Goodfellas Opening Scene Analysis

The film “Goodfellas” was released in 1990, and directed by renowned Italian American director Martin Scorsese. The narrative follows the main character Henry from his late teens, building up to his career as a professional criminal associated with the mafia. The opening scene is a harrowing and graphic example of the casual violence that surrounds Henry. The disturbing reality depicted in this opening scene has what has made it particularly iconic in the Gangster genre of film.

The first shot of the film is of a black background with the credits. Minimal wording appears on the screen, and the words quickly slide across the screen from the right in a large white font. The word that has just slid across the screen then reappears in a smaller white font, and stays still until it is replaced by the next larger word sliding across. The sound, that goes with the word transitions is presumably diegetic traffic noise, and gives the viewer an idea of the setting. The final sentence that the audience see on this background is “This film is based on a true story” this is used to get the viewer instantly believing of the story and the characters portrayed within it.

The first opening shot containing real images is the tracking shot of the car driving down the road in the darkness. The shot instantly promotes a foreboding atmosphere that is consistent with the gangster image. This shot pans left and comes alongside the car, giving the viewers the impression that we are following the car, and that the characters inside the car are perhaps key to the story.

When the audience eventually sees inside the car there is a medium close up of the driver, although we can see two other men in the car. The focus on the driver gives the audience a subtle hint that he could be the main character. The next shot of note in the scene is when the men get out of the car to investigate the noise in the boot. The shot is a low angle of the characters in side profile, for the viewers looking up at them, it shows the characters have an authoritative and controlling air about them, which makes them more believable as gangsters.

There is then the gradual close up to the boot of the car; the camera zooms in to the source of the noise like a person reluctantly going to open it. This cuts to a medium shot of all three of the men that gradually zooms in on the two holding weapons, who obviously getting ready for a confrontation. The man holding the shovel nods to the character who is out of shot, then the camera pans round to focus in on the un-armed man to reveal the contents of the car. The camera moves slowly again here to convey the trepidation that all of the men are feeling towards having to deal with whatever is making the noise in the back of the car. Also from an audiences point of view this creates anticipation through the build of tension. The scene ends with a still of who we can assume to be the main character, slamming the boot shut in time with a song from a typical 50s Italian American singer Tony Bennett. This is appropriate as the 50’s is a time in history, often thought of as the peak of the American Mafia’s powers. The song is also contemporary to the setting of the next scene.

The editing throughout this scene maintains a slow pace, to ensure the build up of tension. However, the level of tension that the audience may feel as the scene develops is not matched by the characters involved, as they remain stony faced and uncaring throughout. The type of shots used also effect the time between cuts, as the panning shots, tracking shots and shots that slowly zoom in from medium to a close up, prolong the time that the audience has to wait to find out what is making noise in the boot. The editing during the kill follows the same slow pattern to expose the audience to the brutal realism of the world that the characters inhabit.

The costume and general style used in this scene is typical of the Gangster genre. All three characters swear crisp neat suits, and have hair that has been combed back in a style dating from around the fifties. Other iconic films such as “The Godfather” and “Scarface” support this smart wealthy image of Italian mafia gangsters. The lighting and setting, aside from the smart suits and haircuts, supports the secretive nature of the events that are taking place. The lighting is minimal, with only the car headlights to light the murder scene, and presumably streetlamps that light up the inside of the car at points. The lighting is deliberately dark because as I have said, the characters are trying to hide their criminal activities and do not want to be seen. However, use of a torch by the men or any other lighting device would have an inappropriate and unrealistic prop given the circumstances. The weapon props however are realistic and are used to define the brutality and the ruthlessness of criminals of that level. The carving knife, the shovel and the gun all appear in this scene to show that whatever is in making noise in the boot will die very painfully, thus the trepidation in the camera work.