Welkom op Fragmenten uit het Schemerland, mijn persoonlijke website en content-verzameling. Je vindt hier veel artikelen over films en series in de FilmDungeon. Ook vind je op deze site mijn achtergrondverhaal, een selectie van mijn professionele werk, en een groeiende collectie blogs – fragmenten genaamd – over uiteenlopende onderwerpen. Veel leesplezier en bedankt voor het bezoeken van mijn blog!
— Jeppe Kleijngeld
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Director: Martin Scorsese Writers: Martin Scorsese (screenplay), Nicholas Pileggi (book & screenplay) Stars: Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Lorraine Bracco, Joe Pesci
One time during my high school days, I convinced a teacher who liked me to view GoodFellas in class, and so I could see my favorite movie of all time through the eyes of my ‘virgin’ classmates.
I remember their baffled reactions to the bloody opening scene, their laughter at almost everything Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) said and did, and their unease at seeing Henry and Karen Hill crying in each other’s arms in desperation towards the end.
GoodFellas is my favorite movie of all time, but for this ultimate gangster movie ranking, it shares the throne with The Godfather. The reason is obvious; both movies are monumental gangster epics. The Godfather is by far the greatest film ever about the top level of the Mafia, and when it comes to the life of the street level wiseguy, GoodFellas is the essential picture.
Like the protagonist Henry Hill gets sucked into the seductive life of a mobster at a young age, so we, the audience, get sucked into this movie. And just like Henry, at first we find the lifestyle to appear exciting and glamorous, only to discover its ugly true nature half way through. From that point on, it all goes downHILL…
Scorsese employs a variety of cinematic techniques to keep us at the edge of our seats throughout Henry’s journey through 30 years of crime in New York City. The first part of the movie is shot like a movie trailer with tremendous energy with Henry in voiceover describing the events from his wiseguy perspective (“business bad? Fuck you pay me!”) and the frantic editing and swooping cinematography brings the audience into the rush of the mobster life.
Later, we also get the wiseguy’s wife’s perspective through the voiceover of Karen Hill and this really completes the picture of what that lifestyle is all about. The murder of made guy Billy Batts then marks the turning point after which the wiseguys’ demise gradually draws closer. The movie slows down a little bit and we get to witness a number of pivotal moments of Hill’s life that are not so glamorous, like Spider’s murder and Karen almost shooting him in the face for cheating on her.
After a lengthy period in prison, it follows the Lufthansa heist, one more incredible highlight for a mob crew that loves nothing more than taking down big scores. Then, during the final part of the film, the pace picks up again as we join Henry on a day filled with cocaine, paranoia and police helicopters.
Like The Godfather, the movie is chock full of unforgettable moments that are forever recorded in the cinematic consciousness. At the end of Hill’s downfall, when he is reduced to the status of ordinary ‘schnook’ citizen, Scorsese cleverly throws in a reference shot to The Great Train Robbery. Although it usually leads to an inglorious death, the life of the American, gun-slinging outlaw remains forever alluring.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola Writers: Mario Puzo (screenplay & novel), Francis Ford Coppola (screenplay) Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton
50 years after its release, The Godfather remains one of the most powerful and emotional cinematic experiences ever created. It is only rivaled by its knockout sequel Part II that arrived two years later.
Director Francis Ford Coppola took Mario Puzo’s fascinating story about the power struggle of the Corleone crime family in New York in the forties/fifties, and weaved it into an unforgettable epic about family, honor, love and revenge.
A whole range of cinematic achievements combined ensure that The Godfather is often hailed as the greatest movie of all time.
Take the stylish cinematography, beautiful musical score and thrilling pacing for starters. And then add the superb performances of the whole cast and you have a true classic on your hands.
But there is much more. The characters are so brilliantly realized that it matches the best of Shakespeare’s writing. Especially Marlon Brando’s aging patriarch Don Vito, and Al Pacino’s cold and calculating successor Michael, have become immortal characters in cinema.
Plus no other movie has so many iconic scenes crammed into its running time: the horse’s head, the Sollozzo-McCluskey murders, the baptism scene, to name but a few.
And there are too many unforgettable lines of dialogues to mention. The Godfather has thus sealed its position as the Capo di tutti capi: the Boss of all Bosses of Gangster Movies.
Rivalled only by the second number 1 of this list: GoodFellas.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola Writers: Francis Ford Coppola (screenplay), Mario Puzo (screenplay & novel) Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall
With The Godfather: Part II, director Francis Ford Coppola did the impossible. He created a movie that is just as captivating and beautiful as its unforgettable predecessor.
Unique in its structure, both sequel and prequel simultaneously, Part II sees the rise of a young Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) to power and Michael Corleone’s (Al Pacino) transcendence to hell: an inevitable continuation of the events of the first part.
Michael becomes a truly tragic character by the end when he dooms himself by committing an unspeakable act of evil. The build-up to the shattering final image – Michael sitting alone outside his Lake Tahoe estate having lost his family – is one of the most memorable images in cinema history. A unique accomplishment by Coppola and his team.
Special praise must go to Pacino for radiating Michael’s mindset throughout every step of his diabolical transformation, making Michael Corleone one of the most iconic figures in movie history.
And cinematographer Gordon Willis succeeds once again in making every image a wonderful painting. As far as cinematic accomplishments go, Part II is as epic as its subject matter.
Director: Quentin Tarantino Writers: Quentin Tarantino (stories), Roger Avary (stories), Quentin Tarantino (screenplay) Stars: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis
In 1994, a film was released at the Cannes Film Festival that shook the foundations of the industry. Here was a talented 31-year old director who really seemed to understand the language of cinema like no other.
This director was named Quentin Tarantino, and he had debuted two years earlier with the sensational heist movie Reservoir Dogs. That film got excellent reviews, but not a wide release. His second movie made Tarantino a household name.
Although he has made a number of terrific genre movies since, his take on the gangster genre remains his greatest work.
Pulp Fiction famously weaves together four crime stories in L.A. in a tapestry of humor, violence, pop culture references and mystery. Famous for its nonlinear storytelling, Pulp Fiction is a grand exercise in style that is as inimitable as it is brilliant.
It won the award for Best Film at the Cannes Film Festival and later the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (shared by Tarantino with his friend Roger Avery who contributed the story The Gold Watch to the script).
In 2013, Pulp Fiction was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant’. It is without a doubt one of the most original and influential gangster movies of all time.
Welkom op Fragmenten uit het Schemerland, mijn persoonlijke website en content-verzameling. Je vindt hier veel artikelen over films en series in de FilmDungeon. Ook vind je op deze site mijn achtergrondverhaal, een selectie van mijn professionele werk, en een groeiende collectie blogs – fragmenten genaamd – over uiteenlopende onderwerpen. Veel leesplezier en bedankt voor het bezoeken van mijn blog!
