Review of GoodFellas (1990) by David B — 24 May 2015

What can be said about this film that hasn't already been said before and why a review now you ask? Well in case you didn't know this has very recently undergone a long overdue 4K restoration supervised by Scorcese himself obviously for it's 25th Anniversary, 25 you say yes 25 makes you feel old doesn't it?

As well as a star studded screening at the Tribeca film festival that bought it to a close, following hot on the heels inevitably is the new Blu ray reissue. Is it worth the upgrade, well if you have a player and only have this on DVD then it's a given but even if you have previous HD effort released some years back then this is still worth the money in your pocket. Warner Brothers aren't one's for forking out for new prints and this looks the best it has ever had on a home format.

Although please don't go expecting the film looking like it was shot yesterday, one of the biggest misconceptions about the format is that some people expect sparkling resolution. I remember some years back when Coppola's masterpiece The Godfather Part 1 and 2 arrived on HD that some individuals were horrified it didn't look like Transformers 2. Completely missing the point, blu ray allows the film maker to revisit their work and return it as close to what it looked like on the cinema screen when it was first released and like GF 1 & 2 Marty as lovingly made this look the best it's looked since it's original theatrical release. Natural colours, an immersive sound stage that truly makes that soundtrack sing, certainly makes any previous version look redundant.

The story is a given, the ascent and then descent of street level mob member Henry Hill and his eventual capture leading to him informing against his associates and friends. Hill's story is the basis for Nicholas Pileggi's book which Scorcese and the author based their screenplay on. There might be people out there that don't like this but if you have any appreciation of pure cinema then I can fail to see how you can not acknowledge it's brilliance. It's without doubt one of the most influential films of the last 30 years and it would be hard to think of a world with out Goodfellas in it. You can't think of a more electrifying slice of celluloid to kick of the 1990's, it blazed a trail that saw the likes of Tarantino, PT Anderson and David Fincher follow in it's wake.

Tarantino pretty much copied it's style, yes he's adept at placing the needle in just the right place on his turntable but Marty got there first and was doing that kind of thing as early as Mean Streets. Although it is here where he elevates it to an art form. From the moment Tony Bennett's Rags To Riches blares out your speakers right up to Sid Viscous' OTT and extravagant version of My Way closes the film, it's clear that Scorcese would make one hell of a DJ at any party.

It's not only cinema that owes it a debt, it has entered into popular culture in a way that very few films have, as adored and celebrated as the Godfather and rightly so. David Chase creator of ground breaking TV opus HBO's The Soprano's proclaims it his Koran. It's not hard to see why. Although the crime series undoubtedly has allot to thank the Corleone family for, it's Goodfellas that it most resonates with. The Godfather dealt with the higher echelons of the mob and was essentially a film about family whereas Scorcese's film is about the streets, other gangster films would follow and some very impressive but Goodfella's is the blue print. Chase's series is probably the medium that really delivered it it's greatest tribute as well as being original enough to be regarded as the trail blazer in it's own right.

Chase's not only borrows the influence but also it's cast, watching it in light of Soprano's the roster of actors he cast in his series. Most notably Lorraine Bracco Soprano's very own Dr Melfi. Those that know their Soprano's will also recognise Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri , Salvatore 'Big Pussy' Bonpensiero, Phil Leotardo and of course most notably Tony's nephew Christopher Moltisanti, respectively Tony Sirico, Vincent Pastore, Frank Vincent and Michael Imperioli.

Though not to get carried away with the supporting players, Goodfellas.

Is probably most well know for it's main players most notably Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci as Henry Hill, James 'Jimmy' Conway and Tommy Devito. Neither actor has quite since been so brilliant. Liotta was basking in the acclaim of stealing Johnathan's Demme's Something Wild when Scorcese cast him as his lead character, Liotta while a hugely talented actor has never quite lived up to the promise he displayed quite devastatingly here. DeNiro is sadly to say a former shadow of himself these days, he did follow this with some great turns in Heat, Scorsese's own Casino (his last time with his friend and collaborator at the helm) and Jackie Brown but this is really the last time that the actor that gave us the Young Vito Corleone, Travis Bickle and Jake Lamotta came that close again. Pesci here and with DeNiro in Casino also has rarely been as terrifyingly despicable, a uncharacteristically sympathetic role in Oliver Stones JFK aside his acting as been as memorable. Pesci was also rewarded with an Oscar for best supporting actor at 1991 Academy Awards for his portrayal of one the most frightening cinematic protagonists in cinema history. Lorraine Bracco's contribution can't be underestimated and Paul Sorvino says more with his eyes than some actors can with their mouths, his quiet relaxed presence no less notable.

Although the Academy once again ignored Marty and gave the Oscar for best film and director to Kevin Costner for Dances With Wolves. It seems madness to think Pesci was the only win of the night but then again despite Costner's film still being remembered it most certainly hasn't aged as well or held up like Goodfellas has. Just like The Godfather 1 & 2 it's littered with memorable scenes, the tracking shot that follows Henry and Karen into the Copacabana sound tracked masterfully by "Then He Kissed Me" by The Crystals and the Derek and the Dominoes Layla piano exit will never seem quite the same after the camera moves over that pink Cadillac revealing it's gruesome find. This just amongst many moments this film displays, Scorcese and crew displaying a true mastery of their craft. Thelma Schoonmaker's editing combined with Michael Balhaus' cinematography, an example of a synthesis of their talents, the results being Scorcese and crew are like the cinematic Caravaggio's, the results visceral and real as they display the violence and excess on the screen.

Goodfellas is simply a masterpiece and to call it one of the greatest films of all time is nothing than what it deserves. It's director hasn't quite touched it's brilliance again and while Casino is another masterful example of his talents and some prefer it, it doesn't quite touch these heights. Marty having become of recent are far more commercial film maker, delivering box office successes and a great partnership with an actor who seems to have replaced Bobby D as his muse in the shape of the talented Leonardo DiCaprio.

Although it's only his last film the brilliant The Wolf of Wall Street that has approached the anarchy and excess that defined Goodfellas, it's unlikely he'll get that fiery and incendiary again but that probably the way it should be, so fire up the home entertainment system sit back and indulge in this visual and audible feast.