Blog 14

The movie that I have chosen is Goodfellas, and I chose this movie because I thought this movie was one of the greatest acted and directed films ever made. The plot correlates with one of the `time periods of New York that would be most accessible as far as information.  This movie was set in the East New York section of Brooklyn, in New York.  It follows three Italian mobsters who are friends through a twenty year span from the fifties through the seventies, and elaborated on the life of one mobster in particular named Henry Hill and some of the realities of that lifestyle of him and his associates.  During that period of time in New York there were many people making money off the drugs and arms race that was taking place at that time. 

For example in Harlem, New York there were many people making their livings off the demise and destruction of others.  During that time mob presence in the city was highly prevalent due to the fact that most of these mobsters were coming from New Jersey which is right over the bridge.  The city allowed for a very busy environment which provided a cover in the daily business grinds of a gangster.  At that time in the city the cost of living was relatively low compared to the enflamed prices we see now, and that aspect of living was a tad better than what we have now. 

According to 1950’s website, the average income of the population was approximately $ 3,126, also the average of price of owning of a home was $14,500, and the price of owning a Ford vehicle would come up to $1339-2262.  The Movie makes those statistics look like a joke. Especially  seeing Robert de Niro’s character buying two homes and also owning a vehicle, but then again we still must take into consideration that he was also involved in organized crime.  Also the real life people in which the character’s were portraying out lived the life expectancy of 69.7, and in reality Henry Hill is still living and the other members of the gang died in prison or were murdered.

Ray Liotta’s character in the movie was the more laid back one in the group, which is a true account of his character in real life.  Robert de Niro’s character was true to the real life gangster in which he was portraying.  Joe Pesci’s character, to the contrary, was a little off due to the fact that the real life character in which he was trying to personify, was not as violent as he was in the film and the real life mobster tried to keep his name out of most occurrences that happened in throughout the city even though nine out of ten times he did have something to with it. 

            The difference between the movie and real life as far as logistics go would be people weren’t that easily killed and not spoken of after their disappearance.  Another difference at the time would be that people weren’t all driving nice Cadillac’s and able to give their parents lavish gifts and luxury automobiles.  People also at that time were more concerned about the Vietnam War rather than what was actually happening on the streets of America.  This led to more people being enveloped in worldly problems which made it easier for backyard crime.  Prime example would be Henry Hill himself and his band of goons perpetrated in the movie Goodfellas.  Henry Hill was a modern day John Dillinger (for his time period) and damn near got away with more crimes then he did.  Henry Hill was very smart in realizing that he could make a hefty amount of money in the concept of organized crime and that it would actually work. 

            The definition of organized crime is criminal activity on the part of an organized and extensive group of people.  So this means that there was usually a large group of mostly men who have come together to engage in crime.  In the movie the organized group of men were called a mafia.  Throughout the city at in the 50’s and 60’s there were many different factions and cliques throughout the city searching for dominance.  For example in the early 60’s there were two men named Nicky Barnes and Frank Lucas.  These two men made millions of dollars in Harlem, New York selling cocaine and various other narcotics all throughout the city and some interstate moves as well.  They were eventually arrested.  Both men have recently relinquished their stories for a recent film American Gangster.

            Most people in the City at this period were hard blue collar workers.  Most people were in the city making their money off many things like driving cabs, or owning hair salons, there were also children peddling their service as shoe shine boys as they called them.  Many people also started to work for the MTA which was really starting to flourish at that time due to more people not living within the city area.  A lot of workers were coming from the Bronx area of New York and also Brooklyn due to the cheaper amount of living per family household. 

At the time Goodfellas was made, the mold of mob genre consisted of The Godfather, the Untouchables, a Better Tomorrow, and Scarface.  These movies were highly revered and reviewed.  But Martin Scorsese, broke the mold with his vision and character development and also the way he made the narrator which is

Bibliography

Edge, Trader's. "1960's Flashback." 1960's Flashback. Internet Developing , 2001. Web. 17 Nov 2010. <http://www.1960sflashback.com/1960/economy.asp>.

Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette et al. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
3 volumes, 2428 pages

Jacobson, Marc. "Lords of Dopetown." New York Magazine. 81. (2007): Print..

Also the protagonist of the film, have such a neutral feeling towards the killings and asasanations that he sees taking place.  This and much other artistic film work can be the reason why the movie is very similar in some ways and respectively different in others. According to Box Office Mojo Goodfellas has domestically grossed a little fewer than fifty million dollars until this day.  But at the time in which the movie was portraying the only movies that were really doing successful in the box office were Swiss Family Robinson (1960), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Ben Hur (1959) and also Lady and the Tramp (1955).