#7 - Goodfellas
Today is the latest installment in the new hit weekly series that will count down my Top 25 Films of All-Time. I hope you enjoy...
Goodfellas is the third and final film directed by Martin Scorsese to appear on this list. That is a testament to the man whom I consider one of the greatest movie directors of all-time. Originally titled Wise Guy after the best selling novel which follows the rise and fall of real life informant Henry Hill, but Nicholas Pileggi's title had already been used for a television series and thus, Goodfellas was born. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards in 1990, with Joe Pesci winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of psychotic gangster Tommy DeVito. Robert DeNiro and Paul Sorvino are excellent in their roles as well, but perhaps the most impressive performance and one that generally goes underappreciated is the once in a lifetime performance by Ray Liotta as the film's star. Liotta has never been better than as the errogant, paranoid Henry Hill. In some ways, it's almost sad to think that he peaked at that point in his career and has never came close to achieving the same sort of success since Goodfellas.
As in any Scorsese masterpiece, the soundtrack is noteworthy for it's classic 1970's vibe and as always the presence of multiple Rolling Stones tracks. Another interesting tidbit about the film is it's connections with HBO's The Sopranos. Several actors in the film would later go on to starring roles on the Sopranos including Lorraine Bracco (Dr. Melfi), Frank Vincent (Phil Leotardo) and Michael Imperioli (Christopher Moltisanti) who makes a memorable cameo as Spider. The film itself is already legendary without my stamp of approval. Goodfellas is the measuring stick for any modern mafia/ganster film and hasn't been matched yet in my humble estimation. "Go home and get your shinebox!"
2 comments:
I thought through and through on this one, and Most Anticipated Movie of my lifetime is not an overstatement. Rocky Balboa, yeah, I was looking forward to it, but I had already read the entire script and was quite familiar with Sylvester Stallone's approach to the headlining character. While I wasn't positive of the ending, I had a pretty good sense of what would happen and already knew I was intended to feel when leaving the theater. All of these factors take away from the 'anticipation' of the film. You did just watch the trailer I had posted right? Yeah, yeah, you've seen it all before...but listen to Ledger's voice-over again..."Like Me!". The character of the Joker is already by far the highest ranking villain in American folklore, and it certainly appears like this will be the greatest embodiment the character has ever received. The role that sent Ledger over the edge?!?!? The man sold his soul for this performance. If this movie can live up to expectations, that are sure to grow as the release date nears, then I think we will be witnessing a truly unique moment in cinema where real world tragedy and artistic expression fall together perfectly to create a legendary film.(Think James Dean but way cooler, darker, and more bad-ass. The "anticipation", and level of curiosity that viewers will have of what they are about to witness when walking into the theater for this film, has to be at the highest level of any film of my lifetime. ..Care to differ?
....Rolling Stone had a good lil blurb in it about the buzz going around Hollywood at the time of Ledgers performance and how demented he was in his portrayal of the Joker. the Summer Movie preview issue, I think the one with the Hills chicks on it. Check it out. Also, I think I've knocked some of the writing rust off, don't know if you caught my "all-in/ bet on" references in the last post but I sure noticed...haha. www.thethunderzone.blogspot.com - "Get in the know." ...oh snap, does he really have a slogan for his blog?!?!?!?!?!?!
Hey man, I'm not gonna pretend to have more insight into which movies you in your heart of hearts anticipated more...all I know is that as kids growing up your two greatest obsessions were Rocky Balboa & Michael Jackson. Since Rocky IV came out when you were like two years old and Rocky V is the movie everyone likes to forget, when Rocky Balboa came out and you were actually of age to see it on opening day and enjoy it for all it's glory...yeah...I would have thought that that would be more of an anticipation...whether you knew the script or not doesn't matter. The experience of seeing the final Rocky film in the theatre 15 years after everyone assumed the franchise was over is/was a special occasion...regardless...now you've got me wondering what film(s) I anticipated more than any other in recent years...I can't pinpoint one, although here's a short list...
Boogie Nights
8 Mile
American Gangster
Ali
Star Wars I (Phantom Menace)
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