Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

Gotti Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 24, 2018

Gotti is one of those names that has entered the lexicon of American Legend, but which still may be swathed in a certain amount of mystery. Many, maybe even most, folks are probably at least dimly aware that John Gotti (John Travolta) was a “big kahuna” in organized crime, or at least was accused of being such, but little else is probably at the beck and call of at least some armchair historians. Those with at least a relatively decent memory about show business if not organized crime may recall that Armand Assante portrayed Gotti in a 1996 HBO affair that actually won Assante an Emmy and also garnered him a Golden Globe nomination. Kind of interestingly (if also inaccurately), our very database here at Blu-ray.com also contains a “phantom” entry for Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father, with a “poster” that offers Anthony Hopkins in the cast and Barry Levinson as the director, along with a photo of Travolta and a large listing for the actor at the bottom, a patently confusing array of credits which may give some indication of how long this project languished in various stages of development, often with various performers and/or directors attached at various moments (some of whom are listed as part of the cast, even though my assumption is several of them were slated to play the same role at some point). The story of John Gotti’s rise and fall in the annals of so-called “crime families” is certainly rife with potential, but Gotti doesn’t seem to know what its point of view is. Take for example some kind of peculiar if frankly entertaining bookends which offer Gotti standing underneath what looks like the Brooklyn Bridge and directly addressing the camera about his life. Except — it’s the middle aged Gotti, and he sure seems to know what’s in store for him, in terms of an adult life often plagued with jail time, this despite the fact that the actual story detailed in the film gets into Gotti’s cancer stricken old age (replete with Travolta in a bald cap and lots of makeup). But even this arguably extraneous material isn’t as curious as the central part of the film, which ping pongs madly through various eras and in fact ends up being at least as much if not more about John A. Gotti (also known as Junior, portrayed by Spencer Lofranco) than about his father. There are some interesting moments scattered throughout this haphazard enterprise, but it’s really more of a curiosity than a full bodied biography.

The freewheeling approach toward a chronology makes Gotti structurally hazardous at times, and there are some odd allusions that, if not downright inaccurate, sure seem to pushing the envelope of coherency a bit. One of these is fairly early on, when Junior is shown in a holding room of sorts, while someone in an orange jump suit is wheeled down a hall in shackles that are more than a bit reminiscent of a certain “get up” given one Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. And in fact the elder Gotti outright refers to Lecter, but this part of the film would sure seem to be taking place prior to 1991, when the film appeared. It’s a minor point, admittedly, but one which may indicate a certain lack of specificity that, ironically combined with picayune details about other elements of Gotti’s life, makes Gotti both unclear and overly intricate, at times simultaneously.

The underlying plot dynamics of Gotti involve the elder Gotti trying to convince the younger Gotti not to take a plea deal, since Dad is convinced that the Feds are only offering his son a “pretend” deal which will end up with Junior behind bars for the rest of his life, in the “apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” department. And that’s a really interesting subtextual element, but one which the film repeatedly detours from to provide background about (briefly) the elder Gotti’s early induction into the world of organized crime, and (more substantially) his life as a criminal and burgeoning family man (in the actual sense of that term) with wife Victoria (Travolta’s real life wife Kelly Preston).

The fact that the real life Junior and his family are thanked rather prominently in the closing credits might give away the perhaps already obvious fact that this is not a perspective or even agenda free accounting of the Gotti family’s history. There’s really no sugar coating the elder Gotti’s murderous ways (several disturbing “hits” are shown quite explicitly in the film), and there’s probably no arguing with some of Junior’s own “shenanigans”, but almost despite itself, Gotti manages to weirdly convey a lower class family establishing itself as a major force in American life, rightly or wrongly. The elder Gotti comments about this very fact, mentioning he came from nothing to more or less take over the world, at least for a moment or two, before saying no one will ever see his like again for 5,000 years. That may be true, but unfortunately Gotti is never able to really capitalize on the rarity of the individual it’s supposedly focusing on.

Gotti Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Gotti is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Vertical Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Panavision's cinema credits site states this was digitally captured with Sony F55 cameras and the results often generally excellent detail levels and sharpness across the board. Travolta's makeup is one of the high points of this film, and it's notable that despite sometimes extreme close-ups, no real "seams" show, even if his resemblance to the real life Gotti is questionable. A lot of the film takes place in less than well lit environments, including several scenes inside various penitentiaries, but aside from passing deficits in shadow detail, general detail levels remain surprisingly consistent throughout. The entire film is a little dark and drab looking, and such the palette can appear a bit on the cool side, though the occasional brightly lit outdoor moments suitably warm things up at least somewhat. There are no issues with image instability or compression anomalies. There is some perhaps unwise usage of actual stock footage (unwise considering the fact that some of the actors don't really resemble the real life characters they're portraying), and those moments can understandably look fairly ragged (see screenshots 9 and 19).

Gotti Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Gotti's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 has moments of nice immersion courtesy of a glut of sometimes outré source cues which are often used as a kind of bizarro world counterpoint to what's actually being displayed on screen, but the film's reliance on smaller scale dialogue moments tends to make surround activity occur in fits and starts. There are a number of quick "hit" scenes that feature punches of gunfire, all of which resonate forcefully, and there are at least some ambient environmental effects dotting the side and rear channels, including inside the prison where the "two hander" scenes between Gotti and his son occur. All elements are rendered cleanly and clearly without any issues. For what it's worth, the back cover of this release incorrectly lists Dolby Digital audio options.

Gotti Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements offered on this Blu-ray disc.

Gotti Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's kind of interesting to note that there's some online data discussing the hard time Gotti had finding a distributor, but what's really interesting is that one of the production entities listed is "MoviePass Films", a company with its own colorful history which has brought it into conflict with various major exhibition chains from time to time. And in fact Gotti tends to play more like a "pay per view" cable special than a full fledged threatically exhibited motion picture. There are some interesting elements scattered throughout the film, and the performances are generally quite winning, but things never quite gel in this tale of the underbelly of the American Dream. Technical merits are generally solid for those considering a purchase.