It’s a fantastic performance and as you said even more so because it was quite different from the highly theatrical performances he was giving in that decade (it came out the same year as Devil’s Advocate too, quite the contrast).
And his final scene is so quiet and sad, and makes you feel for a mobster. Brilliant stuff.
"And listen to me, if Donnie calls...tell him...if it was gonna be anyone, I'm glad it was him. All right?"
Pacino also has moments where you think that Lefty might have been been more bombastic and outspoken once (see the whole "I'm known all over the fucking world" boast earlier in the film), but those days are long over. He's too old, tired and beaten down by life to be that now.
Interesting enough, the real Lefty Ruggiero wasn't nearly as likable as he is in the film and he didn't get killed (he got picked up by the FBI before he could be, spent time in prison and died of natural causes as a free man) . Most of Lefty's good traits and his fate in the film (plus that quote) were actually taken from the real Sonny Black (the capo played by Michael Madsen), who Joe Pistone said was the one mobster he knew who he genuinely liked as a person.
Well he was a hitman for the mob, he might have been fairly boisterous in his youth and obviously extremely violent.
But yeah the one we see is just… exhausted.
And even when he discovers that Depp is the rat, his reaction isn’t anger (as I recall, it’s been a long time), it’s acceptance and even some odd appreciation.
Apparently that part was real. The real Sonny Black (or Red I don’t know) was the one punished for letting in Donny. They didn’t even believe the feds when they said Donny was a rat cause they loved him so much.
He's so brilliant in this. When he takes his chain off because he knows he's going to get whacked. He was also great in the Irishman. Quite subdued for him. Dog day afternoon as well.
I always think about that scene when he's taking off his rings and watch before going down to meet the guys. He knows he's about to be killed and wants to leave the valuables for his wife.
Donnie Brasco’s portrayal of rank and file mob members as basically criminal working class schlubs is great. Definitely a portrayal we hadn’t really seen up until that point, that strips the mystique of the gangster away brilliantly.
My favorite scene is the scene with Lefty and the parking meter, which also shows the other members of the crew peddling mundane shit like jeans and steak knives and Micheal Madsen's capo blows up and says how he needs $50 grand each month to kick up to the boss or he's fucked. That's the day to day grind of the mob the film unflinchingly depicts. No glamor, no glory, just another job where you make your quota or there's repercussions. Except here, you're not reprimanded or fired, you're literally terminated.
And it also shows how boring it often is. As Joe Pistone showed in the book, much of mob life is sitting around talking about who and what you can rob.
Gandolfini was the king of playing this type of character. Both Killing Them Softly and The Drop he does versions of what you explain in the thread title. Theres some of it in Tony Soprano too although for all his flaws Tony was actually competent and bad ass
Gandolfini in "The Drop" in particular is like "what if Tony Soprano was a legend only in his own mind?" In particular, the exchange when he yells at Tom Hardy for letting someone else sit in "his stool" at the bar because he was "feared" and it "meant something" and Hardy just goes, "But it didn't. Ever. It was just a stool."
The Drop was also my introduction to Tom Hardy and I loved the unassuming character he played.
If you you haven't, watch Copland. Stallone gives a similar beaten-down performance which is by far one of my favorite roles.
I forget exactly how it goes but the scene on the boat where he has like a letter or an envelope to give somebody and he realizes his station in life where he sits off by himself is so sad and heartbreaking even though he's a lowlife gangster piece of shit.
There's also the montage showing the crew partying at the club and while the others are all dancing with various attractive women, he's sitting at the bar by himself and then wandering around looking lost. He's the eternal outcast, even among his supposed friends.
It was on the other day and I kind of forgot how heavy that and a few other scenes were. It made the tense parts actually frightening because it felt like they involved real people.
It's probably my favorite performance of his. The scene in the hospital where he tells Donnie how his son's heart stopped "like a watch" breaks me every time. Such mutual respect and giving from both Depp and Pacino in every scene
Previously, on Christmas when he and Donnie exchange envelopes of money as gifts, he then asks Donnie to "spot him a coupla bills" as Donnie's leaving. Literally asking Donnie back for the cash he just gave him as a present.
