Analysis Of Goodfellas : Communicating With Audiences

At the beginning of the 1970s, two men, by the names of Martin Scorcese and Robert De Niro, met and started an extremely successful and world renowned string of movie director/actor collaborations. Over the course of 22 years,spawning from 1973, with their first film Mean Streets, to 1995, with their most recent work Casino, the duo paired up for 8 movies, most of which are considered some of the greatest films of all time. The most notable, however, would have to be their 1990 movie Goodfellas, a classic film which was nominated for 6 oscars, winning one, and named the greatest film of all time by British film magazine Total Film, an organized crime movie which is one of my favorite movies.

Francis Ford Coppola directed the gangster crime drama film, The Godfather (1972), inspired by the novel of the same name, written by Author Mario Puzo. The film plays out in the beginning how Don Corleone declined to join the narcotics business with notorious drug lord Sollozzo. With this in mind, one of the greatest gangster films created by a man who decided to lead, and not follows. Moreover, explaining the formalist approach for this film which covers an array of elements that include plot structure, camera techniques, editing, mise en scene, and sound. The following film critique will analyze “The Godfather,” beginning by utilizing the formalist approach theory, camera technique and sound gradually introducing additional theories

The Shawshank Redemption movie is about a man named Andy Dufresne who was falsely accused of murder and was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover. Being in jail, Andy faced many problems of being abused, but he also gained a strong friendship with a man named Red. Many of the things that the prisoners had to face showed a sociological perspective on how life was in jail and how it affected the prisoners. In Shawshank prison, the functionalism theory, the conflict perspective, and the control theory shows the life and adjustments a prisoner has to make in order to survive going into a new world.

The critically acclaimed film, Goodfellas, is a gangster crime drama that features an incredible amount of talent. Household names such as: Robert De Niro (Jimmy Conway), Joe Pesci (Tommy DeVito), Paul Sorvino (Paul Cicero), and promising stars like Ray Liotta (Henry Hill) and Lorraine Bracco (Karen Hill), attracted numerous Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. That type of cast power, linked with the signature talent of Martin Scorsese as a director, made for cinematic gold. Unquestionably, the actors and actresses did an excellent job augmenting the verisimilitude of this film and compelling audiences to empathize with their characters. But the cinematography in this film plays just as large a role in having audiences feel what the characters are feeling at a specific moment. Through the use of freeze frames, we learn of significant moments that shape Henry into the man that he is. By means of first-person narration we are able to know exactly what is going through a particular character’s mind. Finally, wonderful editing made great use of point of view and multiple jump cuts, which added to the sensation that we are undergoing the same experiences as the characters on screen. I will go into further detail and specify scenes that convey these elements as the essay progresses. Altogether, Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas effectively depicts paramount scenes and allows the audience to empathize with the characters by virtue of stylistic editing and cinematography.

When talking about a true American crime story, one can start and end the discussion with one of the most powerful and influential true stories ever told: GoodFellas. Based on the incredible true story, the film follows the rise and fall of Lucchese crime family associates Henry Hill and his friends throughout the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 1980s. Originally written as the non-fiction novel “Wise Guys” by Nicholas Pileggi, the story takes you deep into the world of arguably the most notorious crime posse America has ever known: the Italian Mafia. It is viewed by scores of critics and moviegoers alike as one of the greatest crime/drama movies ever filmed – so needless to say, with such a

Director Francis Ford Coppola's dramatization The Godfather is a standout amongst the most venerated, acclaimed and powerful works of the twentieth century. It is a movie magnum opus of business and basic achievement as such achieving that it routinely beat proficient and individual records as the best film ever. With a story so soaked with profound subjects, solid characters, brilliant exhibitions, jazzy heading, and an ageless soundtrack, there ought not be any miracle of why this work has stood the trial of time. Notwithstanding each one of those traits is the presentation of rich social topics and changes all through the whole film.

Martin Charles Scorsese was born November 17, 1942. Suffering from asthma, he spent most of his time watching movies and by the time he was eight, he was already drawing his own storyboards that were directed/produced by himself. Although he considered going into priesthood, making movies was Scorsese’s true calling and he went on to make some of Hollywood’s most memorable films. Incorporating themes from his Italian American roots into his visceral, cinematic storytelling that has influenced generations of filmmakers. He is an American director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and film historian, whose career spans more than 53 years. Scorsese 's body of work addresses such themes as Sicilian-American identity, Roman Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption, machismo, modern crime, and gang conflict. Many of his films are also notable for their depiction of violence and liberal use of profanity. Part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and influential filmmakers in cinema history. For three decades Scorsese has been at the forefront of American cinema. Its most avid champion and often its most electrifying practioner. The most cinematic of directors, he has also been among the most formally restless and exploratory, evolving an obsessive-compulsive mise-en-scene based on dynamic, agile camerawork and radical editing rhythms.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is the work of American director Wes Anderson. His works have a strong personal style: bright colour, the full symmetry of the composition, a straight frame, a deliberately orderly stance, unique visual style and narrative mode. In his film, a sense of humour is often through "Deadpan” expression: actors often deadpan and no body movements, but in the restraint and slight change, as well as in the pause between the odd cold humour. The hues, props and sets of his films are often colourful and whimsical. There are still plenty of these factors in The Grand Budapest Hotel, but many new elements are added.

