Here is a masterful exercise in how to establish and maintain great control of your narrative. I was captivated from the first frame to the last in Goodfellas. It plays like a huge, ongoing montage sequence that I could have watched 10 hours of. I could have stared at the Scorsese tracking shots forever while admiring the mesmerizing performances of Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, and the late Ray Liotta.
This is such a fine film. The first lines are well-spoken by our protagonist, Liotta's Henry Hill: "As far as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster." Not only do these words hang on for the rest of the runtime, viewers just know they are off to a long, fascinating ride when they hear this.
Seeing a great film is the closest one gets to experiencing another person's life. Watching Goodfellas, I was fully immersed in Henry Hill's dark, gritty life of alcohol, drugs, smoke, and murder. We get a detailed inside look at how a gang is managed, and how the members think and operate. Pesci is a short-tempered, foul-mouthed person who kills in a matter of seconds. De Niro is calm and powerful, a figure that everybody fears. Liotta has the most growth, from the new kid to the one closest to his boss.
Now we have a few people we care about, it's time to see how they work. One thing this film understands fully is that suspense is not to be forced but to be built. Your film is not intense when you introduce loads of characters just to kill them off. Goodfellas builds relationships and status for all of our characters and shows us how affairs can go horribly wrong, and all the reputation and power can be gone in a second.
The stakes are getting higher and higher, our characters are taking greater risks. It all comes down to themes of trust, morality, and ultimately betrayal. And after the film we are all left stunned, having just experienced the most exhilarating crime journey of all time.
This is such a fine film. The first lines are well-spoken by our protagonist, Liotta's Henry Hill: "As far as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster." Not only do these words hang on for the rest of the runtime, viewers just know they are off to a long, fascinating ride when they hear this.
Seeing a great film is the closest one gets to experiencing another person's life. Watching Goodfellas, I was fully immersed in Henry Hill's dark, gritty life of alcohol, drugs, smoke, and murder. We get a detailed inside look at how a gang is managed, and how the members think and operate. Pesci is a short-tempered, foul-mouthed person who kills in a matter of seconds. De Niro is calm and powerful, a figure that everybody fears. Liotta has the most growth, from the new kid to the one closest to his boss.
Now we have a few people we care about, it's time to see how they work. One thing this film understands fully is that suspense is not to be forced but to be built. Your film is not intense when you introduce loads of characters just to kill them off. Goodfellas builds relationships and status for all of our characters and shows us how affairs can go horribly wrong, and all the reputation and power can be gone in a second.
The stakes are getting higher and higher, our characters are taking greater risks. It all comes down to themes of trust, morality, and ultimately betrayal. And after the film we are all left stunned, having just experienced the most exhilarating crime journey of all time.