Goodfellas: Acting & Actin Style

The film and actors I have chosen to review in this discussion is Goodfellas (1990) starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Ray Liotta.  These three characters shared a brotherly bond linked to the mafia.  The entire plot was based on their individual lives and roles, mainly Ray Liotta’s character.  In this film it was the costumes and dialogue that made the movie the epic hit that it was.  The costumes were important here to show the sense of pride and egoism that the mafia maintained.

Robert De Niro’s character was very serious, he meant business and he liked to be in charge.  He was also extremely greedy like when he kept more money than everyone else  from the heist the crew did in Goodfellas (1990).  Robert De Niro can be considered a typecast actor because of his, “distinctive personality” such as his New York Italian accent and mannerisms that allow him to fit into the crime genres of film.  The director Martin Scorsese chose De Niro as a typecast for Goodfellas (1990) because he knew that the moment his faced appeared on the screen the audience would know what kind of film they were in for.  Most importantly Robert De Niro is a star!  He is widely known for his great impersonations of a mafia associate not only in Goodfellas (1990) but also in the Godfather I &II (197 & 1974).  Casting well-known actors and actresses draw in major revenue for film makers.

THE GODFATHER PART II STARING ROBERT DE NIRO

Even though Ray Liotta has played the role of a police officer and wise guy, he is considered a wild card actor.  He has played many roles and has featured in many blockbuster and independent films but is not highly recognizable.  Not that he is a poor actor but that he may adapt his personality to totally change his acting persona to fit the character.  In Goodfellas (1990) Ray Liotta’s character was more laid back and observant.  His character played the guy who always tried to smooth things over so that things do not go bad.  Not that his character wasn’t violent; he just did not condone disrespect from anyone.

GOODFELLAS 1990

NOTICE LIOTTA’S CHARACTER TRYING TO BE THE PEACE MAKER

Joe Pesci’s character was ruthless yet provided comic relief not only in Goodfellas (1990) but in many of his other works.  Pesci has a reputation as an academy award winning “tough guy.”  He is considered a type actor as well because of his mafia like persona.  In Mulan (1998) an animated film, Pesci was originally cast as the voice of the little dragon Mushu.  Pesci made numerous attempts at this impersonation but film makers did not think his voice was an appropriate fit for their aspired character.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN GOODFELLAS 1990

Unfortunately for De Niro, being type casted made it hard for him to try to broaden his horizons into other genres.  However De Niro was casted for the film Star Dust (2007).  In my opinion, De Niro’s hard slang and mannerisms present in his acting style were unbreakable.  In Star Dust (2007), there were immense traces of his macho persona present in his acting style and his impersonation of his character was so recognizable that it seemed phony.  I did however like this film because of its plot and although De Niro’s character played quite the opposite role as he normally does it provided a great laugh to see him act like this.

STAR DUST 2007

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

REFERENCES

Goodykoontz, B. & Jacobs, C.P. (2011).  Film:  From watching to seeing.  San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Movieclips. 2010. The Godfather: Part 2 (2/8) Movie CLIP – The Murder of Don Fanucci (1974) HD

Oscars. 2010. Joe Pesci winning Best Supporting Actor for “Good Fellas,” Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0Q_nyjuEak

Passie538. The Robert de Niro Dance!! Retrieved from: http://youtu.be/pPZWqhr-Nj8

Press Association, 2013. Robert De Niro: Goodfellas was my research.  Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF4lHhbxLp0

Retrieved from:  http://youtu.be/em7EcaXPJF8

Robert de Niro vs. Mr. Peruke – Goodfellas, 2009. Retrieved from: http://youtu.be/XzOirDbImdk

GOODFELLAS: Dialogue, Music & Effects

GOODFELLAS: Dialogue, Music & Effects

In a film, the dialogue, music, and effects that are used to relate particular scenes and the actual film to the presented theme and genre.

In the film Goodfellas (1990), the director, Scorsese chose to use a narrative dialogue spoken by Henry Hill (the main character) narrate practically the entire movie to relate it to the theme of the film, the origin, rise, and fall of a gangster. Karen Hill also had a big narrative involvement in this film mainly because she was Henry’s significant other and her opinion was important for the audience to hear. The type of dialogue the director uses gives the film its tone and sets a mood for its audience.

Music and sound effects in a film represent diegetic sound (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011ch. 6.1). Non-diegetic sound is represented by the narrators commentary and added for a dramatic effect (ch.6.1). The music and effects are equally important when relating it to the theme and gangster genre of the film and bringing the audience into the era it takes place.

