Goodfellas And The Godfather: Film Analysis

Thorough out the course of cinematic history, countless films have been released about the Italian mafia. Two films in particular have had a significant impact on the way the mafia is perceived through the eyes of American audiences. Those films are Goodfellas and The Godfather (the trilogy). Both movies are widely considered two of the greatest of all time, garnering many Academy Award nominations and wins. Although there is no denying the popularity of both of these films, we have speculated that they may not be the most accurate depictions of how the mafia operates. Violence is definitely a part of the mafia’s history, but not in the way it has been portrayed in film. In Goodfellas and The Godfather, it seems like every time a problem
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One of the most violent scenes is when Michael (youngest Corleone son) is sent to kill the leader of the rival family and the police officer who accompanies him. The scene is very graphic and very bloody. An examples of a scene that contains unnecessary fighting is when Sonny (oldest Corleone son) learns that his sister’s husband beats her. He goes out of his way to find him in the street and beat him to a bloody pulp. In another outrageously violent scene, Sonny is murdered point blank by multiple gangsters firing guns at him from all angles. The ending is another example of excessive violence. When Michael becomes the new Don, his first act is to murder the leaders of some of the biggest crime families in the city. The sequence is very dark and very violent. It’s no wonder that this film is not allowed to be viewed in some Italian households; it’s these particular scenes that account for the Italian’s perception of this film: that it is an inaccurate depiction of the mafia that uses violence to real in audiences. To American audiences, however, these scenes have become iconic in the film industry and helped The Godfather receive the reputation of one of the greatest films in
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It tells the story of a teenager who has always wanted to be a gangster. One day, he finds his way in. As the years pass, he works his way up higher and higher into the organization and life couldn’t be better for him, until things begin to go downhill. The film was nominated for Best Picture in 1991, so a lot of time has passed since The Godfather and yet the similarities are uncanny. Both films have been compared to one another, with many film critics being split between which is the better film. Goodfellas was directed by Martin Scorsese in 1990. He was born November 17th, 1942 in Queens, New York. Like Coppola, he was raised in an Italian-American household. Both his paternal and maternal grandparents emigrated from Palermo. He graduated from New York University with a degree in film and immediately solidified himself into the film industry as a director to watch. Many critics consider Goodfellas to be his greatest work. In my opinion, Goodfellas is significantly more violent than The Godfather, but it doesn’t get as bad of a reputation with Italian families. Why is that? I believe it’s because Goodfellas focuses on more on an American type of family, unlike The