Goodfellas

Where on earth do you start with Goodfellas? Of all the blog posts assigned, this was always going to be the hardest from my perspective. Not in the sense of difficulty and a hard up-hill challenge, but what ONE thing should I talk about from a film that has about a warehouse full of potential subject matters? Could I look at how Karen slowly slides further and further down into a hole of depression and becomes one of those mobster's wives she so despised at the hostess party? Did Tommy really get what he deserved and do we feel sympthy at the demise of a character who was essentially a dangerous lunatic? Did Henry deserve to get away with all his actions by "ratting out" on his friends? Should I explore the enourmous level of fore-shadowing that occurs in the film? Would Jimmy have really ordered the murder of Henry in Florida? Why has Ray Liotta only been in (with the exception of Smokin' Aces) in bad films since when he's so good in this film? Or perhaps the ultimate, should Henry have just listened to Paulie and stayed out of trouble, execpt of course in that instance, there would have been no film!
I chose finally to focus on a much broader topic: Why Goodfellas is the greatest gangster film of all time.
A controversial topic perhaps, in light of so many cinematic critics and historians so quick to rally around the first two parts of The Godfather, but nevertheless, I would not make such a statement if I did not believe it to be true.
My primary argument is that Goodfellas details in graphic detail that the life of a gangster was not as extravagant as the Corleones would like us to believe. These were immigrant families who often lived in the harsh neighbourhoods of New York in usually regular houses, not having the luxury of mansions found in the Corleone compound. It is because of this one feels slightly disconnected and at a distance from the family in The Godfather, but with Goodfellas and his iconic use of tracking shots, Scorsese puts us right in the middle of the action and we feel much closer and more involved with the goings on of the mafia in this film. When we are taken through the club and the wedding and introduced to everyone, it literally feels like we are there and along with Henry, we are now connected to a larger family. Arguably Goodfellas also excells in its depiction of the mobsters as ordinary men who would pass for unassuming if you were to walk past one of them and didnt know their business. We see them with their familes and photos of them on holiday which thusly makes them more human and believable in the eyes of the audience.
A key difference that sets Goodfellas apart from most gangster films and that Tarantino echoed in 'Pulp Fiction' is that these men are human and flawed with their own individual problems and they can make mistakes. The iconic scene in the Godfather when all the head dons of the rival families are assassinated flows smoothly and looks stunningly impressive. However, this is far from a true to life depiction of order in the mafia, no opperation could have worked that seamlessly, something would have to have gone wrong. In Goodfellas, the volatile Tommy is of course responsible for the cold-blooded murder of Billy Batts which sets everything in motion to see the downfall of the main characters. Henry and Jimmy are of course "pinched" by the FBI for the intimidation of the gambler in Florida and those involved in the large airplane heist refuse to listen to Jimmy and he has to have them all killed.
The fact that we can actually hear the thoughts inside Henry's head by narration, in another prime icon of Scorsese's work, further makes us feel involved and a part of the story and part of "the family" itself, in perhaps an unervingly effective cinematic device.
The visceral violence, break-up of friendships and marriages and murder perfectly depict the true life of the violent and un-trusting world of the gangster in East Brooklyn. Whilst Henry describes their appeal as being "better thasn the president of the United States" and whilst it is true that they hold high positions of power and influence and are wealthy, Scorsese highlights the aspect that exposes the harsh reality of such a way of existence where you could get shot by your "best friend" at any minute or arrested by the police and killed if you exposed your friends to get out of trouble.
All this amounts to why I truly believe that Goodfellas is the greatest gangtser film ever made. We are taken on a learning curve journey like Henry that whilst the rags to ritches story and appeal of being well-made, rich, powerful and respected is highly appealing at the start, Scorsese exposes to us through Henry's experience that the life of a gangster is like a venus fly-trap, where your luck could change at any minute and death could come at you and your family from all directions.
Just to be on the safe-side, I'll stick to just playing 'The Godfather' video-game to avoid any such lifestyle.