Themes: Mafia Life, Rise To Power, Rise and Fall Stories
Main Cast: Armand Assante, Anthony Quinn, William Forsythe, Richard Sarafian, Vincent Pastore
Release Year: 1996
Country: US
Run Time: 104 minutes
Plot
Gotti is the semi-biographical tale of John Gotti, the infamous crime boss of the Gambino mob family. This drama chronicles not only the bloody rise of Gotti, also known as the "Dapper Don", but the FBI's struggle to bring him to justice. His refusal to play by the normal "rules" of the mafia ultimately became the mobster's achilles heel; the FBI eventually persuaded assassin Sammy "The Bull" Gravano to testify against his ungrateful, paranoid boss, who was finally imprisoned in 1982. Gotti is based in part on a book written by Jerry Capeci and Gene Mustain titled Mob Star: The Story of John Gotti. Gotti, directed by Robert Harmon stars Armand Assante as the complicated mafia lord, and also features actors Anthony Quinn and William Forsythe. The drama aired on HBO in 1996, unwittingly serving as a precurser to what would later become the wildly popular mob drama The Sopranos. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
Robert Harmon - Director, Gary Lucchesi - Executive Producer, Mark Isham - Composer (Music Score), David Coatsworth - Producer, Steve Shagan - Screenwriter, Jerry Capeci - Book Author, Gene Mustain - Book Author
Gotti: The Rise and Fall of a Real Life Mafia Don is a 1996 HBO original movie made for television, starring Armand Assante (as the infamous Gambino crime family Boss John Gotti), William Forsythe, Anthony Quinn and many other actors (inc Chris P. Anson)who later joined the cast of the same network TV-series The Sopranos. The film was the highest rated original telefilm in HBO history at that time, according to IMDB. Assante won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special, for his performance. Assante also received a Golden Globe nomination the same year.
Storyline
The movie begins in the 1970s and ends in 1992 with Gotti’s imprisonment. Gotti’s association with three mobsters is also highlighted in the film: a father-son like relationship with family Underboss Aniello “Mr. Neil” Dellacroce, his deep but rocky friendship with Gotti crew member and longtime friend Angelo Ruggiero, and the respect and ultimate frustration that he felt for the man who became his Underboss, Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano. Within the context of Gotti’s own career, the film details Gotti’s rise within the Gambino crime family and his ranks from soldier, then captain (or capo), and finally, Boss. This latter title was achieved through the dramatic hit (murder) of Gambino family boss Paul Castellano in 1985, which is captured on screen as the climax of the movie. Following the murder of Castellano, the movie concentrates on the legal trials of John Gotti; one for assault, two for racketeering under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statutes. The movie ends with Gotti’s conviction and sentencing to life imprisonment at Marion Federal Penetentiary in Marion, Illinois, due to the fact that his dear Underboss Gravano turns state’s evidence and agrees to testify against Gotti, after Gotti’s been using his famous personality and media attention to “duck” criminal convictions for almost a decade, which brought much unwanted attention to the Mafia.
The movie is primarily based on the columns of infamous Mafia reporter Jerry Capeci, who also wrote the novel that documented Gotti’s rise and fall inside the Gambino crime family, and served as executive producer of the film which was based on his novel.
