Donnie Brasco Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Donnie Brasco Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 19, 2019

The highly regarded Mob picture 'Donnie Brasco' has been released to Blu-ray on several occasions over the years. Parent studio Sony first released the film to the then-new high definition format in May 2007 in an "extended cut" that adds about 20 minutes of additional scenes to the standard theatrical cut. Sony also included the film in a double pack in 2010 and again, with a different movie, in 2013. The property has since been in the care of budget studio Mill Creek, which released the theatrical cut of the film in 2014. The studio has now revisited the property with this early 2019 release, which appears to be the same as the 2014 disc, just with new cover art (note that I do not own a copy of the 2014 Mill Creek release or the Sony disc and cannot make direct comparisons).

The film follows the story of an undercover FBI informant who goes by the name of Donnie Brasco (Johnny Depp). He poses as jewel thief who finagles his way into the inner circle of a dangerous mafia organization and befriends a man known as "Lefty" (Al Pacino) who is angling for a top spot in the crime family. As Brasco finds himself ever more entrenched into the world of organized crime, his home life takes a major hit. He struggles to find time to spend with his daughters, while his wife Maggie (Anne Heche) grows ever more disillusioned with her husband's distance.

For a few additional thoughts on the film, please see the Blu-ray.com review of the original Sony release here.

Donnie Brasco Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Donnie Brasco's Blu-ray release, courtesy of Mill Creek, delivers a fairly sound image in the aggregate with some minor issues appearing here and there. Definition is solid and filmic qualities are apparent, but the image is fairly flat and not particularly dynamic or dramatic. Essentials satisfy, revealing nicely defined skin, hair, and clothing textures under a mild grain structure. Environmental clarity is strong throughout, with various locales, from dense city exteriors to comfortable home and apartment interiors, from sunny Florida exteriors to hospital ward interiors, showcase good, natural detail throughout the film. Colors are fair but the palette lacks significant punch and deep contrast, Nevertheless, essentials are nicely reproduced, particularly clothing. Key location colors, particularly diverse shades in bright exteriors, are handled well. Black levels are a little raised but find good solidification in many cases, including across various examples of dark and black garments. Flesh tones are a little light and a touch pasty but generally well defined. The image does reveal some mild compression artifacts. The encode maintains a rather modest bitrate in the mid-to-upper teens. This is a very nice, agreeable image, imperfect to be sure but it's difficult to raise any major complaints, particularly given the release's budget nature.

Donnie Brasco Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of Donnie Brasco features a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The older Sony track had an LPCM 5.1 presentation on offer. It's a shame Mill Creek couldn't provide a lossless/uncompressed option, particularly since this track plays fairly shallow at reference volume, halving dialogue in particular lacking stage commanding delivery. It's still clear, center focused, and well prioritized, but listeners might want to adjust the volume upward to better hear the spoken word and appreciate what the rest of the track has to offer. The presentation is not substantial in any component, but it's certainly capable of carrying the film musically and considering its effects, too. Clarity is fair even in the lossy configuration, with music, gunfire, a blaring boat horn at the 65-minute mark, and various examples of environmental fill effects all delivering as well-rounded sonic components. The track folds in some surround implementation here and there, largely by way of the aforementioned environmental fill, that offers some discrete elements, such as a barking dog and screaming children in the 13-minute mark, for example, that does convey some sense of distance and location detail. A few minutes later, various background city details, unseen but not unheard, help to define a chilly outdoor meting. Likewise, some PA announcements and light bustle at an airport at the 61-minute mark impressively shape the crowded, though not super-busy, locale. Music is lively with plenty of stage width and surround support, the latter even dominant in the case of a Pop song in chapter two (the 40-minute mark; this disc has only five chapter stops) or music inside the bustling King's Court bar within the 82-minute mark. This is certainly a solid enough listen with the volume adjusted upward by a couple of decibels. Lossless would be preferable, but this is not a bad listen for a 5.1 lossy configuration.

Donnie Brasco Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Donnie Brasco contains no supplemental content. The Sony release from 2007 contains two featurettes and an image gallery, though those supplements were not well-received in the Blu-ray.com review of that disc. Mill Creek's Blu-ray does include a top menu screen which only offers an option to "Play Movie." This release does ship with a DVD copy of the film as well as a fairly attractive and sturdy slipcover.

Donnie Brasco Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Donnie Brasco is a compelling Mafia picture with a unique look at saturation into the mob scene from the outside. Pacino and Depp are stellar and the film holds up as one of the genre's landmarks. Mill Creek's featureless Blu-ray delivers on the essentials, presenting a capable video presentation and a passable lossy soundtrack. Recommended.