There will never be another Goodfellas

Rating: 10/10 (1 July 2016)

Goodfellas is a one of a kind film. That feels kind of strange to write considering that this film has been repeatedly attempted to be copied. The narration, the fourth wall breaks, the over-the-top violence; it all seems like a cliché in the "true-crime" genre. Blow, Casino, The Wolf of Wall Street, Donnie Brasco and many more films have tried to capture the same essence that Goodfellas had back when it was released in 1990. But, in this film-lover's humble opinion, they have all failed. That's because Goodfellas holds a style and atmosphere all of its own. But in the minds of the Hollywood "big-wigs", if something works once then it must work a dozen more times. Which is why every year we get an eye-rolling remake of a movie that was just fine when it came out. As I am typing this a remake of the 1959 classic Ben-Hur is about to be released. A film that won a record eleven Oscars is being remade! And, needless to say,many, including myself, do not think this film will hold up in comparison to its predecessor. Anyways, I think that the same thing is happening with Goodfellas in a more indirect way. I don't think that it will ever be remade frame-by- frame, but stylistically, it has been remade a dozen times, including a few times by Scorsese himself. It feels like every time Scorsese releases a new film it is trying to top Goodfellas, but no matter how good his films get, they never do. Goodfellas is his crowning achievement and it always will be. Because you can't remake Goodfellas, you can only come close. The acting, the camera movement, the cinematography, the lighting, the writing, and the overall unapologetic grit all come together to make a cinematic masterpiece and one of the best crime films of all time. I'm not saying that this film is better than The Godfather, but if you made that argument, many film-buffs would have a hard time debating you. Joe Pesci's Oscar- winning performance is just one of the many great highlights of this film. Jaw-dropping aggression, unchained violent nature, and unmercifully abhorrent personality highlight the surrealistically vicious world of Henry Hill (played by Ray Liotta). That and his narration which sounds more like reminiscence rather than straight-forward storytelling. Henry Hill describes his time in the mob in a musing tone as if to show admiration for his sinful past-life. Say what you will about how the true story actually relates to the film, but there is no denying that this film captured the spirit of Henry Hill and the mafia lifestyle. And that's what a good film based on a true story does. A biographic film is by no means a frame-by- frame record of every factual event that happened in an individual's life, but rather an homage that sums up that person's life and what impact it had on other people. Even if it was a negative impact, it can still make for a d****-good story. I could write about this movie for a hundred more paragraphs talking about Scorsese's decision in camera movement, the amazing performances given by the various actors and actresses (Robert De Niro, Ray Liota, Lorraine Bracco, Frank Vincent, even Samuel Jackson's small role), the way that the screenwriter, Nicholas Pileggi, nailed the character narration, fourth wall breaks, and witty dialogue just right, and a bunch of other elements that bring this film together so beautifully. But, to be honest, you wouldn't want to read that much text anyways. So, I will leave it up to the film to show you what I mean. And if you haven't seen this film yet, STOP READING THIS AND WATCH IT NOW. Seeing it is always better than talking about. You won't regret it. Even if you do, you can still be glad that it was made. Without Goodfellas, there would be no Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, Pulp Fiction and any of your favorite TV shows or movies that were influenced by this movie. Goodfellas isn't just a film, it helped make film what it is today.