By Jonnie Vue
Reporter
The Mafia genre was once a cliché and overused genre in Hollywood. But that never meant that these movies weren’t exciting or cinematically beautiful. Movies such as The Godfather, Casino, and Goodfellas are cult classics. If the movie has any of the actors; Robert DeNiro (from Casino), Al Pacino (from The Godfather), Ray Liotta (from Goodfellas), Joe Pesci (from Goodfellas), Paul Sorvino (from Goodfellas), and Frank Vincent (from Casino). You know it’s going to be a great movie with a generous amount of scenes that are hard to watch if you have a heart.
GOODFELLAS, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Paul Sorvino, Joe Pesci, 1990
Martin Scorsese, a director who is one of the pioneers of Mafia films and films in general, is known for so many great hits. With movies like Goodfellas, The Departed, Raging Bull, and The Wolf of Wall Street. Scorsese’s way of storytelling in all his films is unique and has influenced many other directors to sort of mimic his style. Any of Scorsese’s films is sure to have tons of over the top violence and dark humour.
These movies have always hit a sweet spot with me. It’s not just the glorification and romanticized portrayal of crime. But they pretty much gives you a history lesson without the viewer ever notching. Like in Casino where it gives the rundown of how the Ace Rothstein (played by Robert DeNiro) with the Mafia ran Las Vegas casinos or Goodfellas, where the movie followed the story of Henry Hill (played by Ray Liotta). A 1st generation Irish American who aspired to live a life of a mobster. This whole genre of movies are a Criminal Justice majors wet dream and are worth watching.
Leave a Reply