I love Goodfellas dearly. I think the question here is what makes a perfect movie? Like, what do I think a perfect movie is? And that's a hard question. The Wizard of Oz? Goodfellas' true impact requires a movie like The Godfather to contrast against and I suppose that's why it's A- to me.
Gotcha. I wondered if there was something specific about Goodfellas itself that kept it from being perfect—a scene or a performance or whatnot. So in a Godfather-less world, does Goodfellas become an A+? (Been thinking about this a lot lately in re: 5-star book reviews, as every time I finish a book on my Kindle it asks for a rating, and every time, I have a mini-crisis about what to do 😂)
When it comes to how I see movies, I'm influenced by Martin Scorsese who talks alot about genre in movies, and how important genre is to the medium and the business. I think the gangster genre is one of America's great art forms, like jazz or comic books.
So Goodfellas is in direct conversation with The Godfather, which embraced a genre in 1972 that had seen better days -- organized crime movies were déclassé. The Godfather turned a mob story into Shakespeare, a tragedy about family and the country. Coppola and Puzo romanticized these people, and made two impeccable movies.
I don't love star ratings, it's too consumerist. The Godfather and Goodfellas are probably both 5 stars? They're both A+s? But perfect? I think The Godfather is perfect simply because it reinvented something that, later, Goodfellas subverted.
You are one HELL of a movie-writer, John! Up there with Kael and David Thompson. Just delicious stuff.
"If cocaine wore a mustache, cocaine would look like James Woods in Casino."
Accurate.
Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack.com
Haven’t seen it since I first saw it in like 1999. Will revisit it this weekend. And will rewatch Moneyball for the 3rd time too for good measure lol
Just out of curiosity, what would have elevated Goodfellas from “near-perfect” in your opinion, to “perfect” movie?
I love Goodfellas dearly. I think the question here is what makes a perfect movie? Like, what do I think a perfect movie is? And that's a hard question. The Wizard of Oz? Goodfellas' true impact requires a movie like The Godfather to contrast against and I suppose that's why it's A- to me.
Gotcha. I wondered if there was something specific about Goodfellas itself that kept it from being perfect—a scene or a performance or whatnot. So in a Godfather-less world, does Goodfellas become an A+? (Been thinking about this a lot lately in re: 5-star book reviews, as every time I finish a book on my Kindle it asks for a rating, and every time, I have a mini-crisis about what to do 😂)
When it comes to how I see movies, I'm influenced by Martin Scorsese who talks alot about genre in movies, and how important genre is to the medium and the business. I think the gangster genre is one of America's great art forms, like jazz or comic books.
So Goodfellas is in direct conversation with The Godfather, which embraced a genre in 1972 that had seen better days -- organized crime movies were déclassé. The Godfather turned a mob story into Shakespeare, a tragedy about family and the country. Coppola and Puzo romanticized these people, and made two impeccable movies.
I don't love star ratings, it's too consumerist. The Godfather and Goodfellas are probably both 5 stars? They're both A+s? But perfect? I think The Godfather is perfect simply because it reinvented something that, later, Goodfellas subverted.
SARAH DOES THAT MAKE SENSE
YES YES IT DOES