Masaryk University Faculty of Arts

Department of English and American Studies

English Language and Literature

Kristína Ozimaničová

Martin Scorsese’s Little Italy: Varieties of Italian American Masculinity Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis

Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr.

2017

I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.

…………………………………………….. Kristína Ozimaničová

Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor for his valuable advice, guidance and comments. I would also like to thank my family, and especially my elder sisters, who stood by me and trusted me throughout these difficult times.

You can get much further with a kind word and a gun

then you can with a kind word alone.

—Al Capone

…

Murders came with smiles, shooting people was no big deal for us .

—Henry Hill

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1

2. ...... 2

3. GANGTER MOVIE GENRE: THE ORIGINS OF ITALIAN MAFIA...... 7

4. GOODFELLAS ...... 11

4.1. Overview ...... 11

4.2. Plot Summary ...... 15

4.3. Masculinity and Violence ...... 18

4.4. “Cosa Nostra” ...... 24

4.5. Greed and Lust ...... 28

4.6. Moral Code...... 33

4.7. Summary ...... 37

5. CONCLUSION ...... 38

6. WORKS CITED ...... 40

7. RESUMÉ IN ENGLISH ...... 43

8. RESUMÉ V ČEŠTINĚ ...... 44

1. INTRODUCTION

“As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a . To me being a gangster was better than being president of the . Even before I first wandered into the cabstand for an after-school job, I knew I wanted to be part of them. It was there that I knew I belonged. To me, it meant being somebody in a neighborhood that was full of nobodies” (Goodfellas). A working-class schoolboy escapes the dreadful life of his parents and joins the excitement and glamour of the mob by crossing the street and doing jobs for the local Mafiosi in the East of (Freedman 48). Goodfellas traces the steps of Henry Hill () whose only ambition is to attain the privilege of being a

“wise guy”1 (Kolker 196). The voice-over of Henry in the opening scene of Goodfellas expresses what it feels like to be one of the tough guys in the neighborhood of Italian

Americans. His dream of becoming a gangster somehow corresponds to a stereotypical representation of Italian American male immersed in the world of .

The aim of this thesis is to analyze how the protagonists of gangster milieu are depicted in the film Goodfellas and to what extent their portrayal corresponds with a classic development of criminal characters. Goodfellas is not a stereotypical gangster picture. On the contrary, it gives an insight of the characters’ psychological condition, thus recreating a juxtaposition of violent acts and inner conflicts. Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of ’s epic book is a detailed documentation of the life in the mob, Scorsese captures both the exciting appeal and gruesome reality of it

(Crewe 84). In Goodfellas, whether it is the scene of a gunshot on the street or of a simple talk between two fellows in a restaurant, the emphasis is primarily laid on the nature of

1 In Scorsese’s Goofellas the members of Mafia organizations call themselves the wise guys as they belong to the group of people who have things worked up and if they wanted something they would just take it.(Goodfellas)

1 an instinctive behaviour of the characters. Also, Martin Scorsese underlines the everyday routine that is somehow built into the culture of the mafia, “I was interested in the minutiae of how, too, lives a wise guy. I wanted to get into the frame of a mind of a guy that works that way every day.” (Getting Made: The Making of 'GoodFellas'). Everything that the director Martin Scorsese needed in order to make a film on “goodfellas” was

Pileggi’s thorough documentation and sufficient proportion of details.

Now, this introduction presents the main character of Henry Hill, and also

Scorsese’s realistic and specified cinematic depiction of an Italian American male who feels attracted by the mob. Then, I dedicate the first pages of this study to the director

Martin Scorsese, to the motives behind the making of Goodfellas, to the film production and to his vision of the mob life in Little Italy2. I also consider the note on the gangster movie genre has its place in the analysis of Scosrsese’s gangster picture, and so the third section deals with the evolution of film noir, or rather, of its subdivision which is the crime films. The thorough analysis of the film comes in the fourth section where I examine character development of three criminal individuals, aforementioned Henry Hill,

James Conway () and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), within the milieu of

New York and its suburbs. In this section, the viewer gets to encounter three varieties of masculinity within the extraordinary world of brutality and violence.

2. MARTIN SCORSESE

Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Roman Polanski, Martin

Scorsese, Alfonso Cuarón, Yorgos Lanthimos, Quentin Tarantino, Spike Lee, Tom

2 Ethnic neighborhoods such as Little Italy were the result of massive immigration to the United States in the 19th century. Large settlements of Italian immigrants led to commercial gathering of their dwellings and businesses but also to social marginalization. Little Italy meant a captive market of eternal exiles, who could neither enter the order of English America nor return to Italy, [it] was not only little by definition, but it was always getting smaller (Viscusi 62)

2 Tykwer, Pedro Almodóvar, Steve McQueen–these are some of the ethnic film directors who attained tremendous success, respect, and recognition for their outstanding contributions in the film industry. A good proportion of these directors fought their way in motion picture companies, and their films excel in either superb cinematographic and technical attributes, or in a vivid and realistic interpretation of a topic touched upon, and sometimes they excel in both. There are those who learned their craft by attending university or others who discovered the wonder of filmmaking by watching movies and documentaries by recognized directors and producers. Whether these directors produce independent pictures or pictures under the major film studio, their uniqueness and personal vision are expressive enough to attract.

Films directed by Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese are for the most part described as rare, frank and peculiar depictions of a certain reality with an emphasis placed on artistry and technical perfection. Scorsese has gained his popular and critical success not by concealing or denying his ethnicity but by confronting and exploring it.

(Casillo xi). The ethnic identification of Martin Scorsese is an inseparable part present in the predominant portion of director’s Italian American films and documentaries. As coming from the third generation of Italian American immigrants, Martin Scorsese was growing up as an “urban villager” in the enclosed neighborhood of Little Italy, but with the knowledge gained from New York University, he could liberate himself from the limitations of Italian social ghetto and to inform himself about the possibilities of the outer world. (Crewe 59). Through broadcasting of movies and TV shows, the standard

American cinema was brought also to Martin Scorsese, while “in 1940s and 1950s New

York City, the Italian American population was so large that some television stations broadcast Italian films as regular programming” (Christie and Thompson 4). These were

3 works of either American or ethnic directors whose directorial skills of camera work and themes had a profound impact on Scorsese’s filmmaking.

Furthermore, the classic American cinema motifs of constant struggle and distant success became the pillars for his movies. The experience with modern and dynamic rhythm of resulted in Martin Scorsese acquiring new perspective and adopting the motifs of a mainstream cinema. When living in Manhattan, Scorsese could come across the American middle class and to know the character of an average metropolitan man. Similarly, features of an inner tension, effort, and ambition were present in the figures living in the milieu of a big city. Scorsese uses these traits and often applies them in his protagonists’ characters whose financial struggle to survive there again leads to outbursts of violence, as it did in Little Italy (Lourdeaux 219). When interpreting the Little Italy area, Jonathan Cavallero writes about the notion of

“solidarity” in his work Hollywood's Italian American Filmmakers: Capra, Scorsese,

Savoca, Coppola, and Tarantino:

Those isolated from mainstream society, Charlie and his friend Johnny Boy (De

Niro), Who’s That Knocking at My Door’s (1968) JR (Keitel), and GoodFellas’

(1990) Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) are not alone; they are members of an ever-present

ethnic community that gives them a clear and comfortable, albeit limited,

understanding of their backgrounds and their place in the world. In each case, the

ethnic community becomes so comfort-able that the worst fate that can befall the

central character is expulsion or a deliberate journey into mainstream society. (46)

Although his set is moved from Little Italy neighborhood to the center of great cities, he remains to focus on the man’s problematic identity and flawed character as he does in Goodfellas. The range of Scorsese’s movie making varies from low budget

4 independent films to mainstream Hollywood production. The tendencies which place emphasis on subjectivity, technological innovation, and melodramatic tradition are inherent to the cinema of Martin Scorsese who holds a position of not only a director but also of a producer and an editor which provides him with the utter mastery of scenes and of actors’ performances in front of the camera (Pravadelli and Meadows 153). When filming complex and detailed sets of violent streets and hostile bars, he does it with a vision of conveying a specific representation of the scene to the audience. Such style of filmmaking is typical for the classic Hollywood when the director shoots the set with perfect accuracy so that it enables the spectator’s constant comprehension of space and portrayed action.

