Review of Goodfellas

Goodfellas is great. There are so many things to praise. I like the epic quality to the story. I like the acting. The direction and photography are stellar.

There is something to be said for the violence as well. There is something very casual about the way violence is presented in this movie. I believe it has to do with directorial choices. For example, in one scene, our protagonist walks across the street, pulls out a pistol, beats his girlfriend's neighbor in the face with it several times, and then walks back across the street. This is all done in one shot from start to finish: no reaction shots, no close-ups. It somehow makes it feel that much more real.

I have a minor quibble with the ending, however. For some reason, the action cuts to Joe Peschi emptying his revolver into the camera, then cuts back to the scene in progress. It's weird and pointless. I wonder if it was the suits upstairs with a brilliant idea that the show should end with a BANG and pressuring the director to insert something. Anyway, it was weird.

Summarizing, there is some justification to the idea that this is the best gangster movie of all time. If you haven't seen it, you're missing out.

4 out of 5 slices of garlic so thin they liquefy in the pan