6 Groundbreaking Films That Redefined Their Genres
2. Crime / Gangster Genre - Goodfellas
Very few groups in society have quite the same charisma as the mafia. Those involved with organised crime walked a narrow path between having everything and losing it all, with Hollywood serving only to highlight this dichotomy; beautiful girls, fast cars and fine suits opposed with the very real threats of jail time or, in severe instances, of death. Influential, authoritative and with a traditional sense of honour, these wise guys infiltrated the police, the government and the state in order to rise above the level of the low level street thugs. In the process they made crime both profitable and, perhaps more importantly, sustainable. In short, what better characters are there to translate into the medium of film?
Now I know what most of you must be thinking at this point: the definitive mob drama trilogy is The Godfather, so I must be going to talk about that. Well Im not. You see, as influential as Francis Ford Coppolas productions have been, for me Goodfellas is a truly defining gangster flick. It doesnt drag on, it isnt filled with endless pauses and it isnt preoccupied with dialogue on a par with reading War and Peace. Instead it focuses on a true story, delivering it with all of the style and panache that Hollywood could muster. Ray Liotta is cast perfectly in the lead role as Henry Hill, a man infatuated by the mobster lifestyle but who is ultimately disillusioned by the glitz and glamour when it begins to fall apart around him. He is supported by the likes of Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro, the former playing the spontaneous and opinionated Tommy DeVito and the latter taking the role of a calm and collected James Conway. So yes, it may not be as high brow, as intellectual or as revered as the Godfather trilogy, but Goodfellas is still a highly entertaining retrospective on the golden era of organised crime, well worth a look in my opinion. Keeping with the crime theme, a film which is slightly more recent than Goodfellas but which retains the same fact based, action driven narrative and mobster plot content is Michael Manns Public Enemies. Johnny Depp one of, if not the most, versatile actors of modern cinema plays John Dillinger, a man whose love of robbing banks is surpassed only by his infatuation with a certain young woman. The historical accuracies may detract from the film for true history buffs, although for the grittiness of its aesthetics and its frenetic tempo this film ticks all of the boxes. If youre tired of the classics and want something a little more up to date, give this a look rest assured that you wont be disappointed. Other top picks: Donnie Brasco, The Untouchables, The Godfather Click "next" below for the Sci-fi genre...