For Martin Scorsese, Little Italy represents an area defined by hatred, terror and instant menace of death. Such rumble and local disturbances are reflected in imaginative scenes in Goodfellas where primitivism and animalistic outbursts are the central motifs.

Violence and criminal organizations are one of the classic trademarks of the Scorsese’s cinema. Violent scenes are rooted in Scorsese’s youth spent in the peer group of prospective criminals and . For instance, his recollections of disputes and fights among young lads represent a typical picture of a tense atmosphere and of tempered men who are incapable of overlooking an insult or an error. In Little Italy, entering a gangster organization allows for ambitious and competitive young men grow into though, proud and confident Italian American males, the kind that Martin Scorsese embeds in his characters. The local gangs and “youths formed peer groups that supplemented or replaced their families, and in which some members continued to participate into their late years” (Casillo 70).

Apart from the vicious and violent deeds of gangsters, the authority of Mafia entity is another of Scorsese’s themes. These informal organizations represent a controversial

5 society of Italian Americans which Scorsese perceives in two forms: on the one hand

Mafia family is a supporter and a protector of the locals, but on the other hand it often connotes intimidation and lawlessness. A code of the local mafia, silence and respect, works in respect to the elder as much as to the young. Moreover, Little Italy represented a community where no favor or act of support was to be done without the approval of a head of the family or of the respected man in the Italian American neighborhood. Lee

Lourdeaux points out that “in […] Little Italy, an established patriarchy oppresses the community, forcing young men to take the desperate action” (235). For instance, in

Goodfellas the character of Henry is determined to enter the group across the street and start doing small jobs very early in his life, as for him, it is the only way of escaping poor conditions. In other words, the Italian neighborhood is set in a separate environment where trade and local businesses answer to the elders, while the youth is dependent on the local Italian American elite, and such forced control often leads to outburst, violence and finite self-destruction. For Scorsese, the entity of Mafia is specifically coupled with images of nightclubs, prostitutes, gangsters, hooligans and outbursts while, he never romanticizes the murderous rage, but treats it as a natural force that spews spontaneously and uncontrollably from his characters (Quart 44).

A location of Little Italy represents a specific variety of concepts: family loyalty and selfish individualism, moral conscience and, at the same time, violence, and obsession with success which eventually leads to corruption. Scorsese portrays this world in a handful of his crime movies, primarily in Mean Streets and Goodfellas. Male groups participate in frauds, burglaries and illegal businesses that lead to involvement of the characters in the acts of violence while their motivation for the action varies. Much of the action takes place in bars, inexpensive restaurants, airports, prisons or hotels and by

6 showing one of these places on the screen, Scorsese lets the viewer explore his characters in diverse conditions concerning their traits (Freedman 45).

3. GANGTER MOVIE GENRE: THE ORIGINS OF ITALIAN MAFIA

Understanding of Scorsese’s crime film would not be possible without clarifying the gangster movie genre and making a note on a movie representation of Italian

American experience. The criminal image of Italian Americans can be traced to the beginnings of the immigration of Italians and to the period of Prohibition, to the rise of gangsters and bootleggers, through the criminal gangs operating in the cities of New

York, Chicago or , and then to the footprints of Italian American criminal society, also called Italian Mafia. Hollywood cinema representation of an Italian criminal is characterized by specific factors related to the immigrant experience: social status, family relation, degree of assimilation and individual endeavor.

A stereotypical portrayal of an Italian mobster on the screen often involves a tough, violent man, ready to rob, steal, sell drugs or kill whenever the Don or the boss of a local gangster clan demands it. Rober Warshow points out that the classic character may belong to a mafia organization, yet remain an outsider whose career is

“brutality” and whose success requires the “establishment of an individual preeminence that must be imposed on others”, he “dies because he is an individual”, and final gunshot makes him a “failure” (Warshow 131). With every successful theft and every cold- blooded murder, the character of the Italian male becomes more spoiled while the camera simply follows the scenes showing the viewer gradual corruption of the bad guy.

Scorsese’s movies, however, explore the motive of an action and characters’ intentions that stand behind the person on the screen.

7 The early black and white motion pictures of the 1930s depict a gangster as a figure coming from poor, working-class environment whose objective is to pursue individual success and to fulfill in a criminal group. Representative gangster movies of this period, such as Scarface (1932), bring out the themes of Prohibition, urbanization, consumerism, and of ethnic individual who seeks to fit in the American multiculturalist society, “the American melting-pot ideology presented the country as an all-welcoming paradise where immigrants of all nationalities, races and religions could start a new life as American citizens” (Dibeltulo 26). However, the Italian immigrant comes from nationality of specific traits and of distinctive customs that tend to separate him from the privileged Anglo-American society. The cinema depicts Italian American experience of urban life: an immigrant who is truly a foreigner in the dreadful conditions and desperate for recognition. Anglo-American men’s anxiety and prejudice almost urge the Italian individual to enter the society of gangsters. Hence, this foreign and “other” character is latter more and more stereotyped towards the criminal-like figure, which is undoubtedly caused by the fact that “Italian immigrants were often criminalized and indiscriminately blamed for the unlawfulness of a few individuals because of the extensive negative publicity given to Italian-American criminals in the media” (Dibeltulo 30). In addition, the characterization of Italian gangster, as a member of illegal group, contradicts with the

Italian American close relation to the family, and directors’ interpretations of the two components of Italian identity constantly alters throughout the 20th century Hollywood

Box Office.

Next, in the 1940s and 1950s, when the principal motifs of gangster genre are illegal trade and the ethnic “menace”, the cinema displays an emotionless foreigner who might be a threat to the society. A public perception of Italian ethnic in the United States is marked by the experience of fighting against the Italian troops in the 1940s. The non-

8 native immigrants are considered to be untrustworthy collaborators as “the fact that Italy was fighting against the United States during World War II put Italian-Americans in a difficult situation” (Dibeltulo 31). In the post-war films like Kiss of Death (1947) and Cry of the City (1948) the Italian American gangster is displayed as an able, ambitious, urban man who is both a community fellow and a member of criminal organization. It is the man’s masculine and greedy character that drives his urge for respect and power. While his family and his fellows are of little significance to him, the Italian individual lusts for greater influence and more money.

