Goodfellas (20th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]
Warner Home Video DVD Release Date: February 16, 2010
Cast:
By Ken Shallcross
Goodfellas. Brilliant director. Fantastic cast.
Riveting story. Now, 20 years old… and a victim of a horrible, no good,
low-down, dirty rotten "double-dip" attempt by the studio. It pains me to write
this review.
THE FILM:
Do I really need to go
into exposition here? The gangster-film genre is now over 100 years old. Within
those 100+ years, 100+ movies have been made to tell different tales of our
American anti-heroes. On a short list of the best that were ever made,
Goodfellas sits proudly; where exactly is up for debate
between personal tastes - to each his own - but you can bet it's in everyone's
Top 10.
Based on the real-life story of Henry Hill, Scorsese's 1990 masterpiece tells
the story of the rise and fall of one mob family over the course of three
decades. Ray Liotta gives an incredible performance as Henry Hill, who was taken
under the wing of Paul "Paulie" Cicero (Paul Sorvino) and his associate, Jimmy
"The Gent" Conway (Robert De Niro). Aside from all the regular guys in the
group, one stands out beyond the rest, Tommy DeVito, played by Joe Pesci, who
won the Oscar for his performance.
The story opens when 13-year-old Henry gets a job working at a store operated
by the local tough guys, and ends with his arrest for drug trafficking and his
testimony that put his life in danger and resulted in a life in witness
protection. From start to finish the story is enthralling and so deep in
character and portrayal of the lifestyle that whether you enjoyed the film or
not, you cannot argue it is a fine piece of cinema.
Unfortunately, this Blu-ray release is nothing more than the exact same
previously released disc, in shiny new packaging with an
also-previosuly-released DVD as a bonus…
HD SOUND + VISION:
Goodfellas saw both Blu-ray and HD DVD release during
the format wars in 2007. The disc in this new Goodfellas: 20th
Anniversary Edition Blu-ray is the exact same disc that was pressed in
2007 for the Blu-ray format. What this boils down to is a transfer that is a
huge improvement over the 2004 Two-Disc Special Edition DVD, but not
nearly as good as some of today's newer titles. Obviously, a film from 1990 is
not going to look as good as a film from 2009, but the fact that zero attempt
was made to make another pass through in restoration is sad.
That being said, this VC-1 encoding in 1080p of a 20-year-old 35mm print is very
good. There are some flaws in the 1.85:1 picture, but most of it has to do with
colors that appear off and blacks that lose luster. There is, of course, also
the infamous line that runs right down the center of the frame at 1:16:43. But
still, this is the best Goodfellas has ever
looked, but not the best it could had Warner paid a little more
attention to it. Here's looking forward to the inevitable 25th Anniversary…
Audio is, literally, crap. You get the same Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track
that was not only available on the previous Blu-ray (remember, same exact
manufactured disc in new package), but also appeared on the 2004 Two-Disc
Special Edition DVD. The old-school AC3 compression is nothing like the lossless
tracks of current Blu-ray titles. To the non-scrutinizing ear, it won't matter;
for the high def audience, it's a downer. There are also French and Spanish
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround tracks.
Subtitles are available in English, Spanish and French.
PACKAGING/ LAYOUT:
There are only two "new"
components of the Goodfellas: 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray; one of them is
the packaging. This new release takes shape as a hardcover digibook; a Blu-ray
disc is found inside each cover, and there are 34 color pages of photos, liner
notes, bios and film facts in between. An absolutely gorgeous package that I am
thrilled to have on my shelf. Regarding disc layout, the main feature disc is an
exact replica of the 2007 Blu-ray release. The movie actually starts right away,
skipping over a main menu. The second disc is a previously-released standard
definition DVD that contains a feature-length film on the golden era of gangster
films (the 1930s) and some classic Warner Brothers shorts. See below for more on
this… Goodfellas runs
145 minutes and is split into 47 chapters.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The main feature disc is a
replica of the 2007 Blu-ray, which contained the exact same special features on
the 2004 Two-Disc Special Edition DVD, thus everything here is in standard
definition. There are two audio commentaries, three featurettes, a
storyboard-to-screen comparison and theatrical trailer. There are no deleted
scenes and no new bits concerning the film.
