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MrPurple (9)
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db - EVERY WORD that Henry Hill (and Karen Hill) says in voiceover narration in Goodfellas is taken VERBATIM from Pileggi's book. The book is basically a transcription of Pileggi's interviews with Henry and Karen. Goodfellas is ENTIRELY based on that book. Pileggi wrote the screenplay for the movie. It's kind of comical to see you arguing with people and calling the trolls while being so completely wrong.
This is a true story, so what is portrayed is what actually happened with these characters. Morrie didn't think Jimmy was going to kill him. Neither did all the other people associated with the heist who Jimmy killed off so he did have to pay them, or they wouldn't talk.
Yes, I think it is that bad. Most of the dialogue and situations felt contrived to make a point. The characters' behaviors were exaggerated and unrealistic to make points about race, but I think a better movie would have made its points in a more subtle way. I don't think Crash should have been one of the Best Picture nominees that year, let alone the winner.
I think the barbed wire might take a long time to be fatal, though. It took a while for crucified people to die on the cross. If the cut to black represented Toller dying in the time frame presented, then my interpretation would be that he drank the Drano. It's possible that he didn't drink it and the cut to black represents him slipping into unconsciousness after fantasizing about Mary. For the purposes of Schrader's story, I guess it doesn't really matter.
I agree with the other reply that it was ambiguous. Mary passionately kissing him was a fantasy because she didn't react at all to the barbed wire. But, I'm not sure if it's Toller's fantasy as he's dying, or if he didn't kill himself and then slipped into this fantasy while alive. He is clearly shown dropping the glass of Drano that he had poured, so it could be that he's sitting there alive, in pain from the barbed wire and fantasizing. Or, it could be that dropping the glass of Drano was part of the fantasy and that he did kill himself. The way the film ends by cutting to black made me think that he did most likely commit suicide.
i agree with all your points and also a real lack of character development, other than the main character. Half the movie was graphic battle footage and all the men in the unit where thinly sketched caricatures. This man's story deserved to be told, but look at the nuance and subtlety in a good war movie like Platoon and how it is sorely lacking in this film.
That and the hammy, nonbelievable things in some of the battle scenes lost me. I thought many of the fireballs during the battle were overproduced and felt too much like an action movie rather than realistically harrowing. For me, it's a shame that this was nominated for Best Picture and Silence wasn't. That achieved things on a much more profound, mature level.
I don't think anyone was better than Deniro at his peak - Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Mean Streets, The Mission. Some have equaled that, but it's hard to say that there's better performances than that.
I at least respected the older juror for her honesty and saying that the verdict was Rodney King payback. Remember, they're being interviewed now, when there's no question that O.J. is guilty. I agree that it was obvious in 1995 too, but the documentary said that 77% of African Americans thought he was not guilty at the time. Their history with bad cops, especially in L.A. and Mark Fuhrman taking the 5th on the stand as to whether he planted evidence against OJ was enough to create reasonable doubt.
Yeah, they were easily manipulated, but they were in isolation in that courtroom with no outside information and the legal dream team did a great job of sowing doubt. Looking back, this case wasn't about black and white as much as green. There are other cases of guilty people with high power lawyers outplaying the prosecutors and getting off. O.J. was just the first high profile black guy to be in that position.
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