And then, the 1970s Hollywood Box Office includes significant works of Francis

Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, (1972) and Mean Streets (1973), in which the status of the criminal gang resembles that of family. In these movies, the Italian gangster is no longer only an individual seeking wealth and respect, but he is predominantly a member of criminal entity that is tightly linked to his family. The tension within the Italian American character originates in unbalanced identity of not belonging entirely to either American or Italian ethnic. In addition, the criminal gang offers a modern, self-enclosed group which represents a means to Americanize oneself, climb the social ladder, and to “become members of white establishment” (Cavallero, “Gangsters,

Fessos, Tricksters, and Sopranos: The Historical Roots of Italian American Stereotype

Anxiety” 60), whereas the ethnic family encompasses Italian values of pride, diligence, commitment and restraint. Similarly, films such as Goodfellas (1990) and Donnie Brasco

(1997) are the classic interpretations of mafia family, a clan within the Italian American society associated with crime, it was “local entity not yet corrupted by a corporate mentality and the neighborhood gangster was a benign, protective fatherly figure who really looked after his community” (Dibeltulo 39). It is the commitment to mafia family that justifies man’s violent and wrongful doings.

9 Certainly, in the local ethnic neighborhood people are the subordinates to the lawlessness of mafia family which provides employments, allocates favors and maintains peace, but at the same time it intimidates and exploits. Moreover, in the late 20th century, the cinema industry goes through “ethnic revival”, people of minority embrace their ethnicity and the filmmaker’s interest is centered around the man’s ethnic identification within American society (Dibeltulo 34). While film features complex Italian American personalities, directors of Italian ancestry reveal the significant traits of their experience.

In the light of these facts, I deem the movie Goodfellas the exemplary depiction of Italian American individual within the entity of mafia family. The relevance of this film and of Martin Scorsese as a director is closely connected with the medium itself.

Italian American feature film is a product made of Italian values, social status, and of specific experience in the ethnic neighborhood. A gangster movie genre encompasses these traits being an artistic manifestation of a complex Italian American experience, while the protagonists featured by the director Martin Scorsese reflect the notions of ethnicity and masculinity which are deeply rooted in the Italian, or rather Sicilian, homeland. The medium of Italian American picture along with its themes of crime, machismo, and mafia is an outstanding depiction of a tempered ethnic group. And so, how does Scorsese interpret Italian American identity in relation to crime and the gangster group? What are the main reasons for Italian American man’s corruption in Scorsese’s

Goodfellas? And to what extent is this corruption driven by the man’s unbridled masculinity?

10 4. GOODFELLAS

4.1. Overview

“Martin Scorsese’s 1990 adaptation of Nicholas Pileggi’s nonfiction bestseller is remarkable, even by his own standards, playing head against heart as it documents a lifestyle where money and power are accompanied by a loss of moral compass and an insidious underlying paranoia, framing everything through a stylistic overload” (Trevor

112). For Martin Scorsese, the journey of filming Goodfellas began on the 1st of May

1989, soon after spending sufficient amount of time working with Nicholas Pileggi on the script and the outline of the scenes that were going to appear in the movie. Pileggi’s book chronicled in detail the rise and fall of real-life Mafia foot soldier Henry Hill, nevertheless, Scorsese decided to write the text and the screenplay anew with Pileggi’s assistance (Rausch 119).

The motion picture studio of Warner Bros. knew director Martin Scorsese behind the production of already top-rated Taxi Driver and but they were not too enthusiastic about the script of Goodfellas and insisted that a big-name actor be brought onboard before they would agree to make the picture (Rausch 121). But this did not discourage Scorsese and when he announced the participation of actor Robert De Niro, the film studio was so pleased that they signed the contract with the director and agreed to finance the film for $26 million. Goodfellas was Scorsese’s sixth film with Robert De

Niro and their collaboration on this movie brought onto the screen genuine group of actors and an accurate arrangement of scenes. Scorsese argued about the actor’s contribution to authenticity of the movie:

There is something about De Niro who understands the humanity of all kinds of

people and could really express that, and we had same, similar interests, he knew

where I came from and I knew where he came from. He understood the area I

11 grew up in and I just think that they reflect those dilemmas, those conflicts,

behaviour (Scorsese's Goodfellas).

Furthermore, behind the production of Goodfellas, there stood Scorsese’s ingenuity that enabled him to give the picture its level of credibility. Particularly, in the production process he applied a technique of a script perfected with precise details, then a technique of spontaneous performance, and a convincing voice-over which justified the quality of the movie. For instance, Scorsese constructed vivacious and frantic scenes within the movie and they mirrored his unconventional approach to directing while “edgy editing and dynamic camera movement was augmented by Scorsese's knowing eye and ear”

(Quart 45). As an illustration, Goodfellas’ famous unbroken tracking shot, which follows

Henry and Karen through the Copacabana, shows off the glitz and glamour of Henry

Hill’s gangster lifestyle, however, the scene required extras that could simultaneously move throughout the cut and Scorsese managed to harmonize both props and actors on the set (Crewe 87).

Then, in a number of the film’s scenes, there are actors’ spontaneous performances which Scorsese adapted to the script. Scorsese experimented with the technique of open improvisation before in New York, New York, Means Streets and in Taxi Driver while in

Goodfellas he “gets certain spontaneity out of everybody and at the same time he’s got to mould it, shape it for some direction” (Scorsese's Goodfellas). Specifically, one of distinguished scenes that appeared in the movie was brought by the actor Joe Pesci and

Scorsese mended it so that it fitted the script. A talk between Tommy and Henry in the nightclub shifts from a casual and humorous conversation to an extremely dangerous matter. The moment Tommy finishes his joke, Henry bursts out laughing and says that

Tommy is a “funny guy” upon which Tommy reacts: “You mean, let me understand this cause, ya know maybe it's me, I'm a little fucked up maybe, but I'm funny how, I mean

12 funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I'm here to fuckin' amuse you?

What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?” (Goodfellas). It is “a tension- filled scene in which joking between Pesci’s and Liotta’s characters suddenly becomes serious” (Rausch 125). These improvisations convey the true nature which, in a position of Tommy’s character, is the murderous inner self and Scorsese feels the authentic quality of these performances and these details’ relevance to the movie.

Moreover, the film’s voice-over narration delivered by Henry, and occasionally by Karen, provides reflections that bring the viewer closer to the character’s frame of mind. To illustrate, in one of the scenes Henry finds out about the wise guys killing

Tommy because of him taking down a man who he was not supposed to take down and

Henry narrates: “It was revenge for Billy Batts, and a lot of other things. And there was nothing that we could do about it. Batts was a made man3, and Tommy wasn't. And we had to sit still and take it. It was among the Italians. It was real greaseball shit. They even shot Tommy in the face so his mother couldn't give him an open coffin at the funeral”

(Goodfellas). Scorsese combined the voice-overs with the freeze frames and images in slow motion to indicate the importance of Henry speaking whether it was him boasting about the privileges or explaining the rules of the mafia or commenting on his friends’ deeds.

