http://www.today.com/id/31573508/ns/today-today_entertainment/t/gangster-films-take-revenge-our-behalf/#.VD4-rvnF-dk
Mob movies and gangster films have had a special part in the film industry since the beginning of cinema. It seems that Americans love rooting for the bad guy vs the government steming back to cowboys in the early 1900s. In my opinion, it gives viewers suspense, violence, and love, some of they key components of a good film. Directors always makes the viewers side with the gangsters when we know that in the end they will get what they had been asking for, jail or death. Characters are looked at as tragic heroes because they rose from the bottom to become successful and rich but instead die in spite of their hardwork.
Watching gangster or crime films was a normal thing in my family, but I wasn't actually allowed to
actually watch them until a couple years ago. I was fascinated with the genre and I couldn't stop thinking or talking about the film for weeks. This movie is Donnie Brasco. It has been a while since I've watched the film so I decided to put it in my film study for fun. Along with Donnie Brasco I watched Reservoir Dogs and Casino. These films may be in the same genre yet they are totally different in the cinematography, setting, and mood components.
To start, I watched Reservoir Dogs first just because my uncle hyped it up a lot. Reservoir Dogs in my opinion was very unique in its way of storytelling and the way it looked. It gave me this eerie feeling in a way, hence it is mostly set in an abandoned warehouse and weird color code names. Unlike the other movies, Reservoir Dogs is basically told by flashback scenes of the background of all the criminals and one undercover cop along with flashbacks to after the diamond heist is completed. The heist was never shown in the film further exciting this film with fast editing, cutting and pacing. Considering that this was Quentin Tarantino's first film, the colors are very faded. Blacks and other colors are a bit washed out giving the film almost has a gray look. Tarantino used a lot of stationary camera views of medium shots to show the setting and a few dolly shots throughout the film. Casino was the second movie I watched and it turned out to be the total opposite of Reservoir Dogs in mood and setting. Like Reservoir Dogs, Casino is told in flashbacks by the voices of Sam "Ace" Rothstein (Robert DeNiro) and Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) and a few other characters toward the end. Martin Scorsese uses fast, descriptive scenes to introduce the background of characters using their own voices and then starts to get into the story line. There were many crane shots in Casino showing off the glitz and glam of Las Vegas unlike Reservoir Dogs. The last movie Donnie Brasco, has a variety of camera shots to explain whats going on in the film because it doesn't have a narrator. The film shows the unglamorous shots of the mob with Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino) and the affects of an undercover cop inside of the mob with Joe Pistone/Donnie Brasco (Johnny Depp).
Mob movies and gangster films have had a special part in the film industry since the beginning of cinema. It seems that Americans love rooting for the bad guy vs the government steming back to cowboys in the early 1900s. In my opinion, it gives viewers suspense, violence, and love, some of they key components of a good film. Directors always makes the viewers side with the gangsters when we know that in the end they will get what they had been asking for, jail or death. Characters are looked at as tragic heroes because they rose from the bottom to become successful and rich but instead die in spite of their hardwork.
In spite of all of these films being made in the 90s, they all have a different look to them proving that there was different technology used for each film. In Reservoir Dogs, there was a key scene where the camera actually does some moving. This particular scene is when Mr.Blonde (Michael Madsen) is torturing a hostage police officer after the heist. During this scene, Mr. Blonde turns on Stealer's Wheel's Stuck in the Middle, an upbeat song that he's singing and dancing to. During his small jig, the camera is constantly panning from behind the victim to following Blonde out to his car. It surprises me that he stays so calm as he's slicing and torturing yet having a fun time to the music. He later cuts off the officer's ear making myself and I know for sure others cringe as the camera pans to an empty side of the warehouse only seeing Madsen's arm. But only a few minutes after, Madsen is unexpectedly shot dead by the passed out, shot Mr.Orange somehow ending the music. This scene was very significant to how well the cinematographer did to allow viewers to see just enough but not too much. In the second film Casino, there were more moving shots for example when Sharon Stone's character,Ginger, was introduced at the casino.
There were crane s
hots of the casino, closeups of the dealers and Ginger, along with the close up of Ace, Ginger's secret admirer. I think that he music in Casino really made it the movie it is today. Every song went along with every scene with Mick Jagger being the main artist. My favorite movie I watched out of all of these had what is known to be Johnny Depp's best scenes. In this scene, Johnny Depp's character Donnie meets Lefty for the first time. There wasn't a lot of cinematic components in this scene that makes it so great. It's the dialogue or script that makes it so memorable. Donnie tells Lefty that his diamond is a "fugazzi" or a fake which sets Lefty off to describe his reputation and later on actually make Lefty take him Donnie under his wing.
