This film is a masterpiece from one of our greatest auter directors. Goodfellas stands out as one of the most captivating movies I have ever watched. Martin Scorsese’s brilliant direction in this work is truly exceptional, reminiscent of his earlier film Raging Bull. He brought together a talented cast of actors, including Ray Liotta, Loraine Braco, Robert DeNiro, and Joe Pesci. Each of the three co-stars received Oscar nominations, but it was Joe Pesci who ultimately won for his unsettling portrayal of Tommy DeVito, a member of the criminal underworld. The movie also received a nomination for Best Film.
I selected Goodfellas as the focus of my writing because I have seen it numerous times and believe it to be the finest movie since The Godfather films (parts 1 and 2, naturally). However, after taking your class, my admiration for the film has grown considerably. In composing this paper, I did not utilize an excessively technical shot-by-shot analysis method but instead offered a fundamental examination of the movie. Nonetheless, I did scrutinize significant cuts and camera movements that were crucial and showcased Scorsese’s style.
The movie commences with the opening credits, displaying a distinctive scrolling effect. The scene then transitions to the back of a Cadillac, revealing Henry Hill portrayed by Liotta in a medium close up shot. Suddenly, a knocking sound emerges from behind the car, intriguing Henry’s two passengers seated at the back. Consequently, Henry pulls over and all three individuals exit the vehicle, positioning themselves in front of the trunk. The lighting effectively creates an eerie red ambiance due to the presence of brake lights. Subsequently, Henry opens the trunk unveiling a man covered in blood. Pesci proceeds to repeatedly stab him while Deniro unloads his gun into the victim. This shocking and intense opening scene would astonish any ordinary movie viewer. As Henry closes the trunk on the now lifeless victim, he utters one of the most memorable lines: “Since I can remember anything, I always wanted to be involved with organized crime.” A song starts playing and we catch sight of a young Henry Hill observing events unfolding outside of his neighborhood hangout spot for mobsters known as the cab stand. Roughly twenty years ago, Henry Hill initiates his narrative by recounting how it all began. A new character named Paulie Siscero played by Paul Sorvino is introduced; when Paulie appears on screen, it is evident that he possesses control over the situation at hand. The subsequent minutes portray Henry acquiring knowledge about operating under Paulie and Tuttie—Paulie’s brother—as they mentor him in understanding their ways.
Finally, there is a shift in scenes where a younger version of Henry prepares a sandwich just as his father approaches holding a letter.
Henry’s father violently abuses him with a belt after inquiring about his day at school. This scene is frozen, and Henry reflects on how every man must experience a beating at some point in life. Director Scorsese employs various directing and editing techniques in the film, including this freeze-frame moment. It is enhanced by a voice-over narration that becomes an effective recurring technique. The following minutes portray Henry and Tuttie managing Paulie’s calls, while Henry elaborates on Paulie’s role as a protector for individuals unable to seek help from the authorities.
We are introduced to another important character in the film, Jimmy “the gent” Conway, played by Robert DeNiro. Henry explains that at the age of 29, Jimmy is already a legend and everyone wants to be associated with him. In a freeze frame shot, with Henry’s narration in the background, we see a medium close up of DeNiro. The movie’s soundtrack enhances every scene beautifully. Following a hijacking involving Jimmy, we see Henry selling cigarettes on a corner with his new partner Tommy. Later, Henry is arrested and awaits his arraignment. After the trial, Jimmy congratulates Henry and gives him money. Confused, Henry wonders why he is being praised for getting arrested. Jimmy then explains to young Henry the importance of never betraying your friends and always staying silent. Next, we see Henry and Jimmy leaving the building with everyone outside congratulating Henry. The scene ends with another freeze frame of Henry being embraced by his wise guy friends.
