Thursday, March 25, 2010

Goodfellas

"What's the best gangster film?" people always seem to ask. Some say it's The Godfather (or its sequel), others say Scarface. But for me, it's Martin Scorsese's 1990 gem Goodfellas.

The movie opens with a line in Henry Hill's (Ray Liotta) narration: "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster." Hill achieves that goal and maintains his status for 30 years as a "wiseguy". But tensions between him and his fellows "wiseguys" Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) may tear that dream apart.

As I watching it, I realized how immense and intense Scorsese can get with his directing. It reminded me of the themes in The Godfather and the intensity of the violence in Raging Bull. But much like Raging Bull, Goodfellas shows the vulnerability of man. That, and it lost Best Picture to a lucky first-time director. Anyway, Goodfellas successfully managed to BLOW MY MIND.

My Rating: *****

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