What kind of revolutionary style did Goodfellas bring to gangster movies?

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2019.01.03Naoto Mori

Legendary DJ song selection technique--"Itoshi no Leila" and "My Way"

In terms of pop, what is noteworthy is the use of music. ``Goodfellas'' is truly a group of masterpieces of pop music -- numerous gem hit numbers that continue to flow almost continuously. Also, unlike the standard when using ready-made songs in movies, it does not necessarily indicate the historical background of each scene. In Scorsese's words, the song selection theory is a "jukebox." Tony Bennett's " Rags to Riches " (53), Shangri -La's "Leader of the Pack " (64), Cream's " Sunshine of Your Love " (67) and the Rolling Stones' " More than 40 songs, such as "Gimme Shelter " (69), color the gang's wild daily life, responding to requests from time to time.

Scorsese developed this method in his early masterpiece, Mean Streets (1973). He uses the Ronettes' " Be My Baby " (1963) and the Rolling Stones' " Jumping Jack Flash " (1969), which are part of his life, to be inspired by the streets of New York's Little Italy, where he grew up. and poured it into the bar. In other words, it's a way of using your favorite songs without reducing them to historical context or social meaning. This could be called mixtape-like or DJ-like, and the song selection itself clearly reveals the personal personality and hobbies of the director/writer.

Using ``Mean Streets'' as a prototype, it can be said that ``Goodfellas'' is an album that objectifies privateness musically, elevating it into a complete and solid form. Quentin Tarantino is a successor who inherited a similar methodology and developed it independently. He is the director of films such as `` Reservoir Dogs '' (1992) and `` Pulp Fiction '' (1994), which took Scorsese's music selection method to the sophistication of the taste elite. Many people now recognize Tarantino as the standard and unrivaled master of DJ-like composition of existing songs. In fact, Scorsese was the originator before him, but rather than being a master of song selection, Scorsese himself focused on strengthening his driving power through the rhythmic collaboration of music and images, and he has used his achievements in films such as `` Casino '' (1995). It was extended to include `` The Wolf of Wall Street '' (13).

Nowadays, it is not uncommon for movies to skillfully coordinate pre-made songs, but there is nothing like ``Goodfellas'' that directly stimulates our sensory centers through the chemical reaction of images and music, and at times stirs our hearts emotionally. You will hardly find any examples of this. In particular, the scene in the second half where Derek & the Dominos (the band Eric Clapton was a member of)'s famous song ``Layla Layla'' (1970) is played is a legend in movie history.

"My dear Layla"

Jimmy and Tommy purge the people involved in the robbery one after another to silence them. The bodies of gang members are found everywhere, including in garbage trucks and freezers. Only Jim Gordon's beautiful piano part accompanied by Duane Allman's slide guitar plays over this cruel scene...The emotion that touches the heart deeply is supremely wonderful.

Another legend is Sid Vicious's " My Way " (78), which concludes the show! “Fuck all” Henry Hill’s My Way, which survives even when things get ugly. It's silly and a little sad, and it makes me laugh, but somehow it also makes me cry. Moreover, after Sid finishes singing, the piano part of "Itoishino Leila" is connected again... Ah, now I want to watch it again!

Text: Naoto Mori

Film critic, writer. Born in Wakayama in 1971. He is the author of ``Cinema Garage: Children in the Ruins'' (Film Art Publishing), and edited ``Movies of the Zero Years+'' (Kawade Shobo Shinsha), among others. He regularly writes for magazines such as Weekly Bunshun, Asahi Shimbun, TV Bros., Men's Nonno, Kinema Junpo, Eiga Hiho, and Cinema Today.

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