Goodfellas (2006, HD DVD)

While trying to decide on what films I should see next, I thought of Goodfellas. After all I enjoy the Martin Scorsese films which I have seen. I though Gangs of New York was an excellent film and I thoroughly enjoyed the Departed. So I decided to rent it. I was mesmerized and I couldn t wait to buy it. Out of the gangster films I have seen (I still need to watch the Godfather) this was one of the most intriguing films I have seen. It really is a classic film and is deserving of its reputation.

Henry Hill is a kid living in Brooklyn, every day he sees the mobsters living their glamorous life and he yearns to live like them. So he becomes an errand boy for them and mainly parks cars. He meets up and coming mobster Jimmy Conway and he sees great potential in Henry and takes him under his wing. Jimmy also mentors Tommy DeVito. Pretty soon Henry becomes a very successful gangster alongside Jimmy and Tommy and their lives couldn t be better. But the good times don t last long as their lives become complicated as Tommy takes his aggression too far by murdering a made man on an opposite family. After messing with the wrong man Jimmy and Henry are sent to jail for four years. While their they make drug connections and decide to carry out drug dealing when they get out even though their crime boss Paul Cicero doesn t allow it. Before long Henry leads a dangerous life and is convinced he is going to die anytime, with his wife by his side he fears for everything he has ever worked for before deciding to rat on his friends in turn for his protection.

Goodfellas is a film that grabs the viewer s attention and keeps it for the rest of the film. The story is excellent and is based on true events, it makes you want to learn more about the subject and the story is the classic rise and fall that never gets old. The acting is remarkable and all the characters are very believable. Not surprisingly the main three actors did extensive research on their characters and Ray Liotta listened to Henry s phone conversations. As the lead character Henry Hill, Ray Liotta does an excellent portrayal as him. He is a tragic character and you feel more sympathy for him since he is not a cold blooded killer but rather a person who just wants life a little better. Robert De Niro shows up here as Jimmy Conway and his performance is pretty good. Perhaps not as good as one may expect from De Niro but I believe that is simply due to his lack of emotional scenes he has to work with. He is a well defined character with his most obvious trait being greed, luckily he loves to steal. His performance is very good but not what I would call Oscar worthy. However Joe Pesci turns in an Oscar winning performance as Tommy DeVito. His character is simply a psychopath and Joe Pesci really captures the rage and madness in his character. Though this film didn t win best picture or director it at least won best supporting actor. Lorraine Bracco is solid as Henry s desperate wife who wants to leave him but just can t. Paul Sorvino performs well as the mob boss and adds a lot to the film.

The acting might be the best aspect of the film but what continually impressed me about the film was Martin Scorsese s flawless use of music. Through 90% of the film there is a song playing in the background. It almost always captures the mood and feel of the scene and does an excellent job for the tone. Many memorable songs are used and the music is used to its highest potential. Martin Scorses s directing is very well handled and his uses of freeze frames are outstanding. With his deadly combination of music and directing techniques, Scorsese easily embodies why he is considered one of the greatest living directors of his time. The themes running through the film are worthy and showcase greed, desperation, and addiction. Every character has emotional problems of some sort and this film helps capture everyone s problems. The film looks amazing and it is really an incredible achievement. Although I have not seen Dances with Wolves it seems like this film really did deserve best picture.

The screenplay is excellent and was co-written by crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi who wrote the book Wiseguy on which the film is based on. The script is very good and each character is wonderfully written. The witty lines everyone has are excellent and the acting really helps carry out the script. Just about everything in the film works, weather it be the spot on casting or the excellent set designs and time periods.

Overall this film may not be completely perfect but no film is. It paints an excellent portrait of organized crime and is said to rival the Godfather as best mob film ever. Although this is a dark film it packs a lot of dark humor. The situations aren t exactly pleasant but humor does appear. Most humor comes from Joe Pesci but it is subtle enough to still make you laugh. I would recommend this film to most everyone; it is violent but never exactly disturbing. There is a lot of profanity but it is never excessive. The characters are tragic and sympathetic; it is a well designed film and easily my favorite Martin Scorsese so far. At about 145 minutes the film is long enough to cover the territory it needs to and still have time to spare. The dialogue is rich and the whole film just hooks you in from the beginning. Easily a modern day masterpiece and one of the best films of the last twenty years. I urge you to seek out this film if you have not yet seen it already. If you re a fan of mafia films and have not seen this you should be ashamed. An excellent film, great cast, and dialogue is excellent, if I make a top ten list of films in the future I will have to be sure to include this.

5 stars

Robert De Niro ... Jimmy Conway
Ray Liotta ... Henry Hill
Joe Pesci ... Tommy DeVito
Lorraine Bracco ... Karen Hill
Paul Sorvino ... Paul Cicero