Goodfellas - Content Analysis

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.

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.

In the film Green Mile, different sociological theories and concepts can be useful in considering how societies rule our behaviors in life within different cultural places and times. A theory developed by sociologist Emile Durkheim known as the functionalist perspective profoundly applies through out the film. Concepts that are also seen in the film includes: human agency, norms, folkways, mores, and master status with a few theories and concepts of deviance.

The film, Good will hunting (Bender et al., 1997), is an American classic flick which is lauded for its fresh and ordinary approach towards depicting situations that is realistic and relatable. In the film, Good Will Hunting (Bender et al., 1997), this is clearly show up that, savagery Will Hunting experienced as a youngster and after that shows as a grown-up; along with flashes of a sweet attitude towards his companions and mental virtuoso. It is about a young man struggle to find himself. He is unwillingly treated to a psychologist just to keep him out of trouble. In this journey, he finds out what he is and what matters to him the most. This movie uses strong and effective technique on evoking emotions and empathy to the audience through exposing them to various technicities of filmmaking such as color, camera technique and many more. After reading the book (OpenStax 2016), we can have adopted different kinds of psychological theory to explain this movie. Good will hunting is related with Erikson’s psychosocial theory of personal development (Neu-Freudian theory),Freud’s psychoanalytical theory and the five-factor model of personality (Big-five: OCEAN).

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.

The critically acclaimed film, Goodfellas, is a gangster crime drama that features a great deal 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 Golden Globes and Academy Awards 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, strong editing made efficient use of multiple jump cuts, which add to the sensation that we are undergoing the same experiences as the characters on screen. 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.

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.

“American Gangster” is based on the true story of Frank Lucas’ life. It is the story of how he cut out the middleman in the heroin business and the story of how Ritchie Roberts caught him. Throughout the film we see the parallel between a cop and a criminal as we inch forward to see their lives finally meet.

The film Dallas Buyers Club is a biographical drama whose plot is based around the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. Early in the history of the illness, cases of a rare lung infection were found in five previously healthy young men. In addition to that, the young men all suffered from various other infections which indicated that their immune systems were not functioning properly. The new illness was so aggressive that before a report by the CDC could be published, two of the five men had succumbed to the illness. Besides the similar rare cases of lung infection amongst the five, there was one other shared characteristic; they were all gay men. By years’ end, there were 270 reported cases in gay men with the same disease; of that 270 however, 121 of those individuals had passed (Timeline of HIV/AIDS,2011). It was now clear that there was a new threat to gay men besides social ostracizing; HIV/AIDS had made its presence known.

The gangster movie genre is one of the most popular among the modern movies and some of the best film directors have produced some very excellent gangster movies. For my first film analysis, I decided to analyze my favorite gangster movie of all time. The movie that I analyzed is called “Scarface” and is directed by Brian De Palma. It was released in 1983 and is still a super hit movie today. Let me go through a short summary of the movie.

The scene starts out with Betty and Rita pulling up to the club. The camera begins to lurch forward while rumbles play in the background, suggesting something dream-like. In addition, the club is drenched in blue light, which creates a connection between the blue key Rita found and the club. After the two enter the club and find their seats, a mysterious performer on stage explains in several languages that everything is an illusion.

Erving Goffman maintained that negative labels are often stigmatizing. He believed that stigmas result in a “spoiled identity.” Goffman coined the term stigma to describe the labels society uses to devalue members of certain social groups (pg. 107). He identified three categories or types of stigmas: abominations of the body, blemishes of individual character, and tribal. When a person became aware of a certain stigma they had been labeled to, Goffman noted three ways to manage it: hide the stigma, distance themselves from the stigma or try to correct it, and embrace or accept the stigma. The movie Dallas Buyers Club offers a chance to see several stigmas brought to light, and the way that each was handled. For instance there are examples of HIV/AIDS, homosexuality, feminism, and criminal activity that are prevalent and shape the way the movie is organized.

In the film, Good Will Hunting, the main character, Will Hunting, is a gifted mathematician who struggles to find a productive and fruitful life. Throughout the film, Will displays outstanding and one-of-a-kind abilities in the field of mathematics. However, his emotional and social intelligence falls far behind his intellectual intelligence. With a rap sheet stocked full with assault and aggression, Will must navigate himself through life by learning to trust, love, and learn.

In my opinion the greatest movie ever made would have to be ‘The Shawshank Redemption’. The movie was released in 1994 and stared a rising superstar, Morgan Freeman, and a more known actor at the time Tim Robbins. My argument for this movie being the greatest ever made will be simple and deep thought reasons.

Ever SINCE the popularity of movies exploded, film geeks continue to debate the single movie to rule them all. WITHOUT A DOUBT, The Godfather is considered a masterpiece by many. FURTHERMORE, the subsequent Godfather sequels are excellent in their own right. The Shawshank Redemption is unquestionably a classic film, AS WELL. ALSO, one or even several movies in a series have their share of bragging rights. CASE IN POINT: the original Star Wars trilogy, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Indiana Jones films, to name a few. (Speaking of which, did you catch the Lord of the Rings reference PREVIOUSLY?) NATURALLY, one could never forget the movie Psycho, with its chilling storyline and plot twist. ADDITIONALLY, The Wizard of Oz still holds up extremely well, despite its age.