Goodfellas and the Crime Genre


“As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster.” – Henry Hill


It has been an interesting time in America since the collapse of the studio system. There is no longer a standardized method of churning out genre films, yet genre is that which we base our choice on what to watch. Goodfellas (Scorsese, 1990) is a genre film in every sense of the word; however it breaks conventions and attempts to revolutionize the genre. In the following, I will discuss Goodfellas as a gangster film; how fits the mold of a crime film yet breaks the conventions of such. In order to do this, I will look at the traditions of the gangster film; as well as the form, content, iconography, and characters of Goodfellas. When one looks at these elements and compares them to the traditional gangster films, one will plainly see that Goodfellas is not merely a genre film; but one which attempts to revolutionize the gangster genre.

According to Jack Shadoian, the classic (and most simplistic) period for the American gangster film was from 1930 to 1932 (beginning with Little Caesar and ending with Scarface in an era of over fifty gangster pictures). These packaged films were “like an Alka-Seltzer for the headaches of the Depression”, and the gangster was a “self made man who has no fear of pain or death and behaves amorally until the world’s weight crushes down on him”. In a very ideological way, the “tough guys”, their women, police officers, etc. are all stylized by their speech, behavior, and so on in order to distinguish them from “us” (as well as them from the “good guys” of the picture - 29-30). One of the first things that one may notice about Goodfellas is that it presents a world in which there is no “good” or “evil”; there is simply what one may deem the “underworld”. This is a post- The Godfather (Copolla, 1972) phenomenon (and thus a modernist phenomenon) in which “the world on screen is not split according to values or desires”. Rather than depicting the good and the bad, the viewer is simply shown the world of the gangster. No parallels are drawn between the two worlds; we are shown one, and the other is simply ignored (Shadoian 239-240).

During the production of Goodfellas, director Martin Scorsese told many people, “There’s no sense in making another gangster picture, unless it is as close as possible to a certain kind of reality, to the spirit of a documentary”. In order to accomplish this, he used such unorthodox techniques as freeze-frames (ex. when a young Henry Hill is taking a beating at the hands of his father), multiple-character voiceovers (ex. Henry Hill, Karen Hill, etc.), and even a scene in which Henry Hill talks directly to the camera, breaking the so-called “fourth wall”. In using such techniques, Scorsese was able to “re-create the sort of things that make an imprint, that have an impact on you as a child” (as in the case of the freeze-frames) and to mimic 1950s television personality Ernie Kovacs who, according to Scorsese, “destroyed what you were used to thinking was the form of television comedy show” (Christie, 153-154). Clearly, Scorsese was attempting to destroy a form of his own; that of the traditional gangster film.

The gangster film is obsessed with rules. Rules are the backbone to the mafia, and certain rules, such as the loyalty to the leader of the gang, to not talk to the police/law enforcement, etc. are almost universal throughout all gangster films. Goodfellas is no exception to this. After his first court appearance, Henry Hill is told by Jimmy Conway, “You learned the two greatest things in life. Never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut”. Interestingly enough, the placement of these rules into the gang does not prevent them from being broken, and this is entirely evident in Goodfellas (Leitch, 103-105, 114-115). Henry Hill deviates from boss Paul Cicero’s orders that he not sell drugs (undermining his authority), and ultimately “rats” on all of his associates, sending them to prison.

The character of the gangster is a spectacle. His exploits, whether sexual, violent, or criminal, fascinate viewers to no end, thus the popularity of the genre. As is widely known, whatever makes money gets repeated, and this explains the inundation of gangster films since their inception (especially during the “golden” era). The spectacle links the early gangster films to the most recent; whether it is Public Enemy (Wellman, 1931) or Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994) (Shadoian, 276-278). Again, Goodfellas is no exception to this rule. However, rather than one main gangster to embody this spectacle, Goodfellas gives us three: Henry Hill, Jimmy Conway, and Tommy DeVito; all of whom have their defining characteristics. Hill is obviously the main character of the film and, while only a foot soldier in the mob, is captivating for the respect he commands within the community. Conway is fascinating for his criminal prowess; his genius in the ways of robbery. DeVito’s spectacle comes in his ultra-violent, short-tempered behavior, as well as his disrespect for all of those around him (ultimately leading to his death at the hands of his own family). Goodfellas segments the traditional gangster main character into three different characters, and thus differentiates itself from the formulaic nature of the genre.