Goodfellas was released on the 21st of September 1990, and it showed Scorsese at the peak of his filmmaking career. At the time of the film’s premiere, crime pictures of mafia family revived the gangster genre and the seeds of Goodfellas could be found in

3 In a mafia organization, there are a number of men or “capos” who supervise crews composed of “soldiers,” who are “made members” of “Cosa Nostra”. The capos and those above them receive shares of the proceeds from crimes committed by the soldiers and associates. Made members, sometimes called goodfellas or wise guys, are all male and all of Italian descent. The estimated made membership of the American Cosa Nostra is about <1100 nationwide, with roughly eighty percent of the members operating in the New York metropolitan area (Catino 541)

13 Scorsese’s earlier work and also, for that matter, in films by other directors as well (Trevor

112). The film was recognized as a mafia epic, although, another movie directed by already prominent director came out in 1990 and it was the third part of the Godfather series of a tightly-knit that settled in New York. Certainly, the successful final cut of the movie was due to a great effort of the director Martin Scorsese and the editor Thelma Schoonmaker who spent hours in the cutting room perfecting the scenes and the freeze frames that reappeared in the movie many times. Particularly, the most of film editing was made of the sequence of “the last day as a wise guy” narrating of Henry’s restless Sunday when he was driving a car, dropping off guns at the Jimmy’s house, preparing a delivery of , overseeing a pasta sauce, and above all this, getting paranoid over a helicopter hovering overhead (Getting Made: The Making of

'GoodFellas'). Scene’s rough cuts depict the thrill ride of Henry’s life, and at this point, the viewer is able to sense the madness that follows Henry at every step. On a day of the first screening by the Warner Bros. company, almost forty people walked out as they were infuriated and disgusted by the presence of violence and drugs on the screen. (Getting

Made: The Making of 'GoodFellas'). And yet, only later the film received the finest compliments from the public, for example, wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times journal: “Most films, even great ones, evaporate like mist once you’ve returned to the real world; they leave memories behind, but their reality fades fairly quickly. Not this film, which shows America’s finest filmmaker at the peak of his form.” (Raudch 128). Also,

Goodfellas’ cast and crew were awarded for their incredible contribution: Joe Pesci was awarded an Oscar for the Best Supporting Actor and Martin Scorsese received Silver Lion

Award for Best Director at the , next, the film received five British

Academy Awards and for its excellence, it was nominated for an award by many others.

14 4.2. Plot Summary

The opening scene finds Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), Jimmy Conway (Robert DeNiro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) driving in the middle of the night. There is a constant thundering noise coming out of the trunk. When Henry pulls over, the three men get out of the car to investigate the sound. Henry opens the trunk which exposes a beaten man wrapped in bloody tablecloths. In an instance, enraged Tommy stabs the man several times with a kitchen knife and Jimmy shoots him.

The scene retrospectively skips back several decades to the moments of Henry’s youth. Young Henry presents the Italian neighborhood, the local criminal boss Paulie

Cicero (Paul Sorvino) together with his brother Tuddy Cicero (Frank DiLeo), and other gangsters of the quarter. Soon, Henry starts working at the cab stand, and shortly he is confronted by his father over not being in school for months and he gets beaten with a strap. Yet, despite his father’s outrage, Henry continues to work at the cab stand within criminal gang where he is treated like part of a family. In the street, Henry and Tommy sell untaxed packets of cigarettes, out of a car trunk, when two detectives show up and arrest Henry. After not saying a word to the court, Henry is greeted by Jimmy who says him he is proud of him for keeping his mouth shut. Now, he is accepted by Paulie and the rest of the gang for good.

The movie jumps forward several years, Henry, Tommy and Jimmy plan a heist of some billions of dollars of cargo moving through airport. One of the airport employees remarks an untraceable cash moving through the airport from cargo terminal.

After the successful robbery, Henry is given credit by Paulie who also gets his cut from the total.

15 Then, while they sit in the car in front of the burning nightclub, Tommy asks

Henry to go with him on a double date, as he is trying to sleep with Diane (Katherine

Wallach) who is prejudiced against Italians and she will go on a date only if she is accompanied by her friend Karen (). After couple of dates he falls in love with Karen. In the scene where Karen is taken to Copacabana club, she is amazed by

Henry’s connections and confidence. Although she feels uneasy by Henry’s career of a gangster, she cannot deny that it “turns her on”. (Goodfellas) And so, Henry and Karen get married, and on the wedding day, all the gangster families bring their envelopes with cash as a wedding gift.

At one night, Tommy, Jimmy and Henry drink at the bar, when a Billy

Batts (Frank Vincent) offends Tommy by asking him to shine his shoes, that results in a violent outburst of Tommy who, suddenly, leaves. When he returns, he and Jimmy brutally beat Billy until he is unconscious. Then the three men take the body wrapped in tablecloths and put into the trunk of Henry’s car. By the time they get into the woods to bury the body of Billy, a loud thumping noise comes out of the trunk, and this scene takes the viewer to the opening shot of the movie. The voice-over of Henry explains that the murder of Billy is a “touchy thing”, as he was part of Gambino mafia family (Goodfellas).

And then, the film cuts to Copacabana where Henry is cheating on Karen with his mistress Janice Rossi (Gina Mastrogiacomo), for whom Henry even rents a new apartment. When Karen finds out, she directs a handgun to Henry’s head, while he is sleeping. Henry becomes enraged, he yells at Karen, and decides to move in with his mistress. Shortly after, Paulie and Jimmy come to and advice Henry to return to his wife, so that she will not testify against him at the court.

16 After beating a gambler whose sister is a typist for the FBI, Henry and Jimmy are caught and sent to prison for four years. In the prison, Henry deals drugs to other prisoners to earn some money for his family, and when he is released, some few years later, he has a lucrative drug connection in . Now, Henry is wholly engaged in drug dealing.

However, at the family party hosted by Paulie, Henry is warned against dealing drugs and

Paulie advises him to interrupt his drug operations. But Henry continues to deal drugs and involves Tommy and Jimmy in the business as well.

Soon, the success and respect of the three protagonists, Henry, Jimmy and

Tommy, culminates. Jimmy successfully carries out an airport heist from cargo terminal at JFK Airport which makes to $6 million profit. Even Tommy is about to undergo a ceremony which will make him a made man and a full-fledged member of

Mafia family. And then, in the next scene all the wiseguys involved in airport robbery suddenly turn up dead, as Jimmy becomes more and more unsettled and concerned by federals tracking them out. On a day of Tommy’s ceremony, he is shot in a head as a retaliation for Billy Batts’ death. Also, from this time forth, Henry is constantly paranoid and tense from snorting his smuggled drug. In addition, there is a meal to prepare, cocaine dose to cut, customers to take care of and federal authorities to hide from. Eventually, he ends up arrested after not knowing about federals wiretapping calls from his house. In order to get Henry out of prison, Karen asks her mother to pawn her house.

Towards the end, Henry figures out his family is penniless and marked for death unless he does something about it. When he comes to Paulie, he begs him for his forgiveness and for helping with his situation, but Paulie gives him a bulk of $32,00 and says he “must now turn his back on him”. (Goodfellas) Henry becomes an for

FBI to secure his family’s safety. After Paulie and Jimmy are sentenced to prison as a

17 result of Henry’s testimony the last scene finds Henry and Karen under Witness

Protection Program living in anonymity. (Goodfellas).

4.3. Masculinity and Violence

Masculinity represents a concept of man’s social belonging, conduct and attitude and it is a culturally determined condition. The complexity of a masculine character may be interpreted as a youthful rebellion, intimidation by the strong, adoption of manly behaviour and a chase after respected status. In the competitive ethnic society of ambitious Italian men, honour and respect are attained by the few. Young men raised in the Italian ghetto face challenges when trying to grow up to be men of honour in the society where violence is the norm. In Adam Baird’s opinion, there is a relationship between the construction of male identity and social violence in the excluded groups:

In socio-economically excluded contexts the gang becomes an attractive vehicle

for “doing masculinity” for boys and young men. Youths who joined gangs were

less likely to develop [the] "moral rejection" during childhood, often due to family

problems; and were more likely to admire older gang members, and perceive the

gang as an attractive pathway to manhood (179).

