Dances with Wolves

In this 63rd Annual Academy Award Best Picture winner, starring and directed by Kevin Costner, First Lieutenant John J. Dunbar volunteers to solitarily man a post, Ft. Sedgwick, in the western frontier after recovering from a leg injury he suffered during the American Civil War. While there, Dunbar eventually gains the trust of a nearby Native American tribe, the Sioux, who begin to share their language and customs with him after he helps an injured tribe member, tracks down migrating buffalo and dances with... you guessed it.

However, another film was released in 1990, and it deserves another look. “Goodfellas,” directed By Martin Scorsese, focuses on three mafia members, played by Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro, as they struggle through what would become the film’s tagline, “three decades of life in the mafia.” The film is based on the true story of Henry Hill, played by Liotta, who is adopted into a crew as a boy and grows up to become an integral member of a powerful New York City Cosa Nostra. As his criminal resume builds, so does his risk - especially after the Lufthansa heist, a $5 million robbery at John F. Kennedy International Airport in 1978. 

From a technical standpoint, this film is Scorsese’s greatest achievement since “Raging Bull.” The legendary Saul Bass designed the opening title sequence. The film is narrated by Liotta, as Hill. However, we also hear Karen, played by Bracco, in dual narration. Scorsese builds upon this even further in “Casino” by adding a third narrator (one who gets killed no less). Another nontraditional choice Scorsese makes is to pause the film at certain points, like inserting still photographs to suspend moments and add suspense. And of course, there’s “the long take.” This 3 minute, eleven second tracking shot follows Liotta and Bracco through the bowels of the Copacabana on their first date. "Then He Kissed Me" by The Crystals blare as the two take the back entrance, exposing the hustling, dirty kitchen in a moment of foreshadowing that mirrors the equally chaotic underworld that Bracco’s character, Karen, is unknowingly stepping into. She is taken aback by the glitz and disregards the grime. And to wrap it all up, the last “shot” in the film pays homage to the classic, last “shot” in the 1903 Western, “The Great Train Robbery.”

"Didn't matter. It didn't mean anything... We ran everything. We paid off cops. We paid off lawyers. We paid off judges. Everybody had their hands out. Everything was for the taking. And now it's all over."

Another skill that Scorsese possesses is his remarkable and often surprising use of music. In “Goodfellas,” Scorsese pushes the plot forward, invokes emotion and gives insight into the characters through pop music. Tony Bennett’s “Rags to Riches” sets the tone in the opening credits. Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love” signals De Niro’s decision to whack Morrie. Robbie Vinton lip syncs his father’s, Bobby Vinton, tune “Roses are Red” in the Copacabana. The beauty of the piano exit in Derek and the Dominos’ “Layla” stands in horrifying juxtaposition to Pesci’s murderous rampage. The Rolling Stones are heard, as they often are in Scorsese’s gangster films. And Sid Vicious sings us out with his rendition of “My Way,” popularized by Frank Sinatra. This last piece brings closure to the film and Hill’s life as a gangster (Sinatra’s version was later reported by “the Guardian” to be the most popular pop song played at British funerals). 

This movie has tons of acting talent: DeNiro, Pesci, future Sopranos’ players Lorraine Bracco and Michael Imperioli, a cameo by Samuel L. Jackson, and of course Paul Sorvino. Liotta gives a career-defining performance as our protagonist, but he is not the main character. The main player in this film is the city of New York itself.  The dialogue and demeanor of the characters hailing from the various Burroughs is distinct and stylized. The sounds and hustling background noise of the city adds to the hectic, chaos of the plot. These kinds of elements seep into the film, and Scorsese is able to capture and utilize them not as elements of the background, but as an interactive component of the story.

“Goodfellas” means a lot to me for a lot of reasons. Although I was rather young when I first saw it, it immediately struck me as something wholly original and intriguing. I immediately began looking at movies differently. After “Goodfellas,” I became more aware of what I was watching and began to view film as an artistic medium, and not just simple entertainment.  In my eyes, Scorsese is America's greatest living director.

"For a second I thought I was dead. But, when I heard all the noise, I knew they were cops. Only cops talk that way. If they'd been wiseguys, I wouldn't have heard a thing. I would've been dead."