I like GOODFELLAS a whole lot more than I like THE GODFATHER, not that THE GODFATHER isn’t a spectacular entertainment in its own right. The distinction is that GOODFELLAS is a historical drama not a genre piece. I refuse to call it a gangster movie. It’s based on real life and sticks to the historical record pretty closely. If you don’t believe me, read the book on which it’s based, “Wiseguys,” by Nicholas Pileggi. It’s not really about gangsters, but about a way of life supported by crime and how and why such lives are doomed. GOODFELLAS is a work of art. THE GODFATHER is a grand melodrama, a middlebrow Hollywood epic, which is fine, but that don’t make it art. And it sure glamorizes the Mafia out of all proportion. GOODFELLAS deglamorizes the Mafia.
I love gangster movies, but I have yet to see a good one based on historical figures that has even a semblance of historical accuracy. Of the ones that are totally fictionalized, I like these from the 1930s: SCARFACE, G-MEN, BULLETS OR BALLOTS, MARKED WOMAN, ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES, THE ROARING 20S.
I’ve read many books on the likes of Al Capone, Dutch Schultz, Lucky Luciano, Bugsy Siegel, the Valachi Papers, et al, but no movie ever tells the real story, which is always more fascinating than Hollywood fictionalizations. (I hated De Palma’s UNTOUCHABLES.) I’m also a student of Depression-era bandits and the movies based on them (Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, Machine Gun Kelly, Bonnie & Clyde, Ma Barker, et al) and I have yet to find one that gets it right. I like Corman’s MACHINE GUN KELLY (1958) with Charles Bronson a lot, but only because it thoroughly deglamorizes the man and shows him to be the punk he was. I enjoy John Milius’ DILLINGER (1973), but it ain’t anywhere near the real Dillinger and Purvis. Didn’t like Mann’s PUBLIC ENEMIES. Depp could have made a great Dillinger, but he was directed all wrong in that one.
A tie. They’re so different they defy comparison.
i saw goodfellas first and was a bit disappointed with the godfather expecting a lot more from all the prestige it has, however it might have influenced goodfellas
the godfather has a more intense look at family heritage and goodfellas is the more glamorous crime side of the mafia
Both are incredibly brilliant films but i’d say Goodfellas before Godfather if I had to make a list
If I made a list I’d probably put the Godfathers somewhere in the bottom half of my top 100 and Goodfellas somewhere around 200.
In Godfather you get the impression the murders are based on game theory, doing what’s best for you if you assume everybody does what’s best for them. Whereas in Goodfellas the murders are based on either impulse, revenge, or short term cash-grabbing. Goodfellas attempts to show you the appeal of joining the mob: Being a big, important, powerful man. Then it shows you that while that lifestyle feels great, there is no real loyalty, and you’re only around as long as it’s convenient for everyone else. The Godfather tells a more epic, compelling story, that’s more historically inclusive and covers the strategy of gang warfare and family loyalty more thoroughly. Although, it can get a little cheesy in it’s juxtopposition of Christian themes with violence and it’s glorification of crime.
Why do we have to choose?
as far back as i could remember i always wanted 2 be a gangsta :O(
Do you mean which do we prefer to watch? I suppose if I was forced to choose one of the two then it could only really be Rififi. I joke, each has their own strengths and weaknesses but I don’t really think the films should be compared on a gangster vs gangster level.
Anyway, I’m still convinced that The Death of Michael Corleone is a good film when removed from the trilogy so I presume that alone removes any value that my opinions may carry on these films by default.
Well the Godfather may be fiction, but I like it better than Goodfellas. For me it’s just a great story, and it’s about family, the relationships between the brothers and how the Godfather holds everything together, there are some great scenes in the Godfather, the wedding, the dinner scene when the Godfather returns from the hospital, the shooting of Solozzo, the courtship of Appolonia, damn , that’s a beautiful movie, like a fairy tale where the lead characters are cold blooded killers.
I like Goodfellas also, but if I have a choice, it’s always going to be the Godfather.
Goodfellas
White Heat
Love Actually
From these two films, I prefer “GoodFellas”. It just seems to flow better, it’s more colourful, and it doesn’t try to convince you the gangsters are essentially decent human beings—Martin Scorsese wastes no time in letting us know these people are thugs and not “businessmen”. Martin Scorsese’s “GoodFellas” has pretty much everybody getting what’s coming, whereas in “The Godfather”…well, it led to a sequel, didn’t it? So I think “GoodFellas” is the film that better shows the criminal underworld in an unglamorous light, plus I just find it to be a tighter and more entertaining and intriguing film.
I don’t think Goodfellas is made into a game for PS3 yet, so I say definitely Goodfather.
The Godfather!
How about the Godfather AND Godfellas? You’re talking two entirely different gangster movies here, each serving their purpose impeccably. I love both these films for what they are, and certainly not one more than the other.
I don’t know if either one is better than the other, but if I were to choose one at the end of the day when I just want to be entertained it would always be Goodfellas.
Goodfellas – But, If you include II and III – Godfather II beats them all!
I dig them both very much, but if i had to have one desert island style it would be goodfellas.
“Goodfellas” wouldn’t exist without “The Godfather”. If just for that I prefer “The Godfather”.
MARK: Godfather shows us that criminals are essentially ‘decent human beings’? perhaps you should watch it more closely because that is not really how they are portrayed at all. there is a moral ambiguity to that film that Goodfellas doesn’t even come close to. Goodfellas is far more one dimensional, as much as i like it.
The sentence should probably be “Godfather shows us that criminals are also human beings”, though I never had any doubt about that fact.
I like them both, but if I only had time to watch one movie and the choice were Goodfellas or The Godfather, I would probably go with Goodfellas I think
Seriously guys, there’s no contest, it’s Bridget Jones’s Diary all the way. That bunny outfit makes you feel things you never feel in the other films.
Depends upon the day. Goodfellas is more like punk rock wish fulfillment but Godfather is an epic tragedy in pulp form. How about Godfather II v Goodfellas?
Wow. This thread shows very little love for The Godfather. I definitely prefer it to Goodfellas which isn’t even really one of my favorite Scorsese movies.
The opening scene of The Godfather>>>The opening scene of Goodfellas
Also I prefer the more methodical and moody approach to The Godfather than the more fast paced and sporadic approach to Goodfellas. Both have great cinematography but I gotta go with The Godfather on this one.
Also The Godfather has a better score and cast, so I guess it’s just better all around.
Tough…The Godfather
SuperAndyBenge
I want to know which one you think is the better gangster movie, I personally favour Goodfellas, ( it’s my favourite movie), or do you think there’s a better movie within this genre I’m overlooking, thoughts please!