Movie Analysis Essay on Goodfellas

Introduction

Goodfellas, an American gangster film written by Irwin Winkler, covers the story of criminals that joined mobs at an early age and worked hard to advance themselves through ranks. The director of this film is Martin Scorsese, and the cast consists of famous movie stars like Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta. The sequence, starting from the scene where Karen and Henry enter Copacabana Club, shows how Scorsese used sound effects, lighting, and camera movements to enhance the film. Also, shots and takes in this sequence reflect how the director used various framing and editing techniques to make images aesthetically pleasing.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Camera Movement

In the introduction shots of this sequence, it is apparent that the director extensively used camera movements to reveal off-screen space, to provide narrative information, and to direct the viewer's attention. The camera tracks through Copacabana Club as Henry and his lover, Karen, share light moments around the entrance of the building (Goodfellas 06: 45-25:55). For more than one minute, the camera follows Henry's movement in the club as he greets his friends with their nicknames. In this scene, everyone who greets Henry makes eye contact with the camera, letting the viewers know the experiences of Henry and the reactions of his new friends. Camera movements are essential in this sequence, and the scene itself since it creates expressive effects.

Lighting Techniques

Lighting in the sequence creates shots and pictures that affect moods, emotions, and relationships between characters. The director chose to use a red color throughout the sequence, although there a few shots in dark-grey color. The shot in the restaurant that depicts Tommy and his friends shows the essence of lighting in Goodfellas. In this shot, to be precise, the light illuminates the middle of the table on Tommy's position. Since this take contains many people listening to Tommy, the direction of the light guides the viewers to the person speaking. With many people, the audience can keep attention on the correct characters. Because of this lighting effect, the characters and the whole room has a slightly red hue that is similar to the gruesome scenes in the opening displays of the movie. The hue effect in the room also exists because of red strips of plastics that cover lights. As in many crime films, the red color denotes danger. Besides, it is a warning of the possible horror that may unfold after the sequence at the club.

Editing and Sound Effects

The editor used non-diegetic sounds like music to enhance the film. As Karen and Henry are heading to the club, there is music playing in the background. Besides the music element, the shot in this scene is captivating since it seems like Henry is leading Karen as they enter the nightclub. In this regard, the editor fades out one clip and introduce another one as the two characters walk down the shadowy hallway. This technique signifies a passage of time as Karen and Henry walk around the club, and as they enter the building directly rather than queuing.

In the same sequence, where Tommy and Billy were arguing in a club, one can hear slow music playing in the background. However, the scene starts to escalate when Billy teased Tommy. Even as the two characters quarreled, one can hear the music that creates sound effects besides making the scene more intense. Nonetheless, the awkward pause of the background noise that occurred when Tommy and Billy were bickering back and forth creates suspense. This editing technique suggests to the viewers that something terrible is about to happen.

In the same scene, one can hear a glass smashing in the background, a few seconds after Billy uttered some words that angered his friend, Tommy. From there, the characters became serious, indicating that Scorsese used this sound to change the moods. This non-diegetic sound helps create a negative atmosphere as the film gradually unfolds to action scenes.

Framing/Shot Type

One of the director's visual tricks in Goodfellas, specifically in the sequence under analysis in the use of freeze-frame shots. Scorsese used this technique to separate events and, more importantly, stop-action at critical points in the life of Henry. As an example, the director used a freeze-frame shot in a scene where Henry disclosed to Billy that he always wanted to be a famous gangster. This frame shot is of great importance in the sequence and even the whole film as it ground the viewers on Henry's point of view. Besides, it enables the audience to understand that this character remembers essential times of his life, thus bringing to light the theme of crime. This frame displays on the screen for more than three seconds, suggesting that Scorsese was trying to communicate important ideas where there was no footage. However, Nochimson said that frames in the first parts of this film could destabilize the audience (135).

The main scene in this sequence that shows how the director used long takes is where Henry and Karen are walking towards Copacabana. Through this long take, the audience can understand that Karen embraces the criminal world of his boyfriend. Moreover, a shot that shows Tommy, Henry, and other people in the restaurant used a deep focus optical technique. Mamer said this optical technique is used when all images are in focus (23). In this scene, deep focus enables the viewers to identify the main characters among a group of people in a restaurant.

Works Cited

Goodfellas. Dir. Scorsese, Martin, Perf. Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Joe Pesci. Warner Brothers, 1990. Film.

Mamer, B. Film production technique: Creating the accomplished image, 5th. Cengage Learning, 2008.

Nochimson, M. Dying to belong: Gangster movies in Hollywood and Hong Kong. John Wiley & Sons, 2007.