Director Mike Newell's 1997 film Donnie Brasco stars Johnny Depp as FBI agent Joe Pistone and Al Pacino as maffia boss Lefty Ruggiero, a true story about organized crime in the USAhttp://inadepptrance.wordpress.com/feed












 

DONNIE BRASCO 

1997

Joseph D. Pistone
(a.k.a. Donnie Brasco)

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Director: Mike Newell

Writers:
  • Joseph D. Pistone and Richard Woodley (book)
  • Paul Attanasio (screenplay)





With : Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, James Russo, Anne Heche, Zeljko Ivanek, Gerry Becker, Robert Miano, Brian Tarantina

 Tagline: "Donnie Brasco. Based on a true story."

Rating: R

Awards and nominations:

1998 ACADEMY AWARDS (OSCAR):

- Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium: Paul Attanasio (Nominated)

1997 BOSTON SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS AWARDS:

- Best Actor: Al Pacino (Won)

- Best Director: Mike Newell (3rd Place)

- Best Film (3rd Place)

1998 BROADCAST FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS:

- Best Picture (Nominated)

1998 EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARDS:

- Best Motion Picture: Paul Attanasio (Nominated)

1997 EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS:

- Screen International Award: Mike Newell (Nominated)

1997 NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW:

- Best Supporting Actress: Anne Heche (Won)

1998 USC SCRIPTER AWARD:

- Joseph D. Pistone, Richard Woodley, Paul Attanasio (Nominated)

1998 WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA:

- Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published: Paul Attanasio (Nominated)








 





 

 

 


  

 






 

 

 

 



 

SYNOPSIS

 This true story follows FBI agent Joe Pistone as he infiltrates the mafia of New York. Posing as a jewel broker and   efriending Lefty Ruggiero, Pistone (under the name Donnie Brasco) is able to embed himself in a mafia faction lead by Sonny Black. Ruggiero and Pistone become tight as the group goes about collecting money for 'the bosses'. Eventually, the group become big time when Black himself becomes a boss, all the while Pistone collects evidence. However, the trials and tribulations of the undercover work become more than Pistone can bear. His marriage falls apart and to top it off, the mafia suspect a mole in the organization. The real dilemma is afforded to Pistone, who knows if he walks away from the mafia, Ruggiero will be the one punished.



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QUOTES FROM JOHNNY DEPP

"The thing is, these are real people in real situations. They´re very strong family guys with a tremendous sense of pride and a tremendous strength - it´s just that they´re on the opposite side of the law. I think that the movies over the last 25 years have portrayed them as thugs, villains or murderous animals, and our idea of what they are has been misled. The guys I met were not like that at all."
Johnny Depp, Empire Magazine 1997

"[Joe Pistone's] a fascinating guy. Initially, I thought we wouldn´t see eye to eye. I pictured him as one of those John Wayne characters who would be a little difficult to stomach. What I found instead was a real man, that image that you have in your head when you´re growing up what a real man is supposed to be."
Johnny Depp, Empire Magazine, 1997

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Johnny Depp met with the actual Joseph D. Pistone a number of times to gain knowledge and expertise for the role. He also took gun firing lessons from the FBI

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"Joe was the real thing, I´m just pretending. On a film set, you get however many takes you need to get it right. Joe got just one and he would have to hit his mark every time."
Johnny Depp Empire Magazine, 1997

"I did meet some very heavy underworld figures through this project, and the thing is, I liked them very much, along with some very heavy upper echelon FBI guys who I could also identify with. They happened to be at cross purposes, enemies. But they do have a lot in common. Growing up we´ve all been taught the good/bad guy mentality. But it all boils down in the end to the same game - survival."
Johnny Depp, Empire Magazine, 1997

"Donnie Brasco was a motherfucker of a movie. I spent a lot of time with the real Donnie Brasco, Joe Pistone. Brasco was his undercover name. He's got an interesting rhythm to his speech. I did my best to get that. I put great pressure on myself to make it fucking right for the guy. He lived it. I was just pretending."
Johnny Depp, Vanity Fair, Februari 1997

"As far as I'm concerned, I always try to do something a little bit different every time, and this movie has been the greatest challenge I have ever had to face, for obviously I had a tremendous sense of responsibility towards Joe. I had to be totally honest."
Johnny Depp, Studio Magazine, April 1997

"The thing that really impressed me when I first faced him was his stature. I told myself : "Oh my God ! I will have to work out a little!" And so I started at once body building and ate everything that was passing by... I was drinking milk shakes all the time in order to put on weight."
Johnny Depp, Studio Magazine, April 1997

"Al [Pacino] is this unbelievable guy. The work he's done on Donnie Brasco is exceptional. Really, he's a master."
Johnny Depp, Studio Magazine, April 1997

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When about to board the boat "The Left Hand" a sign with gas prices can be seen that are obviously from the 1990s

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"To me, [Joe Pistone] is the answer to this eternal question you ask yourself when you are a child : "What is a man supposed to be?" You know, this kind of big question you ask yourself, looking at your dad. Joe succeeded in being this ideal. With no hesitation, no fear, he's done it. And that makes him definitively a hero."
Johnny Depp, Studio Magazine, April 1997



 

 

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QUOTES FROM OTHERS:


"I think the role interested [Johnny] because of the complex nature of the character."
Mike Newell, Empire Magazine 1997

"Yes, we were concerned when we looked at his work. But Johnny is one of those actors who performs like a long distance runner. In any film, you stay with him throughout in anticipation of the finale. Here he plays a young man who pretends to be someone he isn´t. His underlying character is initially very cold, but the prolonged exposure to Lefty ultimately makes him human, a transformation which takes place over the course of the picture."
Mike Newell, Empire Magazine 1997

"He was essentially playing two characters at once--Joe and Donnie, who kept flickering on and off his face. Meryl Streep and Brando are the only people I've ever seen do that."
"Thel", member InADeppTrance, Januari 2008

"I wanted to work with Johnny Depp more than anything. And what with Mike Newell directing, I was totally in awe -- although I had to pretend I wasn´t!"
Anne Heche, Empire Magazine 1997

"Johnny doesn't suffer fools gladly. He tends toward a choice of material that's going to interest him intellectually, and has always said to himself that the career comes second."
Mike Newell, Vanity Fair, February 1997

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The scene of Joe Pistone practicing on the FBI's firing range was inserted at the insistence of the studio, who wanted a shot of Johnny Depp firing a gun for the movie's trailer.

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"This particular role interested him, I think, because the whole character had to run beneath the surface, as it were. Johnny is one of those actors who acts in a kind of long term. You stay with his characterizations throughout a film because he tells you his story in his own good time -- and, more important, you are willing to wait for it."
Mike Newell, Vanity Fair, February 1997


"He brought a sensitivity to the part. That's a side of me that a lot of people don't see. It was amazing -- a lot of times during the shoot, I'd close my eyes and say, 'Christ, that's me talking!' It was eerie. The kid's a good actor. He doesn't put effort into it. He just does it."
Joe Pistone, Vanity Fair, February 1997
 

"There was this day while we were shooting in Little Italy, this guy came to me and said, "I know who you are, you are the one who put us in jail. You are Donnie Brasco." So, I pointed my finger at Johnny, who was next to me and said, "No, I'm not Donnie Brasco, he is…" I'm not sure the guy really understood that joke…"
Joe Pistone, Studio Magazine, April 1997


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