Essays on Goodfellas

(Student’s Full Name) The name of the film that is being reviewed is Goodfellas (1990), which was directed by Martin Scorsese. The movie’s symbolic value lies in the fact that the movie is about the main character’s desire to pursue the “mythos of glamour, power, and money” regardless of the means that are required (Friedman, Desser, Kozloff, Nochismon & Prince, 2014, p. 420). In Goodfellas (1990) is a “late-twentieth-century” gangster film, which subverts elements of other gangster film genre conventions that preceded it (Friedman, Desser, Kozloff, Nochismon & Prince, 2014, p. 420). Firstly, it sought to subvert the ...

(Student’s Full Name)

The Gangster Movie: Questions and Answers

1. VIDEO CLIP 1: Identify two classical conventions of gangster genre (e.g. theme, plot device, character type, and/or stylistic device) present in this image and briefly explain the significance of each one. (2 points) The two classical conventions of Gangster Genre present in the first video are theme and character type. The theme that is being explored in the video clip is the immigrant criminal, who has been left to die in humiliation and as a comic, as required by the Production Code Administration (PCA). The character type is the gangster, who has dark, ethnic ...

Introduction

The cinematic depiction of the cultural criminalization (intersection of crime and society) has been adequately expressed in some renowned films and mostly these films are categorized as ‘Mafia films’. Further, in terms of a significant illustration of the Italian mafia in the American society, two of the most remarkable cinematic works are those of Ford Coppola’s ‘The Godfather’ (1972) and Martin Scorsese’s ‘Goodfellas’(1990). Both these films have rendered their level best effort in romanticizing the private lives of the Italian mob in America and tries to explain the life of a Mafia with utmost clarity (Sims, " ...

GoodFellas, the 1990 gangster film directed by Martin Scorsese, has achieved legendary status as one of the best mobster movies of all time. A classic example of Scorsese’s signature energetic style and deep, abiding sense of mood, GoodFellas examines the life and times of gangster Henry Hill, played by Ray Liotta, and his friends Jimmy the Gent and Tommy DeVito, played by Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, and their rise and fall through the world of organized crime. What is most fascinating is the use of point of view and perspective through editing to tell the story ...

Goodfellas (1990) Examples of filming techniques used in Goodfellas (1990) directed by Martin Scorsese: Accelerated montage can be seen in restaurant scene (00:18:30) while Henry (Ray Liotta) and Jimmy (Robert De Niro) discuss the Air France Robbery. Also, it is present in prison scene (01:23:34) when Karen (Lorraine Bracco) visits Harry. Deep focus is used in the scene at the resort when Karen meets her friend (00:36:01) and when Karen is scolded by her mother about Henry being away (00:44:32).

Mise-en-scene is evident in depicting Henry`s youth in East New York, Brooklyn, 1955 and in depicting 1980-s. It ...

Goodfellas is an American crime film that is based on the adaptation of non-fiction Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi. The film sheds light on the rise and fall of crime family over a time frame from 1955 to 1980. It is considered among the American cinema masterpieces. The paper makes an analysis of Goodfellas and what it is trying to put across to the audience. It discusses the major conflicts in the film and if there are flashbacks and foreshadowing. The essay looks at the film's use of symbols and the climax in the film. Examples from the film will ...

“I’m an average nobody. I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook.” These are the last words of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) in the 1995 film GoodFellas, directed by Martin Scorcese; in the film, Henry is a gangster who has risen through the ranks to develop himself as a crime boss, only to run afoul of his associates (Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci). In order to protect his family and save his own life, he turns state’s witness, enrolling in the Witness Protection Program and forever turning away from his life of crime.

Henry Hill, in a ...