Donnie Brasco (Extended Cut)

Reviewed by:
Gene Newman

The most underrated and often forgotten mob flick has earned its place alongside Goodfellas and Casino. (Suck it, Sopranos!) Al Pacino proved why he's a legend by playing the most sad and pathetic gangster we've ever seen, and Johnny Depp gave a career-altering performance as the mentally tormented undercover FBI agent in this grimy low-level world of Brooklyn wiseguys. The 20 minutes of extra footage blend perfectly into the story, much of which is unnoticeable unless you've seen this movie as much as we have. (The best additional scene foreshadows the impeding doom between the two when Pacino's hotel room air-condition breaks.) The extras are the only letdown, repurposing two old featurettes from the special edition released seven years ago and not including director Mike Newell's commentary. It would have also been cool if they had included the original version of the film for those who don't want to devote the extra time. We also watched it on Blu-ray (buy Blu-ray version here), which could have done a lot more to take advantage of the new technology. Still, do these small complaints ruin this genuine classic? Fuckin' fugetaboutit.

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