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The 2007 recipient of the "Achievement in Directing" Academy Award is renowned for masterpieces concerning Italian-American identity, Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption, machismo, and the violence endemic in society. Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas, along with Mean Streets (1973), are two of his many classics which arguably epitomise the themes which lie so close to his heart and expertise. Unlike the novice days of its early 1970s counterpart, Goodfellas demonstrates the true genius of a legendary director at work with the gloss of experience, an updated knowledge of the filmmaking process, and a wholesome rawness present throughout. Obviously this isn't to pronounce the merits of Mean Streets as a failure because it is such an artistic accomplishment in its own right, but the stunning visionary success can be seen as the juicy appetizer to the succulent main course in a similar way to Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992) and subsequent Pulp Fiction (1994). Scorsese of course was not the only one to creatively mature in the seventeen years following his personal take on Little Italy. His frequent collaborator, a certain Mr De Niro, also became a member of the filmic elite after the pair had bounced their celebrated talents off one another on five separate occasions following their breakthroughs into the limelight, peaking with two other films which will be forever etched in the history of motion pictures - Taxi Driver (1976) and Raging Bull (1980). However, the sixth effort from the enduring collaboration has become a rival to the aforementioned greatness the duo had discovered prior.
Steven Spielberg, Marty's Movie Brat colleague, friend and much-adored equivalent, has an excellent storytelling gift, but amongst the continuous audience-friendly blockbuster fodder of his filmography, it can be argued that the movie world's most famous director only has occasional surges of individual authorship brilliance, comparable to how often motor-mouth Marty ventures into Spielberg's world of huge budget hits. Indeed, Scorsese makes quasi-blockbusters - films like The Departed (2007) have the large budgets and bankable stars but the film isn't exactly family friendly. In a similar way, when Spielberg visits his artistic side, however good his efforts may be, films like The Color Purple (1985), Schindler's List (1993) and Munich (2005) seemingly always contain historical and/or political agendas. This isn't how Scorsese operates though as his personal brand appears on every film. His trademark rapid editing, troubled male protagonist, and eclectic rock soundtrack are as relevant today as they were in the embryonic stages of his career. Scorsese works from the cultural underbelly of society, exploring urban troubles in a hugely digestible, engaging and almost instinctive natural manner whilst valuing art over the need for social answers. His unique storytelling gift is the constant in his masterful catalogue as his films range from magnum opus to magnum opus and immoral subject to immoral subject. It is for this reason that the New Yorker is so well respected by his peers and the film-going public.
"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster." Ray Liotta's first narrated words at the beginning of undoubtedly one of the greatest films of all-time commence proceedings in a fairytale-like manner. In fact, Liotta's very realistic doppelganger, Henry Hill, has a journey up the ranks of the criminal underworld which is similar to a traditional bedtime yarn - overcoming the odds, happy ending etc. Scorsese's masterwork is very much a true urban fairytale though, as obstacles in Hill's progression in the overall quest for respect from his peers and bosses range from robbery, murder, dealing drugs, maintaining a mistress and so forth. Basically, Hill and his associates undertake and possess everything which is taboo in Western culture - they lie, cheat, steal and swear a ridiculous amount of times. Any audience member with an understanding of societal expectations in regards to norms, values, and morals knows the Brooklyn-based gangsters are terrible people but they have an overt charisma, comedy and charm which is so magnetically appealing.
De Niro fashioned a star when he stepped aside from Marty's advances to play Henry Hill for age reasons and let the mostly supporting actor, Liotta claim the limelight. The New Jersey native is simply outstanding as the protagonist and he picks up on every nuance of detail the real Hill made available to the cast via co-screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi. Liotta has the ability to change from nasty to naive in an instant and is the perfect choice to convey the sheer power and yet uncertainty of a Mafioso's life. His whole life is in a fragile unruly spiral as Hill begins to sell cigarettes as a nervous teenager, marry the feisty Karen (an excellent Lorraine Bracco), bury murdered bodies and deal cocaine, whilst we constantly see the proverbial walls closing in on his uncontrollable life. Paul Sorvino, playing Henry's boss Paulie, and Karen, are the two very well-acted figures who endeavour to keep his life in check, albeit a criminal existence. This biopic is almost tailor-made for film however as it contains conflicting ideals and Scorsese throws us two curveballs by way of Robert De Niro's Jimmy "The Gent" Conway and Joe Pesci's (in an Oscar-winning role) Tommy DeVito. Pesci is exceptional as the hot-headed hoodlum with his improvisational "Funny how?" scene, coupled with the murder of Frank Vincent's Billy Batts being two of the film's highlights. One cannot really analyse the character with words as his ego, overt corruption and greed speak for themselves as you watch a unique performance. De Niro's visceral wiseguy is certainly just as compelling and his iconic stance at a bar captured in slow-motion with Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" still sends shivers up and down the spine with its so obvious coolness. The actions of the trio (Conway, Hill and DeVito) are not always the most cerebral but my word they are enjoyable.
Performances and examination of the amazingly engrossing 145 minute running time aside, this is the director's show. As an asthmatic child and wannabe Catholic priest growing up in New York, Scorsese was left out of the gangland activities of youth. He never missed a trick though and much of Henry Hill's early life can be seen as a reflection of the maestro's formative years. He has consequently moulded Goodfellas into an extremely realistic portrayal of the goings-on in the Lucchese crime family and has even added more personal hints to the film by casting both his mother and father in supporting roles. The aforementioned directorial brilliance is constant throughout with the air-cam usage propelling the viewer into the back of a frozen food lorry being just one of the breathtaking moments. To comment on the soundtrack is uncomplicated - the greatest motion picture music of all time. Scorsese has the skill to fuse such appropriate tracks into the necessary scenes with such ease and as the audience weaves through the fascinating narrative, we encounter ballads ranging from The Rolling Stones, Donovan and Aretha Franklin, not forgetting of course the unforgettable "Layla" sequence by Derek and the Dominoes.
Films simply do not get better than this as Scorsese takes us for a tremendous adventure inside the lives of extraordinarily scandalous and remarkable people.
The extras
After purchasing the very disappointing vanilla disc early in the DVD revolution, the "Special Edition" promised so much. Unfortunately the two disc set only partially delivers on its promise. Of the two commentary tracks, the effort from the real Henry Hill and former FBI agent Edward McDonald is by far superior, illustrating immense insight. Marty's track with the cast and crew is inconsistent with much of what is spoken not being particularly relevant to particular scenes and it fails to even cover the whole film. "Getting Made" is a decent half hour look at the genius of Scorsese and "The Workaday Gangster" is simply eight minutes of looking at the gangster working philosophy. "Made Men - The Goodfellas Legacy" featurette is a boastful look at the cultural effect of the film and the last storyboard extra is nothing special. A trailer rounds out the annoyingly uninspired but still commendable release. The 16:9 anamorphic transfer is excellent though.
The summary
Regarded as a member of Scorsese's triad of cinematic classics with Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, Goodfellas is purely a masterpiece examining a distorted vision of the American dream. An inevitable guaranteed admiration for excellent filmmaking will result from you purchasing this film now. A must-watch.
