Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (5 March 2016)

Goodfellas is what I would call a masterpiece, a wonderful movie and a representation of everything I love about movies. It's a movie I have loved pretty much all my life and I just had the privilege to experience it in a theater, so I'll do my best to explain why Goodfellas is not just an ordinary crime film and why it's one of the greatest movies ever made for me.
There are so many movies about crime and gangsters and many before Goodfellas and this movie is often considered as the best mob movie ever made next to The Godfather. One the things that makes Goodfellas so good is the way it shows the gangster life and how it can be so attractive. We follow Henry Hill since he was a kid and he explains throughout his journey how "being a gangster was better than being president of the United States" Henry never had to wait for anything, he got what he wanted every time and he loved it. He explains how he thought people that worked every day just to get a paycheck had no balls. It's interesting because it shows why so many people join the mob in the first place, no matter how ugly it may seem. But one thing the film never does and it's also a reason why it's so great, is that it never glorifies the life of a gangster. Scorsese makes sure the audience feels how filthy and dangerous it is and how awful the people that live it can be. This is something Goodfellas excels at.
Goodfellas is also probably the most fast paced movie I have ever seen. The editing is amazing, but it's never confusing and this movie may be a lot of things but it is certainly not a boring film. It's an extremely entertaining and engaging film. The performances are just amazing and you get to know every main character. Joe Pesci won the Oscar for his performance, of course, but Ray Liotta and Robert De Niro are just great in the film. The cinematography is great and the movie just has Scorsese written all over it. His directorial choices are so evident in the film and they are beautiful. The combination of soundtrack and the film is beautiful and perfect. I love every bit of the movie but two of my favorite scenes are the steadicam shot when Henry takes Karen to the Copacabana and when Robert de Niro decides to kill Morty with Sunshine of Your Love playing intensely.
The fast pacing of the film works very well because if you pay attention, you will realize the pacing gets faster as the movie advances. This is paralleled with how Henry starts to lose control over his life through drug addiction, sloppiness (as he gets caught) and cheating on his wife. In the end we realize how deranged these people really are. Tommy (Pesci) is a psychopath, Jimmy (Robert de Niro) acts as a father figure and close friend to Henry most of the film and in the end he tries to get him (and probably his wife, too) killed. Henry rats everyone out and he doesn't even feel sorry for it. He feels sorry because he can't live the life anymore. He has to "wait around like everybody else" The audience realizes how dull and boring a "regular" life can be and we understand why he lived the life he lived. Scorsese never tries to moralize the actions of these people, but he makes sure we understand them.
For me, the movie is pretty much flawless. You could argue that there are too many freeze frames, but they all work. Also, you could argue that it's crazy that Henry's character is 21 years old at a point in the film when he looks 40. Think about it, though. If it was played with different actors the movie would not have the same effect and it would degrade the film. And remember, the movie plays out over a course of 30 years. This was the best way of shooting the movie.
In conclusion, Goodfellas is a must watch for any film lover. A classic and a masterpiece.
10/10