"Right after I got here, I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce, and I got egg noodles and ketchup. I'm an average nobody... get to live the rest of my life like a schnook."

I honestly don't think I can tell you how many times I've watched Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas". According to Letterboxd, I've logged this five times not including this one, and I know I must've seen it something like ten times before. The Irishman may be my favourite Scorsese picture, but this is without a doubt his most rewatchable.

This time around, I watched it with one of the two commentaries that my Blu-Ray offers me. The first was Cast and Crew with edited inserts from Scorsese, Ray Liotta, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino, Frank Vincent, Nicholas Pileggi, Irwin Winkler, Barbara De Fina, Michael Ballhaus, and Thelma Schoonmaker. Now that was a fascinating commentary in and of itself, but this second one really takes the cake, as it features both the real life Henry Hill and Edward McDonald (the latter of whom plays himself in the film).

I could probably wax lyrical about the filmmaking here, just how exhilarating, engaging, and intelligent the world-building is, but what I want to focus on is the film's adaptation of history.

Now, I don't know much of the true story, but it's my understanding that the film is a reasonable degree of accurate. Certainly Hill and McDonald give off that impression, with the pair praising the performances in particular. And that's something rather ingenious about this film especially. So many biopics embellish and abbreviate and just plain make stuff up, and even Scorsese's not above this, just see The Irishman. Where Goodfellas survived is no doubt that it was based on the meticulously researched book, Wiseguy, by Scorsese's co-screenwriter, Nicholas Pileggi. I haven't read that book, but from the sounds of things, Scorsese and Pileggi wisely knew to stick to the story, anchoring Mafia history with absolutely bravura filmmaking. It really is fascinating how two great screenwriters can use accurate history for a great story, one that complements several of Scorsese's other works such as Mean Streets and The Wolf of Wall Street, and it puts many other so-called 'historical films' to shame.

What this commentary also reminds of is that the history of Goodfellas is very much still going on. Henry Hill may have passed away in 2012, but the Mafia is still a present force in many areas. One of the most interesting parts is when the pair discuss the real life person upon whom Morris (Chuck Low) is based and the commentary actually bleeps out the name. This may be a thirty-four year old film based on a story which happened between forty-four and sixty-nine years ago, but the events of this film still linger.

It's a reminder Goodfellas represents but one story of a much larger whole, which is what Scorsese does best. In Goodfellas, in Casino, in The Irishman, in The Age Of Innocence, in Gangs of New York, in Killers of the Flower Moon, our characters are all but minor players in the larger world around them, and it's what they do that determines whether they will be remembered as wise-guys or live the rest of their lives like schnooks.

4/4

Directed by MARTIN SCORSESE
Produced by IRWIN WINKLER
Screenplay by MARTIN SCORSESE, NICHOLAS PILEGGI
Based on the Book "Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family"
by NICHOLAS PILEGGI
Director of Photography MICHAEL BALLHAUS, ASC
Edited by THELMA SCHOONMAKER, ACE
Starring ROBERT DE NIRO, RAY LIOTTA, JOE PESCI, LORRAINE BRACCO, PAUL SORVINO

IRWIN WINKLER PRODUCTIONS