Gangster films are one of the most popular subgenres of crime movies, and while there have been tons of incredible ones throughout the decades, the best modern classic is celebrating another anniversary. While many directors have attempted to make gangster movies in recent years, the modern father of crime cinema is undoubtedly Martin Scorsese. Scorsese has made many incredible films over his notable career yet when it comes to his gangster output, this modern classic is still his best.
In the early days of cinema, the gangster subgenre was massive, with films like 1931’s The Public Enemy and 1932’s Scarface making waves for their quality and controversy. Unfortunately, the Hays Code from the 1930s through the 1960s kneecapped the gangster genre, as rules referring to the punishment of crime and the sympathy for criminals in cinema obviously made stories centered on gangsters harder to tell. Luckily, the Hays Code was repealed in 1968, leading to a resurgence in gangster movies like 1971’s The French Connection, 1972’s The Godfather, and Scorsese’s own 1973 film, Mean Streets.
Mean Streets was Scorsese’s gangster genre debut, with movies about crime, the mafia, and sin becoming a staple of the director’s filmography. However, after Mean Streets Scorsese wasn’t initially interested in making another mafia movie. Then, in the mid-1980s, Scorsese read crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi’s book Wiseguy. The book fascinated Scorsese, and he wanted to make a film that captured why the criminal lifestyle was attractive to so many. So, after finishing 1988’s The Last Temptation of Christ, Scorsese began work on what would go on to become his most iconic film: 1990’s Goodfellas.
Released in theaters on September 19, 1990, Goodfellas tells the story of Henry Hill as he falls in love with the gangster lifestyle. However, when things take a turn for the worse, he has to decide how to balance his criminal life and his personal one. The film features an all-star cast, with iconic gangster genre staples like Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Frank Vincent, and more appearing in the film.
Upon its release, Goodfellas would only become a modest financial success, making $47.1 million against a budget of $25 million. However, the film received rave reviews from critics and is now considered to be one of the best crime movies of all time. Goodfellas has gone on to be hugely influential, and it’s difficult to find a modern crime movie that wasn’t influenced by Scorsese’s masterpiece in some way. The iconic Copacabana tracking shot has gone on to inspire similar sequences in other iconic films like Pulp Fiction, Boogie Nights, and more. Plus, Goodfellas heavily inspired the creation of HBO’s The Sopranos, the gangster show that is often credited with kickstarting the Golden Age of Television.
In the over 30 years that have followed since the release of Goodfellas, Scorsese has made several other gangster films. However, none of them have lived up to the 1990 classic. Only five years after Goodfellas, Scorsese released 1995’s Casino, which explores the world of organized crime in Las Vegas. The film is narratively, stylistically, and thematically similar to Goodfellas, with the two films acting like sides of the same coin. Casino is incredible, but while its nearly 3-hour runtime allows it to get more into the nitty-gritty of Vegas’ organized crime, it still doesn’t live up to the fast-paced, drug-fueled frenzy that is Goodfellas.
Then, in 2019, Scorsese released what seems to be a thematic legacy sequel to Goodfellas: The Irishman. This gangster film used cutting-edge technology to explore the life of Irish mob member Frank Sheeran across decades, with Robert De Niro portraying the character from his first days in the world of organized crime to his last days in a nursing home. The Irishman is a fantastic film, yet it isn’t quite as good as Casino or Goodfellas, it’s storytelling an all-time best for Scorsese, but the less-stylistic execution makes the film pale in comparison.
Even Scorsese’s crime films that stray away from the Goodfellas formula aren’t quite as good, and while modern movies like 2006’s The Departed and 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street are hugely popular, they just don’t reach the cinematic perfection that Goodfellas achieved. Goodfellas is timeless, and it will go down in history as one of cinema’s greatest gangster films long past its 36th anniversary.
