GoodFellas Opening Sequence Essay

Explore the use of film language for effect in an opening sequence to a thriller. How does the director engage the audience?

Martin Scorsese’s 1990 film “GoodFellas” follows the life of gangster Henry Hill as he becomes a professional mafia criminal. The opening scene is a harrowing and graphic example of the casual violence that surrounds Henry. The fact that this film is so real is what has ensured its success.

We open with opening credits, as many great films do. A large white font appears, featuring the names of the actors. There is some faux-diegetic traffic noise as these titles whip about the screen. This is a kind of sound bridge and presents the viewer with an idea of the setting – We are on a road. We are told that “This film is based on a true story”, and this instantly sets us up with some apprehension. It is very rare that these “true story” films are based on a happy story; thus the audience gets used to an idea that this film will end badly.

The opening shot of the film is a very dark tracking shot of a car driving down the road at night. We are given no context to this shot, but the darkness creates an air of mystery in the scene. The camera tracks after the car, moving up alongside it, giving the idea that key characters are inside. We also now feel that the car will be central to this scene. When the camera moves inside the car, we see a medium close up of the driver, although we can see two other men in the car. The fact that the driver is in focus makes us believe that he is perhaps the main character that we are meant to follow in the story.

When the men get out of the car to investigate the noise they have heard, we have a low, profile shot of the characters. The viewers feel that the characters have an authoritative and controlling air about them. We begin to get the idea that they are gangsters.

The camera tracks into the boot, almost reluctant in its attitude, forcing the audience to further sympathize. The weapons that the men are carrying instantly make us suspicious of what they are expecting to find in the boot – if what they are expecting requires weapons, then it must be dangerous. This is a big turning point in our views of the characters, who are clearly readying themselves for a fight. The audience may not be ready for this as it is the very beginning of the film and we are almost expecting a gentle introduction.

A quick note on the plot: if this film follows basic three-act structure, then this cannot be the beginning of act two – we have not nearly had enough exposition to start this. The audience can see through the timing of this event that this is, in fact, a daily occurrence, and not at all out of the ordinary for these three people.

Shovel man nods to the character who is out of shot, then the camera tracks around to draw focus to the contents of the car. The camera moves slowly here to convey the fearful anticipation that all of the men are feeling towards having to deal with whatever is making the noise in the back of the car. From an audience's point of view, this creates tension.

The scene ends with a still of who we can assume to be the main character, slamming the boot shut in time with a song from a typical 50s Italian-American singer Tony Bennett. The 50s were and are known as the height of the ‘gangster’ era. The song is particularly appropriate here as it sets up the time period of the following scene.

The costumes used in this scene are typical of the gangster genre. All three characters swear crisp neat suits and have hair that has been combed back in a style dating from around the fifties. The lighting and setting, aside from the smart suits and haircuts, supports the secretive nature of the events that are taking place. The lighting is minimal, with only the car headlights to light the murder scene, and presumably street lamps that light up the inside of the car at points. The lighting is deliberately dark; the characters are trying to hide their criminal activities and do not want to be seen. As such, the use of a torch by the men or any other lighting device would have an inappropriate and unrealistic prop given the circumstances. Realistic weapon props are used to show the brutal realism of the piece.

The editing throughout this scene maintains a slow pace, to ensure the buildup of tension. This tension is not maintained through the acting, however; the actors remain stony-faced throughout. The type of shots used also affect the time between cuts, as the panning shots, tracking shots and shots that slowly zoom in from medium to a close up, prolong the time that the audience has to wait to find out what is making noise in the boot. When one would expect the editing to speed up (during the kill), the editing remains the same speed to give realism and to show how much of an every-day occurrence this is.