sound Department | |||
| Philip Alton | .... | foley editor | |
| Sue Baker | .... | dialogue editor | |
| Tim Cavagin | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
| Graham Farrow | .... | assistant sound editor | |
| Ian Fuller | .... | supervising sound editor | |
| Derek Holding | .... | adr editor | |
| Dean Humphreys | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
| Ian Macbeth | .... | assistant sound editor | |
| Tod A. Maitland | .... | sound mixer | |
| Christine Newell | .... | assistant sound editor | |
| Victor Nunes | .... | assistant sound editor | |
| T.J. O'Mara | .... | boom operator (as Terence O'Mara) | |
| Grahame Peters | .... | sound effects editor | |
| Michael Redfern | .... | assistant sound editor | |
| Joel Holland | .... | sound recordist (uncredited) | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Ron Ottesen | .... | special effects supervisor (as Ronald Ottesen Jr.) | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Martin Body | .... | optical cameraman (uncredited) | |
Stunts | |||
| G.A. Aguilar | .... | stunt coordinator (as George Aguilar) | |
| Victor Chan | .... | stunts | |
| Peter Bove | .... | stunt double (uncredited) | |
| Blaise Corrigan | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
| Jeffrey Lee Gibson | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
| Steve Hart | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
| Brian Smyj | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Tom Anderson | .... | best boy electric (as Thomas Anderson) | |
| David E. Baron | .... | second assistant camera (as David Baron) | |
| Michael Green | .... | first assistant camera | |
| Richard Guinness Jr. | .... | key grip | |
| Brian Hamill | .... | still photographer | |
| Kevin Janicelli | .... | rigging gaffer | |
| Sal Lanza | .... | best boy grip | |
| Patrick McGrath | .... | dolly grip | |
| Dick Mingalone | .... | camera operator | |
| Gary Muller | .... | first assistant camera | |
| Kevin Murphy | .... | chief lighting technician | |
| Peter Norman | .... | additional photographer | |
| Ronald Plant | .... | rigging grip | |
| Andrew Priestley | .... | second assistant camera | |
| Nils Johnson | .... | 24 frame video operator (uncredited) | |
| Ondrej Kubicek | .... | first assistant camera (uncredited) | |
| Wayne Paull | .... | additional camera operator (uncredited) | |
| James M. Reeves | .... | rigging electrician (uncredited) | |
Casting Department | |||
| Fleet Emerson | .... | extras casting | |
| Sylvia Fay | .... | extras casting | |
| Mark Byrne | .... | casting assistant: Sylvia Fay casting (uncredited) | |
| David H. Kramer | .... | adr voice casting (uncredited) | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| David Dumais | .... | wardrobe supervisor: men | |
| Mary Gierczak | .... | costumer | |
| Lauren Press | .... | assistant costume designer | |
| Lawrence Tarzy | .... | costumer | |
| Susan J. Wright | .... | wardrobe supervisor (as Susan Wright) | |
| Joanna Brett | .... | assistant to costume designer (uncredited) | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Sam Adelman | .... | first assistant editor: USA | |
| John Dicker | .... | third assistant editor: USA | |
| Valentina Giambanco | .... | second assistant editor: UK | |
| Marianne Gray | .... | post-production coordinator (as Marianne Pettersson Gray) | |
| Christopher Holmes | .... | extended edition | |
| Sorin Ariel Iarovici | .... | second assistant editor: USA (as Sorin Iarovici) | |
| Kezia Martin | .... | third assistant editor: UK | |
| Ian Seymour | .... | first assistant editor: UK | |
| John Stanborough | .... | color timer | |
| Mike Fraser | .... | negative cutter (uncredited) | |
| Kurt Mattila | .... | editor: title sequence (uncredited) | |
| Mark Neale | .... | trainee assistant film editor (uncredited) | |
Music Department | |||
| Budd Carr | .... | executive music producer | |
| Robin Clarke | .... | music editor | |
| Paul Hulme | .... | scoring mixer | |
| Allan Mason | .... | executive music producer | |
| Sylvia Nestor | .... | music coordinator | |
| Roy Prendergast | .... | music editor | |
| Maggie Rodford | .... | music score producer | |
| Curt Sobel | .... | music consultant | |
| John Bell | .... | orchestrator (uncredited) | |
| Isobel Griffiths | .... | orchestra contractor (uncredited) | |
Transportation Department | |||
| Richard Holston | .... | transportation captain | |
| Michael Hyde | .... | transportation coordinator | |
| Mike Easter | .... | driver (uncredited) | |
Thanks | |||
| James Flamberg | .... | special thanks | |
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In the late 1970's, FBI agent Joe Pistone poses as jewel expert Donnie Brasco to win the trust of ageing mob middleman Lefty Ruggiero. As time passes Donnie gets tighter and tighter into the mob, rising up when boss Sonny Black gets bumped up. While Donnie puts his life at risk, his real life crumbles as he never sees his wife or children. As he moves upwards, his friend Lefty is bypassed time and time again. As Donnie gets deeper, the FBI start to worry and want to extract him - something that cannot be done without exposing himself and condemning Lefty to death.
Now that Pirates of the Caribean has made him a bankable star as well as a good actor I decided to dig out some of my old Depp videos and watch them. I have been a Depp fan since the mid-90's when I saw Arizona Dream, Ed Wood and Don Juan all in a period of 6 months -I realised then that this was not only a very talented guy but also one who seemed happy to do whatever interested him rather than whatever was going to make money. This film is in a well known and fairly reliable genre - the Italian American gangster movie but has the strength that it is an engaging true story. The plot follows Joe as he gets in deeper, is suspected, gets involved in battles between bosses and eventually starts to lose himself and forget what side he is actually on. Even though this is a true story, it still basically goes where we expect mob films to go, but it manages to rise above the clichés by having some very good characters and emotional themes.
The whole gangster thing works and is gripping, but it is the relationship dynamics between Joe and Lefty that made it more interesting. The element of going `native' when undercover has been done plenty of times, but it is the combination of this being fact and Depp's great performance that makes it work well here; we feel for Joe a great deal. On the flipside the film also allows us to feel for the mob, or at least one of them. The majority of the mobsters are the usual stereotypes but Lefty is written with a great deal of sympathy - he is a middleman, taking the risks, doing the dirt but always passed over and having to beg money to keep his bosses happy. These are tragic characters and the film is not the slightly glamorous gangster lifestyle that Pacino has experienced in his Godfather roles. These two characters are well written and it is their subplots that makes the film better than the central plot (which itself is also very good).
Depp is good and his performance is solid even if it doesn't really rank up their with his best - he lacks his usual flair but he gives the material it's dues. Pacino is of course, wonderful. His character is a far cry from his Godfather work and he manages to bring such pathos to Lefty that it is impossible not to feel for him. The support cast may not have as much in the way of character but they all do well in their roles. Madsen, Kirby, Ivanek, Heche, Miano and others all give good support, but it is Pacino and Depp's film - which is a good thing.
Overall, the fact that this is a true story makes it more interesting but, while I was watching it I wasn't really thinking about it and was just enjoying the gangster film itself. The basic story is a well worn one but is still delivery well by Newell (who was a very unusual choice for director), but it is the emotion threads involving Joe and Lefty that make the film much more than just another gangster film.