ash_the_minx
Joined: 04 Jul 2004
Posts: 12159
Location: cumbria!!
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| Tell a Friend Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2004 8:09 pm Post subject: Goodfellas |
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| The rise and fall of turn-coat witness protected "wiseguy" Henry Hill, is portrayed perfectly by Ray Liotta in this biopic of sorts. Frankly, I am surprised Liotta's career didn't explode after this. Then again, ho-hum "Dances With Wolves" beat this film as 1990s best, so you can't explain taste in Hollywood.................All the performances are powerhouse here. Robert DeNiro plays Jimmy Conway, a close associate, who can't ever be a "made" man because he's only half Italian. He plays his part with a perfectly cold calculating ruthlessness. He's loyal until the Luthtansa heist he masterminds is exploited by all the associates involved. Conway is adamant about telling each person not to show off. Several don't listen, so he offs each offender one by one. There is a shocking scene where an associate who buys a flamboyant Pink Cadu is soon parked under a bridge murdered behind the wheel, wife at his side. We're treated to the shocking visual as the piano tacet ending of the song "Layla" booms in on the soundtrack. This is only one of many examples where Goodfellas, has the right song for every scene. DeNiro's best scene is where he finds out one of his friends is killed, (I won't say who in case you've not seen this somehow), and he is so overcome with emotion he cries hysterically while smashing a phone on the glass of an old fashioned outdoor "Superman" phonebooth and then knocking it over completely with an angry shove. Can that really be done though? Aren't they attached to the ground? ...............Joe Pesci is sociopathic extraordinaire Tommy DeVito. He's so unhinged, the slightest insult turns him deadly, and there's nothing too grisly for him to deal with. He has no compuntion about exhuming decayed bodies while talking about eating sausage and peppers. ...............Henry Hill played by Liotta is more of a lover than a killer in this movie, often shocked at the violence of his associates, and preferring to keep a stable of girls on the side, much to the constant anger of his nice jewish wife Karen, played by Lorraine Bracco. Piles of cash keep her quiet for a bit. .............Perhaps my favorite scene in the movie is when Billy Batts, a made guy, insults Tommy in a bar while having drinks. Billy, played by mob movie regular Frank Vincent, tells Tommy to "Go Get your (...) shinebox!" He insults his position, reminding him of when he was a shoeshine boy. Jimmy and Henry drag Tommy out of the bar seething, but return before Billy leaves. They wait until the place is empty, have a few drinks like friends, and then Tommy and Jimmy literally stomp Billy to death while Henry watches in shock, to the tune of Donovans 60s classic "Atlantis." This song is so perfect for this scene for no reason I can think of, but it just works. ............From Henry's early days as a wanna-be errand boy for well played mentor and fatherly boss Paul Sorvino, to his rise as a close non-made associate, and ultimately his fall as a busted paranoid cokehead...There's not a badfella moment in the two and a half hours running time of this film. ..............One flaw is at the point where Henry is first seen all grown up, and starting his Goodfella life. Henry and Tommy are leaning against a '65 Chevy Impala and the subtitle says "Idlewild airport 1963." Even for people who don't know cars, we've all seen enough rap videos to know what a '63 Impala looks like!! A silly blooper, but it doesn't take away anything from the greatest mobster documentary style film ever lensed.- quoted from amazon.com |
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