“GoodFellas” follows Henry Hill’s journey from aspiring mobster to guilt-ridden criminal, exploring the allure and destruction of organized crime with gripping authenticity.
The scene in Goodfellas, where Joe Pesci shoots the waiter, Spider, is like an explosion, a human explosion. We can see how anger works, and how devastatingly dangerous it can be.
by Gavin Smith Gavin Smith: What was it that drew you to the GoodFellas material? Martin Scorsese: I read a review of the book; basically
Scorsese’s technique of “freezing” objects generates a particular method of cinematic exposition in which characters and objects are portrayed in a moment between movement and non-movement; this “moment” is the bridge between potential behavior and stasis. The “thing” is frozen or suspended on the screen, and the possibility of either stasis or experience emerges from this momentary suspension.
Pauline Kael’s review praises “GoodFellas” for its vivid filmmaking but criticizes its shallow characters and lack of depth, celebrating style over substantial narrative.
Martin Scorsese interviewed by David Rensin for Playboy magazine, April 1991
Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas: Interview by Ana Maria Bahiana and Afterword by Raffaele Caputo. From CINEMA Papers, December 1990
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