CAST
Donnie..........................................JOHNNY DEPP Lefty.............................................AL PACINO Sonny........................................MICHAEL MADSEN Nicky...........................................BRUNO KIRBY Paulie..........................................JAMES RUSSO Maggie...........................................ANNE HECHE Tim Curley....................................ZELJKO IVANEK Dean Blandford.................................GERRY BECKER Sonny Red......................................ROBERT MIANO Bruno.......................................BRIAN TARANTINA
A MIKE NEWELL FILM
Director........................................MIKE NEWELL Producer.......................................MARK JOHNSON .............................................BARRY LEVINSON .............................................LOUIS DiGIAIMO ................................................GAIL MUTRUX Executive Producers.......................PATRICK McCORMICK .............................................ALAN GREENSPAN Screenplay...................................PAUL ATTANASIO Based on The Book by......................JOSEPH D. PISTONE Screenwriter..........................PATRICK SHEANE DUNCAN Director of Photograph...........................PETER SOVA Production Designer......................DONALD GRAHAM BURT Costume Designers.......................AUDE BRONSON-HOWARD .............................................DAVID ROBINSON Editor..................................JON GREGORY, a.c.e. Executive Music Producers.........................BUDD CARR ................................................ALLAN MASON Music.........................................PATRICK DOYLE
In the early eighties the USA got to know about an amazing story: FBI agent Joseph Pistone emerged from an undercover assignment of 6 years, having infiltrated and spied on various Mafia gangs, starting out in New York. Leading the double life of a father and husband to his own family, he also became the friend and member of some important and less important Mafia bosses and gangs under the name of one „Donnie Brasco" and finally suceeded in compiling enough evidence to get almost 100 of them convicted when the assignment at last came to an end. The movie, based on Pistone's own book, focuses on Donnie's friendship with Lefty Ruggiero, an unsuccessful small Mafia soldier whose connections inside the mob, however, allow Donnie to enter into the innermost circles of the gangs he is spying on. The other aspect is the stress laid on Pistone's family life and his marriage and on the man himself: suffering from his long absences from home and the constant danger of being found out by his Mafia „friends" Donnie/Pistone almost loses himself between the loyalty to his family and true job and to his „friend" Lefty and his bosses. But only almost... In the end the viewer totally believes the incredulity of Lefty and the other Mafia members and bosses: in spite of the evidence given to them about Donnie's true identity they are simply unable to grasp the enormity of how they have been deceived. The ceremony in which Pistone finally is honoured by the FBI for his huge success is undeservedly belittled in the movie: the book, at least, expresses Pistone's (and his family's) deep satisfaction on receiving his medal and his (however small) bonus. Today he and his family are living in an unknown location, under unknown names - there is until this day, a contract of $ 500.000 on his head by the Mafia. [Synopsis by Mitch]
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