The Screen Addict | Gotti

While binging the excellent Documentary series 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶 (𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯) on Netflix, I suddenly remembered that Armand Assante played The Teflon Don in an exceptionally well-made HBO production back in The Nineties.

I felt an immediate urge to revisit and recommend this forgotten gem, but since 𝗚𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶 () is a thirty-year-old TV movie, you’re probably not going to find it on any streaming platform.
So, I did what I always do when I want to rewatch something that is considered deep and / or obsolete library by the streamers – I fired up Google and tracked down a physical copy.

I’m pleased to report that three decades on, 𝗚𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶 still holds up.

It’s always so much fun to revisit older movies and spot actors who I didn’t know at the time of first viewing, but have since become favorites of mine. In 𝗚𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶, it’s Tony Sirico who fits that bill. Sirico had obviously been in tons of films before 𝗚𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶, but it wasn’t until his unforgettable portrayal of Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri in 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘀 that I really started to notice him. Let’s call it retrospective appreciation.

Naturally, Sirico is accompanied by several other usual suspects of the Crime genre, most notably Frank Vincent, Robert Miranda and Vincent Pastore. Yeah, these four guys pretty much have the Gangster-film market cornered.

Another instantly recognizable face in 𝗚𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶 is 𝗗𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 (𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟬) and 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 (𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟭) baddie William Forsythe, whose striking features make him uniquely equipped to play the equally eye-catching Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, John Gotti’s trusted lieutenant and eventual scourge.

Anthony Quinn, who plays underboss Neil Dellacrocce, is always a pleasure to watch. However, Quinn may very well have had an ulterior motive for appearing in 𝗚𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶. In the Netflix doc, the venerable actor is mentioned as one of John Gotti’s “Hollywood Supporters”, alongside Mickey Rourke and John Amos. The Nineties truly were something else...

I just adore Armand Assante. It goes without saying that the guy is a phenomenal actor, but it’s his voice specifically that really pulls me into every role he plays. No other quite like it. I daresay that Assante’s turn as John Gotti is right up there with Pacino’s Tony Montana and De Niro’s Jimmy “The Gent” Conway, and it makes me so happy that he was rewarded with an Emmy for this part.

Assante has often been the go-to-guy for directors who needed someone to deliver a small but memorable performance – his Italian roots making him many filmmakers’ first choice for the part of menacing mobster.

His ubiquitous presence in Crime films of the Eighties and Nineties notwithstanding, I nonetheless first discovered Assante in the totally bonkers comic-book adaptation 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗱 (𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟱), in which he was quite cleverly cast as Stallone’s maniacal clone.

Shortly after I saw 𝗝𝗗, I stumbled across the undervalued Crime-Drama 𝗛𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗮 (𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟮) – another gangster part for Assante – and I became a fan for life.

𝗚𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶 is directed to perfection by Robert Harmon. This Bostonian filmmaker exploded onto the scene with 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 (𝟭𝟵𝟴𝟲) and 𝗘𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹 (𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟭), but has since been directing almost exclusively for the small screen. Interestingly, Harmon appears to be Tom Selleck’s preferred partner behind the camera, given that he was at the helm of Selleck’s 𝗜𝗸𝗲: 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗗-𝗗𝗮𝘆 (𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟰), every Jesse Stone TV movie, and many episodes of 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀.

More than two decades after Assante’s superb portrayal of The Dapper Don, John Travolta and 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 actor-director Kevin Connolly took another stab at the story with 𝗚𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶 (𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟴). Now, I would never dissuade anyone to see ANY film, but let me put it like this – should you ever find yourself having to choose between Travolta’s and Assante’s take on John Gotti, you’d probably be better off going with the latter.

Nevertheless…

Seek ‘em all out out & get your fix.

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Twitter (X): Robin Logjes | The Screen Addict