Martin Scorsese’s 1990 film “Goodfellas” is truly a masterpiece. Regarded as one of the greatest mob movies of all time, it won 32 awards including an Oscar and was nominated for 18 more. Among the wins were numerous “best actors” to Joe Pesci (the Oscar was his), Lorraine Bracco, and Robert DeNiro, a few “best directors” to Scorsese, and a few “best screenplays” to Nicholas Pileggi. It seems the only person not nominated for an award was the main character and narrator Henry Hill, played by Ray Liotta. Scorsese, however, certainly earned his 13 awards and 8 award nominations for the film.
One thing I noticed a lot in “Goodfellas” was the use of freeze framing. At many points, particularly at the end of a scene, the camera would freeze whatever action it was following, as Ray Liotta’s narration continued. This made the viewer focus on Liotta’s words, as they were usually (during the freeze frame) insights that we couldn’t merely be shown. Scorsese also accomplished this by, instead of stopping the shot, zooming in on a stationary character in order not to distract the audience. However, most of the narration in the movie goes along with the action; only instead of hearing the dialogue from the scene, the diagetic sound is generally quiet and indiscernible behind Liotta’s words.
Another thing that stuck out often was the way the camera was used to set the scene. Whenever the scene involved a large group of people, (usually a party), the camera would enter the scene following someone who happened to walk around enough to show most of the setting. The longest such shot followed Henry and Karen (Bracco) on their first date (video clip below). It started at the street when they got out of their car, then led us past the line of people they passed at the club, through the back doors and past all the doormen Henry knew, then through the kitchen with all the cooks Henry knew, then to the club floor where the owner (who Henry knew) placed a new table for the couple in front of the stage. This shot developed both Henry’s character as a big shot gangster, and Karen’s as his girl, won over by the awe of Henry’s popularity and power. Another case in which the long establishing shot develops characters is near the beginning, when Henry walks into and around a restaurant. This time the camera takes his point of view, and we walk around as Henry, past all the gangsters in the room who are happy to see him. As Liotta’s narration tells us about the people in the room, the camera shot makes us understand Henry’s companionship with them as if it’s our own.
One connection I made between “Goodfellas” and “The Departed” was the use of the Rolling Stones song “Gimme Shelter” in each. I think the lyrics were very meaningful to both films, expressing both the fragility of life, and the inevitability and simplicity of our death. The films show these ideas with all the killing involved, and the instant it takes for anyone to decide to kill. Henry even comments on it in his narration, and as the song repeats, “War… it’s just a shot away.” But then, maybe Martin just likes the Stones.
One thing I noticed a lot in “Goodfellas” was the use of freeze framing. At many points, particularly at the end of a scene, the camera would freeze whatever action it was following, as Ray Liotta’s narration continued. This made the viewer focus on Liotta’s words, as they were usually (during the freeze frame) insights that we couldn’t merely be shown. Scorsese also accomplished this by, instead of stopping the shot, zooming in on a stationary character in order not to distract the audience. However, most of the narration in the movie goes along with the action; only instead of hearing the dialogue from the scene, the diagetic sound is generally quiet and indiscernible behind Liotta’s words.
Another thing that stuck out often was the way the camera was used to set the scene. Whenever the scene involved a large group of people, (usually a party), the camera would enter the scene following someone who happened to walk around enough to show most of the setting. The longest such shot followed Henry and Karen (Bracco) on their first date (video clip below). It started at the street when they got out of their car, then led us past the line of people they passed at the club, through the back doors and past all the doormen Henry knew, then through the kitchen with all the cooks Henry knew, then to the club floor where the owner (who Henry knew) placed a new table for the couple in front of the stage. This shot developed both Henry’s character as a big shot gangster, and Karen’s as his girl, won over by the awe of Henry’s popularity and power. Another case in which the long establishing shot develops characters is near the beginning, when Henry walks into and around a restaurant. This time the camera takes his point of view, and we walk around as Henry, past all the gangsters in the room who are happy to see him. As Liotta’s narration tells us about the people in the room, the camera shot makes us understand Henry’s companionship with them as if it’s our own.
One connection I made between “Goodfellas” and “The Departed” was the use of the Rolling Stones song “Gimme Shelter” in each. I think the lyrics were very meaningful to both films, expressing both the fragility of life, and the inevitability and simplicity of our death. The films show these ideas with all the killing involved, and the instant it takes for anyone to decide to kill. Henry even comments on it in his narration, and as the song repeats, “War… it’s just a shot away.” But then, maybe Martin just likes the Stones.
