The Greatest Gangster Film Ever!

Rating: Null/10 (26 March 2004)

Not only is this the best gangster film I have ever seen, but it has the best soundtrack I have ever heard and without great music, sometimes you donÂ‘t have a great film. I wouldn't recommend buying the soundtrack as it only has half of the songs on the film. I believe that this is Scorsese's masterpiece bar none and does it with such elegance and style that it will be hard for any director to try and touch this film in the coming future as the only film which I think isn't far behind Goodfellas is Scorsese's other gangster masterpiece, the overlooked Casino.
What excites me to this day and will do for generations is the way Scorsese uses music to his scenes and let's face it, he is a mastermind with his music choice as it is so different. The idea to start the film with Tony Bennett's Rags to Riches which is perfect as it fit's Henry Hill's life from something to nothing and don't get me started on the scene where lot's of gangsters wind up dead in many places with the beauty of Derrick and the Domino's Layla in the background just works on so many levels.
But the story alone is just fascinating to see how a character like Henry started his life as a somebody and for it to end in Henry Hill's remaining last words `an average nobody'. I can't remember which film it was that was up against Goodfellas at the Oscars, I think it was Dances With Wolves but how do you watch a film like Goodfellas and then lose out to a director Oscar To Dances With Wolves. Don't get me wrong I love Dances With Wolves but Goodfellas is every director dream of a true gangster biopic. Let's face it, the only Oscar Scorsese is ever going to see is probably a Life Time Achievement award and he will probably be dead if they were going to give it to him but I maybe wrong with The Aviator Coming up.
Ray Liotta out does himself with Goodfellas and he is still not as known as an actor as he should be, by just watching this and other films like Copland and Narc you know he is just a dynamite actor who doesn't star in so many films. Robert De Niro is on top form as is Joe Pesci and Paul Sorvino but the one thing that stands out most in this film is the editing by the great Thelma Scoonmaker. Her quick cuts in between scenes is what makes Goodfellas such an outstanding achievement and the same goes for the cinematography. Just look at the scene where Henry takes Karen to a posh club and the camera starts rolling from outside when they both get out of the car and they go through the back way going passed many people and going through the kitchens and backstage area without the camera cutting is just a stroke of genius and he does the same in Raging Bull and Gangs of New York and this is what I admire a lot and most in Scorsese Films, the way he just turns a simple scene into something so outstanding it makes the film more original. I am a film student and I have tried to do these shots without any shake and continuity and it's quite hard and very challenging to get it just right so when watching Goodfellas it just stands out in my mind and always will which is what makes Goodfellas so special as it contains some of the best Acting, Directing, Editing, Cinematography and Musical Soundtrack I have ever seen.