What is Martin Scorsese’s best gangster movie?
While Martin Scorsese has certainly experimented with genre and tone throughout his extraordinary career as a filmmaker, it’s fair to say that he’s perhaps best known for his contributions to the history of the gangster movie. Criminal enterprise has often played a key role in Scorsese’s movies, even in some of his historical dramas, and in detailing the themes of power and immorality, the filmmaker has become one of American cinema’s eternal custodians.
As far back as Mean Streets, Scorsese had toyed with the criminal underworld, while later efforts like Casino and The Irishman provided a more direct examination of the mafia. Even in Gangs of New York, Scorsese showed early flashes of what would become the American crime syndicate, and The Departed explored how the life of a gangster is often intertwined with that of a cop.
However, the question that remains is, what is Scorsese’s best gangster movie? While Casino and Mean Streets certainly have fair respective shouts, there can only be one answer to the posed question, and that answer is, undoubtedly, Goodfellas, Scorsese’s absolute masterpiece of a gangster from 1990.
Adapted from Nicholas Pileggi’s 1985 fiction book Wiseguy, Goodfellas, starring Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, breathes an air of authenticity that is often missing from many other gangster flicks. The film focuses on the real-life character of Henry Hill, a young American man who rises through the ranks of the mob between the 1950s and 1980s and suffers the slings and arrows that a life of crime naturally brings.
All the brutality that Hill witnessed during his time as an organised criminal is laid out for all to witness, and there are several harrowing moments in the film that Scorsese does not shy away from, rather detailing them in all their violent and visceral glory. Through Hill’s eyes, the audience is offered a rare glimpse into the world of crime, informed by the genuine nature of Pileggi’s book.
Beyond the violence, though, there is room for emotional drama and even laugh-out-loud humour, too. The chemistry between the actors and their characters is palpable, and there are several moments of actual comedy on offer, particularly in the scenes with Joe Pesci. The “funny how” scene remains one of Scorsese’s most iconic, showing further why Goodfellas practically defines what a good gangster movie ought to be – one that transcends the limits of its violent nature.
For the performances in Goodfellas are truly out of this world. Ray Liotta made the best effort of his career as Henry Hill by capturing his moral ambiguity and descent into becoming an FBI informant. Robert De Niro delivered Hill’s friend Jimmy Conway as a calm and collected mobster who could erupt into violence at any given moment, only overshadowed by the complete unpredictability of Joe Pesci’s Tommy DeVito. Any movie in which you feel you have made friends with the characters is a movie of the highest quality, and Goodfellas is certainly capable of making the audience feel like one of the gang despite their heinous deeds.
In addition, the actual production of Goodfellas is Scorsese’s best-ever work. A soundtrack comprised of era-relevant songs was chosen personally by the director to complement specific characters and certain scenes. There’s plenty of stylistic flourish on offer, too, with Scorsese flexing his creative muscles throughout. Montage moments are akin to the sheer adrenaline of becoming wrapped up in a world of crime, while innovative tracking shots, like the one detailed in the Copacabana club entry scene, showcase a master director at the height of his powers.
Costume is at a masterly level. Regardless of the decade in which Hill and his associates find themselves, they are dressed accordingly, from the sharp suits of the 1950s to the sportswear of the 1980s. As is often the case with a Scorsese movie, Goodfellas also sees brilliant use of real-life locations, the likes of which Scorsese himself had grown up, and as a result, the film is one of a truly authentic nature that invites its audience to immerse themselves in the criminal underworld.
The real reason for Goodfellas being Scorsese’s best gangster movie, though, is the fact that it serves as a poignant and tragic reflection on the pitfalls of chasing the American Dream through illegitimate means. By traversing the themes of morality, ambition and greed, Scorsese’s masterpiece is a film that hosted a shocking character transformation in Hill, aided by some of the director’s best technical work of his career, and for that reason, it’s one of the gangster movie genre’s all-time great works.
Check out the trailer for Goodfellas below.