The iconography of Goodfellas is clearly that of a classic gangster film. There is the brutal violence, guns, women, gambling debts, Italian-American characters in suits, etc. However, one way that Goodfellas deconstructs the iconography of the gangster film through its main character Henry Hill. In the classic sense, in such films as Scarface (DePalma, 1983), The Godfather (Copolla, 1972), etc. the protagonist (or even anti-hero) of the film is generally a high ranking mafia official (or a low ranking official who rises to the top of the family). In Goodfellas, Henry Hill is not only low-ranking (albeit well-respected), but he is unable to become “made” due to his Irish-Italian heritage. In its content/theme/story/narrative, Goodfellas is not much different than its classical counterparts in the world of cinema, but it embraces an unknown road in order to explore the lower levels of the mafia through the eyes of an “outsider”. This is a clear example of deconstruction of the iconography of the gangster film.

Another departure from the traditional gangster fare that Goodfellas encompasses is that of the role of the woman behind the gangster. Traditionally speaking, the wives of the gangsters are shut out of their business completely and are treated as background characters.

Goodfellas adapts a neo-noir-like feel due to its nihilistic behavior of opting not to look for an explanation for the criminal behavior within society because society itself is criminal. The subject of criminality in Goodfellas is never explained; it rather just is (Leitch, 292). It was not until 1980s that drugs became truly stigmatized in society, and due to the rise of crack cocaine (and the fall of the laissez-faire attitude toward drugs in the 1960s and 1970s) people began to look at drugs as a true threat to their safety. This is important to look at in the context of Goodfellas, because drugs become an important part of the film’s course of events. While drug abuse had once been saved for “message dramas” (such as The Man with the Golden Arm in 1955), Goodfellas uses drugs as a “trope for hardcore criminality” (Leitch, 44-45). Henry Hill’s true success came after he was released from prison, and it came due to his dealing cocaine. Ultimately, his downfall also was due to using and dealing drugs.

Goodfellas is clearly a neo-noir film, and because of this, is able to follow in the footsteps of the modernist films before it which broke certain conventions at the time. For example, Goodfellas is shot in color. This may seem “normal” (especially for 1990), but actually, gangster films were shooting in black and white while their counterparts were using color film stocks, even up until well into the 1950’s. However, the emergence of the “director’s cinema” with such films as The Godfather (Parts I and II), Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1967), etc. allowed directors to use color stocks and to deviate from the black and white film which was the “accepted form of cinema reality” and where there did not exist an “automatic moral-dramatic spectrum”, allowing for more amoral behavior in the films (Shadoian, 240-241). Another post-The Godfather effect is that Goodfellas is two-and-a-half hours long. Therefore, it lacks the typical brevity and efficiency that genre films encompass; for example, both Public Enemy and Little Caesar are under 85 minutes apiece (Shadoian, 268-269).

In its iconography and themes, it is evident that Goodfellas is a gangster film. The film is about gangsters, their lifestyle, their rise, and their consequent downfall. However, the film puts its twists on the conventions and motifs of the genre. Henry Hill is not a “don”; he is a foot soldier incapable of ever moving up through the ranks. Unconventional formalistic techniques, such as freeze-frames, are used frequently throughout the film. Rather than being a brisk 85 minute film, it stretches two and a half hours. Even in the non diegetic elements, there are such twists. The film closes with the classic wiseguy anthem “My Way” by Frank Sinatra – as sung by punk rock icon Sid Vicious. Due to changing attitudes in crime, drugs, and film in society, Goodfellas was able to break down the elements of a gangster film and change them up to keep the genre interesting. Martin Scorsese crafted a truly revolutionary film – and he did it his way.