Tuesday, January 04, 2011

I watched "GoodFellas" this afternoon

Didn't mean to, exactly, but when I saw it was streaming on Netflix I clicked on it, telling myself I'd just watch the first few minutes, and then that I'd stay until they nabbed the postman, and, well, sooner or later Billy Batts is getting beaten to death and I'm there for the whole show. I don't know how many times I've seen it in the last 20 years. A bunch. You really have to pass it by if you've got things to do, because there are no bad scenes, every character is interesting, it never slows down and the story just builds and builds.

When it first came out I was working for a newspaper and I wrote a little column about it. Don't remember what I said except that I kind of downplayed my enthusiasm. I was skeptical of how good it really was because I was obsessed with Mean Streets and didn't want to entertain the idea that maybe this was better. That seemed like a hasty perspective.

I still can't say which is better, to be honest. One is deeper emotionally and has more of a spontaneous spark, one is a perfectly planned, expertly executed example of top-of-the-line Hollywood film-making.

For any fans, here's a recent GQ article that will take up the rest of your evening:

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