All three of these films were in different well known cities all having different culture backgrounds to it yet they all used the f bomb very frequently, as should any mob movie. Reservoir Dogs was set in Los Angeles during the 80s considering the way the criminals and police are dressed. The robbers are dressed in the typical black and white suits with cool shades. Due to the film not giving that much background in the setting, I had to fish for clues to help. Opposed to in Casino, the glitz, glam, casinos, hotels, coolest cars gave the time era away, the 70s or 80s. Robert DeNiro dressed in bright pastel suits and Sharon Stone dressed in furs and expensive suits/dresses. These characters displayed the privileged life that the mob and criminals lived while doing their dirty work. In Donnie Brasco, the infamous Lefty Ruggiero is from Mulberry Street in New York, and like he said, "I'm known all over the five boroughs." Donnie Brasco shows the grimy, dirty journey of men trying to make it to the top of the cake. Throughout all films, I saw that the characters wanted to achieve wealth through crime. No matter the consequence, they worked hard to either keep their position or knock anyone down to get to the top. But while in their missions, the number thing in their lives was loyalty to the ones that they loved. Lefty Ruggiero told his mentee Donnie Brasco that he would rather kill himself than get "wacked" for bringing Donnie in as a rat. Or, another example would be in Casino when Sam's wife Ginger constantly was taking drugs and making wrong decisions, he took her back and provided for her. Lastly, in Reservoir Dogs, Mr. White was responsible for Mr. Orange's gun wound, so all throughout the film Mr. White protected Mr.Orange even when others thought he was a rat. These examples prove that in mob films, family and friends, especially in the mob with them, are the most important things to them.
None of the films I watched were directly engaged with politics except for Casino. Ace Rothstein (Robert DeNiro) would let congressmen, governors, and senators in the casino for free along with hotel rooms and restaurant meals. He gave them complementary service for good business. But this all stopped when Ace fired one of the congressmen's relative. A case for a casino license was against him and this led to the downfall of his dedicated career. I think this film gave viewers the inside to what really happens inside the government. I believe that there are many secrets and bribes that hide behind politicians concerning the mob, mafia, or gangsters. If you think otherwise you can "fugetaboutit"!
hots of the casino, closeups of the dealers and Ginger, along with the close up of Ace, Ginger's secret admirer. I think that he music in Casino really made it the movie it is today. Every song went along with every scene with Mick Jagger being the main artist. My favorite movie I watched out of all of these had what is known to be Johnny Depp's best scenes. In this scene, Johnny Depp's character Donnie meets Lefty for the first time. There wasn't a lot of cinematic components in this scene that makes it so great. It's the dialogue or script that makes it so memorable. Donnie tells Lefty that his diamond is a "fugazzi" or a fake which sets Lefty off to describe his reputation and later on actually make Lefty take him Donnie under his wing.
All three of these films were in different well known cities all having different culture backgrounds to it yet they all used the f bomb very frequently, as should any mob movie. Reservoir Dogs was set in Los Angeles during the 80s considering the way the criminals and police are dressed. The robbers are dressed in the typical black and white suits with cool shades. Due to the film not giving that much background in the setting, I had to fish for clues to help. Opposed to in Casino, the glitz, glam, casinos, hotels, coolest cars gave the time era away, the 70s or 80s. Robert DeNiro dressed in bright pastel suits and Sharon Stone dressed in furs and expensive suits/dresses. These characters displayed the privileged life that the mob and criminals lived while doing their dirty work. In Donnie Brasco, the infamous Lefty Ruggiero is from Mulberry Street in New York, and like he said, "I'm known all over the five boroughs." Donnie Brasco shows the grimy, dirty journey of men trying to make it to the top of the cake. Throughout all films, I saw that the characters wanted to achieve wealth through crime. No matter the consequence, they worked hard to either keep their position or knock anyone down to get to the top. But while in their missions, the number thing in their lives was loyalty to the ones that they loved. Lefty Ruggiero told his mentee Donnie Brasco that he would rather kill himself than get "wacked" for bringing Donnie in as a rat. Or, another example would be in Casino when Sam's wife Ginger constantly was taking drugs and making wrong decisions, he took her back and provided for her. Lastly, in Reservoir Dogs, Mr. White was responsible for Mr. Orange's gun wound, so all throughout the film Mr. White protected Mr.Orange even when others thought he was a rat. These examples prove that in mob films, family and friends, especially in the mob with them, are the most important things to them.None of the films I watched were directly engaged with politics except for Casino. Ace Rothstein (Robert DeNiro) would let congressmen, governors, and senators in the casino for free along with hotel rooms and restaurant meals. He gave them complementary service for good business. But this all stopped when Ace fired one of the congressmen's relative. A case for a casino license was against him and this led to the downfall of his dedicated career. I think this film gave viewers the inside to what really happens inside the government. I believe that there are many secrets and bribes that hide behind politicians concerning the mob, mafia, or gangsters. If you think otherwise you can "fugetaboutit"!
Nice work, Destiny. I really like the 2nd half of this, where you get into more of the synthesis of the 3 films. Nice job discussing some of what make the gangster/crime genre unique. But, maybe even some more organization of your analysis would help. Also, what conclusions can you make about stylistic choices when making a "gangster" film? Good work.
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