Goodfellas and The Effect Martin Scorsese has had on me.

Martin Scorsese is the greatest filmmaker of all time. His shots that not only immersed people in the world of the film but gave you the perspective of the characters, However unlikable or horrible the character is. Goodfellas was the return to the kind of crime film he did in the 70s, most notably Mean Streets. But this was new territory for him. Now he was going to adapt True Crime and turn that into a fucking great crime movie. And it was. But while it tells the story of Henry Hill’s life, It doesn’t for shit feel like some shitty biopic just out to get some Oscars for the actors, No it’s an amazing crime film with fantastic characters who just happen to be real. This film had a giant impact on myself. I had watched Baby Driver and Get Out and from there I knew I wanted to do something with movies. And as soon as I saw this film I knew I needed to be a Director. It wasn’t like some shit like hey I like movies and can make a lot of movies I guess I’ll direct, No it was a need, a calling that I knew I had to do that shit. Part of the reason this film is so amazing is that its pure fucking cinematic. The art of filmmaking is just so pure here. Part of that is the narration. Now as a kid you were told while telling stories, show not tell. but in a medium like Film, While you can pull telling off fuck it, Do it. And the use of freeze frame for having Henry telling the story just shows that there’s someone behind that camera. When I was young. You only see the actors on the surface, And that’s what you think the film is, But then you learn there’s a lot going on behind that camera, And this film is the perfect film to show that. It just has such and in your face style that shows a great Director, And in this case The Greatest Director. Scorsese’s movies have always been a giant source of inspiration for me and have received a lot of my love. Taxi Driver is my favorite film of all time. Mean Streets got me into the idea of acting with De Niro’s performance. Even his first movie Whos That Knocking at My Door which he wrote and made right out of film school is a giant piece of inspiration for me. And Goodfellas is one of the biggest since it made me know I had to be a Director. And the structure of this film is one of my most interesting things too. It’s a two act film, The first half shows all the traits of the characters and what they are all capable of and the second half delivers on that. I’ve even used that in screenplays to help me out and I’m really proud of that. Scorsese even uses music to help the structure flow and show Henry’s attitude towards crime. The first half he loves it, He romanticizes it. So it plays 50s love songs. Think of the long tracking shot through the copacabana restaurant. It’s showing Henry’s powers and how much he loves that life. Even the airport robbery scene. They just walk in and out and this old love song is playing. Then he starts liking the life less and less and seeing more and more of it. He no longer romanticises it he more fantasizes it so he can still do it. Think of the scene where they beat up Billy Batts and drag him to their car, Scorsese is playing Atlantis, A fantasy song. Then Henry goes to jail and after that all hell breaks loose with the introduction of Cocaine. Life spirals out of control and they start playing Classic rock. Sunshine of Your Love, Gimme Shelter (A Scorsese Regular) along with many other songs. The performances are all great. The plot is amazing and no matter how horrible what is going on on screen the filmmaking is so pure and beautiful. What a great fucking movie.