The Fellas in Goodfellas

   Henry Hill                          Ray Liotta

Goodfellas is built around an all-star cast, but being that this film is based on a true story, almost all of the actors are interpreter actors in their roles in the film because they are portraying actual people, but are still left with some artistic creativity to build their characters. This is not to say that all of the actors are interpreters in all of their films.  Film: From Watching to Seeing describes interpreter as “this description typically refers to actors who take material and put their own st it.”  Ray Liotta plays Henry Hill in the film. Since the film is based on the life of Henry Hill and his work in the mafia, it would be easy to call Ray Liotta an impersonator, but I disagree. I think that he would be called an interpreter because although the events and actions were the same, Ray Liotta put his own spin on making Henry Hill who he was on screen. Ray Liotta’s career also notably includes another great interpreter role where he played “Shoeless” Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams. Although this was an interpreter role, it was a far different role than his role in Goodfellas. Which would give evidence to Ray Liotta being a wild card actor because he does exceedingly well at different types of roles. Below is a still photo of Henry Hill (left) and Ray Liotta (right). 

Robert  De Niro plays the role of Jimmy Conway and Jimmy Conway’s character is based o an actual person named Jimmy Burke. De Niro, much like Liotta, plays an interpreter role in Goodfellas. However, based on De Niro’s roles in other films like Al Capone in The Godfather, I think it is safe to say that he is an interpreter. However, Robert De Niro could also be classified as a personality actor or even more, a “star”. He is a household name and has his own mannerisms and personality that shows up on screen and communicates with the audience without words. Robert De Niro is without a doubt a typecasted actor. Whether he is in an action film, drama, or comedy he seems to always seems to play a version of himself or at least a version of the De Niro that the general public imagines him to be.

Joe Pesci plays Tommy DeVito whose character is based on the real-life Tommy Desimone. In this film , Pesci is also an interpreter actor. However, based on his acting career I would have to classify him as a personality actor. He is known for his fast talking Italian accent and quick temper whether it is in Goodfellas or Home Alone.

References:

Home Alone – Joe Pesci. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8yP3JIX9ok

Goodfellas – “I’m funny how, I mean funny like I’m a clown?” (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E84VqqCPI7w

  

              

The Goodfellas Sound

Sound plays a huge part in telling the story and the viewer’s overall experience watching a film. The three types of sound are dialogue, sound effects, and music. The most important function of dialogue is Scorsese’s use of Henry Hill as a voice over narrator. First, this adds credibility to the fact that this is based on a true story as Henry Hill tells the story and the scene unfolds in front of our eyes. Also, had Henry used another character to narrate it would have most likely ended upon their death or imprisonment, so naturally Henry Hill was the right person to take this movie all the way to the end. Another notable piece of dialouge is the liberal use of foul language particularly the word, “fuck.” This word is used 300 times throughout the 146 minute movie according to IMdb. This is done to capture the rough, gritty, and dirty life lived by these individuals. They were flashy and refined on the outside, but utterly filthy in their dealings.

Scorsese uses a wide variety of music in this film that ranges from the 1950’s to the 1970’s. Not by coincidence, this is also approximately around the same time period that this film took place. Scorsese used appropriate music from the time period, but some would argue that oftentimes the music did not match the scene. For example:

In this clip the song “Atlantis” by Danovan plays in the background as Billy Batts is beat to death by Tommy DeVito and Jimmy Conway. However, Scorsese is a genius in that he was able to show on film and through sound how although absolute rage is going on inside the club; this is where these people are at peace as they exact sweet revenge. This type of music is different than what we see in many action movies because it does not include the quick tempo heart racing music that we are used to.

As is the case in any gangster film, sound effects are used throughout the film to highlight theme, mood, power, and intensity. You hear all kinds of sound effects from the fronted family life of pots and pans in the kitchen and televisions playing in the background. You hear the gangster grit in the gunshots, squealing tires, and bodies being plunged into the river. You also hear the glitz and glam of money being counted and deals going down. You hear the city setting in the horns honking and cars passing. Sound effects effectively create theme and mood throughout the movie.