The scene begins with a pan across an airport, followed by a truck driver exiting his truck. The camera then pans up to show Henry and Tommy, now twenty years later. Meanwhile, the truck driver enters a diner as Henry and Tommy get into the truck and drive away. Throughout this scene, Henry narrates, explaining how they used to rob the airport whenever they needed money, making it their “city bank.” Next, we see Henry walking through the bamboo lounge, with the camera following him as he introduces the audience to the people there. This tracking shot is significant because it is quite long, and at the end, Henry emerges from behind the camera, giving the impression that he is walking through the restaurant as if it were his own eyes. The scene transitions to Tommy captivating everyone with his storytelling abilities, causing the entire room to erupt in laughter. This is followed by the well-known “how am I funny” routine, during which Tommy hits the owner of the establishment for insulting Pecsi. As Henry continues to walk, he spots an associate who has a plan for a major job. He signals to Tommy, and then the camera zooms in on Jimmy, who is smoking a cigarette. Jimmy joins Henry and his friend to discuss business. Finally, we see Sunny, the owner, pleading his case to Paulie and asking him to take a share of the joint.
In the movie, we are introduced to Henry’s love interest, Karen, played by Loraine Brocco. Karen starts to play a more significant role in the narrative. After a slow start, Henry and Karen go on another date. The scene begins with a close-up shot of Henry’s crucifix, emphasizing his Italian heritage while his date is Jewish. We then see Henry handing the valet his keys, and the camera follows them from outside to the kitchen and finally to their seats. They watch a performance by Penny Youngman, making it one of the longest uninterrupted scenes ever captured in a movie. Even when Penny Youngman is no longer in the scene, his voice can still be heard as Tommy and Henry walk through the airport with bags containing a large sum of money. This event, known as the Air France caper, becomes significant for Henry. By this time, Henry and Karen have fallen in love. The next scene takes place at Morey’s wig shop where Henry asks for the money owed to Jimmy. Morey refuses to pay, but after being choked by Jimmy, he agrees to give the money.During a certain moment, Henry receives a phone call from Karen, who informs him that she is facing some trouble. Accordingly, Henry goes to pick Karen up, and she reveals to him that her neighbor has been harassing her. Upon arriving at her house, Henry glances at his rear view mirror, which then focuses on the harasser. Determinedly, Henry walks towards the neighbor and uses the butt of his gun to strike him in the head. He then hands the gun to Karen and instructs her to hide it. As Karen receives the weapon, she privately acknowledges that it arouses her. Next, we transition to the sight of glass being wrapped and subsequently stomped on, symbolizing the Jewish marriage between Henry and Karen. Following the wedding, there is an expertly executed tracking shot showcasing the entire table. After a scene in which Henry returns home late in the early hours of the morning, we find ourselves in Henry’s bar where a celebration is being held for Billy Bats, a prominent figure in organized crime. Tommy enters the bar and warmly greets Jimmy and Henry, but Batts begins to taunt Tommy and orders him to leave and retrieve his “censored” shine box. This deeply upsets Tommy to the extent that he later returns that night to attack Batts while Jimmy joins in and continues to assault him. The camera focuses on Jimmy with a medium close up, conveying the intense emotions behind each kick. Once they finish brutally beating Batts, they place him in the trunk of a car and drive to Tommy’s mother’s house where they all sit down to have breakfast.
The movie starts with Henry driving with the “kill batts.” This is a delicate situation since Batts is a made guy, which means he is essentially untouchable and you need permission to kill him. Later on, we see ourselves in Paulie’s house, where Paulie asks Henry what he knows about Batts. Henry responds that he knows nothing. Jimmy then informs Henry that they need to exhume Batts’ body because of construction in the area. In a humorous scene, Jimmy, Tommy, and Henry dig up the six-month-old corpse of Batts. The use of brilliant red lighting in this scene is noticeable as Tommy cracks jokes while Henry vomits. Afterward, we see Henry and the gang playing cards in a dimly lit bar where De Niro sits behind a cloud of smoke. Tommy proceeds to tease and shoot the busboy in the foot, and they continue playing cards as if nothing happened. Karen starts to become suspicious of Henry’s cheating ways. In another scene, we see Henry ecstatically yelling while playing cards with the guys. The busboy now has a cast on his foot. After some more teasing from Tommy, the busboy insults him and without hesitation, Tommy shoots and kills him.
