Tagarchief: Joe Pesci

01. GoodFellas (1990)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Martin Scorsese (screenplay), Nicholas Pileggi (book & screenplay)
Stars: Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Lorraine Bracco, Joe Pesci

This review is part of the feature:

The 33 Gangster Films You Can’t Refuse

One time during my high school days, I convinced a teacher who liked me to view GoodFellas in class, and so I could see my favorite movie of all time through the eyes of my ‘virgin’ classmates.

I remember their baffled reactions to the bloody opening scene, their laughter at almost everything Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) said and did, and their unease at seeing Henry and Karen Hill crying in each other’s arms in desperation towards the end.

GoodFellas is my favorite movie of all time, but for this ultimate gangster movie ranking, it shares the throne with The Godfather. The reason is obvious; both movies are monumental gangster epics. The Godfather is by far the greatest film ever about the top level of the Mafia, and when it comes to the life of the street level wiseguy, GoodFellas is the essential picture.

Like the protagonist Henry Hill gets sucked into the seductive life of a mobster at a young age, so we, the audience, get sucked into this movie. And just like Henry, at first we find the lifestyle to appear exciting and glamorous, only to discover its ugly true nature half way through. From that point on, it all goes downHILL…

Scorsese employs a variety of cinematic techniques to keep us at the edge of our seats throughout Henry’s journey through 30 years of crime in New York City. The first part of the movie is shot like a movie trailer with tremendous energy with Henry in voiceover describing the events from his wiseguy perspective (“business bad? Fuck you pay me!”) and the frantic editing and swooping cinematography brings the audience into the rush of the mobster life.

Later, we also get the wiseguy’s wife’s perspective through the voiceover of Karen Hill and this really completes the picture of what that lifestyle is all about. The murder of made guy Billy Batts then marks the turning point after which the wiseguys’ demise gradually draws closer. The movie slows down a little bit and we get to witness a number of pivotal moments of Hill’s life that are not so glamorous, like Spider’s murder and Karen almost shooting him in the face for cheating on her.

After a lengthy period in prison, it follows the Lufthansa heist, one more incredible highlight for a mob crew that loves nothing more than taking down big scores. Then, during the final part of the film, the pace picks up again as we join Henry on a day filled with cocaine, paranoia and police helicopters.

Like The Godfather, the movie is chock full of unforgettable moments that are forever recorded in the cinematic consciousness. At the end of Hill’s downfall, when he is reduced to the status of ordinary ‘schnook’ citizen, Scorsese cleverly throws in a reference shot to The Great Train Robbery. Although it usually leads to an inglorious death, the life of the American, gun-slinging outlaw remains forever alluring.

05. Casino (1995)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Martin Scorsese (screenplay), Nicholas Pileggi (book & screenplay)
Stars: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci

This review is part of the feature:

The 33 Gangster Films You Can’t Refuse

Imagine that you are living in the nineties and GoodFellas is your favorite movie of all time. Then its director Martin Scorsese announces a follow-up with much of the same cast and crew. This lucky occurrence happened to me.

Of course, Casino could have been a disappointment or a mere repetition of GoodFellas, but it became another mob masterpiece by the master of the genre (although he maintains Casino is not a mob movie). I fell in love with Casino in the cinema back then and now, thirty years later, I am falling in love with it all over again. I’m enjoying it even more than I ever thought possible.

Like in GoodFellas, the first hour provides a documentary style insider perspective on the mob’s Las Vegas in the seventies. The voice-overs are provided by Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein (De Niro), a professional gambler who ran the Tangiers casino for the Chicago outfit, and Nicky Santoro (Pesci), a mafia enforcer who is sent after him to watch his back. Street guys running an operation of this magnitude? It is easy to see why Marty wanted to tell this story. He loves criminal conspiracies and this is a major one.

Things go smooth for a while, but as the tagline says: ‘no one can stay at the top forever’. Rothstein, the most controlled guy on the planet, falls in love with the highly volatile showgirl Ginger McKenna and marries her. That is one gamble that will cost him dearly. Their rocky marriage is the first thing that gets out of control.

The second explosive element in the mix is Nicky, who starts his own gang in Vegas and then starts pillaging the place as if it’s the Wild West. Finally, there is also the dumbest gangster in the mob’s history – Artie Piscano – who keeps financial records of the entire operation. At the end, ten years after Rothstein moved to Vegas, the whole house of cards starts collapsing in on itself.

The casting alone makes this one of the greatest mob movies ever. De Niro, Stone and Pesci couldn’t be more perfect (one made mafia member said Pesci’s performance is the most realistic portrayal of a wise guy ever), but all the supporting characters are golden as well. I mean, where did they find all these old mob guys in the grocery store? They are just fantastic.

