Discuss GoodFellas
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If I told you I saw this movie 50 times...
posted by movie_naziSTAFFMOD on February 7, 2019 at 4:12 PM
...I probably would be severely underestimating. Just absolutely brilliant. Scorsese's magnum opus.
GoodFellas (1990) - 10 outta 10 stars
Reply by bratface
on July 28, 2022 at 11:26 PM
The Departed is an INFERIOR REMAKE! Watch the 'Infernal Affairs' trilogy instead!
Reply by movie_nazi
on July 30, 2022 at 12:15 AM
I've seen it. I thought it was pretty good but I do remember something about it bugged me. It was a bit over melodramatic if I remember correctly. I'd have to watch it again.
Reply by bratface
on July 30, 2022 at 1:16 AM
Do you mean 'Infernal Affairs' is melodramatic or The Departed?
Reply by movie_nazi
on July 30, 2022 at 10:25 AM
Infernal. But I could be remembering it wrong. Pretty sure I got a copy of it somewhere around here. Trying to dig it up to watch it again (been a while).
Reply by northcoast
on August 7, 2022 at 7:24 AM
I'm another one of the small group of people who wasn't quite as impressed with Goodfellas as the majority of film buffs seem to be.
I am not a young man, and I love the Godfather films (well, I love the first two, and like the third. I haven't seen Coppola's "Coda" version yet, but plan on watching it this Autumn/Winter and reviewing it on the Godfather III TMDB page). I avoided Goodfellas for a very long time, despite knowing about and liking many of its cast members, especially the great Ray Liotta, may he Rest in Peace. I had seen previews of certain of its scenes and it just didn't interest me. I finally got around to seeing it in 2020.
And I thought it was just okay. I know this is probably cinematic anathema to many, but it really doesn't have re-watch value to me and I would even re-watch the original release (again, I can't yet speak to "Coda") of The Godfather III over Goodfellas.
And the thing is, as someone with substantial Italian heritage, I guess I'm really supposed to think that Goodfellas is peak cinema; but I felt, despite it being based on a true story, that it just played too much into ethnic stereotypes and the gangster life was unnecessarily glamorized. This might seem contradictory since I like the Godfather films, but the thing is, Coppola's work was operating on multiple tracks. It wasn't just playing up the mobster life, it was also spending a lot of time delving into other aspects of "Italian-American" life, as well as the historicity of the times the films were set in, independent of the Mafia itself. I recall reading/hearing somewhere that Coppola himself said something along the lines that the Godfather films were really, at their core, a giant family opera.
But Goodfellas? It just came off as a young man (played by Liotta) aspiring to the criminal life, with Scorsese creating a one-dimensional flat film as a mobster glamorization project.
But I know my opinion is very much a minority one, and others are free to vehemently disagree.
Reply by movie_nazi
on August 7, 2022 at 1:12 PM
That's fine! 😊Films affect different people's emotions. We all can get something out of a film that other people do not and vice versa. At the time of it's release I have Italian American friends from the NYC area who actually had relatives that went to school with some of the characters portrayed in the film and they actually hated the film and other mafia films. They felt it showed Italian Americans in an awful light as most of them were actually hard "working stiffs" , as the characters in the film would say, and honest people. They hated watching these bullies push around hard working people. I suppose being actually in the drama is going to have an effect as to your enjoyment of the film. They absolutely looked at it as a glamorization of "the life" . But I'd like to point out that the film doesn't end with Henry living in a castle, surrounded by his offspring, and living the last of his days spending. All of Scorsese films point out that the life is not worth it . These films do an excellent job is portraying why the life is so tempting and why people are swayed to it but by the third act it all begins to fall apart. They served as a very important life lesson and when you come from a poorer family then the more poignant the lesson is felt.
Reply by northcoast
on August 7, 2022 at 1:39 PM
Thank you, movie_nazi.
You see, I greatly enjoyed the television show The Sopranos, because I think it did a fantastic job of showing the very character arc you describe. David Chase and all the writers did a terrific job of at first pulling the viewer into the story, even to the point of kind of sympathizing with some of the mobsters-- especially Tony -- (so I myself have been guilty, at least tangentially, of thinking these guys are kind of "cool") but by the end of that show, we see just how despicable Tony and "the life" really are. I did not like Tony at all by the end of that program. I have said before that despite all of these gangsters saying they "work so hard" to provide for their families, it is all for nothing in the end, even if they are never caught. The man or woman working down at the local convenience store is more hardworking than any of them, as far as I am concerned, because the work is honest. That man or woman can sleep soundly at night because they didn't hurt anyone or steal from them.
But with "Goodfellas", Liotta's character gets into the witness protection program, but not only that, Scorsese seemed to imply with Liotta's voice-over at the end that we are still supposed to sympathize with him, because he really wasn't that bad and his wealthy life had been unfairly reduced to a merely middle-class, secret life with no prestige. Scorsese probably didn't mean it that way, but as the viewer, that's how I took it.
Again, it's fine if others really like Goodfellas, but for me it was just okay and it fell flat.
Reply by movie_nazi
on August 8, 2022 at 2:34 PM
Well, its true Henry didn't die or end up in prison but it was made pretty clear that he was now a "Schnook" . A "working stiff" like the rest of us losers. The Sopranos ending was I think worse because it ends with Tony still on top even after murdering his own nephew. You saw him receive no retribution. It's true when you have a show you get a much better character development but I felt Chase could have done a better job expressing how you will finally end up if you pursue this type of life.
Reply by DRDMovieMusings
on August 8, 2022 at 3:37 PM
You should do some research. At the end, Tony got whacked.
That's correct. The last scene was shot primarily from Tony's point of view. He never saw the guy come out of the washroom, so we didn't see it either. All we saw is what he saw...suddenly, black.
The rest of Tony's main crew got whacked, and we saw it. That's how they finally ended up. Tony was last, we just didn't see him get it because, again, Chase crafted an artsy scene for the main character of the show. There's lots of video supporting the understanding that that famous last scene was Tony getting whacked. Check it out!
Reply by movie_nazi
on August 8, 2022 at 3:57 PM
Interesting. Although I do remember a back and forth at the time when no one really knew what happened. Really? His whole crew was dead by season finale?
Reply by DRDMovieMusings
on August 8, 2022 at 4:09 PM
You are correct! Yes, there was a ton of back and forth...but, people have done scene analyses and the general realization emerged.
Paulie and Silvio got it together in a car in that last episode. Christopher, Big Pussy, Vito...they all got whacked previously.
Reply by movie_nazi
on August 8, 2022 at 7:38 PM
Hmm, I even read an article were supposedly Chase said Tony lived so I think the jury is probably still out on this one.