This is one of the better movies of the crime drama genre. It depicts a warped man who for a while through sheer audacity became a celebrity. Armand Assante's performance is outstanding. His resemblance to John Gotti is uncanny. He succeeds in conveying Gotti's contempt for social convention and his proclivity for violence. John Gotti was such a loose cannon that even his fellow gangsters were afraid of him. The movie raises a question: how could American society produce such a socially dysfunctional character? Gotti was a predator; his prey were his fellow gangsters. The movie also effectively depicts the other principle character of the story, Sam Gravano. Most of the movie revolves around Gottis' relationship with Gravano. Gotti made the plans, fingered his victims and Gravano acted, with murderous results. What makes this movie so powerful and so disturbing is that Gotti is not a fictional character and the murders he committed were real.

There was a period, about when this feature was made for television, when the good folks of the REAL mafia sat around together enjoying one mafia movie after another, chuckling, making critical comments, and arguing about who should play each of THEM in the next movie.There seemed to be a Victoria Falls of mafia movies. It was a genre unto itself -- not quite just another gangster movie, not a shoot-'em-up action thriller, and not a throwaway glance at human character and morality.You could almost get the impression that it was all a fictional universe, like the "Star Trek" or "Star Wars" franchises. But, though the movies were stretched a bit and some of them purported to be fiction, the organization, its norms and milieu, were real enough. There was a clam bar on Kenmore in New York's Little Italy we used to patronize regularly, Little Charlie's. One crowded night, there were no tables available and Uncle Flory inquired about those two empty tables in he back, already set for dinner. "Er, those tables are always empty so they'll be available in case any of the important, erm, 'businessmen' of the community happen to drop in." Who WOULDN'T kill for that kind of rispetto? John Gotti was known as the "Dapper Don". He wore million-dollar sharkskin suits you could see your reflection in, ten billion-dollar Rolex watches that were made of platinum inside and out -- all worn at the same time on the same wrist, and mahogany colored shoes made of unborn loggerhead turtle skin. His car was forty feet long, powered by the same engine that kept a Boeing 707 aloft, and made of tiled Kevlar painted international orange. The vanity license plate read GOTTI GOT IT, YOU AIN'T. His cigars were hand rolled by virgins in Bora Bora. And his twenty pinkie rings were REALLY expensive. He never avoided self display either, usually wearing a modest grin for the cameras. Just another fella.He rose pretty quickly to head the Gambino family in New York before his underboss, Sammy ("the moral nihilist") Gravano, ratted him out. Gotti went to prison for life and Gravano, a multi-murderer, after spending three years in the slams, went into the witness protection agency.Armand Assante does very well by the role of Gotti. The mannerisms are right, but sometimes he talks too fast. Sometimes he speaks more quickly than I can think. Really, there were little outbursts, imprecations, in which the phonemes swept past my apperceptive apparatus like a sudden gust of wind. He's a good actor, capable of carrying a dumb comedy as well as a drama or even the myth of Odysseus with conviction.Anthony Quinn, ancient and creaking, does his best, as does Marc Lawrence, who has been a gangster for many years, going back to "The Asphalt Jungle." I've always like William Forsythe, who has the eyes of some kind of reptilian chimera, but is a good solid reliable supporting player. He was my co-star in the inestimably poetic ex-con masterpiece, "Weeds." I took a liking to him and coached him through his more difficult scenes.You know, though, the MBAs who greenlight these projects may have a problem. What is there that is still unsaid about the Mafia? Next up: movies about the making of movies about the Mafia.

A superb performance by Armand Assante as Gotti.A fast-paced exploration of the Gambino crine family of New York. The film focuses on the violent aspect of organized crime and the police operations to fight it and bring John Gotti to justice. This fact based drama is a powerful,disturbing saga of the Mafia in America. It is a tale of a iron willed Capo who later became the most powerful leader in American mob history. Gotti chose to live and die by the gun in order to reap vast fortunes and personal power,and of the plots they weave in the course of turning crime into a business.

"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.