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In Reply to: "Goodfellas" posted by rico on August 3, 2005 at 07:37:00:
mystery.
Elevating murderers to mythic status is reprehensible for any artist.
Follow Ups:
> Elevating murderers to mythic status is reprehensible for any artist.Pesci's character gets killed. DeNiro ostensibly ends up in jail for the rest of his life. Just about everyone involved with the Lufthansa heist gets knocked off. Henry Hill ends up turning states evidence, living in the middle of a boring suburban hell of his own making.
They all get their comeuppance. Not exactly sure how this elevates these slimeballs to "mythic" status.
/*Music is subjective. Sound is not.*/
You are of course correct, nobody becomes anything close to mythic hero status which seemed to be the implication. You watch this film more than once to further appreciate the acting and directing, which IMHO is stellar. I've seen it a half dozen times at least. Perhaps tin could purchase Ghandi for repeated viewing if moral content is his aim.
I've seen it many times -- it was on my list of the ebst films of the 1990's. It is the best Mob film in my view. I saw nothing about this film that elevated or glorified mobsters. Indeed, the reverse was evident throughout. What a dire souless existence these people have being big fish in a shallow pond, where greed ignites the only passion they have and it eventually leads to their demise.
As you see below, others disagree.
;0)
Claudius, Othello, Macbeth and the murdering psyopaths in Scorscese's (and Coppola's) paeans to the Mafia... then you'd better read some more of the Bard.
What feeling do you come away with after seeing Godfather, Goodfellas, etc.?
Quite different from that of a Shakespearean tragedy, I hope.
Next, you'll be applauding Casino, for chrissakes.
I don't think the American director's efforts are bad, mind you, but just think they fall a long ways short of excellent. Jeez, I wouldn't even dare mention them in the same... week as I reverently whispered the name of Will.
...large size brush you use when saying "Elevating murderers to mythic status is reprehensible for any artist."
We are talking about Scorsese and not, ssssh, Will, after all.
;0)
directors cannot find some other subject than glorifying the worst members of the community.
African-American directors seem to have the same agenda, however, so I guess greed and sensationalism isn't culture specific.
Sure reinforces stereotypes, however, and makes for a one-dimensional portrait of an entire people.
> > directors cannot find some other subject than glorifying the worst members of the community. < <Scorsese actually has quite a number of films that don't glorify the worst members of the community. Admittedly, his work on Michael Jackson's HIStory is unforgiveable... ;-)
here... "Elevating murderers to mythic status is reprehensible for any artist."Of course Tarantino DOES do that... mafia or not. Methinks you have a bit of a double standard going :-)
"Where are we going? And what am I doing in this hand basket?"
Many directors deal with a gentler side of the Italan American experience. I think of "Big Night", "Mac', "A Bronx Tale", and others (OK,OK, maybe not "A Bronx Tale").
Paul Sorvino and Debi Mazar (Liottas coked out girlfriend in Goodfellas), resurface as pillar of society Italian-American go-to-work types who don't do drugs or kill anyone; or even talk about it, the whole seriesI am fairly sure those roles were a penance equivalent to being forced to sit and watch traffic passing through the NJ turnpike in comparison to the latitude Goodfellas would have allowed them
Disclaimer: I only ever watched this 'cos Ellen Burstyn was in it (honest) It wasn't any kind of fascination with how boring any particular ethnic group could be portrayed; or anything like that
And in the hope that Joe Pesci would make at least a cameo appearance and liven things up a bit.... Alas, it was not to be
Tarantino does that at least as much as Scorcese... if not more so.
"Where are we going? And what am I doing in this hand basket?"
s
So, it is okay to glorify organized crime, which Tarantino most certainly does, but not okay to glorify (for the sake of argument) organized crime as organized by Italians. Commonly known as the Mafia. Yep. No double standard there.
s
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