Gotti (1996)

John Gotti rises to head the powerful Gambino crime family before being convicted in 1992 of racketeering and murder.

Director:

Robert Harmon

Writers:

Jerry Capeci (book), Gene Mustain (book)

Stars:

Armand Assante, Anthony Quinn, William Forsythe

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 3 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Armand Assante	...	John Gotti
William Forsythe	...	Sammy Gravano
Richard C. Sarafian	...	Paul Castellano
Frank Vincent	...	Robert DiBernardo
Anthony Quinn	...	Neil Dellacroce
Dominic Chianese	...	Joe Armone
Robert Miranda	...	Frank DeCicco
Scott Cohen	...	Gene Gotti
Raymond Serra	...	Frank LoCascio
Vincent Pastore	...	Angelo Ruggiero
Marc Lawrence	...	Carlo Gambino
Tony Sirico	...	Joe Dimiglia
Alberta Watson	...	Victoria Gotti
Al Waxman	...	Bruce Cutler
Yank Azman	...	Judge Nickerson

Storyline

John Gotti, the head of a small New York mafia crew breaks a few of the old family rules. He rises to become the head of the Gambino family and the most well-known mafia boss in America. He is known as the Dapper Don for his expensive taste in suits, and the Teflon Don because none of the FBI charges against him will stick. Life is good, but suspicion creeps in, and greed, rule-breaking and his high public profile all threaten to topple him.

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Plot Keywords:

mafia | gangster | celebrity criminal | 1980s | witness protection | 

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for graphic violence, strong language and some drug content

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 August 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gotti: The Rise and Fall of a Real Life Mafia Don

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was the highest rated original telefilm in HBO history at that time. The success of the film convinced HBO to cast film costars, Dominic Chianese, Vincent Pastore and Tony Sirico in a series in development at the time called The Sopranos (1999).

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Goofs

There's a shot of Manhattan, which is supposed to take place in 1973, however we can see a building from the World Financial Center which didn't exist in 1973 and the antenna on top of the north tower of the World Trade Center which wasn't there at the time. This is clearly a shot of the Manhattan skyline as it looked in the mid 1990s.

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Quotes

Sammy Gravano: How could you say those things about me, John?
John Gotti: Hey, tapes are tapes, man... don't mean nothin. I'm talkin alright, I can fuckin talk can't I?
Sammy Gravano: So let's fuckin talk. You backed doored me while I was your underboss while I was out there whackin guys for you.
John Gotti: Hey, get tha fuck outta here with that shit right now. You're the one gets off whackin people, not me. You come crying to me about Louie Dibono, your partner for years, not mine... I don't know tha man. You wanted to whack him, you come ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in The Reapers (2004)

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Soundtracks

Dance Hall Days
(uncredited)
Written by Jack Hues, Darren Costin, Nick Feldman

User Reviews

One of my Favorite Mob Movies of all time

I have watched 'Gotti' over 100 times. If you like quotable dialog you will love this movie. It is one of my all time favorite movies of any genre. Armand Assante is awesome as John Gotti. If it wasn't an HBO movie I believe Assante would have been nominated for an academy award. Anthony Quinn is also excellent as Neil. The dialog is spoken in a hastened Queens/Brooklyn accent so turn the subtitles on so you don't miss any lines. This movie has become a cult favorite in my circle of movie fanatic friends. It is on par with Goodfellas, Mean Streets, Carlito's Way and the like. If you liked these films you should like 'Gotti' as well.