People often remember the Copacabana Steadicam shot in Goodfellas (1990) as a beautiful piece of camera work, but Scorsese was doing more than showing off. The shot makes us feel the seduction of Henry’s criminal world.
If you look at every detail, the scene quietly tells you everything without words: Henry skips the line, every door opens for him, the staff knows him, and the room welcomes him like he owns it.
Towards the end of Goodfellas, when Henry meets Jimmy in the diner, Scorsese uses a dolly zoom - pulling the camera back while zooming in - so the background outside the window seems to creep inward, as if Henry’s world is caving in on him.
Happy “Black Helicopter Day”, if you’re observing it…
46 years ago today, May 11, 1980, was Henry Hill’s final day as a goodfella, and it was an absolute marathon of errands, paranoia and bad decisions.
Goodfellas has so much lasting power in part because of Henry Hill’s lack of remorse: even in this last sequence, after Henry’s lost everything & everyone’s turned their back on him, Hill regrets nothing. All he regrets is losing the lifestyle he once adored. #ScorseseSundays
Martin Scorsese filmed Casino (1995) inside the real Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas during the graveyard shift, using the actual casino floor while real gamblers continued playing, meaning much of what you see happening in the background is completely real.
March 19, 1994: Glenn Robinson’s slam dunk against Alabama during the second round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
Robinson finished with 33 PTS/11 REB for Purdue.
Boilermakers 83, Crimson Tide 73.
Lauryn Hill could have been the GOAT 😳
“I felt like she could’ve been the greatest rapper of all of time if she decided she wanted to keep doing that."
I’ve been posting about The Firm more recently because I can’t get over this cast’s excellence. Gene Hackman doesn’t have a lot of screen time here, but his moments shared with Tom Cruise last a lifetime. I’m a sucker for any John Grisham adaptation- especially this one.