Italian young men show their strength to intimidate the rest of group, rivalry and physical conflicts are the outcomes of masculine behaviour. There is a strong determination to become a member of criminal gang in the Italian American neighborhood, as it manifests an impression of toughness, honor and respect.

Gangster films often deal with a juxtaposition of criminal characters and the . The role of a criminal character may vary from lawless thieves or bootleggers to merciless killers and gangster bosses who exploit the common people in the area. In Goodfellas the character of Henry represents a criminal within the Italian

18 mafia clan which operates in the Little Italy area in New York. Scholars interpret

Scorsese’s characters in the movie, firstly, as lonely, marginalized individuals with an ambition to gain respect and recognition in the society (Kolker) or secondly, as proud members of a privileged ethnic group, and yet, isolated from others (Cavallero). Scorsese presents the main characters of Henry, Jimmy and Tommy as three individuals with distinct intentions and ordeals who, in order to attain what they desire, act as a group. In addition, since they are raised in a milieu of criminal gang and violent actions, they choose to adopt masculine behaviour to fit in the group of gangster figures in the neighbourhood.

Nevertheless, as their characters gradually evolve, Henry’s and Tommy’s instincts grow distinct, among them, “there is a sense of comradeship but these guys, although they’re all terrible guys, you all want to hang around with them, and then, suddenly when Joe

Pesci kills Spider, they are not so nice” (Scorsese's Goodfellas).

Violence and intimidation are built into the lifestyle of members of Paulie Cicero’s criminal gang, and those who belong to his group perceive violent acting as a means for punishing, avenging, and exacting money. Being a wise guy gives Henry and other members the privilege to use strength and power of their criminal family and to deal with anybody in the neighborhood who causes them trouble or annoys them. Henry and his fellows, Tommy and Jimmy, act in accordance with their character features and occurrences around them, a cold-blooded murder soon becomes a part of everyday routine, though. Henry sees the effect of brutality and violence soon after he enters

Paulie’s gang, it is the moment Tuddy and few men threaten the postman so that Henry’s father does not receive any more letters informing about Henry’s absences at school. In this scene Henry watches the two men hitting the postman in a face from the distance and he considers it to be a necessity if he wants to remain among the gangsters (Goodfellas).

There is a certain level of cruelty that Henry adopts and he perceives it as something that

19 elevates him in the eyes of others, and while the beatings earn him respect in the criminal group, his character becomes more unsympathetic and indifferent towards faiths of ordinary people. The excitement and thrill of being a gangster and of being able to do whatever he wants, is better than anything else and it is all that Henry ever wanted. In one of the scenes, Henry comments on the matchless feeling: “For us to live any other way was nuts. Uh, to us, those goody-good people who worked shitty jobs for bum paychecks and took the subway to work every day, and worried about their bills, were dead. I mean, they were suckers” (Goodfellas). For instance, since he belongs to a prominent criminal family, nobody is allowed to threaten or humiliate him or his wife and when Karen comes to harm because of her neighbor living across the street, Henry’s instincts of an alfa male raise urges in him which he is unable to resist, and at that moment, he takes the gun and beats the man’s head until he loses consciousness.

Picture 1. Henry takes the gun and beats the man’s head until he loses consciousness because nobody is allowed to threaten or humiliate him or his wife (Goodfellas) Furthermore, Henry, Jimmy and Tommy come from a tempered neighborhood in which there is not much to be expected from Italian or , especially, when they are born in the poorest of all families. The most visible urge to prove something

20 through violence and terror is incorporated in the character of Tommy who does not stand being looked down on or mocked. To illustrate, while a made man Billy Batts celebrates his birthday, Tommy enters the bar and Billy immediately starts to tease him by saying:

“If I was gonna break your balls, I’d say, go and get your shine box. This kid was great.

They used to call him Spitshine Tommy. I swear to God, he’d make your shoes look like fucking mirrors.”, this teasing goes on for a little while when Tommy bursts out with a murderous look in his eyes: “Mother fuckin' mutt! You, you fucking piece of shit!

Motherfucking... He bought his fucking button! That fake old tough guy! You bought your fucking button! You mother fuck... Fuck! Keep that motherfucker here, keep him here” (Goodfellas). At this particular moment, the viewer sees Tommy's wild, murderous outbursts that are, in a sense, instant reactions to someone who insults him in front of a surrounding crowd (Quart 45). Certainly, even though being among gangsters makes

Tommy feel unique and superior to others, it also intensifies his insecurity and causes him to manifest his brutal instincts.

Picture 2. At one point the viewer can see fear and panic around the table, while nobody is able to assume what Tommy thinks, whether he is genuinely furious or is playing a rather sadistic practical joke (Goodfellas)

21 In addition, Tommy possesses an unstable and hot-tempered character that is very easily provoked. For instance, in a friendly talk with Henry and other wise guys in a restaurant, Tommy unexpectedly thinks to himself that the whole crowd laughs at him and his look alters from humorous to a slightly furious one. At one point, the viewer can see fear and panic around the table, while nobody is able to assume what Tommy thinks, whether he is genuinely furious or is playing a rather sadistic practical joke, Henry knows his friend and he also knows that Tommy is capable of killing everybody in the room

(Freedman 54).

Also, Scorsese depicts Robert De Niro’s character of Jimmy Conway as an experienced criminal who certainly knows how it feels to kill. The character of Jimmy joins the criminal underworld very early in his life, he has been stealing, killing and bribing for a mafia boss while Henry and Tommy have been doing only small jobs and learning about illegal business. Although Jimmy collaborates with other gangsters on grand robberies, he is aware of his position and his skills; the thing that pleases him the most is to use intimidation and threats to get what he wants. As an illustration, when hijacking a camion conveying packets of cigarettes, Jimmy warns the driver not to say anything to police by simply informing him: “You might know who we are, but we know who you are. Do you understand?” (Goodfellas). If there is no need to use a baseball bat or a gun, he knows it but he also knows when killing somebody is utter necessity. In appreciation of one’s respect and superiority, there lies Jimmy’s masculine character and that is the reason why nobody questions his authority. And yet, if somebody has enough courage to insult or underestimate Jimmy, his instincts are to retaliate violently.

Specifically, when one of the men, Morrie, owes him no small amount of money and refuses to pay back, he considers it to be a sign of disdain and disrespect. Jimmy does not let anybody question his superiority, and so he instantly threatens the man with the phone

22 cord around his neck: “I'll fuckin' kill you, get the money, you fuckin' cocksucker, you hear me?”, upon which Morrie fears for his life, he comes to his senses and apologizes for the delay with the payment, however, Jimmy continues with intimidation as he is too enraged.

Picture 3. Jimmy does not let anybody question his superiority and so, he instantly threatens the man (Goodfellas)

Violence is embedded in film’s masculine characters whose instincts and emotions are largely affected by the circumstances that occur in the neighborhood. Brutality and anger overflow Jimmy and Tommy whenever they are confronted with an insult or disrespect.

While Henry witnesses the beatings and murders committed by his friends, he seems to be the only one who shows a negligible sign of sensitivity but the privileges and benefits of the mafia are worth the violence that Paulie Cicero brings to his life. And yet, while he enjoys the status and the prestige of being among the wealthiest and most ferocious criminals, the feeling of alienation lies within him.

