Themes
Regina Walker
ENG 225: Introduction to Film
Instructor: Christopher McBride
January 17, 2016

The movie I chose to discuss for the theme topic is Goodfellas. The major theme of this movie is about Henry a young man in little Italy who wants to become a wise guy. The mafia was always considered a very tight group, and the gangsters' mob family was just as important as their own family. This is first seen in the movie when Henry first starts working part time for Paulie. Paulie introduced Henry to Jimmy and Tommy who introduced him to a true life of crime and thus began a career of major crimes. http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/goodfellas-1990 Three techniques used in this film that contribute to the establishment of the theme are Lighting: This movie was shot in traditional and high- key lighting. This can be seen through this entire film, the movie had a few low-key lighting points however; they were not as prevalent as the high key ones. Costuming: The clothing and design in this film are those of an era in which grace and elegance where still key factors in how people dressed. The makeup was neat and flawless and the clothes were timeless and fashionable. In the scene in which Henry and Karen went on a date she wears a dress and long gloves something customary of what women wore back then. His suit was fitted and not sloppy or too baggy or big it was tailored to fit him and he wore it well when they entered the restaurant, although through the back door it was just a romantic scene because of the way they looked dressed up and out on the town. Acting Style: Watching the film one would think that all the actors were of Italian decent. They performed the parts so well that when you see them in other roles you almost expected them to sound like or behave in the manner in which they were in the film. The fact that parts of the movie were true and Henry and his family had to go into a witness protection program makes the acting styles all the more believable. https://youtu.be/3Sr-vxVaY_M In my opinion, the mise en scène works together to draw the audience attention to the scenes and to show how each actor or each scene is being represented. The focus of the mise en scene is to tell a story and sometimes we can hear a story without having a word being said. When they all work together, they all make for a great story and for a dynamic film.
The design elements are congruent with the themes of the movie because they are balanced and when the movie has a upbeat point the lighting, sound and music all reflect that just as the set design and the costuming all make sure the film is all played out and in one accord with each scene. Without the mise en scene, the entire mode and mood of the film would be off and the viewer would be lost and possibly lose interest in the movie all together. I have seen movies that the acting was poor or the movie itself was just not good writing or directing and it has caused me to stop watching. This was not the case with Goodfellas.
Whether or not other techniques would be as effective in this movie is unclear to me when I try to picture other techniques to use in this particular film I have difficulty. I guess if I had to think hard on using other techniques I would say that if they had used anything different it would not have made the movie as epic as it was. Yes, it is a gangster movie but when you look at the elements of the film. One it is based loosely off a true story. Two, it has a gritty, sometimes gruesome feel to it which if removed or edited then the movie would be changed. Three, it has a great cast of Italian American and if it had been any other race, say African American it would have been a very different kind of gangster movie. If it were to be compared to the movie Colors about the crips and the bloods.

Reference Page
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.) http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/goodfellas-1990 https://youtu.be/3Sr-vxVaY_M