differences between goodfellas and casino

Goodfellas would go on to become one of the most influential films of the ‘90’s and the frame of reference for countless young directors. The finished film, Goodfellas, showed a mafia the movies have never shown. When the script was finished, the late director Michael Powell called it “one of the best constructed scripts that I have ever read…it is not just a script on paper, it is very much alive.” Pileggi and Scorsese collaborated on a script that went through twelve drafts and as he told Scorsese biographer Mary Pat Kelley, “every one of those drafts was fun”. The resulting book, Wiseguy, became a best-seller that Mario Puzo himself called, “One of the few true pictures of the criminal life.” It also attracted the attention of Martin Scorsese who saw a movie in it’s pages. I cannot overstate how much I love both films, but I say Goodfellas takes precedence over Casino any day of the week.Nicholas Pileggi barely knew who mobster Henry Hill was when he accepted the offer to write his story, but it turned out to be the best decision he ever made.

As much as I love both films, I think Goodfellas was the bedrock that made Casino even possible and Goodfellas felt more intense, more engaging, I think the soundtrack was better, the characters were more lively and well-rounded, it moved with more grace and agility, it was funnier, more original and unexpected, the sense of danger was more ever-present, and ultimately I appreciate the fact that it commands the viewers attention from start to finish and doesn't drag for a second. Whereas Casino's narrative takes its time and the drama plateaus now and again, Goodfellas is bursting with this self-perpetuating sense of momentum and at every turn it charges forth, moving with urgency and a clear, consistent purpose: to pummel the viewer in the face. But still, Goodfellas (alongside The Godfather parts I & II) is the definitive gangster picture of the 20th century and it is, I think, one of the most unrelenting gang pictures ever made. I've watched it like 20 times over the course of my life and will happily watch it another 20 or more times before I grow old and die, and in fact I like it better every time I see it-which is a common theme in Mr. Casino is a very good movie, you could argue that it is a great movie, but-in my mind, and I think many other people feel similarly-the story just isn't as tight, urgent and fast-paced as Goodfellas, nor is it as intimate, passionate or personal. It is a two-and a half hour long epic that moves at breakneck speed and every frame gushes with urgency. Goodfellas, its narrative spanning three decades, never slows down-not at all. Goodfellas came first, that's why, and in my opinion it is Martin Scorsese's magnum opus.

Differences between goodfellas and casino