FAQ

In the film, some of the men in the mob are referred to as a skipper, connected guy or wiseguy. It's often confusing to know what terms mean why they all have different names.

Connected Guy is an Associate to a mafia family. An associate is an outsider or a hang around. They are not members of a family or "made" and rarely get access to serious mafia secrets and or information. Their responsibilities usually are to carry out small tasks, such as robbery and theft. They must prove themselves through this and earning good money to become made. Donnie is an associate, as he is not a member and proving to the Bonannos he is a good earner.

Wiseguy is a soldier or Soldato a made man in a crime family. They get the ultimate protection, meaning no one can touch you or they will get killed. All the members of Sonny Black's crew aside from Donnie were Soldatos.

Skipper is another term for a Caporegime "Capo" or Captain. A Capo leads a crew of Soldatos and occasionally some associates. They report to the higher ups, and are like mini bosses of their territories and neighborhoods.

Apparently it's an old rule created after the "Mustache Petes" were ostracized. Mustache Pete refers to member of the Sicilian mafia who migrated to the U.S. in the early 20th century. They stuck to their homeland traditions, which the newer generation of Americanized mafiosi considered to be outdated and stubborn. Thus younger mobsters wanted to dissociate themselves from Mustache Petes (who had big mustaches), and did so by outlawing mustaches altogether.

Also, mobsters stay clean-shaven in case they had to go on the run, they could grow a beard to help hide their identity.

FBI special agent Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) goes undercover in order to infiltrate a New York City mafioso faction. Befrriended by aging hit man Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero (Al Pacino), Pistone (using the alias "Donnie Brasco") begins to identify with the mafia life, to the expense of his own. When the FBI decides that it is time to pull the plug on the operation, Donnie realizes that, if he walks away, Ruggiero will certainly be the one punished.

Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia (1988) is an autobiographical account by former FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone (assisted in the writing by Richard Woodley), detailing the years that Pistone lived undercover with the mafia. The book was adapted for the screenplay by American screenwriter Paul Attanasio.

"A Stranger on Earth" by Dinah Washington.

It was a King's Court matchbox, from the club Lefty was trying to open without Sonny knowing. That was Sonny's way of telling Lefty he knew what they were up to.

Mike Newell's mafia drama was released as an extended version initially exclusively in the USA. As almost common with Sony releases, several deleted scenes were reintegrated. Just that would not be that exciting, but there are also several scenes, which have never been seen before and which are not only for the plot, but also reveal further bloody details. How much the movie actually profits from that, is something, that everybody has to know for themselves.