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Reviews
New York: A Documentary Film (1999)
Comprehensive, interesting
This documentary (7 DVD's) takes you from the beginning of New York City as a Dutch colony to somewhere around 1990. Unfortunately, much of the wonderful photography of the modern skyline is tragically dated, since the project was completed well before September 11th, 2001.
Regardless, what this documentary does best is to give you an insight into the most important personalities that shaped this city, e.g., Robert Moses, Al Smith, LaGuardia, Stuyvesent, etc. As a viewer, you get a feel for what it was like to live during all of the periods that were covered. The real detail of the series ends around 1970, so its better for covering earlier New York History.
Goodfellas (1990)
American cinema at its finest
After years of pondering the question, I have concluded that this is my favorite film of all time. It has an extremely compelling narrative, strong acting performances, and wonderful cinematography. The film depicts years in the lives of Italian Americans in the mafia, and like a delicious Italian meal, the film is rich with variety and depth of the characters that appear on the screen. You'll find yourself moved to a wide range of emotions while watching this film. Ray Liotta is very convincing as Henry Hill. Pesci's somewhat over-the-top performance brilliantly fits within the story Scorcese is telling.