23 4.4. “Cosa Nostra”4

A wise guy always answers to a boss of the local neighborhood, however, when a man joins a gang, he becomes a member of an enclosed group of gangsters and he is enabled to delight in the benefits that mafia family provides. Carl Freedman argues that

“Goodfellas […] is very much a street level film, with a keen interest in the micro- economics of organized crime” thus, showing the audience enjoyment from day-to-day benefits but also mischievousness which goes along with the illegal commerce and envious enemies (45). The film concentrates extensively on the comforts and, simultaneously, demands of Italian American clan. Once Henry and his friends belong to

Paulie Cicero’s criminal group, they quite easily get used to special favours and eminent privileges, however, Paulie and his brother Tuddy require a certain expense of loyalty and one’s elevation in the gang is determined by the level of collaboration. The film’s sense of “Cosa Nostra” is rather clear: “Never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut” (Goodfellas). Still, the notion of being loyal may acquire distinct explanations, especially, when criminal’s judgement is affected by strong emotions.

Throughout the first part of the film, Henry’s attraction to the gangster life is undeniable; as the film covers around twenty-five years of a gangster’s lifetime, Henry spends his childhood days fulfilling requests and doing all sorts of jobs to earn Cicero brothers’ trust and sympathy.

4 “La Cosa Nostra” is a collection of Italian-American organized crime “families” that has been operating in the United States since the 1920s, originally, it stemmed from the , but it has functioned as a completely independent criminal organization since at least the 1930s (Catino 543)

24 Picture 4. When Henry proves his loyalty he is granted with a steady place among the gangsters and enjoys prestigious rank of being a respected wise guy what Henry values the most (Goodfellas) In his voice-over, Henry tells in detail how it feels to park the wise guys’ Cadillacs and spend time with the gangsters: “I was the luckiest kid in the world. I could go anywhere, I could do anything. I knew everybody, and everybody knew me”

(Goodfellas). And then, when Henry proves his loyalty he is granted with a steady place among the gangsters and enjoys prestigious rank of being a respected wise guy what

Henry values the most. For example, Henry delights in being given priority to, he comments on the distinction recognized by the people in the neighbourhood by saying:

“I was taken care of first. Our neighbours didn’t park in our driveway anymore, even though we didn’t have a car. At thirteen I was making more money than most of the grown-ups in the neighbourhood. I had more money than I could spend. I had it all”

(Goodfellas). Still, Henry, in a like manner as Tommy, is not a gangster because he was born in Italian mafia family nor he was raised in such, he becomes a gangster because he chooses to be one, therefore, the question of loyalty to the mafia is not definite for him.

Specifically, later in his life, Henry decides to enter the drug business because of shortage of money after he gets released out of prison. Even though he is aware of Cicero’s

25 principles and organization’s policy on drug trade, he does what he thinks is best for him, and so while he is in prison, Karen smuggles for him different sorts of drugs so that he can build the base for his own business: “All I need for you is keep bringing me the stuff.

I got a guy in here from Pittsburgh who’s gonna help me move it but believe me in a month we’re going to be fine, we won’t need anybody” (Goodfellas). At this stage, he is immersed in a dilemma whether to continue with drug business and be disloyal to Paulie or to remain dependent on the mafia family and be oppressed by the limitation of its policies. Nevertheless, Henry’s allegiance to the criminal group is conditioned by his prosperity and welfare. As he runs into complications: arguments with his wife, imprisonment, and later, addiction to cocaine; he stops making reasonable decisions and he is again outsider within the mafia family.

Also, Tommy joins the criminal group early in his life at approximately same age as Henry, however, he comes from Italian American family, whereas Henry is half-Irish and half-Italian. As the mafia family is able to trace Tommy’s relatives to the hometown in Sicily, he does not need to prove his loyalty (Goodfellas). Being a wise guy does not have a special value to Tommy and although he quickly adapts to the conditions of being respected and having connections, he does not know how to deal with so much attention.

For instance, during the scene in a car, Tommy explains Henry that he has come across a girl who he likes very much and he would like to approach her, however, she does not feel comfortable when being alone with Tommy, and so, he asks Henry for a favour:

She doesn’t want to go with Italians alone. She’s prejudiced against Italians. You

fucking believe that? In this day and age? What the fuck is this world coming to?

I can’t believe this. A Jew broad prejudiced against Italians. Anyway, she won’t

go out with me alone unless her girlfriend comes with us. So, you come along, go

out with her girlfriend (Goodfellas).

26 Indeed, Tommy’s character is enchanted by the prestige that the mafia gang provides and without his friends he would not even know how to make use of its absolute potential.

Tommy does not know how to behave, and soon it starts to concern Paulie. Representation is also one of the ways of showing one’s loyalty and Tommy seems to be too emotional, he speaks vulgar language, reacts wrathfully and he is not to be trusted in terms of self- restraint. While the group of wise guys sits in the restaurant Bamboo Lounge, Henry and

Tommy order drinks for the rest. The owner of the restaurant approaches Tommy with the bill and urges him to pay as he owes the restaurant already some unpaid checks but

Tommy’s biggest concern is that being approached like this he feels embarrassed.

Therefore, he decides to mock the man in front of everybody by telling: “Embarrassing me in front of my friends like that, calling me a fucking deadbeat. You know, Sonny, you’re a fucking mutt. You know the money we spend in this fucking…” (Goodfellas), and hitting Sonny with a glass; possibly causing him a serious injury.

Picture 5. The owner of the restaurant approaches Tommy with the bill and urges him to pay as he owes the restaurant already some unpaid checks but Tommy’s biggest concern is that being approached like this he feels embarrassed (Goodfellas) Neither Henry nor Tommy knows the mafia methods to such wide extent as

Jimmy Conway does. Since he is an experienced hijacker and a hitman, Jimmy is aware

27 of the consequences that result from wrong decisions. Loyalty to the mafia family means a lot to him and he would never do anything that could put in danger his place among

Cicero’s gangsters. Nevertheless, as Jimmy becomes a mentor to Henry and Tommy after they have joined the gang, he grows very fond of them and their problems become also his own. For example, as Henry is not able to manage his wife, Karen, nor his mistress

Janice, for any longer, it starts to trouble other members of mafia family including Jimmy who is not able to back up Henry every time he leaves his wife (Goodfellas). As soon as

Paulie finds out about this infidelity, he informs Henry that it cannot go on and Jimmy, since he sympathizes with his friend and intents to help Henry out of the situation, inclines towards Paulie and tries to convince Henry about him not being wise. Similarly, when

Tommy gets into an argument with a made man, Billy Batts, Jimmy is overflowed by his emotions and participates in murdering the man. Instantly, he sees the fatal consequences of this deed and comes with a way out; he suggests: “Don’t worry, don’t worry. I know a place upstate. They’ll never find him” (Goodfellas). In fact, Jimmy is able to act smart and think about the steps to take so that no mistrust or hesitation is raised in the head of mafia boss. And yet, although it seems Jimmy does not err, not once, his inescapable temptation is money.

4.5. Greed and Lust

A reoccurring image in all gangster films is a man with an ambition of gaining the one thing. The indisputable presence of lust for money, cars or women becomes the driving element while the male character follows brutal and ferocious path beaten by the mafia gang. Gangsters intimidate, terrorize, threaten and kill, and eventually it is without remorse, however, “this is not the way to live. You don’t be sucked in by these guys because it’s only going to end one way before the programme. It only ended one way. Death” (Getting Made: The Making of 'GoodFellas'). Wise guys in

28 Scorsese’s Goodfellas are not different and as they grow ignorant towards violent actions, fidelity and loyalty, they also lose control over their pursuit of the single thing. To attain success is merely a natural notion in a human being’s life and Scorsese’s characters experience the euphoria of having it all, but they sacrifice almost everything.