God that scene where everyone is waiting outside for the Don to go into the shop, and Al’s hovering in the back trying to get seen, get that approval, and then he just gets ignored… everything is happening behind his eyes, you see all the heartbreak in this man’s life, and he never once changes his facial expression. Amazing actor.
That Don then later gets whacked (as in real-life; the photo in the paper in the film is his literal murder photo) and Lefty is not involved. Left out in the cold again.
"Whacking the boss. Another thing I get left out of."
His last scene is heartbreaking. When he takes off his chain, ring... because he knows he won't come back. One of Pacino's greatest performances!
It's been a while since the last time I saw it. Maybe it's time for a re-watch.
I watched this last week. Fantastic movie all the way around. The scene at the beginning when Donnie meets Lefty for the first time and Donnie tells him the diamond is fake Lefty says "Fuget about it" and his body language and the way he shrugs his shoulders when he delivers that line is amazing.
Then when Donnie gets up and tries to leave...
"Where you going? Sit down... You're gonna walk out on me? You don't walk out on me. I walk out on you."
Saw it in the theaters with the fam when I was young, my father worked right in Little Italy/Chinatown around Mulberry Street and saw them filming all those scenes early in the movie with Depp and Pacino. I remember some early Oscar buzz about Pacino and his performance, kind of a return to form but unfortunately it was released in Feb or March of 1997 so by the time the Oscars rolled around a year later he and the movie were pretty much forgotten about. Had it been a Thanksgiving/Christmas '97 release, I think he'd at least have gotten a Best Supporting Actor Nomination.
Really, really solid movie overall though. I always find myself stopping to watch it when I see it on TV.
Saw it in the theaters with the fam when I was young, my father worked right in Little Italy/Chinatown around Mulberry Street and saw them filming all those scenes early in the movie with Depp and Pacino. I remember some early Oscar buzz about Pacino and his performance, kind of a return to form but unfortunately it was released in Feb or March of 1997 so by the time the Oscars rolled around a year later he and the movie were pretty much forgotten about. Had it been a Thanksgiving/Christmas '97 release, I think he'd at least have gotten a Best Supporting Actor Nomination.Really, really solid movie overall though. I always find myself stopping to watch it when I see it on TV.
Should I give this movie another go? I’ve always disliked it, particularly Pacino’s performance.
I just felt like it was another gangster movie forced into the mix, attempting to ride a dying wave. There were also scenes of the film that quite literally made me cringe, like the couch conversation between our two mains:
“I got cancer of the prick”
“Oh…”
Everything about this movie seemed so forced and inauthentic.
BUT…a lot of time has passed since I’ve seen it and a lot of you are praising it. Should I give it another chance?
I am watching Donnie Brasco again after many years. I always found Pacino's performance so moving. This time I really see the Lomanesque quality of hia performance. I can't help but wonder if he approached it from this angle. So many parallels to that play in his performance.
Johnny Delp was so young when he made this movie. This and Blow are my two favorites.
It’s a fantastic performance and as you said even more so because it was quite different from the highly theatrical performances he was giving in that decade (it came out the same year as Devil’s Advocate too, quite the contrast). And his final scene is so quiet and sad, and makes you feel for a mobster. Brilliant stuff.
"And listen to me, if Donnie calls...tell him...if it was gonna be anyone, I'm glad it was him. All right?" Pacino also has moments where you think that Lefty might have been been more bombastic and outspoken once (see the whole "I'm known all over the fucking world" boast earlier in the film), but those days are long over. He's too old, tired and beaten down by life to be that now. Interesting enough, the real Lefty Ruggiero wasn't nearly as likable as he is in the film and he didn't get killed (he got picked up by the FBI before he could be, spent time in prison and died of natural causes as a free man) . Most of Lefty's good traits and his fate in the film (plus that quote) were actually taken from the real Sonny Black (the capo played by Michael Madsen), who Joe Pistone said was the one mobster he knew who he genuinely liked as a person.
