Donnie Brasco

I just recently bought this movie (for 10 bucks at Wal-Mart!), and watched it for the first time. I absolutely loved it. Any one else here fans of Donnie Brasco?

another fan here! Very nice movie but have-nt read the book. some here said the book is a lot better. Michael Madsen did well on his role, just like what he did in Reservoir Dogs.

GoodFella

A great mob movie, Depp (best actor of today) and Pacino (best actor) are great in it. The supporting cast is very good too, with Madsen and Kirby. One of my favorite things is the "Donnie and Lefty" music.
****

Donnie Brasco is great.. although I think I enjoyed the book more than the movie.

I finally watched my DVD. I thought it was awesome. I agree that the acting was superb. It was strange to see Al play a middle man and Michael Madsen as his superior.

*********SPOILER ALERT******************

I can only assume at the end that Lefy got whacked because of Donnie, correct? What did lefty mean when he said, "Tell Donnie if it had to be anyone I'm glad it was him".

Also, what reason did the Feds have to call out Donnie to the mafia? They knew it would put a price on his head.

Beth- Lefty was not killed at the end. He went to Prison in Florida. He was only out to go see his mother's funeral when she died. He died of a heart attack.

Lefty was killed in the movie. They switched the fates of Lefty and Sonny Black.

DV- when was he killed? I'm blanking on that part?

Lefty left all his valuables at home, and when the scene cut, we hear Donnie shooting, a direct implication of death. Not to mention the name of the scene is "Sent For" which you learn earlier is a way some mobsters are killed, only the first time he was sent for he wasn't killed.

I'm definetly a big Donnie Brasco fan, I think it'd be great to see Pacino and Depp try to recreate what they did here in a new movie. They work well togethor.

Interesting to see Depp's turn as a mafia guy/FBI agent. I'm used to him in strange roles playing crazy characters, but Donnie was very subdued and introspective for a lot of this movie.

To answer the question on whether Lefty got killed or not, I think it is one of those things like in Pulp Fiction (mystery briefcase) where it is left up to the mind of the viewer whether Lefty was whacked or not. I think the blackness and the gunshots were not meant to imply he was whacked, but rather to implant that thought in the viewer's head and make them think about it.

FYI, in real life, Sonny Black was whacked and Lefty was meant to be, but the FBI picked him up, protected him, sent him to jail, and he died of a heart attack years later.

And the supporting cast was great in this movie. I always love Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill 2, etc.), and he played this role to perfection. And good old Bruno Kirby, who I haven't seen since The Godfather Part II.

I did read the book on this after I had seen the movie for the thousandth time. A pretty good read, maybe a little bit too technical on the details at some parts. The book completely cuts out the whole "family life" aspect of the movie as far as i remember, and that sort of makes not as good.

Ultimately, two thumbs up for Brasco.

One scene I find funny is when Donnie's leaving Lefty's house on Christmas and Lefty asks him to loan him a couple bucks. Was that just some sort of ritural for Donnie, like saying he's taking his money back cause Donnie's not "in" yet. Or was Lefty really that broke?

Can someone explain the chain of command. When "the boss" got whacked, did this guy Rusty "become" the boss? Who was he that Sonny Black had to pay him. Also, what's the chain of command in the family, ie, comparison to The Godfather, what are all their titles?

Lefty always had gambling debts, so he really was pretty broke.

Rusty was the boss after Carmine Galante was murdered. Sonny Black was a captain. Lefty was a soldier in Sonny's crew, and Donnie was an associate of Lefty.

******SPOILER ALERT***************

What about the Feds telling the crew who Donnie Brasco was. Did they think Sonny Black would just reveal everything. What purpose did it serve telling them who Donnie was?

The film was good, but not nearly as good as the book. They left out important things and shifted roles dramatically. Had they followed the book, the film would have been far better, IMO.

I enjoyed the film very much.Just started reading the book

Agreed.

Beth E, do yourself a favor and read the book. While I love the movie, the book blows it away! The book covers all that you are asking and in great detail. The book also shows you how long it took Donnie to infiltrate Lefty and his crew. I highly reccomend that you read the book!

Don Cardi

Thanks DC. I'll be sure to put it on my list.

Absolutely right! Count me in on that advice, too.

Irrelivant side note, but was Lefty actually left handed. The only reason I ask is becuase Lefty Rosenthal refused to answer if he was left handed "on the grounds that it may incriminate him"

he was nicknamed lefty because he was left handed and he limped on his left foot

Says in the book lefty was speared

From ChasingTheFrog.com :

Did Al Pacino's character, Lefty Ruggiero, really get whacked as the end of the film implies?

No, he did not get whacked. Benjamin 'Lefty' Ruggerio was picked up by FBI agents as he left his apartment on August 30, 1981. As a result of Pistone's work, Ruggerio was sentenced to serve twenty years in prison. In the early 1990's, he was released from prison, and on Thanksgiving Day, 1995, at age 72, he died of cancer in his New York home.

love Donnie Brasco to death great film Al Pacino
was good. it almost made me cry at the end too

Thanks for the info,I knew he wasn't whacked

Just watched Donnie Brasco...I thought it was a really touching movie...when he left his belongings it was soo sad I thought Pacino and Depp were awsome I'll have to see if I can get a hold of the book.

I think your question is why they pulled Donnie out of the operation? Donnie had penetrated the mob so deep that he was about to be made, and he would have had to perform a hit, which was out of the question since he was an FBI agent.

And if I remember correctly, there was a power struggle going on in the family at the time, so basically it was just becoming much too dangerous to keep Donnie Brasco undercover.

GREAT movie i too added to my gangster libary of films to own... Sad in the end because i got attatched to Lefty and didn't want to see him killed... But they said he was jailed and then died of a heart attack while in jail... I watch this film weekly some times 2 or 4 times...

ya DONNIE BRASCO is quite a good movie. Check out my Fight thread where "Lefty" gets in a brawl against Jimmy Conway(DeNiro) from GOODFELLAS....which thug will prevail?