Goodfellas (Blu ray + DVD)

Although this is not Casino (my favorite Scorsese film), and CERTAINLY NOT The Godfather, this movie is also a masterpiece in it's own right, probably being the first film to capture the evil underworld of mob life. It's about Roy Liotta's (RIP, Legend) character named Henry who is taken by the romantic life of being a mobster, the wealth, the women, the power, and the ability to do whatever the hell you want to do without impunity. I mean come on; somewhere deep down inside of the darkest parts of our souls, we wish we had that sort of power. And why not? So, Henry decides to start working with them and work his way from the bottom. Along the way, we meet up with Tommy and Jimmy, played by Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro. They become the good friends of Henry and not to mention the foils of him; Tommy who is more the aggressor while Jimmy is more of the planner. But no mistake, they ARE evil. In fact, they are so evil, Henry realizes that he may be out of his own depth, and being a gangers may have been more than what he bargained for. Scorsese does a great job with directing, as always, and I've always loved his camera work, especially when there are moments of quick-paced sequences or abruptness that kind of gives this sort of uneasiness. Although I'd argue I think he does this better in Casino, but there is plenty of it in Goodfellas. Nicholas Pileggi did an excellent job on writing the script and I'm currently on the hunt for his book, Wiseguys, which is what this movie is based on. And what's really striking to me is how much of the events in Goodfellas ACTUALLY happened. It's almost unreal at times, but Mr. Pileggi did his homework to bring this script to life. Other details that I love about this movie is the music selection. I LOVE the music Mr. Scorsese brings to his movies (again, I think he does it even better in Casino). There's a famous scene where he uses Cream in his movie and it's just such a great scene that says so much by doing so little and it's just great. One other thing that I don't hear people talk enough about is the food in this film. There's so much in this film that it consciously and unconsciously brings up about the food that I could smell it, like I'm in an Italian restaurant (and I'm 38 days in my 40 day fasting). Seriously, the food in this shot so well that I always get hungry while watching this film. There's a scene that makes me laugh every time I watch it where Henry, Jimmy, and Tommy goes to Tommy's house and have dinner with Tommy's mother, who is played by Martin Scorsese's mother. The context of the scene makes me laugh, the food makes me hungry, and the magic of acting that takes place between Joe Pesci's and Mrs. Scorsese's performance is done so well, I keep saying in a complimentary fashion, "That is so Italian." And I love it. To conclude, if you haven't seen Goodfellas, shame on you! What are you doing here, reading my review!? It may not be at the top like Casino, but it is absolutely worth the watch!