One of the motivations for every young man who joins the illegal organization is piling up the largest amount of money possible and that, to a certain extent, corresponds with Jimmy Conway’s character. While working for Paulie Cicero, Jimmy is enabled to participate in heists, robberies, and he never says no, whenever there is an opportunity of doing business. In a scene of Henry’s first sight of Jimmy, Henry narrates of an admired man who is a legend for everyone else in the gang only because of his extraordinary ability of making profit: “Jimmy was one of the most feared guys in the city. He was first locked up at eleven and he was doing hits for mob bosses when he was sixteen. See, hits never bothered Jimmy. It was business” (Goodfellas). At this stage,

Jimmy mostly operates with other wise guys and he seems to be satisfied with what he gains. Still, Jimmy is certain about his qualities and about the vast portion of effort he puts in carrying out “favours” for the mafia organization. Then, when the film cuts to the time of Jimmy’s preparations for the Lufthansa heist, he is already a middle-aged man and he starts to think about his own success and his own pursuit. As the Lufthansa cargo theft ends up successful, the other participators on the job, do not care about doing the business in the right manner and they start to buy all sorts of luxurious items too early which could attract police investigators to the gang (Goodfellas).

29

Picture 6. Jimmy is certain about his qualities and about the vast portion of effort he puts in carrying out “favours” for the mafia family (Goodfellas)

Soon after, ferocity and greediness become the center of Jimmy’s world which makes him start killing off his longtime friends. At this moment Jimmy’s obsession with money and him alone alters his character and brings loneliness to his life. There are not any visible sacrifices that Jimmy undergoes and he eventually gains all the money, still,

Jimmy ends up as an individual, deprived of both Henry and Tommy.

Likewise, the viciousness embedded in Tommy is a prevailing character trait and it prevents him from focusing on the pursuit of success. The continuous chain of violent attacks and rumbles occupy Tommy enormously, while his friends, Jimmy and Henry, move forward towards the one thing they desire the most. Even though the mafia gang supplies Tommy with the benefits of being a gangster: he is given his shares from the illegal trade the organization is involved in and is allowed to enjoy the presence of hired prostitutes in the clubs, the single thing he desires above everything else is respect. He lusts for the recognition of his rightful place within the criminal organization. As a result of his paranoia, Tommy assumes that the society of gangsters does not accept him and it

30 laughs at him, and yet, it is his exaggerated obsession with proving them wrong that isolates him. Tommy constantly loses control over himself and the mafia family tolerates his violent outbursts because he is also being a reliable soldier regarding the necessary killings of certain people. At one point in the movie, however, he does not think through his steps and on the occasion of Billy Batts’s killing, when Henry’s voice-over informs the viewer about the consequences of killing a made man:

Hits became a habit. Guys would get into arguments over nothing. […] We had a

serious problem with Billy Batts This was really a touchy thing. Tommy killed a

made guy. Batts was part of the Gambino crew and was considered untouchable.

Before you could touch a made guy, you had to have a good reason. You had to

have a sit-down and you’d better get an okay or you’d be the one who got whacked

(Goodfellas),

Picture 7. When considering his ambitions, it is not greed or lust after money but absence of self-control that makes Tommy risk prestigious life of a gangster (Goodfellas) Tommy finds himself on the verge of losing everything. When considering his ambitions, it is not greed or lust for money, but absence of self-control that makes Tommy risk

31 prestigious life of a gangster. And eventually, Tommy’s chase for respect ends up with his murder.

Then, concerning Henry's character, Scorsese interprets his journey through the gangster milieu as a “typical rise and fall” of a male who, after joining gangster organization, attains wealth and respect but in the end, he sustains a defeat of immense measure (Getting Made: The Making of 'GoodFellas'). Regardless, without doubt, being a part of gangster community fulfills Henry’s dream from his childhood times, at least, for a short period of his lifetime. Dollar by dollar, theft by theft, Henry achieves movie- star-like living standards he so desired. For instance, the long shot through the

Copacabana club depicts the exhilaration with which Henry leads his future wife, Karen, from the street, through the “VIP back door”, entrance hall, Italian cuisine, and lastly to the specially prearranged table (Goodfellas).

Picture 8. Dollar by dollar, theft by theft, Henry achieves movie-star-like living standards he so desired (Goodfellas)

At the point of seating one step away from the stage, where only the performances of the prominent artists take place, Henry succeeds to charm Karen with his strikingly packed wallet and extraordinary acquaintances. Nevertheless, this is not enough for him, Henry

32 is obsessed with the glamour and excitement that he sees in his vicious comrades and he is constantly being tempted. Carl Freedman points out that there is “the constant gap between Henry’s deeply enchanted view of the gangster lifeworld, on the one hand, and, on the other, the modest scale of anything that he actually manages to achieve by being a part of it” (47), in fact, Henry’s excitement over joining the Italians across the street and becoming somebody turns to his obsession with isolating from the pitiful life of the ordinary people. Also, Freedman’s interpretation of Henry’s character sheds some light on his lust for unceasing fortune and happiness. Throughout the whole Goodfellas greed spoils Henry’s character slowly, it starts with cheating on his wife and ends up with turning in Paulie and Jimmy to the FBI. Eventually, he may at least spend the rest of his days as an “average nobody” (Goodfellas), after he has experienced the unrestrained life of a gangster.

4.6. Moral Code

Every and each one of the criminal groups operates in accordance with its unwritten code, rules and patterns. Italian American gangsters of small town gangs and expanded criminal organizations are bound to the code that dictates principles and commitments which ensure security from a police department and provide the necessary prudence and discipline. After all, in the criminal underworlds, where the illegal activities are carried out by collective endeavor, to err in not covering the tracks or not killing the right person may result in the whole clan being arrested. Goodfellas’s wise guys answer to a local boss and to the set of rules which for some represent mere customs to get used to, whereas for others they connote limitations. A gangster might thing that the rules imposed by the mafia head is unfair or illogical and he tries to interpret it in his own way so that it suits his ambitions, however, when one joins the mafia clan, he can see what happens to people who err, and they never get away with it.

33 Scorsese’s characters in the movie come from two generations of gangsters, there is the older generation which includes Paulie, Tuddy and Jimmy who perceive the moral code of the mafia family as traditional, Sicilian system of running business and maintaining good morale among the members of the gang. And then, there is the younger generation represented by Henry and Tommy who are more cunning and rebellious, though, they see the rules differently and they feel they are constrained by their restrictedness.

The film deals with Sicilian mafia code which embodies the misguided justice within the “criminal family”. As in order to climb up and achieve higher rank in the gang, a man has to be chosen by the respected members of the “family”, Henry explains in his voice-over:

We were good fellas. Wiseguys. But Jimmy and I could never be made because

we had Irish blood. It didn't even matter that my mother was Sicilian. To become

a member of a crew you've got to be one hundred per cent Italian so they can trace

all your relatives back to the old country. See, it's the highest honor they can give

you. It means you belong to a family and crew. It means that nobody can fuck

around with you (Goodfellas).

A man is considered to be chosen for the rank of a made man only if he is of Italian descent, while the measure of loyalty, discreetness and effort is of no real importance here. Thus, the film examines a parallel between Henry and Tommy in relation to their profitability and usefulness. Henry possesses a tremendously determined character which does not leave anything to chance and step by step he becomes “a loyal chauffeur, strong- arm man [and] all-around operator” (Quart 44), he even helps with a realization of two grand heists that bring an enormous amount of money to Paulie Cicero and others.