Add to that the incredible cinematography, editing, production design, music, the beautiful credit sequence by Saul Bass, and the most realistic and gruesome mob violence ever put on screen, I mean Scorsese really aced it once again.

22. The Irishman (2019)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Steven Zaillian (screenplay), Charles Brandt (book)
Stars: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Anna Paquin

This review is part of the feature:

The 33 Gangster Films You Can’t Refuse

This 3,5 hours epic marks the welcome return of the master Scorsese to the genre he does best. And with two of his favorite actors, the magnificent Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. Throw in legend Al Pacino and you have an irresistible team on your hands.

The Irishman takes some getting into; this is a different beast than GoodFellas and Casino. Slower, more contemplative, but nevertheless featuring Scorsese’s trademark moments of humor and violence. It is the perfect retirement feature for this legendary cast, who are made young again with de-aging technology and get to live through several decades of mob history.

The story revolves around WW2 veteran Frank Sheeran (De Niro) who becomes a killer for the very controlled mob boss Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci in a role that is the polar opposite of his explosive GoodFellas and Casino characters). Sheeran later becomes bodyguard and enforcer for Teamster president Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino) who becomes his best friend.

Although the story is not very spectacular nor surprising (we already know what will happen to Hoffa for example) its direction is nearly flawless. Every wonderful frame and edit is brimming with meaning, even if we usually have to work out what that meaning is for ourselves.

One of the main themes is looking back at one’s life and regretting certain actions. In the case of Sheeran a major betrayal. And if you’re one of the few mobsters to actually survive (every mob character gets a title card detailing how he eventually got whacked) you might end up as a very sad old man in prison.

It is fitting for Scorsese (75 at the time of shooting) to approach the gangster life from this angle this time around. But unlike Sheeran, he ain’t got nothing to be embarrassed about. The Irishman is one for the ages.

Backtrack (1990)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘When murder is your business, you’d better not fall in love with your work.’

Directed by:
Dennis Hopper

Written by:
Rachel Kronstadt Mann, Ann Louise Bardach

Cast:
Dennis Hopper (Milo), Jodie Foster (Anne Benton), Joe Pesci (Leo Carelli), Dean Stockwell (John Luponi), Vincent Price (Lino Avoca), John Turturro (Pinella), Fred Ward (Pauling), Julie Adams (Martha), Tony Sirico (Greek), Sy Richardson (Capt. Walker)

Alright, so this is quite a strange film by Dennis Hopper. It was originally released as Catchfire, but that version was apparently so bad that Hopper had his name replaced in the credits with the pseudonym Alan Smithee. Backtrack is the 18-minutes-longer cut made for cable TV, with Hopper’s directorial credit restored.

Jodie Foster plays an artist who witnesses a mafia murder. The mob – led by the explosive Leo Carelli (Joe Pesci, in the same year he gave his ultimate mobster performance in GoodFellas) – hires hitman Milo (Dennis Hopper) to silence her.

What makes it puzzling is the sheer amount of talent involved: Jodie Foster, Joe Pesci (uncredited, despite a substantial role), Dean Stockwell, John Turturro, and others. The film also features familiar faces like Charlie Sheen, Bob Dylan (!), and Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts from The Sopranos). Yet, despite this very impressive cast, no one is given particularly strong dialogue – not even the two leads.

The bigger problem is that the film never decides what it wants to be. Is it a tense thriller? An arthouse experiment? A romantic gangster film in the vein of Bonnie and Clyde? Or an action movie given that out of nowhere, there’s a helicopter chase? The tone shifts constantly, leaving the viewer wondering: what exactly am I watching? That question is never answered.

It’s also unclear what motivates Hopper’s character, Milo, a saxophone-playing hitman. He suddenly falls in love with his target, but why? And why does she start to reciprocate? Their relationship feels entirely unconvincing.

Originally, Hopper’s cut ran 180 minutes. It’s difficult to imagine what his true vision for the film might have been. The studio, Vestron Pictures, disliked his version and re-edited it without his consent. Hopper was furious and sued, but by then the company had already gone bankrupt.

In short, Backtrack is a curious film for many reasons, but unfortunately the final product simply doesn’t work. It’s a shame, given the remarkable cast, but the movie is proof that without a strong screenplay, even great talent can’t save the day.

Rating:

Quote:
MILO: “There’s something going on here that I really don’t understand. But I like it.”

Trivia:
The movie includes three Oscar winners: Jodie Foster, Joe Pesci and Bob Dylan; and three Oscar nominees: Dennis Hopper, Catherine Keener and Dean Stockwell.