Compare And Contrast Goodfellas And The Departed

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Scorsese Essay Two of the most noteworthy movies of the organized crime variety were directed by the same talented man, Martin Scorsese. Goodfellas and The Departed are both classics in their own right. However, if I was ever forced to choose the better of the two, then I would have to elect Goodfellas as the winner. Goodfellas’ use of camera, freeze frame, and music makes it superior. My favorite scene out of both movies is the one where Karen threatens to kill Henry in Goodfellas. What makes this scene so great is the camera high angle showing Karren’s view of Henry. This use of camera shows Henry’s momentary loss of power. It shows how one moment you can be on top of the world and the next you’re facing the possibility of losing everything. Another stunning use of the camera in Goodfellas is the medium close-up on Jimmy’s upper half as he kicks the crap out of Billy Batts. Jimmy’s body language is violent and his face shows minimal emotion, as if he couldn’t care less what he was doing to another human being. This seamlessly gets across Scorsese’s intended idea that the gangsters of Goodfellas are cold blooded (Cinematography in GoodFellas). …show more content…

While The Departed does display Scorsese’s trademark, Goodfellas does so in a more significant manner. From when his father beats him to being praised for his first court hearing, each freeze frame in the first half of Goodfellas shows pivotal moments in Henry’s life that bring him closer to letting the gangster lifestyle take over his entire life. The movie goes on for a stretch without freeze frames until almost the very end. In the scene where Henry and Jimmy meet in a dinner there are two freeze frames. “It is in these moments that Henry realizes that he has to let go of the life of a wise guy”(Zimmerman). These freeze frames show Henry’s demise just as the ones in the beginning displayed his rise to