2. The costume in the trailer for “Goodfellas” is exactly what you would expect from a gangster
movie. The men in the trailer can be seen wearing expensive suits and the woman have on fancy
dresses with matching jewellery. This type of costume indicates that in their line of work they are
able to generate large sums of money and spend it on their families. In addition, it demonstrates
their professionalism for their job so that people take them seriously and know that they mean
business. Furthermore, the costume change throughout the film is useful to the audience as we
can tell that the characters are progressing through the decades. Moreover, Henry Hills costume
also deteriorates as the movie goes on, this has been implemented to show that he is slowly
degrading due to the drug addiction and that he is unable to make suitable decisions which will
keep him out of trouble. It also shows how something that was a great s the mafia organization
will eventually come to a brutal and chaotic end.
MISE EN SCENE
3. The lighting in the Goodfellas trailer remains constant with the high key lighting. There are only a
few scenes in the trailer which use low key lighting for example, when the trio are burying a body
in the cover of darkness. The reason for the use of low key lighting I this scene is to show that
they're are trying not to get caught by anyone, this includes the police and their own men as what
they are doing goes against the rules due to tommy DeVito killing someone for no good reason.
This scene is also made more sadistic through the use of the red car light shining on the dust,
creating an evil and demonic atmosphere as the three men dig to bury the body. Furthermore, the
dialogue which is told throughout this shot adds to the nature of the men as Jimmy and Tommy
make fun of Henry as he does not have the stomach for the job by saying "here's a leg" and
"here's a wing". This wittiness shows the audience that the characters have done this sort of job
many times before and have become immune to the psychological effects of their actions and
have begun to make jokes about it. In addition, it shows contrast between jimmy and tommy with
Henry as we see Henry squatting on the floor with his short over his mouth as if the smell is
making him feel physically sick.
LIGHTING
4. Throughout the trailer, Martin Scorsese has used a number of pan long shots. This has allowed
the director to show the fast movement of the characters in the things they do. For example, the
general shake downs and murders that the gangsters commit. Furthermore, this type of camera
shot aids in the viewing of the day to day lie of these ruthless gangsters. These scenes are
conventional for a gangster movie as it allows the director to show off not only the actions of the
main characters but also the rest of their environment such as the cars, the buildings around
them and most importantly, the way in which the public react to the way in which they handle
things (the public's reaction is generally them ignoring the gangsters out of fear of being their
next victims).
CINEMATOGRAPHY
5. In the trailer, there is a mid-shot of Joe Pesci's character shooting his pistol directly towards the
screen. The shot is met with a blunt and serious look by Tommy as fires at the audience. This has
been put into effect by Martin Scorsese as it leaves the viewers considering the different
outcomes and reason for Tommy to be firing his gun in this manner. The facial expressions and
body language indicate to the audience that he is executing someone as he does not seem to be
putting up a fight and has no trouble pulling the trigger. This shot is also a reference to the iconic
shot in the short film "The great train robbery" filmed in 1903 and created by Edwin s. porter.
This has been placed into the film as the great train robbery was one of the films that martin
Scorsese watched as a child and had led to him being a director.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
6. The trailer seems to go through 3 acts. The first one is started by Henry Hill narrating over the
trailer with a monologue whilst classic 1950s-60s song plays in the background. This creates a
feeling of nostalgia as we see shots of Henry growing up and being influenced by the mob and
the ways in which they do things. The second act changes the feel of the trailer completely, it
switches the music from a song which resembles the likes of Frank Sinatra to a softer rock
anthem with which a guitar and piano heavily dominate the song. This is still combined with
Henrys monologue and changes the atmosphere of the trailer to make it see faster paced and that
greater things are beginning to happen within the film. In addition, these changes are closely
linked to the progression of the film which show 30 years of life in the mafia for Henry Hill and
change alongside the ways martin Scorsese has chosen to alter the personality of Henry Hill. The
final third of the trailer is met with a voice over which now narrates the general outline of the
plot which is that "a new generation will carry on a new tradition". This piece of the trailer allows
for the director to subtly sneak in the plot without attracting too much attention to it and to give
the audience a good enough reason to watch his movie. This sort of lay out is very
unconventional for a trailer as the music within a trailer does not generally change this in a single
trailer. Moreover, the trailer also maintains its pace throughout as the shot types do not vary as
much as those compared to a different trailer of the same genre.
EDITING
7. The music in the background is a very cheerful and upbeat song. This creates a
great contrast between the music and the horrific violent scenes which are being
shown in front of us. However, Scorsese has followed one rule, this is to only play
music that was out during the time the film was set. For example, when the film is
set in the 70's the music closely resembles that decade. This is why we get the
change in music within the trailer as it shows that the years are moving on and
things are changing and the characters themselves have to change with the times.
SOUND
