Gangster movies

[Lightsped]

Ok, so I admit, I have not seen Goodfellas yet. How is the gunplay/shootouts in Goodfellas? Do the guns make the DVD worth buying?

 

[number6]

Go to www.imdb.com (The Internet Movie Database). Excellent site for EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about EVERY movie ever made.

And if I remember correctly, Goodfellas wasn't a shoot 'em up type gangster movie.

 

[AJ Dual]

Although the sound and slow-mo shots of Joe Peschi's character shooting the 1911 with supressor to kill their airport heist getaway driver was rather cool.

Er, I mean "cool" other than the fact he was killing someone, uh, yeah...

 

[igor]

If I remember right, Goodfellas was in a way revoltingly violent... very, very antisocial behavior happening. As to gunplay, not emphasized as such, altogether not a fun movie at all.

 

[TheOtherOne]

revoltingly violent

Along with Casino, Goodfellas is one of my favorite movies... but yeah they aren't really gun movies, just mob movies with a few guns in them.

 

[Danimal]

What is it about mafia-type movies that make me totally drawn to them? I don't think it's the violence, or the cool weapons ('cause goombah gangsters rarely seem to have good equipment), or the tactical handling. I guess it's that sense of camaraderie, the family aspect, and the code of (for lack of a more appropriate term) conduct and principles. Or that their sense of justice better reflects, well....justice.

Or maybe it's just the fashion sense of a pinstriped double-breasted Armani or a velour jogging suit with some gold chains.

Godfather, Casino, The Sopranos, Goodfellas, Road to Perdition, The Untouchables, Donnie Brasco.... I love them all.

 

[lexical closure]

Or that their sense of justice better reflects, well....justice.

For those within the 'family', perhaps.

However, it doesn't look to me like that sense of justice applies to non-family. Since it's not evenly applied I'm not sure you can call it justice.

You know, like the neighborhood store owner getting sweated in a protection racket, etc.

Mafia movies do have a strange allure, though.

 

[Danimal]

Lexical, that's an important distinction and I'm glad you made it. Justice, perhaps, might be better phrased as a lack of tolerance for those within the family who betray, cheat, lie, screw up, or exhibit a general incompetence or a retarded sense of business and marketing skills.

 

[Monkeyleg]

Goodfellas may be the best gangster movie ever made. For me it's probably a tossup between Goodfellas and The Godfather.

The cinematography is great (the scene with Henry and Karen going into the restaurant was a milestone). Acting is superb, especially the job done by Robert DeNiro. The movie soundtrack was another milestone, with each pop song giving you a sense of the time you're in.

Buy the DVD. If you like gangster movies, this should definitely be in your collection.

 

[vmi93]

Great movie...

I enjoyed Goodfellas because it portrayed the gangsters as what they are; murderous bullies who will betray each other whenever they get the chance. The movie also does a very good job of highlighting their bad taste in everything, from the women's clothing to the home decor.

It also managed to do this while somehow making you care what happened to the protagonist.

In some ways it seems to be the "anti-Godfather", with none of that flm's "family values" spiel that seemed to glorify the Mafia.

 

[Futo Inu]

Goodfellas was a good movie, but not a lot of interesting gunplay. It shows a true story, and shows the down/dark side of gangstering. I don't think it's worth buying (it's NOT if you'd be buying for gun action), but it's worth seeing for the Peschi character scenes, especially the "in what way am I funny?" scene with Peschi and Liotta (Liotta plays the main character, Henry Hill). Goodfellas is kinda like the scene from Pulp fiction, where they shoot the guy and get blood all over the place, and have the argument about cleaning it up - shows the ugly reality of that type of life. Both Goodfellas and Casino are extremely violent, to the point of grotesqueness, agreed, particularly Casino, but Casino is a better movie - more entertaining although also loosely based on a true story. Peschi once again plays the psycho. Goodfellas is a TRUE story; Casino just loosely based on one, so they can fiddle with the facts for more entertainment. The best gangster movies I've seen personally are

A Bronx Tale
Donnie Brasco

Untouchables is pretty good too. So is Road to Perdition, yes, and of course Godfather 1-3. But Brasco is great, and based on a true story, which makes you bite your fingernails even more. Bronx tale is awesome (though I don't think true), and has DeNiro in minor role as the father. I'm sure there are many ganster movies I've missed though.

PS. Oh yeah, great directing in Goodfellas with the scene entering the restaurant. That took some serious choreography.

 

[Monkeyleg]

Futo Inu, thanks for mentioning Donnie Brasco. It's a great movie, even though the writers did take liberty with the actual story. (The book is a great read).

On one of the cable channels--Discovery or the History Channel--I saw an interview with one of the guys who was actually involved in the events depicted in Casino. It's surprising how much of that movie is true-to-life. Just about everything shown in that movie actually happened.

 

[BigG]

Here's my take on Road to Perdition. Road to Perdition

I have a bunch more gangster movies on my site, if anybody is interested.

 

[digex]

What about "King of New York"? Christopher Walken was EXCELLENT in that flick. One of my all-time favorites. Not exactly mafia-style, but definitely a gangster movie worth seeing IMHO.

 

[4v50 Gary]

My buddy saw Goodfellas. Now he understands what he was doing when he was helping those nice old Italian men by picking their "friends/relatives" up folks at the airport and driving them to isolated cabins in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Monkeyleg]

4v50 Gary: "My buddy saw Goodfellas. Now he understands what he was doing when he was helping those nice old Italian men by picking their "friends/relatives" up folks at the airport and driving them to isolated cabins in the middle of nowhere."

So, what was your buddy's favorite foods? The legs or the wings? Or did he just go for the old hearts and lungs?

 

[digex]

OK, I just got done watching "Knockaround Guys". Have any of you guys seen it? I thought it was a decent movie. Definitely kept you on the edge of your seat.