The second disc in the set has been imported from a previously release DVD,
which was issued as its own title and as a disc in the Warner Brothers
Gangsters Collection Volume 4. While the documentary is good, it has nothing to
do with Goodfellas, except that Scorsese
is an interview subject and there are a few brief clips of his films.
In other words, everything here - we have seen before:
DISC 1
- Cast and Crew Audio Commentary - Director Martin Scorsese, author/screenwriter Nicolas
Pileggi, producers Irwin Winkler and Barbara De Fina, cinematographer Michael
Ballhaus, editor Thelma Schoonmaker, and cast members Ray Liotta, Lorraine
Bracco, Paul Sorvino and Frank Vincent all participate in this
recorded-separately-and-spliced-together-style commentary track. Very
insightful, and due to the style in which it was pieced together, always
moving and jumping around from voice to voice and story to story, this is
absolutely worth listening to. Scorsese's comments are especially interesting,
as you would expect.
- Cop and Crook Audio Commentary - The second commentary features the real Henry Hill and FBI
agent Edward McDonald. This is especially interesting for the real-life
comparisons Hill relates. McDonald actually does a great job of asking
questions and keeping the conversation going.
- Getting Made (29:36) -
This is the standard making-of for the film. Interviews with cast and crew
highlight the production, with lots of emphasis put on character building and
editing.
- Made Men: The Goodfellas Legacy
(13:33) - This shorter piece is more
of a tribute, as a younger generation of filmmakers (e.g. Jon Favreau, Richard
Linklater) discuss the impact of Goodfellas on their career and life.
- Paper is Cheaper Than Film (4:27) - This is a presentation of Scorsese's drawn storyboards and
written notations, alongside clips of the film. " The Workaday Gangster (7:58)
- The final featurette in this set is a discussion on the lifestyle of the
mob. Constantly working, the real-life wiseguys were always on the ready…
- Theatrical Trailer (1:28)
DISC 2
- Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film (105:43) - This feature-length documentary from
2008 is incredibly detailed and exhaustive! While it starts and ends great,
you may get a bit lost in the middle. This piece does a serious break-down of
the gangster genre in Hollywood, starting with Burglar on the
Roof from 1898 (that's not a typo) and ending with The
Departed
. The heaviest concentration
focuses, as the title indicates, on the golden era of the genre, which is
considered to be the 1930's. There are great interviews with film historians
and critics, authors and filmmakers. There is also great use of vintage
interviews from the filmmakers and stars of the golden era, plus clips of
those films (even silent era stuff!). This is a great piece for anyone who has
an interest in film history. Though it may get dry in the middle there, it's
still absolutely worth watching on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
- Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes (30:39) - There are four Friz
Freleng cartoons here. "I Like Mountain Music" is from 1933 and in black and
white; "She Was an Acrobat's Daughter" is from 1937 and in color. These first
two are hard to watch and have nothing to do with gangsters. There are
obviously way better choices in the catalogue and I am not sure why they were
chosen for inclusion here. But then "Racketeer Rabbit" (1946) and "Bugs and
Thugs" (1954) come on and all is forgiven. Both of these are classics, staring
the infamous rabbit and some bumbling gangsters.
DIRTY, ROTTEN, LOW-DOWN, NO GOOD, DOUBLE-CROSSING DOUBLE
DIP!
So the bottom line is thus: a recycled Blu-ray disc in
new, very nice packaging, with a previously released DVD containing a
documentary on 1930s gangster films. If you already have the film on Blu-ray, DO
NOT make the double-dip. If you have the DVD and are contemplating the upgrade,
or don't own the movie yet at all, here are your choices: spend $12 on the 2007
Blu-ray; spend $24 on this new Goodfellas: 20th Anniversary
Edition; or stick with the DVD (or catching it on cable) and wait until
2015 and see if Warner decides to give the film a new high
definition facelift.
FILM SCORE: A+
HD SOUND: C-
HD VISION: C+
PACKAGING/ LAYOUT: A
SPECIAL FEATURES: B
OVERALL BLU-RAY DISC SCORE: C
