I watched the movie Goodfellas for my assignment on Martin Scorsese. The film is about a young boy who begins working at a cabstand owned by the mob and eventually becomes a part of their gang. Throughout the movie, the aspects of the mafia are portrayed in a both positive and negative light. The movie stars Ray Liotta, Robert Deniro and Joe Pesci who won an Academy Award for best supporting actor in 1990. The film is praised as "the best mob movie ever" and for good reason too. Scorsese's use of violence and gore display the mob in it's true essence and have become trademarks of his films.

In the very beginning of the film, the gruesome murder of a "made-man" is previewed and forshadows the violence that ensues throughout the movie. After that scene, Liotta's character is shown in his childhood when he begins to work for the mob and the mood of the movie is happy and awesome. It isn't until later however, that the mood of the movie begins to change. After an infamous mobster is let out of jail, the scene of his murder (which appeared in the beginning of the movie) is replayed and from that point on the film begins to show the actions of the mafia as negative. After a large heist, more and more people begin to be executed by the mafia and the violence and gore of these murders portrays the horror of the mafia's crimes. Finally, the downfall of the mafia is portrayed when Liotta's character rats out the rest of his crew in order to enter the witness protection program to avoid being killed. The ending of the film leaves a very profound impact on the viewer through the seemingly normality of the ex-mobster's new life and the way in which his life of fortune and happiness has fallen apart.

After viewing this film, it is clear that violence and gore are key aspects of Scorsese's influence on movies as a director. As in Gangs of New York, Casino and the Departed; violence and gore are strong themes in Goodfellas. I personally think that this is one of the greatest movies ever made and consider it to be Scorsese's masterpiece of filmmaking. Martin Scorsese is a true "autuer" in the way that he directs his films and is definitly one of the greatest filmmakers of his time.