Search - Gotti: The Rise and Fall of a Real Life Mafia Don on DVD

Decent acting, but complete fiction

James Rothschadl | Arlington, VA United States | 10/08/2003

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I give the movie 2 stars because I think Armande Aassante did a decent job portraying Gotti (although he wasn't ruthless enough, I'm sure he just did what he was told) the guy who played Sammy G was good too but his height was totally off (the real Sammy was shorter than Gotti). All that aside, the movie was complete fiction. Although this movie painted a favourable picture of Gotti, I think Gotti himself would have disliked it because it was so off. Major and minor facts in this movie are completely off. A few examples.. This movie shows Gotti meeting Sammy when Carlo Gambino was boss, and Gotti went to Carlo's apartment where he met Sammy and was ordered to do the hit in retaliation for Carlo's nephew's kidnapping. In reality, Sammy wasn't even associated with the Gambino family until after Carlo died.. before that, he was in the columbo family and he switched to the gambino family because of an internal dispute.. He was made under Paul Castellano, as was Gotti. Aside from that, it would be highly irregular for an unmade man to meet the Boss at all, let alone at his house.. Unmade men are required to communicate with the boss through the made guy that vouches for them. Also, Sammy had only met Carlo once, and that was just briefly at a party. Another major error was Gotti's relationship with Angie after Angie got caught on tape and brought major heat on his whole crew for the drug charges.. After that happened and Gotti gained power he wanted to whack Angie out, but people clsoe to Gotti strongly advised him against it. Gotti NEVER went to see Angie in the hospital when he had cancer, despite the fact that he'd known him since they were kids. Gotti took away all Angie's power, and Angie died alone and with no dignitiy. Gotti wouldn't have even gone to the funeral if other people in the family didn't drag him there to keep up appearances. I think the real Gotti would have been angry with the way they showed his relationship with Angie, he told everyone of his discontent with Angie after the tapes. There are many many major and minor fact and timeline glitches that make this movie frusterating to watch if you are familiar with the real events/timelines. I see NO reason at all for getting these details wrong, it could have been ever more of an interesting movie if they would have stuck to the facts and put in different aspects of the story. They could have shown more of the courtroom drama that led to his "Teflon Don" reputation. Some of the aspects of the trial Giacalone brought against him were really classic, and completely out there ... I could go on and on.. This movie is one case where hollywood has no justification for having their facts totally off."

Gotti

Anthony Quinzio | 08/23/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The movie had its moments some of the dialogue was hard to understand but the acting was fine. Assante and Quinn both were very good in their roles. It's worth buying if your into mafia movies."

Excellent

Just Another Opinion | USA | 03/20/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For those who enjoy "mob movies" (as I do), this is one of the best. Armand Assante turns in an outstanding performance in the title role, supported by a superb cast, including Anthony Quinn as Gambino family underboss Aniello Dellacroce, Gotti's mob mentor. It is well-scripted, beautifully acted, and highly entertaining. Don't miss it!"

La Cosa Nostra

Quotableapathy | Spartanburg, SC | 05/18/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Based on the rise and fall of mob boss John Gotti, the movie highlights the series of events that took Gotti through the ranks to the top of the Gambino crime family to include the hit on Paul Castellano, his aquittal in several federal indictments, the flamboyant style that captured the attention of the media, and the eventual testimony of "Sammy the Bull" Gravano that brought it all down.

Armand Assanti plays a convincing role and is backed up by a familiar mob type cast (i.e. Goodfellas, Sopranos). Origionally an HBO made for TV movie, its not as commercially popular as Goodfellas or Casino are, but it's in depth look at the actual make up and lifestyle of probably the most notorious crime family make this one unique."