goodfellas

ambassador to the court of st james

wikipedia says capo (I checked when Morbz complained Vito's stance on drugs has more consequence than Pauly's - well, duh)

the sopranos best shows the revenue decline in the five families, johnny sacramoni is an underboss and he gets all about a maserati and a mcmansion

[all excited about]

'the godfather' is about the top men in one of the five families, 'goodfellas' not really. de niro and henry aren't even made men.
...
ya all u see in goodfellas is their immediate bosses. it never goes all the way up.

I've always found this interesting about Scorsese's gangster movies - sequentially they climb the mafia's ladder of power in terms of who they focus on (Mean Streets = bottom-feeding street thugs, Goodfellas = foot soldiers in a crew, Casino = middle management/capos), but he never goes all the way to the top. In all of those movies you catch glimpses of the old guys in the back room, counting the money, quietly running the show, but they are always in the background. I'd initially hoped that Gangs of New York was gonna be the story about that generation of guys, the proto=Godfather types, but that isn't how it worked out. Maybe Marty feels Scorsese already covered that ground as well as possible, and just doesn't want to bother or it isn't interesting to him anymore...

er COPPOLA

i think those guys are just less interesting. they're just rich guys who let everyone else do the bad stuff for them.

I'm guessing its both the sense that Godfather told that story well enough and his general identification with the class of mobster that still has to deal with Joe Pesci

yeah i mean the story of anyone's rise is always gonna be more interesting than the point at which they get to lounge by the pool (or lounge in the dingy backroom of a grocery store) and count their winnings.

and yet Hannibal Rising is not more interesting than Hannibal

the departed is about an actual #1 thug, but then the provincial character kinda detracts from it

if he wants to do a film about an actual capo di tutto type then that wd be great...

i blame that on the lack of scorsese's mom. xp

yeah obviously I don't mean that the story should be told about their fat-old-rich period, but their rise to power. altho the Sopranos starts with Tony at the top, and that was pretty genius. but maybe it's just well-travelled territory, not worth bothering..

xp

seriously i may like her more in casino where she's shushing everyone all the time

the departed is about an actual #1 thug, but then the provincial character kinda detracts from it

different setting from the others altogether tho (Boston/Irish Mafia + mostly being about cops/informers)

considering how much narration is in Casino, Scorsese's mom didn't shush nearly enough

seriously i may like her more in casino where she's shushing everyone all the time

all the scenes in the grocery store are A+++

she's also about the only thing i like in casino other than the fatty ham of james woods' performance.

yeah this is neither here nor there but i dunno how anyone gets an hour into casino

yeah obviously I don't mean that the story should be told about their fat-old-rich period, but their rise to power. altho the Sopranos starts with Tony at the top, and that was pretty genius. but maybe it's just well-travelled territory, not worth bothering..

xp

― Gene Shalit in a Child's Sailor Hat (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, September 29, 2010 11:50 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

he's not really at the top - the whole first season is the struggle for bosshood, and he never really gets there

casino starts great but just goes completely to hell

casino has some really great scenes but doesn't hang together too well

it's like they fucked it all up in the end

I just can't fathom what accent Joe Pesci was using in Casino – he's like a hamster from Bed-Stuy.

haha pesci's narration voice in casino is one of the most unpleasant sounds in movies for me

i think those guys are just less interesting. they're just rich guys who let everyone else do the bad stuff for them.

― If Airplanes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport (s1ocki), Wednesday, 29 September 2010 16:46 (3 minutes ago)

don't rly get this, ratzinger is no less interesting a study of corrupt piety because he's not actually in a parish and fucking the kids himself

rather the rarified brutality and simpering acolytes of the godfather archetype make for thrilling gesture politics, the slightest intimation of distaste that can have some cunt's throat slit at a moment's notice...

admitting my original disdain for Casino was based on a hour caught on USA, I tried to rewatch it but 45 minutes in it felt like we were still in the intro. I know I'm touchier than most about narration but honestly it felt like a radio play over a photo montage. If anything it was more enjoyable with basic cable putting it through the "Pallies" editing machine.

atzinger is no less interesting a study of corrupt piety because he's not actually in a parish and fucking the kids himself

why you giving him ideas

that sentence is disgusting xxp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n-rGnI9XNo

Casino is bloated, but the good stuff in it (Woods, De Niro working in his office without any pants, the grocery store scenes, Don Rickles, etc) is great

it's supposed to be disgusting, i'm comparing the church to a criminal organiation wrt their institutionalized criminality and 'omerta'

has scorsese really done a movie that goes hardcore with the catholicism* since mean streets? i mean it underlines everything, but i don't remember it as a major onscreen force. maybe his next flick will give us leo d. as a conflicted priest and daniel day as mustachioed pedo deacon.

*no last temptation of christ jokes plz.

the scene where the gaming commish comes to plead forgiveness for his son is awesome

also where they catch the cheats

Last Temptation is such a weird movie

has scorsese really done a movie that goes hardcore with the catholicism* since mean streets?

I would argue that The Age of Innocence is heavy with Catholic guilt despite its characters being Episcopalian.

i said deacon when i meant cardinal. i'm gonna get my knuckles whacked.

you're gonna get your eye popped out of your head

maybe his next flick will give us leo d. as a conflicted priest and daniel day as mustachioed pedo deacon.

lol you know martin's planning a movie about jesuit priests in japan starring Danny D-L, right?

one eye's going one way, the other eye's going the other way

and the brain's sayin', "what do you want?"

lol you know martin's planning a movie about jesuit priests in japan starring Danny D-L, right?

O_o

http://theplaylist.blogspot.com/2009/02/screw-super-bowl-scorsese-day-lewis-and.html

it may never actually get made, scorsese's saying he's doing one or two more first

now saying, I mean

"going to be a grim slide, Catholic guilt suffer-fest in Jesuit robes."

now that's entertainment.

The Last Temptation Goes To Kundun!

he never goes all the way to the top.

ep one of boardwalk empire gives you a lil glimpse of the outfit

not enough imo

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7906245/Goodfella-Henry-Hill-still-living-in-hiding-20-years-after-film-release.html

so weird how this article describes as still being in hiding when dude gets paid to like, make appearances at nightclubs

Isn't he also opening restaurants and calling into Howard Stern every five minutes?

yeah... he is such a fishy character