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List Price: $5.98 | | Label: Hbo Home Video
Salesrank: 8493
Released: September 19, 2000 |
| Our Price: $2.50 |
| Used Price: $2.00 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
JOHN GOTTI ROSE TO FAME AS THE DON OF ONE OF AMERICA'S LARGEST CRIME FAMILIES. HE CLIMBED TO THE TOP OF THE CORPSES OF ANYONE WHO STOOD IN HIS WAY. BASED ON THE TRUE STORY OF THE RISE & FALL OF A REAL-LIFE MAFIA DON.
Description of Gotti:
A very impressive treatment of the rise and fall of New York crime boss John Gotti, this made-for-TV movie succeeds in large measure because of the outstanding work of Armand Assante (I, The Jury, Mambo Kings) as Gotti. Assante creates a complex portrayal of a man loyal to the mob while struggling with personal demons and his own self-destructive ambitions. The film traces the dapper don's rise through the ranks of the Gambino crime family, first through the patronage of his mentor (Anthony Quinn) and then through a brazen assassination of the Gambino boss. Eventually Gotti's world crashes around him as his arrogance over beating the government at trial and his thirst for the limelight causes a rift with his right-hand man, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano (William Forsythe). Gotti boasts terrific New York City locales and a truly impressive cast, including standout work by Forsythe and Quinn. But it's Assante's movie all the way, and he makes the most out of a larger than life character by making him seem no more, and no less, than human and flawed. --Robert Lane
Gotti Reviews:
GOTTI movie 
2009-04-15 - I watched this video for an assignment in college. I found this movie to be very informative on the making of the Gambino/Gotti organized crime group. The movie touched on the makings, the roles, and the types of businesses they were involved with from the 20's up to 1996. I strongly suggest this movie as part of your research, with the help of this movie, you can easily search out more data from http://law.jrank.org/pages/11944/Organized-Crime-American-Mafia.html to get the fine details of what you see in the movie! This was a very interesting movie!
this is bad business 
2008-12-25 - you shouldn't sell scratched up movies. You should check them before you sell them. That Gotti movie is all scratched up i cant even watch it
Gotta Get GOTTI
2008-12-06 - The movie GOTTI id a must for all of us Mafia-Movie-Buffs! Armand Assante is amazing and very convincing at the part. John Gotti never talked to the FBI so we have to take into consideration that a lot of this movie is John's portrayal - not necessarily FACT! Overall it is a fantastic movie and 1 of my top 3 movies!
A string to facts about the unfolding Gotti story 
2008-11-01 - Gotti (1996) (TV), is informative to the extent that it is able to
tell a string to facts about the unfolding of the Gotti story in
the 1980's and 90's.
Not being an scholar, taken at face value, a lot of what this HBO
production tells, is apparently accurate and factual.
For example, indeed, on Sep. 29, 1986, TIME magazine featured Gotti
on the front page.
Also, the testimony of Sammy the Bull is public, and as such, would
not require much imagination to weave into the script of this
movie the the script writer.
Also, a fair amount of detail seems to match what is seen in another
movie, Boss of Bosses starring Chazz Palminteri.
If there are weak points in the work, it would be the excess
swearing on camera, as well as the juvenile, introverted dialog
that is often shown on screen, as if Gotti was unable to see things
from any other point of view or angle, than his own. This is an
absurd notion, cheapening the fact that this was the leader of the
Gamino family, a major organization, and not of a high school
project or small fry association.
On the other hand, the legal implications of the underlying
operations runs by Gotti, are well demonstrated, in their
seriousness, definitiveness, and far-reaching potential, in
particular, of the RICO statutes in catching, convicting and imprisoning
alleged organized criminals.
At the end of the day, perhaps what did Gotti in, was his mass
media prominence, exposure and macro and micro influence in society
which threatened its integrity, risking creating millions of
negative copy-cat, non-compliant behavior of normal citizens, something
that could not be tolerated by the elite or by the majority at large.
On the other band, the recession of 2008 in the USA, economic
failures and misconduct of Wall St. organizations and the
victims of the war in the Middle East, ( since the turn of the
decade), is as serious, if not more, than organized crime,
yet ... gets a free pass simply because the integrity of society is
not at risk, nor does running the printing presses with fiat
currency, and indebting future generations (who have no voice
today) result in any protests today.
In sum, the movie's script is somewhat shaky, by making the
success of Gotti seem too easy, too juvenile, too simple, taken for
granted ... as if anyone who is trigger-happy is only a step away from
making a million dollars when that is anything but the case. A
street killer with a pistol does not a millionaire make.
Best Bio Special I've Ever Seen!
2008-10-12 - Armand Asante IS John Gotti. He has his look, voice and mannerisms down pat. This is one of the best written, best acted films I've ever seen on the Mafia. The photography is outstanding. It tells the story of John Gotti, as much as we know about it, from beginning to end. The movie was made while Gotti was still alive and before Sammy 'The Bull' got into trouble again and ended up back in prison. You will see every actor on The Sopranos in this film. It is totally real, totally believable. Action, drama, a lot of emotion. I stayed glued to the film the entire time. It is a real keeper.
