Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Goodfellas / USA / 1990

Another top-of-the-class graduate from the Academy of the Overrated- there’s nothing wrong with Scorsese’s film as such, it’s fast and snappy, the soundtrack is great and there’s a clutch of solid performances. But to compare Goodfellas with, say, The Godfather, as numerous reviewers have flocked to do, is to do the latter film a monumental disservice- Scorsese’s film has none of the wit, gravitas or humanity of Coppola’s. It’s a lot closer to Scarface: brutish and pace- driven, though admittedly with a heck of a lot more class. Still, this would’ve been a far more deserving Best Picture winner than The Departed.

by Tom Huddleston | Source: FilmFour
20 Mar 2007 1:36 PM | Comments (2)

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1. Chiranjit / 21 March 2007 / 8:52 AM / URL

   I’m not sure wit, gravitas, or humanity were points of concern for Scorsese, considering the film centers around low-level mobsters. It seems clear to me that Scorsese is attempting to convey the world as selfish and adolescent because his protagonists never develop a sense of humanity beyond their own appetites. There is very little sophistication to the world Scorsese captures and Goodfellas attempts to rub your face in everything awful about mob-life after seducing you with a young-man’s fantasy. To paraphrase another reviewer, Coppola’s Godfather is opera, while Scorsese’s Goodfellas is rock& roll.

2. leo / 21 March 2007 / 9:04 AM / URL

   Or, to put it another way:

   Ma: Why don’t you get yourself a nice girl?

   Tommy: I get a nice one almost every night, Ma.

   Ma: Yeah, but get yourself a girl so you could settle down!

   Tommy: I settle down almost every night. But then in the morning, I’m free!