THE REVISIT – GOODFELLAS
I don’t think there is a genre of film that is more intriguing than a dramatic Mafia story, especially when the film is based on a true story. Goodfellas has always been my favorite in this sub-genre. Everyone knows about Henry Hill – a man whom has always wanted to be a gangster, and according to the real life people, Goodfellas was mostly an accurate portrayal of Hill’s intense lifestyle.
The Mafioso lifestyle is always portrayed the same way – glamorous with a touch of brutality. It’s a life that most male Italian teenagers wanted to be part of, especially if you were living anywhere in New England, Chicago or Detroit around prohibition time. But Goodfellas showed us how things were during the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, where everything from egos to hair was large and lavish.
Even with the violent aspects that exist within any Mafia story put to film, there is always a sense of family amongst the most brutal of people. Now, everyone knows that no matter how nice and “family oriented” mobsters can be, there is always a chance someone can be whacked by one of their “brothers”, even if that person is a made man. As explained in Goodfellas, Tommy killed a made man, whom you need permission from a boss to kill, and the body had to be hidden with no chance of anyone finding him.
Then we have Karen, the completely naïve young girl who falls madly in love with Henry – a young man with an abundance of power, so much so that despite all the bad, Karen can’t leave him. I’ve always wondered what would keep a woman like Karen close to a man like Henry, but as she explains – there is something about it that turned her on when she saw him being violent.
The supporting cast of characters including Jimmy Conway(De Niro) and Tommy DeVito(Pesci) have since become staples in the Mafia genre, but Goodfellas is probably their best roles while playing gangsters. If you look hard enough, there are many Sopranos alumni floating around, including Big Pussy, Phil Leotardo, Christopher Moltisanti and of course we can’t forget Dr. Melfi herself. I’m sure there are one or two more people that went on to The Sopranos, but those were the stand outs.
I’m sure many would say that The Godfather is the end-all be-all of gangster movies, but honestly, I’ve seen it maybe once all the way through and I didn’t care for it, I think it was a bit pretentious and overly praised. The only movie that could rival Goodfellas would have to be Casino, and the only reason for that is due to Scorsese, De Niro and Pesci. I doubt anyone who frequents Bingemedia HASN’T seen Goodfellas, but in case there are some of you, what the hell is your problem?