Karen goes to confront Henry’s mistress and ends up pointing a gun at Henry. Later, Jimmy accompanies Henry to Tampa to collect money, but they get caught upon their return and both receive 10-year sentences. The movie then depicts prison life for gangsters and highlights Henry’s involvement in drug dealing from behind bars, which marks the beginning of his downfall. After serving four years, Henry moves his family to a better home and has a conversation with Paulie, who advises him to stay away from drugs. Morey informs Henry about a large heist he has been planning, leading Jimmy to assemble a crew for what will become the biggest heist in U.S. history: the Lantanza heist. Throughout this time, Henry’s drug use intensifies, further contributing to his downfall. As Henry showers, he hears on the radio that the heist has taken place, and we then see Jimmy in a bar with a satisfied smile. The heist proves highly lucrative, resulting in a cash haul of approximately six million dollars. Tommy pays a visit to the truck driver involved in the heist and brutally kills him. Although concerned about the cops discovering the stolen truck, Jimmy and Tommy reassure Henry that everything will be fine since Tommy is about to attain a higher rank in the organization.Throughout the planning and execution of the heist, Morey constantly irritated others. Now, we observe Jimmy sitting at the bar, shrouded in smoke as the camera gradually moves towards him. As we witness this moment, it appears that DeNiro’s character desires to eliminate Morey, which eventually occurs. Following this, a remarkable scene unfolds with the song “Layla” playing in the background; we slowly observe a pink Cadillac with two lifeless bodies inside. Henry narrates and reveals that Jimmy prefers to eliminate those who assisted him in the heist rather than pay them. The scene progresses as all individuals involved in the robbery are discovered deceased.
Jimmy was overjoyed because it was finally the day when Tommy was going to be initiated. Henry then explains the true meaning of being a “goodfella”. Tommy arrives at a luxurious house with Tutti and another guy named Vinny. (Vinny is actually Martin Scorsese’s father, and Tommy’s mother in the movie is Scorsese’s mother). As Tommy opens the door, he finds an empty room. In that moment, he realizes that his time is up and expresses his shock with an “oh no” before being attacked from behind. Jimmy later hears the news and becomes very distraught. Tommy was killed as payback for Batts and other reasons.
Time has passed and Henry can now be seen running around while being followed by a helicopter. Henry’s appearance really reflects *censored* and he is starting to feel paranoid. Scorsese effectively portrays the audience’s experience of the paranoia and stress that Henry is going through. Henry rides around with Karen for a while until they eventually end up at a drug dealer’s place, who happens to be his Pittsburgh connection, where Karen starts snorting up. Henry later makes a call home to arrange the drug deal and specifically instructs his babysitter not to speak on the phone, but she disregards his instructions, compromising Henry’s operation. The scene then transitions to Henry snorting up, with the camera quickly zooming in on his face, emphasizing his deteriorated state at this point.
After completing his daily routine, he returns home and is attacked. This incident leads to severe consequences for Henry, as he faces the threat of imprisonment and fears for his life. The situation escalates further when all the mobsters target him for assassination. Despite being released on bail, Henry seeks help from Paulie to resolve the issue. However, Paulie only offers him $3100 before turning his back on him.
Meanwhile, Karen approaches Jimmy for assistance, and he provides her with money. However, Jimmy then attempts to deceive Karen by luring her to a dangerous location.
The narrative then shifts to a dinner scene where Henry enters the room, and the camera follows him with a continuous tracking shot emphasizing his deteriorating state of mind. In the background, Scorsese incorporates a simultaneous zoom-in track shot, magnifying Henry’s paranoia.
It is during this dinner that Jimmy asks Henry to complete a job in Florida; however, Henry realizes that this request is a setup for his impending assassination. Henry recounts how killers often present themselves as friendly with a freeze-frame picture of Jimmy as evidence. He warns that these individuals are your closest allies but also your most dangerous enemies.
Henry, aware that he will eventually become a target, opts to join the witness protection program. He cooperates fully by informing on all individuals involved. In the final moments of the movie, Henry engages in a conversation with the prosecutor before addressing the camera directly for the first time. As the film concludes, Henry casually picks up his newspaper and openly acknowledges that he is simply an average individual.
To summarize, I thoroughly enjoyed writing this paper and believe that this movie is my personal favorite. Additionally, I would like to draw attention to an intriguing observation about Martin Scorsese’s cinematic choices. In three of his films, he consistently showcases Joe Pesci and the character Batts, played by Frank Vincent, involved in conflict. Initially, in “Raging Bull,” Pesci’s character brutally beats up Vincent’s character. Then, in “Goodfellas,” Pesci eliminates Batts. However, in “Casino,” Batts exacts his revenge by eliminating Pesci. I wanted to share this observation with all of you.
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