The Godfather is broadly thought of the best gangster movie ever made, however there’s one other mob film which many argue is even higher than Francis Ford Coppola’s classics
Ask 100 movie followers to call the best gangster film of all time, and a sizeable chunk will seemingly plump for The Godfather (with many extra most likely choosing The Godfather Half Two). Nevertheless, there is a rival mob film that many contemplate to be the higher of the 2, launched round 20 years after Francis Ford Coppola’s classics, which starred Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and Robert Duvall.
This Nineteen Nineties movie is filled with a few of cinema’s most iconic moments, courtesy of a proficient forged together with Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta, Paul Sorvino, and Lorraine Bracco. Standout performances additionally come from Michael Imperioli and Tony Sirico (who later shot to international fame in The Sopranos) and Samuel L. Jackson earlier than his breakthrough position in Pulp Fiction.
The movie even options real-life figures like Louis Eppolito, a former NYPD officer with mafia ties who died behind bars.
For these nonetheless scratching their heads, the movie in query is, in fact, the Michael Scorsese masterpiece Goodfellas, which boasts a formidable 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.7 rating on IMDB, in addition to a slew of glowing critiques.
Goodfellas explores the lives of Italian-American mobsters within the Seventies and 80s New York, specializing in Henry Hill, a mobster turned informant whose true story impressed the movie. It opens along with his unforgettable phrases: “Way back to I can keep in mind, I all the time needed to be a gangster.”
The true-life Henry Hill’s story is one in every of transformation, from a serious participant in organised crime to coming into the Witness Safety Programme after turning informant for the FBI, solely to be kicked out for blowing his cowl and persevering with his lifetime of crime, stories the Categorical.
Goodfellas, with its gritty depiction of Hill’s connections to mobsters like James Burke (portrayed as Jimmy Conway by Robert De Niro within the movie) and Thomas DeSimone (performed by Joe Pesci), affords a uncooked look into the guts of New York’s organised crime scene, dominated by the infamous “5 households”.
Though it did not snag the Oscar for Finest Image, which went to Dances With Wolves, Scorsese’s Goodfellas is hailed as a cinematic masterpiece over three many years after its launch, with many describing it as “unparalleled” and “unforgettable”.
“Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas is each a wildly entertaining gangster film and a sobering cautionary story warning in opposition to a lifetime of crime,” notes Ben Sherlock of Display screen Rant. David Denby from New York journal calls it “the best movie ever made concerning the sensual and financial lure of crime, and the entire perversely good film comes into focus in a single, staggering shot”.
Hal Lipper of the Tampa Bay Instances praises it as “an unparalleled achievement, essentially the most chilling and savagely droll account of mob life ever recorded on movie”.
However how does Goodfellas measure up in opposition to The Godfather?
On overview platforms Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB, The Godfather narrowly takes the lead with scores of 97% and 9.2/10, respectively, indicating that each movies are broadly thought to be cinematic masterpieces.
Nevertheless, in an article for The Impartial in 2020, marking the thirtieth anniversary of Goodfellas, Ed Energy argued that it was “a masterpiece” and “nonetheless the best gangster film ever made.” His reasoning is especially noteworthy.
Pointing to the movie’s record-breaking use of profanity (over 300 cases), Energy observes that “it is usually uproarious to observe and infrequently hilarious”.
“That is arguably why it eclipses The Godfather Components One and Two and Sergio Leone’s As soon as Upon a Time in America,” he argues.
Energy describes these movies as vital, solemn gangster epics, steeped in their very own sombre grandeur. In distinction, Goodfellas is portrayed as a wild and entertaining journey, filled with comedic genius.
From Morrie Kessler’s outrageous wig adverts to the mob’s frustration with Henry’s marital issues, and Hill’s drug-fueled paranoia in direction of the tip, Scorsese’s strategy to drawing viewers into this darkish world was by way of humour and surreal moments.
Energy notes that the movie “took all types of dangers”. Throughout early screenings, some viewers members had been so shocked by the opening scene, the place Tommy stabs Billy Batts as he lies within the boot of the automobile, that they walked out.
Director Martin Scorsese did concede to cut back the variety of stabs inflicted on Batts earlier than the movie’s common launch. Regardless of being up for six Oscar nods, Goodfellas solely bagged one Academy Award, with Joe Pesci taking house the gong for finest supporting actor.
Followers can catch Goodfellas on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play for £3.49, or stream it with a Now premium subscription.
