A textual analysis of the Martin Scorscese film Goodfellas
Understanding Film Shane Gladstone
Analytical Essay on any Scorsese Film: (Goodfellas, 1990)
In the year 1990 Warner Bros released a motion picture titled Goodfellas. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the narratives main strand dealt with the issue of a misguided youth enjoying his rites of passage from within the inner sanctum of the Italian gangland of the early sixties New York. The narrative continues in a narrated biographical form, following the protagonist through highs and lows before eventually reaching a cocaine induced downfall at the climax of the 1970's.
The scenes that I have chosen to discus within the context of my essay will provide the reader with an insight into the un-orthodox lifestyles enjoyed by our protagonist and his comrades.
The opening scene I have chosen portrays the protagonist Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) and Tommy Devito (Joe Pesci) performing grand theft auto at an airport. From here the narrative flows into the next scene. In this scene Henry acquaints us with his underworld clique from within the location of a restaurant.
The opening of the airport scene presents the viewer with an E/S of the airport and a non-diegetic text informing the audience of the scenes setting (Idlewild). We then cut to a C/U of a man's smart footwear. The camera performs an upward tilt from the shoes to reveal Henry before tracking back to show Tommy and their current surroundings. They are leant against a car in the car park of a fifties/sixties style diner. This confirms the anchorage date line of 1963 shown at the beginning of the film. The black suits are intertextually reminiscent of classic film noir and also give off notions of confidence, authority, class and menace. In the aforementioned upward tilt, Henrys significance is also reinforced. The camera then pans around to reveal the truck and follows the driver as he gets out and walks towards the diner. We see this through the eyes of Henry. This gives the audience a feel of voyeurism and puts the
Analytical Essay on any Scorsese Film: (Goodfellas, 1990)
In the year 1990 Warner Bros released a motion picture titled Goodfellas. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the narratives main strand dealt with the issue of a misguided youth enjoying his rites of passage from within the inner sanctum of the Italian gangland of the early sixties New York. The narrative continues in a narrated biographical form, following the protagonist through highs and lows before eventually reaching a cocaine induced downfall at the climax of the 1970's.
The scenes that I have chosen to discus within the context of my essay will provide the reader with an insight into the un-orthodox lifestyles enjoyed by our protagonist and his comrades.
The opening scene I have chosen portrays the protagonist Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) and Tommy Devito (Joe Pesci) performing grand theft auto at an airport. From here the narrative flows into the next scene. In this scene Henry acquaints us with his underworld clique from within the location of a restaurant.
The opening of the airport scene presents the viewer with an E/S of the airport and a non-diegetic text informing the audience of the scenes setting (Idlewild). We then cut to a C/U of a man's smart footwear. The camera performs an upward tilt from the shoes to reveal Henry before tracking back to show Tommy and their current surroundings. They are leant against a car in the car park of a fifties/sixties style diner. This confirms the anchorage date line of 1963 shown at the beginning of the film. The black suits are intertextually reminiscent of classic film noir and also give off notions of confidence, authority, class and menace. In the aforementioned upward tilt, Henrys significance is also reinforced. The camera then pans around to reveal the truck and follows the driver as he gets out and walks towards the diner. We see this through the eyes of Henry. This gives the audience a feel of voyeurism and puts the