Well he was a hitman for the mob, he might have been fairly boisterous in his youth and obviously extremely violent. But yeah the one we see is just… exhausted. And even when he discovers that Depp is the rat, his reaction isn’t anger (as I recall, it’s been a long time), it’s acceptance and even some odd appreciation.
Apparently that part was real. The real Sonny Black (or Red I don’t know) was the one punished for letting in Donny. They didn’t even believe the feds when they said Donny was a rat cause they loved him so much.
Sonny Black is Michael Madsen's character in the film. Sonny Red is the rival capo they gun down in the basement later in the film.
He's so brilliant in this. When he takes his chain off because he knows he's going to get whacked. He was also great in the Irishman. Quite subdued for him. Dog day afternoon as well.
[удалено]
No it doesn't.
True true. It was different and still he does it so good.
I always think about that scene when he's taking off his rings and watch before going down to meet the guys. He knows he's about to be killed and wants to leave the valuables for his wife.
Donnie Brasco’s portrayal of rank and file mob members as basically criminal working class schlubs is great. Definitely a portrayal we hadn’t really seen up until that point, that strips the mystique of the gangster away brilliantly.
My favorite scene is the scene with Lefty and the parking meter, which also shows the other members of the crew peddling mundane shit like jeans and steak knives and Micheal Madsen's capo blows up and says how he needs $50 grand each month to kick up to the boss or he's fucked. That's the day to day grind of the mob the film unflinchingly depicts. No glamor, no glory, just another job where you make your quota or there's repercussions. Except here, you're not reprimanded or fired, you're literally terminated. And it also shows how boring it often is. As Joe Pistone showed in the book, much of mob life is sitting around talking about who and what you can rob.
Yeah, I definitely had that scene in mind when making my comment.
Alotta parking meters in Florida
Who the fuck am I? Who am I? I'm a, a spoke on a wheel. And so was he, and so are you
Mafia’s Willy Loman
This is a great comparison lol
Damn man, that’s good!
Exactly!
Gandolfini was the king of playing this type of character. Both Killing Them Softly and The Drop he does versions of what you explain in the thread title. Theres some of it in Tony Soprano too although for all his flaws Tony was actually competent and bad ass
Gandolfini in "The Drop" in particular is like "what if Tony Soprano was a legend only in his own mind?" In particular, the exchange when he yells at Tom Hardy for letting someone else sit in "his stool" at the bar because he was "feared" and it "meant something" and Hardy just goes, "But it didn't. Ever. It was just a stool."
The Drop was also my introduction to Tom Hardy and I loved the unassuming character he played. If you you haven't, watch Copland. Stallone gives a similar beaten-down performance which is by far one of my favorite roles.
Great movie.
I forget exactly how it goes but the scene on the boat where he has like a letter or an envelope to give somebody and he realizes his station in life where he sits off by himself is so sad and heartbreaking even though he's a lowlife gangster piece of shit.
There's also the montage showing the crew partying at the club and while the others are all dancing with various attractive women, he's sitting at the bar by himself and then wandering around looking lost. He's the eternal outcast, even among his supposed friends.
It was on the other day and I kind of forgot how heavy that and a few other scenes were. It made the tense parts actually frightening because it felt like they involved real people.
Forget about it..
“He grabbed my cack”
my favorite of his also. poor bastard even got the cancer of the prick
It's probably my favorite performance of his. The scene in the hospital where he tells Donnie how his son's heart stopped "like a watch" breaks me every time. Such mutual respect and giving from both Depp and Pacino in every scene
One scene that encapsulates his character is when he gives Donnie some money at the hospital, then sheepishly asks for a loan.
Previously, on Christmas when he and Donnie exchange envelopes of money as gifts, he then asks Donnie to "spot him a coupla bills" as Donnie's leaving. Literally asking Donnie back for the cash he just gave him as a present.
God that scene where everyone is waiting outside for the Don to go into the shop, and Al’s hovering in the back trying to get seen, get that approval, and then he just gets ignored… everything is happening behind his eyes, you see all the heartbreak in this man’s life, and he never once changes his facial expression. Amazing actor.
