Alchemy and Life
In life and on the silver screen alike, there are certain people that are alchemist. What I mean is anything they touch turns to gold. For instance, Snoop Doggy Dogg can turn anything into a money maker. If you put Samuel L. Jackson in any bad mf role, you have a hit. Quinten Tarantino could make a movie about the Care Bears, and it would be a multimillion-dollar amazing film. I’ve said this many times but, in the gangster world you have Al Pachino, Robert Deniro, and Joe Pesci. If one or any of these fellows are involved, you’re about to make some money. Goodfellas features not one but two of these names. Yep, it’s a hit.
Tony Montana and the "F" Bomb
When we were kids, Scarface was our favorite gangster movie to watch. I knew several scenes word for word, wrote and English paper on the film, and wore a button on my letterman’s jacket of Montana that I made in graphic design class. Tony Montana was our hero. That’s scary to think about. I ran into a young man recently half my age who loves Tony Montana. I suppose the Scarface lifestyle intrigues many. I look forward to the wealth, properties, businesses, Cadillacs, etc. but not the drug problem and certainly not hit squads showing up at my house. I digress – let’s talk about the “f” word. Scarface has a total of 226 uses according to Screenrant.com. This same article has Goodfellas with a count of 300 times. Know that there’s a LOT of bad language in Goodfellas. Joe Pechi is in a lead role so what do you expect?
The No Dope Policy
A running theme I’ve seen in what I consider to be real mob movies is no dope. You can see this in The Godfather and Goodfellas. Scarface is another, of course, but I look at Al Pachino’s classic role in a different light. My question is about the truth behind this. Did the Italian Mafia really try to stay away from drugs? Were their members punished for messing with drugs? Why? Obviously, as you can see in Goodfellas, dope becomes a problem. Especially when you can afford the best of the best and have constant access to it. As we see in Goodfellas, the main character becomes addicted and with drug addiction comes baggage. In the end, the money had to lead these families into involvement with drugs. This was inevitable.
Let’s talk about what I mean by “real” mob movies. My last name is not Gambino, in fact I’m German, so understand that I claim no ties or heritage to the Cosa Nostra. I don’t even claim to know that much about the Italian culture. I consider Scarface to be a more aggressive drug cartel type gangster representation. I’ve even heard the director and writer say this was their intention with the Tony Montana character. Afterall, he was portraying someone from the ‘80s. The early Italian mafia was different. They had honor and a code. If you didn’t mess with them, they didn’t bother you. Members couldn’t get hit without approval and they were family oriented. All mafia fans have heard of the “5 families.” Goodfellas showed more of this side of the mob than Scarface. I consider Goodfellas to be an accurate depiction of “the life.”
Goodfellas Shines Light on Mob Culture
Goodfellas has a ton of mob lingo and Italian culture. The movie is narrated, which really helps with the culture. You learn that everyone has nicknames, every family has a “Pauly”, and a lot of other nomenclature too. Of course, you see huge family gatherings and spreads that are equivalent to any soul food presentation in the Southeastern US. It couldn’t be a mob movie without violence along with that family love. One of my favorite scenes involves the main character tuning a guy up publicly for messing with his girlfriend. Mess with an Italian mafiosi’s girl – FAFO is a good way to put it. I can’t complain about the action and violence in Goodfellas. It’s not enough to be a horror movie but it is just enough to be everything you expect. You know that stereotype of everyone being paid off? Yeah, that’s in Goodfellas too.
Reality of “the life” is that it ends. Gotti died in prison, Capone died from an STD, Castellano was killed by Gotti. You always get rolled on and you always die or go to jail. This was less frequent it seemed early on but, it still happened. I watched a great interview with Sammy “The Bull” Gravano that you can watch for yourself here. He talks a lot about the dark side of the mob. The writers illustrated the paranoia that comes with this lifestyle in Goodfellas. As things are going down hill for the main character, his former friends start to try to set both him and his wife up to be killed. Both have been in the game long enough to see through it. Eventually the realization that even his closest friends have turned on put him in the same position as Gravano and he rolls.
Great Memorabilia in Goodfellas
1990 is the year Goodfellas came out, but they rode the time machine. The movie takes place from 1955 to 1980. Goodfellas follows this perfectly with clothes, cars, and homes. I’m this blog’s author so you know we’re going to talk about the vintage memorabilia. These guys had an infinite supply of money, so the cars and clothes were the best. So, let’s talk about the Cadillacs. There is a ’49 Fleetwood, a ’67 Coup Deville, and my favorite, a pink ’79 Coupe Deville. Check out a more inclusive list of the cars in this film here. Something in Goodfellas that I haven’t seen a deep dive into in other movies were the luxury homes. A character is showing off his new living room with an automated wall that reveals a radio and television center in one scene. I imagine this cost a small fortune in the ‘70s.
"The Life" Ends and So Does This Blog
If I have some time to waste or want some background noise while I paint and have almost run a needle through my vinyl collection, there are several movies I can watch on repeat. Friday the 13th (your pick with the exceptions of 9 & 10), Scarface, Halloween, Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, Bloodsport, Firecracker, and Chopping Mall are a few. Goodfellas is an easy add to this list. I’ve watched this one several times over the years but I’m going to visit it again. I love gangster movies and the consistent themes I’ve touched on here in this blog make it a favorite of mine. If you watch haven’t seen it, Goodfellas will likely become a favorite of yours too.
Fans – what are your thoughts on Goodfellas? What are your favorite scenes? If anyone knows more about the real mafia from back in the day, how accurate is it? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Also, I’d love for you to read more of my blogs, check out my art, photography and more. You can do all of that here.