34 Whereas Tommy, unlike Henry and Jimmy, does not have the qualities of a resourceful and reliable criminal; he does as he chooses, regardless of probable outcomes, he insults, kills and terrorizes both gangsters and ordinary people.

Picture 9. Tommy does as he chooses, regardless of probable outcomes, he insults, kills and terrorizes both gangsters and ordinary people without the consent of mafia boss (Goodfellas)

Indeed, during the entire film, he does not achieve to move forward nor he becomes something more than a hitman in mafia’s service, still, he has better prospects of being chosen as a next made man than anyone else.

An ordinary criminal serving the mafia boss is not expected to decide what trade mafia organization is going to engage in, nor he is allowed to set up individual covered up businesses. There are commerce varieties that are accorded by Paulie Cicero’s organization, and then, there are selected trades that are not approved. But young and cunning Henry does not let anyone restrict his pursuit of money and success, he takes the desperate action and embarks on the drug trade which is extensively dangerous business.

Although, at one point, Paulie urges Henry to make an end to it:

Listen, I ain't gonna get fucked like Gribbs, understand? Gribbs is 70 years old,

and the fuckin' guy's gonna die in prison. I don't need that. So I'm warning

35 everybody, everybody. It could be my son, it could be anybody. Gribbs got 20

years just for saying “hello” to some fuck who was sneaking behind his back

selling junk. I don't need that (Goodfellas),

Henry decides to ignore his cowardly advice and even brings up Jimmy and Tommy to help him with managing drug deliveries. The rule of not engaging in risky business does not trouble Henry as he is convinced about his capability of managing few drug packets, and at the same time, keeping a little secret before Paulie, as editor Jim Emerson claims:

“Scorsese’s mobsters are no longer troubled by guilt over their actions, because there’s no God taking notice of them. Instead, they aim for an infallible position where they can get away with anything in the name of piling up cash” (1).

Picture 10. By not telling Paulie the precise information about the drug trade, Henry deliberately endangers his rank among the gangsters (Goodfellas)

Nevertheless, criminal code of “Cosa Nostra” is definite and there are no alterations, neither for members of family nor for friends. Hence, by not telling to Paulie the precise information about the extent of drug business, Henry deliberately endangers his rank among the gangsters in exchange for money and the pursuit of success. On the occasion of police finding out about Henry’s involvement in selling drugs, the whole criminal

36 group finds itself being investigated by the FBI and Henry is very well aware of his position within the mafia family, he knows what awaits him behind every street corner.

Execution by the wise guys for his infidelity and ignorance of the mafia code

(Goodfellas).

4.7. Summary

Film Goodfellas deals with the underworld and the flawed nature of its characters.

Scorsese’s men share a similar experience of exclusion, anger and ambition while they seek recognition in the eyes of others and struggle for respect. By applying well-combined narrative structures and cinematographic techniques of improvised performances and dynamic camera movement, Scorsese manages to give the film its level of credibility and to highlight its key issues. Scorsese’s unconventional approach towards the gangster genre provides the viewer with both cultural and historical context behind the criminal existence.

37 5. CONCLUSION

Scorsese’s Goodfellas was after its release put within the gangster movie genre, and yet it was recognized as rather distinct motion picture not only because of its perfectly laid out cinematography, but also its alternative storyline which overlaps between the genres of a documentary and an action movie. The film provided the viewer with a portrayal of the male characters raised in Italian American illegal organization and of their gradual decadence and corruption. The spoiled traits of three criminals such as violence, greediness, perversion and addiction were put in opposition to the exalted features of Italian American community of mutual help, humanity and solidarity.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the Italian American male identity in the

Little Italy area of New York City, to depict a mutual influence of living in such neighborhood and to examine how the violence and masculinity related to each other in the film. A note was made on the director of the film Martin Scorsese, his childhood spent in the neighborhood of Manhattan Little Italy, and his acquaintance with distinguished

Hollywood directors which influenced him in the selection of his movie themes. In the following section, it informed about the evolution of gangster movie genre with the central theme of Italian mafia and it briefly described the changing image of Italian

American criminals in the motion picture media. And then, the fourth section was dedicated to the information about the film production process and collaboration of the director with the author Nicholas Pileggi and the screenwriter Thelma Schoonmaker on the script that made it possible for the final cut of the movie to look as it did. Besides, a note was made on Scorsese’s scenes which were stylistically formed to deliver characters’ moments of struggle and self-confrontation. This section also summarized the storyline in a way that only the most important scenes were presented and after that there was a

38 place for the analysis of the motifs closely related to gangster issue, for example, violence, moral code, and lust. The characters’ analyses proved film’s uniqueness in the recreation of a gangster’s image, and complexity of decision making in the milieu of mafia organization.

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Quart, Leonard. "Goodfellas." Cineaste (ARCHIVE) 1991: 43-45,61. ProQuest. Web.

16 Oct. 2017.

Scorsese's Goodfellas. By Brett Ratne. Perf. Lorraine Bracco, Robert De Niro,

Leonardo DiCaprio, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta. IMDb, 5 May 2015. Web. 4 Nov.

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41 Viscusi, Robert. “Making Italy Little” Ed. Francesco Loriggio. Social Pluralism and

Literary History: The Literature of the Italian Emigration. Toronto: Guernica, 1996.

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Comics, Theatre, and Other Aspects of Popular Culture. 131-132. N.p.: Double Day,

1962. Print.

42 7. RESUMÉ IN ENGLISH

The aim of this thesis is to provide a proper analysis of the film Goodfellas and its central characters who are individually examined in respect to the most important scenes. This thesis deals with the gangster issue and complex relationships between the male protagonists. Of similar importance, it informs about the distinction between the stereotypical portrayal of an Italian gangster and Martin Scorsese’s unconventional representation. Specifically, it is dedicated to the central issue of gangsters' agendas, which are not in accordance with the criminal code of the mafia very often. First of all, this study informs about the director himself, his objectives with the picture, and his perception of Little Italy area. Later, it includes a note on the gangster movie genre and briefly describes the movie representation of Italian American criminals. Lastly, it provides an information about the film’s production process, plot summary, and then it extensively analyzes the film itself in respect to selected motifs.

43 8. RESUMÉ V ČEŠTINĚ

Cílem této bakalářské práce je předložit důkladnou analýzu filmu Mafiáni

(Goodfellas), jeho hlavních postav a vztahů mezi nimi. Jednotlivé charakteristiky jsou popsány na příkladu několika stěžejních scén. Je popsán i rozdíl mezi stereotypickými filmovými vyobrazeními italských gangsterů a tím, jak dané téma předkládá režisér filmu, Martin Scorsese. Jedním ze zásadních témat, které zpracovává, jsou záměry gangsterských postav, které jsou často v rozporu se zločineckým kodexem mafie. Tato práce poskytuje především nahlédnutí do záměrů samotného režiséra, jeho filmové vizi a chápání italské čtvrti ve Spojených státech amerických, tamější italské mafie a jejích představitelů. Dále pojednává o gangsterském filmovém žánru jako takovém se zběžným popisem různých filmových vyobrazení Italů v americkém podsvětí.

V neposlední řadě práce informuje o produkci filmu, shrnuje jeho děj a poskytuje analýzu hlavních témat zobrazených ve spojitosti s hlavními postavami.

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