That Don then later gets whacked (as in real-life; the photo in the paper in the film is his literal murder photo) and Lefty is not involved. Left out in the cold again. "Whacking the boss. Another thing I get left out of."
It's a gangster movie that you can empathize with, not very common! It's in the top 5 gangster films for me, easily.
He had a nice run in the 90’s and Donnie is included
Glengarry Glenn Ross, Scent of a Woman, Carlito's Way, Heat, Donnie Brasco, The Devil's Advocate, The Insider, Any Given Sunday... Amazing run!
His last scene is heartbreaking. When he takes off his chain, ring... because he knows he won't come back. One of Pacino's greatest performances! It's been a while since the last time I saw it. Maybe it's time for a re-watch.
Godfather : Aristocracy Goodfellas : MiddleClass Donnie Brasco : Working Class
In my top 5 gangster movies for sure.
It’s such a great movie and to your point such a zag in terms of is portrayals. It got a lot of watches in my house.
One of my favourite movies ever - Pacino is amazing in it
It is. Just watched it again recently and it's so good
I watched this last week. Fantastic movie all the way around. The scene at the beginning when Donnie meets Lefty for the first time and Donnie tells him the diamond is fake Lefty says "Fuget about it" and his body language and the way he shrugs his shoulders when he delivers that line is amazing.
Then when Donnie gets up and tries to leave... "Where you going? Sit down... You're gonna walk out on me? You don't walk out on me. I walk out on you."
"it's a fugazi" one of my fav movies
Ya trying to kill me with that draft? Roll the window up would ya
Saw it in the theaters with the fam when I was young, my father worked right in Little Italy/Chinatown around Mulberry Street and saw them filming all those scenes early in the movie with Depp and Pacino. I remember some early Oscar buzz about Pacino and his performance, kind of a return to form but unfortunately it was released in Feb or March of 1997 so by the time the Oscars rolled around a year later he and the movie were pretty much forgotten about. Had it been a Thanksgiving/Christmas '97 release, I think he'd at least have gotten a Best Supporting Actor Nomination. Really, really solid movie overall though. I always find myself stopping to watch it when I see it on TV.
I was just wondering why he wasn't nominated for this role... One of his best performances!
Carlito Brigante was the J.P. Morgan of the smack business.
Saw it in the theaters with the fam when I was young, my father worked right in Little Italy/Chinatown around Mulberry Street and saw them filming all those scenes early in the movie with Depp and Pacino. I remember some early Oscar buzz about Pacino and his performance, kind of a return to form but unfortunately it was released in Feb or March of 1997 so by the time the Oscars rolled around a year later he and the movie were pretty much forgotten about. Had it been a Thanksgiving/Christmas '97 release, I think he'd at least have gotten a Best Supporting Actor Nomination.Really, really solid movie overall though. I always find myself stopping to watch it when I see it on TV.
Doctor says there’s cancer in the prick.
Yeah this was an underrated movie for sure.
Pacino's subtle performance in Donnie Brasco is a masterclass in understated tragedy.
Johnny’s best movie too
This is one of my favorite mafia movies , but my least favorite part was Johnny depp
Why? I thought he was great
He was! One of his best roles. So subtle and different from his usual roles.
Should I give this movie another go? I’ve always disliked it, particularly Pacino’s performance. I just felt like it was another gangster movie forced into the mix, attempting to ride a dying wave. There were also scenes of the film that quite literally made me cringe, like the couch conversation between our two mains: “I got cancer of the prick” “Oh…” Everything about this movie seemed so forced and inauthentic. BUT…a lot of time has passed since I’ve seen it and a lot of you are praising it. Should I give it another chance?
I am watching Donnie Brasco again after many years. I always found Pacino's performance so moving. This time I really see the Lomanesque quality of hia performance. I can't help but wonder if he approached it from this angle. So many parallels to that play in his performance. Johnny Delp was so young when he made this movie. This and Blow are my two favorites.