Donnie Brasco is one of my favorite Mob movies ever. It was released in 1997 (WOW 10 Years ago) and has some very special performances by both Johnny Depp and Al Pacino.
This films centers around Depp, an FBI agent, gangster, husband and father. In the 1970s, FBI undercover agent Joe Pistone (Depp) infiltrates the mob, leaving his family behind and assuming the false persona of the “jewel man” Donnie Brasco. His assignment: to become a trusted insider with the infamous Bonanno family by gaining the confidence of a low-level gangster. Lefty Ruggiero (Pacino) is an aging, two-bit hit-man who sees a new future for himself with the smart, young thief Donnie Brasco and enlists him as his prot?g?. Together the two men enter into a camaraderie that will not allow either one to distance himself emotionally. Meanwhile, Donnie begins to get lost in the distance between his real and undercover selves. As Donnie moves deeper and deeper into the Mafia chain of command, he realizes he is not only losing the line between federal agent and criminal, between who he pretends to be and who he actually is, he is also leading Lefty, his closest friend, to an almost certain death sentence.
Video
For this 2.40:1 transfer Sony went with a Blu-ray 50 GB disc (BD50) and an AVC encode averaging around 28- 32 Mbps. This transfer is nothing short of great, especially for a film now 10 years old. This film exhibited little to no film grain and the transfer was absent of any type of film debris. Much of this film involves dark or night scenes, all of which look superb as well. Flesh tones were spot-on and detail was excellent. This transfer also presented no noise to my eye, a welcomed attribute for several bright scenes in the film. Colors were absolutely stunning and vibrant with this transfer. Overall this new Blu-ray transfer is a substantial upgrade over the DVD version of this film.
Audio
Audio is an additional area where this new transfer excels over its DVD counterpart. I watched this film using the PCM 5.1 sound format at a bit rate of 1.5 Mbps. The overall sound of the film is very clear, powerful and encompassing. Dialog now can be heard very well with details you may have missed on the DVD release. Also this new transfer makes excellent use of both LFE and surrounds. There is a scene around half-way through the film, when the ?gang? arrives at a Japanese restaurant and beat-up the host in the men?s bathroom. This fight scene sounds fantastic, even though the scene itself is a bit very graphic.
Special Features
This new release of Donnie Brasco is quite sparse of special features. It does have a nice documentary called, ?Donnie Brasco: Out from the Shadows.? It essentially tells you the real-life story, which leads to the story of Donnie Brasco. Other special features include the Original Featurette, Theatrical Trailers and a Photo Gallery/Montage.
Final Thoughts
I am very pleased and surprised with how well this release is presented. The video quality was spot on, free of any annoying weaknesses and the audio quality was in fine detail and thunderous power. This release is also listed as playable in Regions A, B and C, so it should work throughout the world. Comparing this release to its DVD counterpart, well, there really is no comparison; the new release is much much better all around. So for anyone looking to only keep their DVD version of the film, I say Fugedaboudit and get the new version on Blu-ray. It is a deal you can?t refuse.
Special Features List
- Donnie Brasco: Out from the Shadows
- Original Featurette
- Theatrical Trailers
- Photo Gallery/Montage
