Gotti

Story's the same but the players change. Gangsters battle their way to fortune - and for Gotti, some fame, and ultimately the fortune weakens ties and sows doubt about motives and loyalty. Gotti was a hard-working, charming mobster and his commitment took him to the top of the Gambino crime family but when you get to the top, you have to be the most rational to stay there for a long time. Missteps can easily let in who you thought were your allies and there's a reason people aren't mob bosses long.

The film features great acting by Armando Assante, William Forsythe, and Anthony Quinn as the head of the Gambino family. Quinn owns the scenes he is in. Assante makes the Teflon Don charming but also so vain that little slights set him off. Forsythe is electric and the air of menace around him is practically a character in and of itself.

As always, it takes good writing to bring an exciting story to the screen and so writers Gene Mustain, Jerry Capeci, and Steve Shagan deserve credit for showing the excesses of the life of the Teflon Don and for not stinting on the brutality of life as a mafioso. The wealth and power that mob bosses get ultimately does them in as they start to believe their own legends. Mustain, Capeci, and Shagan show the hard work but also the violence that brings them down hard.

Gotti ruled NYC for a while and as a kid at the time I heard his name a lot. This film is a good primer for learning about the life and times of John Gotti.

If you enjoyed the Sopranos then you should enjoy this piece, despite its age. It has weathered well. It's not as disjointed as the modern adaptation with John Travolta, and Armand Assante gives at least an equal showing, if not slightly better, not as vicious and calculating, but certainly ferocious and believable. It's better cast than the modern version and consequently the street speak of these players comes across as more authentic. It's not as jumbled as the modern version, and the timeline is one of its greater strengths. Anthony Quinn is supreme, and brings all my compliments above to the fore. Here you'll see many of the Sopranos actors in their earlier roles. Delightful for movie buffs. If you're into mob movies then this is as essential as The Godfather or Goodfellas or Casino.

For a TV movie this is very good. Why Mr. Assante doesn't get more good parts is amazing to me. He nails this part and if you have ever read anything about Gotti you have to believe that the two met. The movie has some great scenes. The best are when the mob guys are just hanging around. The creators of "Sopranos" have used this very well because while wiseguys are not always wise they are sure colorful.

"Gotti" is the TRUE STORY about the notorious rise and fall of mobster, John Gotti. As a student of organized crime history, I can honestly tell you, that this movie gives you MAJOR insight into the life of John Gotti. Was he a good guy who took care of his people or a vicious bad guy?. For those who don't know, John Gotti, became very early a legend on the streets of New York City. He became a made man of the Gambino family in the early 70's. Gotti made a lot of money for the family and he quickly earned the trust of his boss, Carlo Gambino. The movie starts by showing, how Gotti seemed to have problems following [the mafia] rules at first and almost gets killed. This sets the movie very well off and gives us a better insight in, not only Gottis life, but the mafia and how they see it. Sort of like GoodFellas, but only that was the Lucchese family. The Gambino family has a alot more history and a family that was originally started by Lucky Luciano in 1931. Armand Assante who plays Gotti makes an outstanding performance here and really triggers the movies atmosphere. Anthony Quinn who plays mob kingpin Neil Dellacroce, Gottis mentor, does a wonderful job. His presence is absolute stellar. GoodFella, Frank Vincent and Bill Forsythe do a great job too. This is not a movie, this is a tv movie done by HBO and it's a rare thing to see a good tv movie these days. The director of this film, Robert Harmon, sure knows what he is up to here!!. If you liked GoodFellas, Casino and The Godfather movies then I would really recommend you to see this one.

This movie focuses a LOT more on just the actual man John Gotti rather than all the affect he has. Armand Assante is very convincing and did an excellent job acting. However, unlike The Godfather, this is a REAL story. That makes it all the more fun to watch. It's definitely worth watching if you're a gangster movie addict like me

It's definitely no Godfather, but if you're looking for something new...give it a shot

8/10