Goodfellas. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099685/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Goodfellas Jimmy and Tommy killed Billy Batts Scene. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tunKokXjuks

Use of Lighting and It’s Overall Contribution to the Film

Michael Belhaus, the cinematographer, was overall responsible for how the film is presented visually. This film is comprised of all types of different lighting techniques. According to SBCC Film reviews, “The lighting Scorsese chose to use in every scene of Goodfellas is appropriate to the theme of the scene and the overall theme of the film. Examples are the special lighting techniques used in the opening scene (Henry, Jimmy and Tommy driving in the car with someone in the trunk).”

As you can see in the opening scene, complex lighting is used to cast the white glow on the actors faces as the cars seem to pass. In this clip the most compelling lighting seems to come when they are outside the trunk just before opening it. The red glow of the tail lights on the vehicle cast an eerie glow over Joe Pesci’s face, both contributing to the idea of the possible danger in the drunk and the anger that ensues once the trunk is opened.

In other words, Bellhaus and Scorcese used lighting to convey the mood of the characters. If the characters are in an unhappy place or angry, they use low lighting. If the characters are in a happy place, they use bright lights. For example in the following clip you can see a brighter look to the scene with three-point lighting in one of the best scenes in the movie that simply features Robert de Niro smoking a cigarette.

The way the light cascades off the smoke combined with the  shadow lightly casted across De Niro’s face along with his devilish grin that we have seen so many times that can only be described as a “De Niro face”  almost romanticizes the character. This is the perfect example of the characters body language and the scene around him doing all the talking with out a single line from the script.

According to moviefone film reviews Bellhaus was quoted as saying, “I wasn’t planning to do a pretty-looking movie, you know? [I thought] it should have more like a dirty look … when [we walked] into a location, like in a bar or restaurant, I looked at it and said, ‘Okay, how this looks here is what I want to see on the screen later.’ So I worked a lot in available light, [or] with light fixtures. It was not movie lighting that I was planning on this; [I] was basically trying to keep the same atmosphere that these places had. I think it worked pretty well. It should never look ‘lit’ and never look beautiful, because [the story] wasn’t.”(Framed: Goodfellas).

The lighting used in the film perfectly interpreted the mood and tone of each scene, and it was not by accident. Had Bellhaus used another method or used bright three point lighting throughout the film, the overall tone would have been short changed to say the least. From the opening of a shot, sometimes before a character even steps into the scene or a word comes out of an actors mouth we are able to determine what type of scenario the characters are in. Had the lighting not varied with the mood the audience wood have been left guessing or it would have seemed less realistic and more like a “movie.” Being that Goodfellas, is based on the true story of Henry Hill it was key that the lighting and theme accurately represent the overall grit of the mafia life.

References:

Be careful what you wish for Henry: Henry’s journey from mediocrity, through the inferno and into hell. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2014, from http://sbccfilmreviews.org/?p=15020

Saul Bass title sequence – Goodfellas (1990). (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8pQJOeTkFs

DeNiro Goodfellas bar scene. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmF_Phk6eIE

Framed: Goodfellas. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2014, from http://news.moviefone.com/2010/10/07/framed-goodfellas/

The Flow

“Goodfellas is presented in a fairly chronological order except for the opening scene” (Goodfellas). In the bonus features of the DVD, Martin Scorsese stated that he thought that the opening scene needed to be powerful enough to grab the viewer from the start. The movie spans from 1955-1980 and each event is based on the event prior. Since this film is a true story spanning three decades, it would have been incredibly difficult for the viewer to understand everything going on in the movie and how each event tied to the next has the film been presented from a non-linear perspective.

It was incredibly important for the film to take a chronological order because the characters develop over a long time period; from the time Henry Hill wants to be a “somebody in a neighborhood full of nobodies” (Framed: Goodfellas) until he enters the witness protection agency. Being that this is a true story, the true lives of the people that the actors played are developed as they did throughout the rise and fall of the Lucchese family.

The only non-linear perspective in the film is the opening scene where Henry Hill is committing grand theft auto. This both accomplishes Scorsese’s intent of grabbing the viewer while also foreshadowing the life ahead of Henry Hill.

Goodfellas. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2014, from http://www.cracked.com/funny-5597-goodfellas/

Framed: Goodfellas. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2014, from http://news.moviefone.com/2010/10/07/framed-goodfellas