The 25 years since its release have been kind to Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas.” It’s permeated pop culture to such a large degree that references to the peerless classic can be found last night on both Jon Stewart’s final episode of “The Daily Show” and Dr. Dre’s new album Compton (an album inspired by the forthcoming N.W.A. biopic, “Straight Outta Compton”). Now a new video essay has arrived to break down the infamous strung-out Henry Hill sequence.
READ MORE: Watch 10-Minute Video Essay Breakdown Of Martin Scorsese’s ‘Goodfellas’
A lot of the 12-minute runtime of the third episode of 1848 Media’s “The Discarded Image” series is dedicated to the scenes set on May 11, 1980, when the criminal life of Ray Liotta’s Hill comes to a manic and abrupt end. As emphasized in the essay, Scorsese unsurprisingly uses his extensive knowledge of cinematic grammar — both in Michael Ballhaus’s cinematography and Thelma Schoonmaker’s editing — to drive home thematic points like the morality, or lack thereof, of mafia violence.
It’s a welcome look back at one of the best films of the ’90s, one of the many highlights of Scorsese’s career, and a great inspiration to rewatch the film. Check out “The Discarded Image” episode on “Goodfellas” below, followed by the full original sequence. [via Press Play]