Johnny Depp is my favorite actor, hands down. This is not something that happened right away. I didn’t switch on 21 Jump Street and marvel at his range. No, I had pretty much taken in Johnny Depp movies like popcorn and just thought of him the way most folks think of Matt Damon. He was good but not brilliant.

Then I saw Donnie Brasco and after that movie, my opinion on Johnny Depp changed considerably. Prior to that film, Depp had gone from his Edward Scissorhands period to a much lauded performance in Ed Wood and then to a trio of films in 1995 that at the time I didn’t even bother with: Nick of Time, Don Juan DeMarco and Dead Man (a film I didn’t even bother seeing until a couple of months ago).   

When Donnie Brasco came out it took lots of pressure from many, many people before I finally went to the theater. I was floored. Here was that guy from Benny and Joon holding his own on screen with Al Pacino! He was brilliant and I completely lost myself in the film. I forgot that he was Johnny Depp. He was simply Joseph Pistone, the undercover cop infiltrating the mafia in New York.

Since then, I’ve seen almost every film he’s done and been impressed with all of them. However, Donnie Brasco is the one I come back to over and over again.    

And why not? It’s a great film and that’s because it’s not just a mob film. It’s a movie about loyalty, trust and honor among men.

Its success is due to a number of things. First of all, it’s got a terrific cast. Accompanying Pacino and Depp are Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby and Anne Heche. All of them turn in stellar performances on par with Depp and Pacino. Madsen in particular has never been better as the rising star in the family.

Add to that Paul Attanasio’s brilliant script and it’s hard to beat this film. The writing is top notch and director Mike Newell brought the world of the small time mafia wiseguy to brilliant life. Furthermore, he captured it as an outsider. Newell is from Britain. He had just come off directing Four Weddings And A Funeral. He had no right to walk into Hollywood, get handed a budget and make a movie this good about, of all things, the New York mafia.

So having said all that, watching the extended cut of Donnie Brasco is not all that different from watching the theatrical cut of Donnie Brasco. It’s a great film. Yes, there are 20 minutes more of it here, but there was nothing that really added any particular depth to what is already a great movie. You get a bit more gore here and there and some additional dialogue in places, but nothing that is going to cause someone to mourn having bought the theatrical release originally.

That poses a problem. I love this film. I would recommend it to anybody. However I can’t recommend you rush out and buy this one if you’ve already got the original DVD release. It’s simply not worth the money to swap them.

Presentation 
So Sony brings us Donnie Brasco in anamorphic widescreen on a transfer that looks killer. I don’t remember this movie looking this good when I saw it in the theater. As for audio, they’ve given us a 5.1 mix that works brilliantly. Unfortunately, this movie doesn’t have a great soundtrack a la Goodfellas, but still what is here sounds fantastic.

Extras 
And here is where we stumble. Sony has given us a new featurette called Donnie Brasco: Out From The Shadows. This features Joseph Pistone (the real Donnie Brasco), Director Mike Newell and writer Paul Attanasio discussing the film and also has some clips from interviews done for the original trailer. It’s nice to watch once but it’s nothing you’re going to go back for again.

Also included is the original featurette which looks and sounds like something you would have seen in between movies on HBO in 1998. It’s simply promo fluff and really adds nothing.

The Photo Gallery is a slow zoom/pan across some stills with accompanying dialogue. Nothing here you’ll really get into.

Finally, you get trailers for Casino Royale, Ghost Rider and Rocky Balboa.

That’s right, Sony didn’t include the original trailer, nor did they bother with a commentary of any sort. We are just supposed to be thankful for the extra 20 minutes.

The Bottom Line 
It’s a brilliant movie. I’ve loved it since the first time I saw it and the additional 20 minutes doesn’t hurt anything while at the same time, it doesn’t really give me a stiffy. Either way, if you’ve never seen Donnie Brasco, you really should. However, if you already own it I would not suggest you double dip for this. Until we get a loaded disc with commentary, trailers, etc., there is no need to get too excited.