Donnie Brasco (Blu-ray)

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One departure from "The Sopranos," though, is that for all the scenes in which we see how annoyed Joe Pistone's family is with him, not knowing his undercover identity as jeweler/fence Donnie Brasco, we don't get the same level of information. Everything stays at the "we're annoyed" level, with no real development there. That's the primary weakness of this otherwise incredibly entertaining film. Pacino and Johnny Depp are wonderful in their roles as Ruggiero and Brasco, and Anne Heche makes the most of her screen time as Mrs. Pistone. As Sonny Black, Madsen evokes Vince Vaughn ("Be Cool") with his livin' large portrayal of a recently promoted mob boss. And the plot is enough to hold our interest, even (incredibly) with those extra 20 minutes added. As we watch Pistone/Brasco gain Ruggiero's confidence and end up being taken under his wing, it's easy to feel a warmth toward the aging mobster. Pistone ends up participating in some pretty horrendous stuff (like sawing through body parts to help dispose of hit victims) in order to maintain his cover, and there's always the chance that the tapes he's making of his day-to-day interactions with the Black/Ruggiero mob will get him caught and killed. Throw in some outside agents who decide to lean on him, and there's plenty of dramatic tension. It's just that the domestic side-plot isn't as well developed as it could have been, and the extra footage doesn't add much to our knowledge of the characters and their history together.

Video:
The Blu-ray version of "Donnie Brasco" is a pure delight. Bricks and bloody body parts never looked so good. For an older film, there's surprisingly good color saturation and pleasing black levels, with more detail than I would have expected. Presented in 2.40:1 aspect ration, "Donnie Brasco" is a pleasure to watch in HD.

Audio:
The feature soundtrack is English PCM 5.1 uncompressed audio, and as with previous PCM tracks it's quite good, with resonant bass and clear, bright treble in just the right balance. PCM distributes the sound nicely across the room, with ambient noises scattered far enough from the speakers so that they feel natural. An English 5.1 track is also provided, with subtitles in English, English SDH, and French.

Extras:
Here's the disappointment. No new features from the previous release, and director Newell's commentary track is absent. There's a short feature on "Donnie Brasco: Out from the Shadows" that covers the usual bases-background on how the film came to be, with some basics on Pistone as well-while a vintage 1997 promotional featurette does much the same. The only other extras are theatrical trailers and a photo gallery.

Bottom Line:
"Donnie Brasco" belongs in the first tier of mobster/wise guy movies, though the extended version doesn't add (or detract) much. Like "Goodfellas," it gives us an intimate look at the daily lives of wise guys and the guys who would bring them down. Like "The Sopranos," it deglamorizes the mob and brings in a healthy dose of domestic life. And Pacino and Depp are so good together, you almost wonder why they haven't hooked up more.

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