‘Goodfellas’: The masterpiece Martin Scorsese needed to be persuaded to make
Martin Scorsese, over the course of his long career in cinema, has deservedly earned himself the title of one of the greatest American directors of all time. His early films from the 1970s and ’80s, such as Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, and Raging Bull, are still as groundbreaking and breathtaking today as they were when they were released.
Even his latest release, Flowers Of The Killer Moon, has been praised by critics and loved by audiences. However, there was one movie that Scorsese was reluctant to make, and it took persuasion from another filmmaker for it to come to fruition. What’s surprising is that it happens to be one of the greatest films he’s ever made and regarded as a masterpiece.
In 1988, Scorsese had just released The Last Temptation of Christ, which starred Willem Dafoe in the title role and charts the epic journey of Jesus Christ. At the time, the film received mixed reviews but has since been praised as another great film by the director. After its release, Warner Brothers was owed another film from the director. It’s assumed that the only way for Scorsese to finance The Last Temptation of Christ was if he agreed to make another picture with the studio afterwards.
At the time, the studio had a script they were trying to attach to Scorsese called Wise Guys, another gangster genre movie. However, Scorsese was reluctant to take on the picture. Having previously made Mean Streets, which was at the time already considered an excellent gangster flick, he was unenthusiastic about tackling the genre again at the risk of treading similar ground.
But when the British filmmaker Michael Powell, director of the masterpieces The Red Shoes and Peeping Tom, read the script for Wise Guys, he visited Scorsese himself and demanded he make the film. The encouragement worked, and Scorsese went on to helm the project before changing the title from Wise Guys to Goodfellas.
Goodfellas went on to be one of the greatest gangster movies ever made. But aside from the prestigious reputation the film garnered, it played a huge part in influencing the filmmakers that burst onto the scene in the mid to late 1990s. It’s hard to imagine Quentin Tarantino’s early crime thrillers, with their intertwining narratives and ensemble casts, if Goodfellas hadn’t laid down the blueprints some years before. Paul Thomas Anderson has also said that Goodfellas was a huge inspiration when he made Boogie Nights in 1997.
Goodfellas remains one of Scorsese’s cinematic masterpieces. Its legacy lies in its captivating storytelling, iconic performances, and masterful direction. The film redefined the gangster genre, influencing countless films that came after. The film’s intense energy, memorable characters, and exploration of loyalty, betrayal, and the darker facets of human nature have cemented its place as a classic in cinema history.
