The Godfather Trilogy
Adapting Mario Puzo’s best-selling novel, Francis Ford Coppola drew up several themes lying dormant within its pages and augmented them in a uniquely cinematic fashion to create a masterful saga.
Tag Archives: GoodFellas
399. The Irishman
The gangster genre is dominated by men, but in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman the most important position is held by a woman who utters barely a dozen words.
384. Gomorrah
Matteo Garrone’s adaptation of Roberto Saviano’s book on the Neapolitan camorra smacks down the innumerable movies that have marketed the Mafia mythology.
351. Heat
Ever since its release in 1995, Heat has been held as the greatest ever heist movie. But it has another, completely different film living and dying inside of it.
329. The Godfather Part II
Less a sequel and more a cloak that wraps itself around the original, it has a son haunted by the memory of his dead father.
288. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
With his Palme d’Or winning masterpiece, Jacques Demy wove more than a musical. He delivered a socially relevant story worthy of tragic opera.
273. Miller’s Crossing
The plot to Miller’s Crossing is so complex, it’s hard to even figure out where and when it is set. And that’s before we discuss the meaning of Tom Reagan’s hat.
220. City of God
Adapted from Paolo Lin’s non-fiction novel, director Fernando Meirelles cast non-actors to capture life, death and everything in-between in Rio’s favelas.
217. Great Scenes – Part Three
What makes for a great scene? Performance? Conflict? Dialogue? Visuals? Music? Combine them and you have atomic weight.
205. Fargo
When released in 1996, Fargo was seen as the Coen brothers’ breakthrough film. As the years roll by it has increasingly become a lynch pin in their canon.
191. GoodFellas
GoodFellas is more than just a breathless tale of middle-management in the Mafia. It’s one of Martin Scorsese’s many films in which he seeks enlightenment.
126. Raging Bull
In a career featuring several masterpieces, Raging Bull is considered Martin Scorsese’s greatest achievement. But what did he achieve in making it?
119. Annie Hall
You can divide Hollywood rom-coms into two eras; before and after Annie Hall. The film also marked the arrival of one of America’s most individual artists.
116. Fight Club
When it was released, Fight Club was rubbished by critics and rejected by audiences. Now it’s regarded as a masterpiece. So what changed people’s minds?
100. Critics or Crickets
Gravity was one of last year’s biggest hits ($650m). But how much of that is due to critics giving it 98% approval? Is word of mouth more valuable?
The Journeys of Martin Scorsese
This video-essay celebrates the career of Martin Scorsese, showing how he has taken cinema as a means of telling stories and expanded it as a means of personal expression.
78. American Graffiti
Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, George Lucas built his own cinema empire. But American Graffiti, made in his hometown, is his masterpiece.
66. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Ken Kesey’s story of social oppression was inspired by the CIA program, MKUltra. Did the film retain the novel’s rage?
52. Once Upon a Time in America
Originally intended to run at four and a half hours, Sergio Leone’s gangster epic suffered greatly at the hands of its distributors.
25. Scarface
The original Scarface was released in 1932. In 1983, Brian De Palma directed Al Pacino in an update scripted by Oliver Stone. Are ‘remakes’ always bad?
24. Voice-Over in Film
Voice-over is often used to seal up the cracks in a story. But used well, it can enhance a story and make sure that it is told in a way that is uniquely cinematic.
4. Point Blank
John Boorman’s first film in America brought a very distinctive and European look to the hardened Hollywood gangster genre.
