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Goodfellas and Donnie Brasco Good Fellas (realist film) by Martin Sorcese and Donnie Brasco (realist film) by Mike Newell are two films based on actual events and people that existed. Both are stereotypical Italian gangster films and I intend to compare and contrast these two films, which differ in narrative style, tone, and acting. In turn, each of these aspects creates two distinct films and evokes two separate moods in each movie. Martin Scorsese's film Goodfellas details the rise and 'fall' of character Henry Hills' life within the Italian mob (1950's throughout the late 1970's). This story is told from the main character, Henry Hill's perspective. The path of the young Hill is outlined from his formative years through adulthood. Scorsese makes great use of voice-overs to guide the audience through the story and help the audience gain depth—past what is being shown on film. Scorsese switches voiceovers between Henry and his wife, Karen. Voice overs invades the characters' personal thoughts and ideas while learning their thought pattern to understand why the character says or does certain things. In addition, voice-overs allow the audience to feel comfortable with the characters. "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster." Scorsese utilizes flashbacks to help tell the story. The opening scene begins with "The Goodfellas" driving on a dark highway in a car. Immediately after this scene, the audience is taken through a series of flash backs from Hills' childhood, coming of age in the mob, and then story switches to the present. All of the flashbacks the colors were faded to represent the past. Martin Scorsese brilliantly uses freeze frames as "snapshots" as transition from one scene to the next. What I found interesting was the fact that each snap shot were memories of great times shared at: children's' birthday parties, baby showers, births, weddings, and vacations shared by Hill and his family. At times, Scorsece uses a grainy texture as though it was shot using a video camera. This effect attaches the audience to the story, because you are sharing the some of the most intimate moments with a close knit family. The tone of the movie contributes to the audience's perception of Goodfella's Henry Hill, Jimmy Tommy. Powerful men, parties, huge rolls of money, expensive cars and suits, music, witty remarks and plenty of dinner scenes contributed to the comedic tone of the movie.
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