10. A Night at the Club Steadycam Shot in Goodfellas (1990)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Sr-vxVaY_M The long track wasnt exactly a new technique when Scorsese made his eponymous crime drama, and neither was the
Steadicam; the special harness used by Goodfellas operator Larry McConkey, designed to allow for the speed and flexibility of hand-held shooting, with the smoothness and stability of a tracking shot.
Why It Was Inventive: For around two-and-a-half minutes we are right there with Henry and Karen as they take the Mafioso route into the club. Were with him as hes greeted by his masses of friends, as hes regarded warmly by the staff, as hes given his private table and his free champagne and in that brief moment, we can see why crime pays. Even if its only for a short while, we can connect to Henry Hill on a purely human level, because weve seen what crime means to him; it means hes accepted. And everyone wants to be accepted. This type of shot had been used before; Steadicam had actually been available for hire and purchase from 1976. What was inventive here wasnt exactly the technique (although that in itself should be admired whatever the movie), but the content. Nothing creates authentic immediacy - the feeling of being right there with the characters - like a long take, and this is one of the shots that helped establish that idea in the modern age of cinema.