Product Details

• Actors: Nicholas Turturro, Tom Sizemore, Debi Mazar, Abe Vigoda, Michael Imperioli
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Koch Vision
• DVD Release Date: October 14, 2008
• Run Time: 124 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001C0I61M
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,623 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Witness to the Mob" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

After rising through the ranks of the gambino crime family sammy the bull gravanos crimes finally catch up with him when he ends up behind bars & is faced with the life-threatening decision to turn states evidence against his boss & former friend john gotti. Studio: Koch International Release Date: 10/14/2008 Starring: Nicholas Turturro Michael Imperioli Run time: 240 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not on DVD!!!!!!! What!!!!!, July 29, 2008

By 

Anthony Rodriguez "Surgical Steel" (Houston, Tx USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Witness to the Mob (DVD)

I cant believe this movie is just going to be released on DVD, what a shame. It should have been released a long time ago as far Im concerned. This one of the best Mob movies ever right in between Godfather and Goodfellows and Donnie Brasco. What really dissapoints me that it is going to be released in full screen, who ever is putting this out should really consider a wide screen format. Tom Sizemore does a better job then Armand Assante in portraying Gotti (although I thought Assante was pretty good in the HBO movie Gotti). Trust me if you like Mob movies and crime dramas this is most definitely for you. The story telling is so compelling that your eyes will be riveted to you tv screen. By far it is deserving of 5 stars, now do yourself a favor and buy it or at the very least rent it you wont be dissapointed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MOB MUST SEE, July 13, 2008

By 

Compusurge (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Witness to the Mob (DVD)

Witness to the Mob is an absolute MUST SEE for ANY fan of Mob films and NY mob history. A dramatic retelling of the story inspired by the NY Times best selling novel Underboss, "Witness" recounts the rise of John Gotti and his right hand man Sammy 'the bull' Gravano within the NY crime scene and the Gambino family.

Packed with stars known to this genre (three from the Sopranos), the film portrays the violent times with a sense of great realism. Told from Sammy Gravano's side of the table, it contains a sense and perspective unlike other films, for Gravano was not 'the dapper' Don, he was the man who made things happen in his own way.

The style is a narrative one in the same way Goodfellas is... in this case, the narrator is Nicholas Turturro in the lead role of Gravano. It works wonderfully as it brings you into the storyline on a personal level, providing insights as the film moves along.

No collection of mob films should be without this one, and I, for one, am thrilled it's finally making its way to DVD!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sopranos warmup in cheap warmup suit, February 21, 2011

By 

N. P. Stathoulopoulos "nick9155" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Witness to the Mob (DVD)

I gave up waiting and hoping that this forgotten TV flick would see a proper DVD release...apparently, whoever owned the rights were out of their minds not to release this during the height of Sopranos Fever.

The 1996 HBO movie Gotti has been widely available for ages as a cheap DVD, and has become a home classic for those who like to point out what guy was in what other mob movie and who got whacked when and where. Witness to the Mob should be packaged with Gotti and sold together as a one-two punch of shameless Wiseguy Actor Guild fodder for repeated viewings and drinking games.

The cast in this one is pure Wiseguy Actor Bingo. This appeared in 1998, a year before The Sopranos would change the face and quality of Mafioso drama forever, and it feels like a warm-up for that series (only without the good writing, direction, drama, etc). Michael Imperioli, Tony Sirico, Vincent Pastore, Frank Vincent, the guy who played 'Murmur', the guy who played Carlo Gervasi, Frankie Valli, the guy with a small part as 'Tony Black' in the last season, the guy who played Johnny Boy Soprano, the woman who played Charmane Bucco...all appear and are immediately recognizable. A bunch of them get whacked. All of them have appeared in other mob-lore movies. You've got Abe Vigoda and Richard 'Al Neri' Bright to bring up the Godfather connections. You've got that guy who played the degenerate gambler that Pesci chews out in Casino. You've got a fat guy who also played a wise guy in The Jerky Boys. You've got Johnny Roast Beef from Goodfellas...a film where several of the above also appear in large and small roles. Throw Debi Mazur in there (Goodfellas) with the most significant female role. You've got any number of other guys who you know you've seen in some movie or TV show at some point, but you have to look them up and then you discover, yes, they've appeared in bits here and there as gangsters. You've got a lot of random guys billed only as 'mobster'.

Nick Turturro and Tom Sizemore are not really members of the Wiseguy Actors Guild, but they are very capable in their roles. Sizemore as Gotti? It works, and the hairpiece is tremendous. Besides, a fat, swearing Sizemore is a great asset to any film for the morbidly curious. (We do get a fat Sizmore in a prison jumpsuit screaming from his cell.) Oh yeah, and Robert DeNiro produced this, so how's that for mob actor credentials?

The movie? The movie is based on the Sammy Gravano / Peter Maas autobiography Underboss, which serves as a counterpoint to the Gotti story. This time, Gravano gets to tell his side and pad out his story with what a stand-up guy he was, and how out of control Gotti was. He questions 'the life', the false loyalty and honor, how it's all about the money, and how "the rules" are for the little guys to follow while the bosses get to do whatever they want. All of the treachery gives him doubts. The timeline is different from the Gotti movie, but there are plenty of overlapping events. Remember Frank Vincent as DiBi in Gotti, getting shot in the head? Swap him out and have him play Frankie DeCicco, and he gets blown to bits here in a car bombing. Vincent Pastore as Fat Angie in Gotti? Here he's Mikey De Batt, and he gets pumped with lead as he's pumping the jukebox with quarters. Once again, we get the Sparks Steakhouse hit; this time it's Abe Vigoda getting lit up by swarming gunmen.

There are countless scenes that you feel like you've seen 100 times already---wiseguys sitting around in a social club, drinking, playing cards, smoking, talking about schemes and murders, breaking chops, etc, etc, etc. Again, this is pre-Sopranos, so when you watch this you can't help but compare it to the masterful TV show (and its own depictions of wiseguys sitting around talking about schemes, murder, playing cards ,etc). You've got tremendous outfits from the costume department. You've got guys who are probably real mob associates playing mob associates. You've got guys who think they really are gangsters because they play gangsters.

Yes, it's often very cheesy. Yes, it was made for TV, so there is no actual swearing(!), which is a definite liability in a mob movie. The production values are actually pretty good for a TV flick. The writing and the drama are often flat, but you'll tune in to see the 'usual' scenes of wiseguy antics you've come to know and love. Yes, you will recognize plenty of New York locations, including those around Brooklyn. Remember the Lowes Oriental? It's the backdrop to a memorable car bombing. Ah, Brooklyn.

Pick this baby up for cheap and do a shot of espresso.