"Goodfellas" is Martin Scorsese's movie about Henry Hill, who wants to be a gangster from an early age and becomes involved with an Italian-American crime family over three decades. The performances in this film are outstanding. Ray Liotta plays Henry Hill as he lives with the benefits and dangers of mob life. Robert De Niro delivers a refined performance but as usual keeps the feel of being in charge as Jimmy Conway. Joe Pesci is memorable as the funny and psychotic Tommy DeVito. Paul Sorvino makes a convincing mob boss. Lorraine Bracco gave a wonderful and in-depth look at what it meant to be the wife of a mobster.

Murdering Billy Batts, a mobster from the Gambino Crime Family, Henry Hill was on the verge of living the glamoirous lifestyle by doing what had to be done and that was: never rat on your friends and keeping your mouth shut. After closing the trunk in one motion, the trumpets of old jazz music drifted slowing into the scene, and the title ‘GoodFellas’ appeared in vibrant red. The way the scene was presented to the viewer, made the curiosity of one to perk up like meerkat coming out of a hole. Some may ask themselves, “How did they get there? What happened before this all took place? Why are the killing this man?” Automatically, the viewer is reeled into the story plot of ‘GoodFellas '. I mean, who wouldn’t be? With the opening scene showing the brutal stabbing of a mobster and finishing gunshots to his head, anyone could tell that this film is not for the faint at heart. Violence will always capture the attention of the viewers.

a single frame forming a motionless image from a film or videotape. Freeze frames. In both GoodFellas and Casino, and he even uses the technique in one of latest films, The Wolf of Wall Street. Scorsese generally uses this technique to show the emotions of the the character; so that the viewer can get a better understanding of what’s going on and they can see what the character might have been thinking at the time; freeze frames in Scorsese films usually have a voice over by the character giving the viewer a bit more about what was going on. In GoodFellas he also uses freeze frames directly after flash bulbs for the effect that there are pictures being taken, giving a photoshoot feeling to the scene.

I liked the 1990 film Goodfellas much more than Tombstone. It seemed more real to me because they were wearing modern style clothing. Overall I found more that I liked than I didn’t like. In the beginning, the movie started out with a bang which I always like because it draws me in. The music throughout the whole film was fitting for the times that it was based in. Although the times did jump around a lot and it was kind of confusing. Once the times stopped jumping back and forth, the movie was a lot more enjoyable. I liked that it was based on a true story because then it made a lot more sense as to why there was no overall conflict that Henry had to solve.

Pulp Fiction is a 1994 comedy, written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Pulp Fiction describes the life of two hitmen, Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson), and the challenges they face with their boss, his wife, a struggling boxer, and a pair of armed robbers. This suspense-filled movie displays many use of drugs, the main one being heroin. The film accurately portrayed the effects that could happen to your body when having an overdose on heroin and showed many ways the drugs could be used within your body. However, one thing the film didn’t accurately portray was the adrenaline shot used to counteract the heroin overdose.

Born on November 17, 1942 in Queens, New York, Martin Scorsese is one of the most eminent and momentous directors in the history of film. He graduated from NYU as a film major in 1964. (Imbd). He has also admitted to being deeply influenced by the “French New Wave” in Cinema, with likes of Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini as just some of his favorite directors. His films vary from themes of the Italian American in New York to crime and violence. Just a few of Scorsese awards comprise of the academy award for best director, the order of merit of the Italian Republic, and three of his films are in AFI’s top 100 movies of all-time. ( N.Y. Times). Some of his most widely acclaimed works are Goodfella’s (1990), Casino

The quality film I have selected is “Goodfellas”. I believe this is truly one of the best films created during its time period. A little information about this movie before going into more detail can be: the starring of popular actors, along with the movie focusing upon one person, that person being (Henry Hill). Throughout this paper I will be discussing things such as; the plot, acting, directing, originality of story, soundtrack, and other important elements that occurred during the film. Towards the end of the paper, I will be explaining as to why this movie should be worthy of critical devotion.