Introduction to film homework

Running head: Power 1

Money & Power in Goodfellas

A Film Student

ENG 225: Introduction to Film

Professor Director

Stardate 2259.55

Purpose: Use this modeled example of the Week 3 Written Assignment to explore the elements that make this an exemplary submission. Hover over the number or scroll to the end of the text to read about what the student has done well in this assignment.

Power

Money & Power in Goodfellas

Martin Scorsese s film Goodfellas 99 is a gangster drama that shows the audience

what it is li e to e a art of the Mafia. his film is mainly told from the oint of iew of enry

ill layed y Ray iotta who new as a child that he wanted to e a art of the crime family.

his film shows enry ill s thirst for and rise to ower which is its ma or theme

Goody oont & aco s 2 h. .2 ara. 2 . he mo ie Goodfellas shows the ower that

comes with money the ower of choice and the ower of ersuasion all of which are

esta lished through cinematogra hy acting costuming and design.

ith money comes ower. his is shown in he ong a e scene in which enry ill

and his date are wal ing into the o aca ana nightclu . Scorcese uses a continuous trac ing shot

to show enry gladhanding the nightclu staff the resulting res ect he is gi en not only y the

staff of the nightclu ut the other atrons inside. his cinematogra hic techni ue ortrays

enry ill as a man of im ortance. he camera stays low ma ing him loo tall and stays with

him through the ac entrance a hallway the itchen and into the dining room where he is

gi en his own ta le in front of e eryone else. Also a ottle of wine is sent o er to him from

another ta le in the clu to show as a sign of res ect. he color in this cli is desaturated to

a ear more realistic so that the audience feels they are right there with the actors getting the

IP access that comes with the rise in ower. Another oint to ma e in this scene is how it

shows the flashy car fancy suits and money eing thrown around li e it s a normal way of life.

his is Scorcese s way of demonstrating that these things are essential elements of the gangsters

li es astellitto 99 . P. . he ower theme is esta lished in many isual layers attention is

drawn to money e changing hands to material items and ecause money uys oth material

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items and res ect the iewer understands this to mean gaining authority o er others. Mo ing u

the social class e en in this mo culture gi es enry a ower of his own.

hroughout Goodfellas Scorcese chooses to use the color red to sym oli e death

iolence and the anger that the characters ortray in the film. For e am le in e e

2 scene enry and his crew are going to ill and dis ose of illy ats ody. here is a red

hue from the ra e lights on the mo sters faces. his color effect communicates to iewers that

these men ha e chosen a different way of life. he camera angle showing illy ats in the trun

of the car and the gangsters standing a o e loo ing down on him can e inter reted as the

control the ower they ha e o er him. It is literally the ower of life and death. A different

more unhinged ower is am lified y the use of red light in the Funny ow scene in which

ommy oe Pesci threatens enry the restaurant manager and the waiter. ere the red

lighting casts a threatening all o er the light hearted atmos here and signals a more iolent

turn. he use of the color red and the camera angles as well as the ro s of guns and ni es tie

into the ower theme in this mo ie. If this scene had een shot in natural lighting with the

characters holding alloons the audience would not ha e gotten the correct feel for the

characters or scene.

he last way ower is used as a theme in this film is through the act of ersuasion. he

characters ersuade us as an audience to elie e they were the actual eo le that they were

laying in the film through s ecific acting styles. For e am le Ray iotta uses method acting as

a way to inha it his character in the scene where he istol whi s aren s ne t door neigh or.

According to n.d. iotta s mother assed away during filming and he uses that emotion

to hel him show rage in the scene . . is em race of this acting style hel s show his

authority o er others. Another e am le is how enry ill and the other gangsters in immy s

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crew ha e their own ways of using their ower to get others to follow their demands. For

e am le after the ig heist on ohn F. ennedy International Air ort immy Ro ert De Niro

distri utes the money to his guys and tells them not to s end it. immy only wants to ee the

olice s attention away from them in regards to the crime. Some of the men don t listen to his

commands. hey s end money on lu uries li e a in car and a fur coat which ma es them

loo too flashy. immy has the cou le illed in return for their disloyalty to him. E en though he

was a gangster himself immy a eared to e a greater threat to other gangsters than law

a iding citi ens Goody oont & aco s 2 h. .2 ara. 2 . his was a definite way to

con ince the others not to s end their money. he mise en scene showing the lu ury in car and

the way the wife and hus and are dressed fancy in the e d rather whac em cli shows that

the cou le had money ut they did not ha e the ultimate ower li e immy to ma e the call that

they should die.

In conclusion Martin Scorcese s film Goodfellas 99 gi es us a loo into the life of

mo sters. hen watching this film one can see the theme of ower ortrayed throughout it. he

use of continuity editing increases the audience s awareness of the characters and their

surroundings in the film and how they are gi en a certain authority o er others ecause of the

lifestyle they li e. ith the red color hues and camera angles the iewer can see how the

mo sters earn ower y ta ing it from others. Adding in ro s li e guns and fancy clothes

along with the actors style of acting hel enhance the audiences erce tion of how much

ower these characters in the film truly hold.

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References

arthesian. 2 9 March . e lo a e Goodfellas ideo file . Retrie ed from

htt s: youtu. e EE t d

astellitto G. P. 99 . Imagism and Martin Scorsese: Images sus ended and

e tended. e a e l a e l 2

Goody oont . & aco s . P. 2 . l o a o see 2nd ed. Electronic

ersion . Retrie ed from htt s: content.ashford.edu

IM d. 2 . Goodfellas a Retrie ed From: htt : www.imd .com title tt 99 5 tri ia

an a2 s channel. 2 Decem er . Goodfellas the eginning . ideo file . Retrie ed

from: htt s: youtu. e Rw nud Fw

ScarFail. 2 Fe ruary . Goodfellas 99 he d rather whac em. ideo file . Retrie ed

from: htt s: youtu. e IowunN9 5yE

in ler Irwin. Producer . & Scorcese Martin. Director . 99 . Goodfellas. Motion

Picture . nited States: arner rothers.

1. The author clearly presents the thesis for the paper, explaining how a discussion of the various required elements will establish theme.

2. This is a great way to show the immediate effect of cinematography in a film. The way the camera treats a character tells the viewer how we should perceive that character. Here, the author not only notes the specific cinematographic technique, but describes what that technique does to establish the major themes of the film.

3. This very astute observation identifies the actions and objects captured on camera and interprets their meaning accurately as it corresponds to and constructs the film’s theme. It’s as simple as noting what appears on camera (the mise en scène), how the camera treats it (cinematography), and what it suggests about the story (theme).

4. Color and hue, whether created by light or filters on the camera’s lens, has a very palpable effect on how we perceive a scene and how a director might signal what’s to come. This is a very strong use of examples and analysis to show exactly how color contributes to the film’s theme.

5. Using specific examples establishes the support necessary for the claims the author has made.

6. This conclusion does a great job of reflecting the thesis statement, and reiterating the major points of each paragraph as relates to the overall theme of money and power. A great model for a conclusion is to rephrase the thesis, address each paragraph, and tie these points together in a summary statement about the topic of the paper.

1. thesis_trigger:
2. theme_trigger:
3. camera_trigger:
4. thesis_details:
5. camera_details:
6. Theme_details:
7. color_trigger:
8. color_details:
9. example_trigger:
10. example_details:
11. conclusion_trigger:
12. conclusion_details: