Martin Scorcesse I believe doesn’t have a brain… its actually a nuclear bomb. I don’t know how he comes up such violent subjects and that too he writes them beautifully. Thank God he’s a filmmaker and vents out his anger creatively. I have this gut feeling about Martin that if wouldn’t have been a storyteller he surely would have been a gangster behind bars.
I loved the film (Goodfellas) from the word go. Superb historical setting and his insight into the matter is brilliant. I especially loved the way the narrative of the story changes goes from one person to another and you gulp the scenes like a hungry escapist…out from your world into Martin’s created universe. Goodfellas is the story of the American mafia in the 55’s to the 80’s. The story is actually based on a nonfiction book (Wiseguy) by Nicholas Pileggi. Martin sat down with Nicholas to create this masterly crafted screenplay.
The story opens by introducing us to 13-year old Henry Hill (played by Christopher Serrone as a youngster and by Ray Liotta as an adult), our narrator. It's the '50s in New York City, and becoming a member of the mob looks like one of the coolest employment opportunities around. "As far back as I can remember," Henry recollects, "I wanted to be a gangster." And no wonder - to a kid just entering his second decade of life, these men have everything: friends, girls, cars, cash, and, most importantly, respect. "Being a gangster was better than being the President of the United States." Henry pursues his goal and soon has become a gofer for the brother of Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino), the neighborhood boss. His first taste of the life is a heady experience. "I was treated like a grown up. I was living a fantasy... At 13, I was making more money than most of the adults in the neighborhood."
By 1970, Henry has achieved a position of some importance in the organization. He and his two closest associates, hotheaded Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) and no-nonsense Jimmy Conway (De Niro), are becoming involved in areas that aren't approved of by everyone in the mob - in particular, drug dealing. Henry, now married to a nice Jewish girl named Karen (Lorraine Bracco), leads an increasingly more reckless life that results in his taking on multiple mistresses, becoming involved in Tommy's murder of a "made" mobster, and spending a term in jail. Once Henry returns to the outside world, he becomes aware that old alliances are shifting and that his life may be in jeopardy from those he once considered to be his closest friends. There are two principles of the gangster way - never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut - and Henry may have to violate both in order to preserve his life.
Amazing performances and awesome lensing by Michael Ballhaus. I recommend this film to everybody and when you’ve seen the film go to the link mentioned below to read the screenplay of the film. Enjoy!!!
http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/g/goodfellas-script-transcript.html
|