The film Goodfellas released in 1990, was shot covering the 1950’s through the 1980’s. Scorsese used popular songs to highlight the particular time era. This can be seen in the very beginning of the film as Henry narrates the first line, “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster,” (Scorsese, 1990). As he finishes this line he closes the trunk of the car with Billy Bats dead body in it and the song Rags to Riches by Tony Bennett begins. This scene is a flash forward into Henry’s future. As a young boy, Henry was poor and as he became closer to the mafia family he developed into an important affiliate of their family. A few more moments in the film and Henry continues to narrate, “Being a gangster was better than being President of the United States,” praising the La Cosa Nostra family (Scorsese, 1990). The song and this scene begins 30 seconds into the movie and fades into the background remaining for roughly 4 minutes as the director takes his audience into the life of young Henry.

As young Henry became more involved with working at the cab stand, which was owned by the mafia, he became more connected with them which fueled his fire more to become “a made guy.” Henry decided that running errands for the mafia was more important than going to school. After a few months the school sent a letter to Henry’s parents informing them of his absences. Henry’s father harshly beat him with a belt for this. The whipping sound effects were so real that it really puts a freight into the situation. When Paulie’s brother physically threatens the mailman that caused Henry’s beating by delivering the letter Scorsese used a non-dialogue approach by increasing the volume of the music and the sound effects of the mail man being beaten by the mobsters.

Scorsese uses this technique frequently throughout the film as the gangsters wreak havoc on the town breaking car windows, shootings, robberies, etc. This creates realism for the audience. The increasing music during this type of dialogue is from the 1950’s and 1960’s creating a good-humored mood. The loud sound effects of broken gas and punches also demonstrates the violent methods of the gangster persona. The pleasant music throughout these scenes makes it seem like this violent behavior is done with ease and portrays a fun aspect of being affiliated with the mafia. Scorsese really put his audience in the “doo-whop” mood throughout this film, even towards the end of the movie as the remixed song My Way (1978) by the Sex Pilots. This song’s original composer and singer was Frank Sinatra in 1969. Sinatra’s music was highly admired by the Italian culture and this particular film’s mafia’s culture was Italian.

Scorsese managed to use music here as a timeline by constructing his scenes around the melody and the lyrics of the song. A lot of the music that Scorsese used in Goodfellas (1990) was very well-liked by the Italian culture. His use of My Way by the Sex Pilots symbolizes the changing styles of music as time goes on while maintaining the same Italian-mafia-doo-whop theme in the movie and giving it purpose.
In the end of the film Henry has got himself heavily into cocaine, both using and selling making him a paranoid mess. The shot states the date Sunday May 11th 1980 at 6:55 am as a beating heart sound effect plays foreshadowing Henry’s paranoid, stressful day while under the influence of cocaine and Valium. The songs Magic Bus (1968) by The Who and Jump into the Fire (1971) by Harry Nilsson were playing throughout these scenes as Henry is driving around running his illegal errands. Everywhere Henry went helicopters followed him. These songs were highly admired by the party crowd which is associated with drugs and how they make you feel, “… You can climb a mountain….” (The Who, 1968).

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The most prominent scene that correlates music to the scenes meaning is the scene where Karen attends the hostess party with all the other mafia wives and the song Leader of the Pack (1964) by The Shangri-Las is playing. Karen feels very subjugated by these woman and does not feel like she fits in. The song greatly relates to how Karen is feeling in this scene.

 

All in all Scorsese’s use of non-dialogue styles and music greatly contributes to the story’s mise en scène and gangster drama. If he used different music the audience would not be able to have a real experience of what it is like to live the gangster lifestyle. In order to make the film as realistic as possible these details that may seem small actually interpose feeling, sentiment, and value to the film.

References
A Classic Scene. (YouTube). Jan 2011. Retrieved from : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeSnzKZvxNE
Goodfellas scene where Karen Hill attends Mickey’s hostess party. (YouTube). July 2011. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2L_0bDK6tY
Goodykoontz, B. & Jacobs, C.P. (2011). Film: From watching to seeing. San Diego. CA: Bridgepoint Education. Inc.
Opening, Gangster. (Film clip). (n.d.). Retrieved from:www.youtube.com/embed/zaPseYjMNao?feature
Scorsese, M., Pileggi, N., Ballhaus, M., De, N. R., Bracco, L., Pesci, J., & Liotta, R. (2004). Goodfellas (1990). Blu-Ray DVD.
Sinatra, F. (1969). My Way [Audio CD]. London: Warner Brothers UK.