Donnie Brasco/B+,B+

Columbia Tristar/1997/127m/ANA 2.35

         "I'm like a spoke on a wheel and so are you, Donnie.," Lefty tells his friend. This is the Al Pacino performance that people should be talking about; not The Devil's Advocate. Pacino nails Lefty in Donnie Brasco. Everything is right. And Johnny Depp turns in a solid performance in the title role, bringing his scenes with Pacino to street life.
     This story of the Mafia through from the perspective of an undercover FBI agent, as directed by Mike Newell, has a fresh look from the Scorcese directed mob flicks to which we are accustomed. Newell floats his story with the grace of a conductor guiding a symphony orchestra. The result is excellent filmmaking and riveting story-telling.

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Learning the ropes. ©Columbia Tristar

     This fine looking DVD is presented anamorphic 2.35 widescreen. There are some minor MPEG artifacts in some skyline scenes, but otherwise images are sharp and colors accurate. The intensity of color in the Miami sequences contrast well with the bluer hues of the New York streets. The Dolby 5:1  mix is consistently clean, but surround info is not overly aggressive.

    

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